Denver Conference: 2002
Table of Contents
Malachi 2
Reading
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Couple verses in Cambridge, Malachi 3.
1St And bring me all the time into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house, and prove me now herewith they have the Lord of hope, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
And I will refuse to devour.
But a lot of crowded he called always blighted for years, years to be said. We want to be fed Christ and we know the Holy Spirit will do that. We want truth and the Holy Spirit will give us truth from my precious word help us.
During this hour ahead and the rest of the day, the feeder according to thy will, that we have knowledge of thy beloved spot. Everything is in Christ, and so.
We're looking to Thee, Father, through the Holy Spirit, to give us thoughts of Christ and our position in Him, our blessing ahead. All things are from Him. We find faith. We look to Thee in the precious, worthy name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.
I have been thinking quite a bit about the third chapter of Malachi and I.
But we don't use to check that.
Might be profitable for us to look at the third chapter of Malachi and honestly let the Lord speak to his crew. Would that be agreeable to the President? I think we have the law to find in that.
Starting with the first word of God, I agree told I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me, before shall suddenly come to his temple, even to the messenger of the covenant who leads the lightning. Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts, For who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when he appears. For. For he is like a refiners fire, and like fuller's soul.
And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years. And I will come near to you in your judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerer's.
And against the adulterers, and against falsewares, and against those that oppress the hiring in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, and that fun aside, the stranger from his right. And fear not me, that is the Lord of hosts, for I am the Lord. I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed even from the days of your father's. You have gone away from my ordinances and have not kept them.
Return unto me, and I will return unto you, Say, If the Lord of hosts. But he said, Wherein shall we return?
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee ties and offers? Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me even this whole nation. Bring ye all the ties into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house, and proof me now here with say, if the Lord opposed, I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out of blessings, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
But I will rebuke the Devourer for your sakes, and you shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field said the Lord holds, and all nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord both.
Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet you say, What have we spoken so much against thee? He has said It is vain to serve God. And what prophet is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord holy, and now we call the proud happy? Yeah, they that work wickedness are set up. Yeah, they that tempt God are even delivered.
00:05:16
Then lay that fear of the Lord, speak often once to another. And the Lord hearkened and heard it. And a book of remembrance was written before him For them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. They shall be mined, saith the Lord opposed. In that day when I make up my jewels, and I will spare them a man, spare his own son, that servant him. Then shall you return and reserve between the righteous and the wicked, between him the servant God.
And him that serveth him not.
And now we'd like to encourage ourselves to thinking of.
Passengers such as Ezra EMI as they are an encouragement but.
I've been more and more convinced, beloved president, that we have.
Come beyond that.
To a time such as we have a number.
And the characteristic thing in Malachi is.
Insensitivity to the real condition which?
The people of God were.
What do you mean we're robbing? What do you mean we we pollute the table? What do you mean there?
It's total insensitivity.
And I believe that at this end of the.
Dispensation.
The moral condition that we are in is the moral condition in which the nation of Israel was.
At the end of the Old Testament.
There was number further revelation after this until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Yes, man has interposed books, ballots, Maccabees and other books that are maybe historically interesting, but basically as you Divine Revelation, there are 400 silent years. I think that's how the Striker side speaks of it's a 400 silent year.
And.
There's no.
Communication from God so that when you come to the book of Luke, which I believe picks up wherever where Malachi leaves off.
It's the same situation.
When the Lord entered into the sea and found exactly what we had is the book of Malachi.
So we need to pay attention to it, we need to be concerned about it.
And listen to God's voice. And it's interesting that the verses that start the chapter.
Are not the rapture.
They're not the rapture at all. The verses that start the chapter are straight a period before. It's a very solemn thing.
A.
He talked about.
The day of his coming. I'm thinking about verse two. Who will endure the day of his coming?
We think of the Lord discovering all that wonderful, caught up to be with the Lord. It will be wonderful.
It will be wonderful.
But God wants us to think about.
The appearing too my son bought my attention recently. It took a study on it. She said that many many more times in the scripture.
When he talks about the coming of the Lord is talking about the period that it is about the rapture.
The appearing has to do with God's treatment.
Dealing with.
Judgment is unfaithful.
Or faithfulness, who shall endure the day of his coming? Who shall stand when he appears?
The Lord is coming with us in a very solid way.
Now it'll be wonderful. We'll be caught up before that forever. That's wonderful. I don't want to take away from that at all.
The hope of this coming rapid that the rapture just.
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Thrills our hearts.
Come Lord Jesus is our responsibility, but.
President, let us hear the voice here.
God is dealing with indifference among His people.
Insensitivity, not knowing what their condition was. The Malachi is called to point it out. It's not a very happy ministry I guess.
Track it starts out I think the book it says the bird the.
Burden of the word of the Lord.
To Israel by Malachi was a burden.
One who would be faithful to the Lord, I think.
My Jude mentioned that same thought just sort of convinced you right about our common salvation, but he said I had to write me to contend earnestness once delivered us in the state. Well, I thought that you injury Doctor Reed remarks. But help us as we get into the chapter. Malachi means my messenger for these days.
You know, we don't know much about Malachi, but I believe it's typical of you, the condition to choose. We don't know much about you either. It's an interesting thing because the spokesman or the prophet or the one giving it out isn't important. What's important is the message. And this is a very important fortune. You know, I won't take much time, but I noticed the where is.
You know, whenever the Lord said I love you, they say where I am. Can you imagine the children of Israel saying wherein that's all of us. They say you know there's seven where is and that's really shows the nakedness of the condition should Malachi and today first one and two when I say what I mean chapter I want to take all our time. Wherein has thou loved that second one and six.
Wherein have we despised thy name? Think of that, Think of that. They didn't just take His name and faith or not to gather to it or honor it. They just fight it. Whether that's the thing too. All right, 3-1 and seven, wherein have we polluted you? His table is frightened, and the worst thing is to pollute the table, you know.
In Bethel all that was going on in idolatry and wickedness, the Lord sent a man of God out of Judea. What for? The curse, the table, the altar? There He hates both table. And for these first four are basic, and the next three are really remedial. This is a boy 217. Wherein have we weary is?
They despise His word. They didn't want to do His word. They were disobedient.
That weary to our Father and then the remedy. These are remedial. The 5th 137 Wherein shall we return? Isn't that awful? The Lord just pledge for repentance. They said. Why should we return? We never left, you know. That's the spirit of the day. We're never off the ground.
We're Christian.
You know this word, this world, I should say America.
Need some evangelists from over in India there and other places to give us the gospel. I think we're the worst of all. Right. I like to remind you where Chris is. I don't ask him anymore if they're crisps. I asked him, do you love the Lord Jesus Christ? That's success. Not Christian. There was a boy and I told his choice the same time in London at a cold, smoggy, misty taste.
Men going to work?
Couldn't see each other so bad he was yelling out get your hot mint spies here that a man thought, boy that award reach till I get to the terminology. He stopped, bought one. He took a bike, turned around and said land. Why did you say hotbeds fight? They're cold as ice, he said. That's the name they go by Christians, aren't we all?
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You well anyway the the.
60 Wherein have we dropped it? What does that mean?
False worship God wants reality he wants true worship and that's robbing God and last seven one have wherein have we spoken against thee 313 Wednesday what reality he won twice vital he wants reality real Christian.
So we have these three remedial things that he told them, but they all didn't think they needed them. That's the thing. Well, that's Malachi. I love it. Don't you? I mean, it isn't a bad book.
You know, God never reads us without a gravity. He doesn't leave us alone when we're sinners, thank God. And he isn't leaving the sinners in this world alone either. That's Valentine's well.
Where does the address related to us again?
Right here.
It's the same condition as the brother.
I would travel to Facebook and I believe it is.
No, it's not the dark. Poor neighbors miserable flying.
Boasting of.
Bridges of cloak.
That's the condition we're in and above, below the we are there.
And if we hear the word voice, they'll be blessed.
We don't hear the Lord.
Well, nothing but you.
And I suppose that is the real thing.
Message that get, isn't it from Malachi as well as from the address to layers here. And that is that it was plenty of light in the sense that the people who were here were essentially the ones who had had the exercise to come back to the lab at the time of Derubable. And later on, of course, in Ezra and Nehemiah's time to listen a little bit later, they were the ones who had had these.
Energy to come back out of Babylon for the land of history.
To go back to what God has given at the beginning.
But then what has happened is he generated into the condition?
What is Laodicea? Laodicea, if we could put it this way, is essentially the light that was given in Philadelphia, but without the heart for Christ and without the power. And so there was light there, there was intelligence that the faith of God.
But it reminds us of the sons of the prophets in Elijah's time. And when Elijah was, or Elijah was to be taken up into heaven. The sons of the prophets were intelligent as to what was going to happen. But when they remind Elisha of that fact, his answer is rather abrupt, isn't it? I know more for your peace. Be quiet. You might think that's pretty pretty rude, pretty insulting. Why did he say that? Because they were intelligent, but it had no moral effect on them.
So what do they do after a life is taken up to heaven? They take 50 strong men and try and look for them all over the mouth in case the Lord didn't do a good job of taking them to heaven and drop them somewhere. Sometimes like that, Well, we don't want to be irreverent, but that's what it sounded like and so it shows it doesn't know so.
The application of Malachi imagery is Old Testament.
The picture is that a personally blessed, but the moral lessons can be translated, can't they, for our day, Because I hardly agree with brother Jason exactly the picture.
And let's not take refuge if I say bluntly in the fact that we.
So let's say it, or gathered, if we think to the Lord's name, we know the failure is probably most evident, evident where it is the most light. Is that right? So we need to take this apart, so quiet for himself. We're not together.
As a result.
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All the point I was seeking to make is that if we say we are gathered to the Lord's name, and I have no doubt that we are, then this speaks more loudly to us than to any other.
It didn't Israel do this same thing when the Lord Jesus appeared to them? In the first verse here it says, behold, I will send my messenger. This is John the Baptist, wasn't it? Yeah, he had the picture here. And she'll prepare the weight for me and the Lord, she'll suddenly come to his temple.
John the Baptist called Israel.
Who has the bill said that in parallel they were on the right ground, they were in the right place, and yet John the Baptist came and called Israel to repentance?
And those that went out and were baptized of John the Baptist to repent, they were preparing in their hearts the Lord for I'll wait for the Lord to come to his temple, but I can't turn to the verse. But there's.
There's a verse that indicates that there were those that refused to go out, the Pharisees, they had nothing to repent of. They thought they're on the right ground. This is God's center. We don't have anything two to three kids up and we see where that ended up. So I think the the parallel with legitimate.
It's very, very real. What a thought. What a God calling us to read him today.
What if This is why the Spirit of God?
Has brought this before. What else is calling it to repent and we say well we're on the right ground. We gather to the Lords name as the camp around it's it's it's wrong.
Are we preparing our hearts for the Lord or do we respond to the call to Him? We're in a sad state. We may be on right ground, and I wholly believe that, but we're in a sad state. We need to respond to the call. Well, the worst for his right brother. If we're on the in that ground, then how responsible we are before God.
How responsible? Let us come over to my soul. Social normally reaches ears and especially the last few months.
A very solid responsible we are to have all the truth because she made through it.
To be able to conference.
But I don't want to take away from that one bit. I didn't do it on the 1St place. What do I do?
I'm walking, does it make a difference in my life? And I think that's what cause I think of gospel.
The little number of those that really were looking for an old lady like and I could find all of them and speak to them.
Goldberg, Penn State.
Over.
That's why 1 customers don't have a bigger part one cost that we don't have contention, right. We don't intend over map over, but I just I think it's maybe over 100 or even 847584.
I'm almost there. I'm not going to reach it. But you're not going to. You wouldn't be able to go to all that we're looking for.
All that we're looking for whatever, like this whole lady folks around.
Sometimes I have pictures, you know.
That if whatever it was.
One thing I'm sure of is that what is equipped for because I heard that Albert Einstein.
Mentioned that it can't be just a secret which is as great as yes and it's just that so if it's put it away and.
And and her she's reserved.
The rest of them don't care, like the sons of the problem.
I was rereading recently and tracked by Mr. McIntosh. The guy was read as young people read over. Reread it.
The difference between all these premillennial doctrines and waiting to be.
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The difference between only three millennial doctors and.
I was dare to say all of this old.
Our center prophet or we should be reality letting it make a difference in their life.
That.
I don't want to do that. Please don't take that.
Not feeling any question today please please.
We need to get real.
We over the floor.
We need to really see our really see what God has said to me and then walking.
And security they still introductory. But before we start June, I'm only a couple verses to know. And to know you're right where you are is simple. It's Revelation 3/8. Don't turn to it. They have kept my word and not denied my name. And it's a little clock. It's a weak little testimony, right? It isn't anything to boast it.
We're not voting, but that's the test and you can fly it to anything that's said. Rather, truth is what we want.
Keep my word, but don't deny my name either. Don't the only truth. That's all the last three days. But if you keep this word, that's everything. He's magnified to fight his words above all his name. Let's never remember. Forget that He magnified his words above all his things. The word is this. If you keep this word, you won't deny it.
On that two parts, dude means he shall be prayed that lovely, bad as it is. Alec, I, my messenger, what's needed right there in our condition, but you, he shall be praised. And that's coming, brethren. And notice verse 11. Woe unto them, for they've gone the way of change. But I don't have to say much. Everybody knows.
And ran freely after the era of Bala for reward. Oh my pleasure is that moving to give him Allah not I think God is faith among Christians for reward, making money on the word of God.
Well, I go down to 12. These are the spots of your feast of love, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear.
Clouds they are without water carried about of wind, Trees whose fruit withered, without fruit twice dead. What an awful thought, brethren, the second kid.
Twice said, plucked up by the roof, raging waves of the sea.
Foaming out their own shame, wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Then you want to know what Enoch Priest tells us right here. We don't know from the Old Testament what is that free, but I'll read it one verse. To execute judgment from all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them, among their of their ungodly deeds.
Which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
That's the case of Valentine's.
I want to ask a question before I ask, I want to do a little toy. There's a little child that's controlled, not going into the cookie jar, and not only got into the cookie jar, we're doing it to drop the cookie jar.
Instead.
What have you done is will you tell me and I'll confess.
Well, I don't want to be like that little boy, but I'm going to tell a story. I was bad and losing Wisconsin British. I asked a question.
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What is the difference between?
Earthly mindedness and flesh and handsome. Well, if you're having an injury, I'll have a thought. I'm well, I mentioned what I thought the first thing flexionally is pretty obvious.
What I gave, I said what it is for me, It better be a world with us, every brother, practically.
Started off at one. I thought entirely on that school period was going to come down.
Hear that?
Wow, OK, We're doing very well in baseball.
The need The epitome of world, you know is professional sports.
I firmly believe that if there was much interest in the.
Word of God and there is fantasy, including.
Football players and college and professional sports we would have an increase in knowledge and appreciation for.
What I'm saying is when I go back down on these absolute terrorists of worldliness in the professional sports.
And I believe that there are many others that have a brother made me the labor appointed the cares of his life. This day. The grandfather is a professional sports, but it's an enemy of World War and we're occupying women to a fall. You may know who's being recruited or who is how who is here who is.
His proof that.
Really, why should you care? Because it's satisfying the loss of the world.
That's the end of my life.
Well, that's my question. All right. My question is, let me specifically what should we expect?
The little boy said look.
You tell me what I've gone and off the testicle. Now let's tell one another what what condition truly will always be.
Talking about Mr. Meeting, we talked about Christianity, radio creatures. Are we talking about professional football, baseball or money?
We should confess three things, by the face, by the grace, by the place. You ought to confess it all the time.
My father get away with that.
I think that's what Spirit of God is awakening our hearts here to moral principles.
Perhaps some of the moral principles?
Specific we're talking about. I think we could zero in on the specifics of forget the moral perfectly the word strike here.
But the word appeals to them.
Robertson.
The Lord.
Bobby Lord.
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Can we do that?
We don't do that, can we?
That they are sensitivity to.
Perhaps not being the president of the Lord.
The state case to Israel when the law of heaven they cried out in Harry compared and then later he gave a party to have that thing they cried again hope he died, he married married. They had confidence in God and carnal confidence in God. I want the president of God really painted them. They tried out not here.
I just want to mention one thing. We'll get back into our point. There's a very fine thin line between appreciation to God for what He's done for us and pride in place is so fine. People run, which is the one side or the other. Don't ever stop appreciating what God has done. I'll never stop, but I trust I won't be proud of where I am.
That's the different statement, and let's don't confuse them. Rather, when we remember the Lord, I think we ought to be conscious of that table and the privilege. And let's never say we shouldn't do that. We should be ashamed of ourselves. Never at the table. Brothers were high priest were holy priests at the table. And I'll never appear to the table I trust any other way in any other constitution.
That appreciates to God for even being there and for not so I guess.
That verse, verse seven there, I think.
It kind of had a chance to bright light into our into our dark state of soul. Sometimes maybe we're not even where it says, return unto me and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.
It's so easy to slip out of the presence of the Lord, and then what we have is going on in a form of Christianity.
If any have ever been to draft and spend all time with John, the band took US1 Time up into the mountains to the largest intermittent spring in the world. And as we we went up this valley, here was this beautiful little stream. And it was.
It was, it was blowing the same all the time. But as we got up into the mountain, then we went up to the side of a mountain and we saw the spring for this. This was coming from and it was a beautiful gurgling little little screen coming out of the side of the mountain. But all of a sudden it dried up and it stopped.
And we can hear the water going down the side of the mountain down into the valley. But this stream has stopped. And yet if you were down below, you would have thought, well, there's what what are we talking about it intermittent spring, This thing would stop for about 90 minutes. And then after a while they start gurgling and hear it and come again. And I think that's the way our relationship with the Lord is sometimes individuals. We are down in the valley there we would have thought, there's there's nothing wrong. The stream is still running.
But the closer you get to the Lord, the more sensitive you come to anything that would hinder the fresh.
The the fresh springs of his love, enjoyment of that in our souls and here he says return unto me and I will return unto you and they didn't even have my consent consensitivity. Sometimes we're not even aware of the fact that the Lord has departed from us. David committed a sin.
And then he committed another sin to cover up that first sin. And then he's going on like there's not a problem until all of a sudden Nathan prophet comes and brings him into the Lords presence that David Feliz that not only had sinned, but he had turned his back on the Lord and was enjoying the Lord. And then in the 51St song he said restore the peace and joy of ice salvation.
So I think this is the state here this that if we wanted to judge something, if we wanted to confess something, this is what we need to confess. That how easily we slipped out of the Lord's presence and go on like nothing wrong, go on in the form of Christianity and not be in touch with that different fountain of love. Verse two, who shall stand when he appears?
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Revelation 6.
15 but I won't read it all. I'll just read the end of 16 and seven two.
Hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath is common. Who shall be able to stand?
No one. That's yes. No one.
Brethren, our standings is in Christ, not ourselves. We wouldn't be able to stand but for Christ. I know this is a great life, strong judgment in you, but when it comes for us and when he appears in this world is too late. It's so bad who have neglected or rejected the love of God that they could be faith, but they will not stay it. There will be no standing.
Ginza.
Nothing, said speech. So the answer to that who shall stand when he appeared?
Scripture sexual covers.
We're authors, but period that it's a shining.
What is the court dodge is for the put up ahead of time.
And everything being made.
Everything being exposed to what it is.
Now, very, very soon.
What is going to come? Tested better than himself regarding the voice.
Trump of God.
We were alive and remained coming to the Lord shall be put up.
With those who have gone before.
Every person will be put up to meet the Lord in the air, but we're not coming back to earth at that time. Gordon's going to take this home.
That takes place.
The judge received right.
Sharing that word, that is the time that.
Fear, that's when what we have in at least an accident is saying Jesus shall come in. What's the matter? Because you've seen it go into it. It's pretty close again. Put his feet down of all and he's going to set up a table. He's going to be reconciled with his president.
Appreciate a requirement for the furtherment of state.
Dealing with the brother who's got.
That most system of things.
Setting aside.
Rob's the Lord Jesus with joy. That way it'll be a wonderful time and you're going to endure by the supervision.
First, gold and silver.
No upward.
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Buildings brought back into West.
Careful playoffs.
There is future blessings, for instance.
As the Lord is going to sit down and pray.
How beautiful, how much you would lose if this spiritualized side of the way make that sense. Something like that.
No, when he comes down and he showers on the boat right after that.
Bless you.
When he judges the earth is right.
At the end of that song.
He said the prayers of David, the son of just hearing.
That song is fulfilled. What else is your best friend?
And when I come here in judgment.
For safety and slip business together.
It's solid number.
Press it.
Tire Service.
You and I have nothing to fear as believers in the Lord Jesus of God for our sins, but I will remember quite some years ago now, a brother asking the question, I suppose rather than speech, and she had a general meeting.
When the question was raised, what if you don't have anything to respect of that?
I enjoyed the remark of a brother and Albert he had he said God is hoping for a testimony in this world that actors in every way that his character and until we can say that we have arrived at that point.
We have always something.
That is true. So knowledge of the truth, wonderful Lord is, is not enough. God looks for a moral state.
Direction of God so many times.
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Will preach the gospel of the grace of God and he also agrees with God because there is a moral statement that's very important said about rapture and hearing that the rapture is that.
The questions are apart with affection for Christ, but the thought appears.
So what do you have here?
Well, that has to do with their project very easily pointed over the future blessing of Israel is going to bring these through circulation, going to break them through government, through judgment and order that they may be able to hear the offer of sacrifice.
3 senses of your part of his heart before our lives, in order that he might purify that.
And I'll go back because what? Why?
And I'm right there that you've got so commonplace that it's thought nothing else told the story before, but I'll repeat it again. I've tried to tell myself to pick up truck about a month this little toll and a man offered taking it off report some kind of on the low side. So I worked a little under it and just wondered about a little higher. Well, there's no problem. I'll take it more strong. Give me your receipt for $1500 less because of course he was going to have a sales back on when he went to get the right body.
Sales tax the extra money before you get you know that's done all the time to concentrate and he was quite taking it back when I told him that I couldn't do that well, but there is a testimony there there. I don't think I should tell his story but my late father by Albertville at a similar experience and I.
Get all the details of it, but he refused to do something that was going to result in Internal Revenue Service of their tax well thought will or something other than time, but then some years later got a call from that was in the hospital on statistic.
I saw that.
I don't know where it's going.
I need something die go for where it's going.
Whatever number.
The world is watching.
That's only one thing where the world is watching to see what kind of world secretary.
And that's working on here. I'm here for simple.
Very solo.
Fear of reward.
It's almost cool in the world.
That is the laborers you believe to ask yourself, don't we? Beautiful work.
00:55:12
Me Dow is a fears aboard all the people.
What is it that different ones that I hear the word I can't do that?
Bruce says fear of the moon. So let's do what this understand that's not terror or that kind of fear at all. So you're it's respect for who he is.
Our work danger has got double.
Terrorists also consider relations it to me.
I think that's what real.
I know I travel around it didn't want to be.
God is greatly could be weird to be as something that is saying.
We're dealing with flaws.
You're a question. I made it myself. How did you do that?
Very earnest and and.
Then you afraid?
But I didn't know what.
He used to stand up on the roof of his daughter that the group of Navy art and preach the drop follow their words and the.
Working with their work, Brooklyn.
What day was he working at 1:00 PM?
Everybody in the park.
Pause breakfast.
Expected to work all over the law the moment I get off.
No, I should tell.
Who would be well the reason to give person and nightest to starting what we would see.
-2.
Looking for that pleasant hope.
01:00:01
In fact, that brings you guys into two aspects of the Word coming. That's the end, the blessed hope, the rapture, and then it's really the appearing of the glory, the glory of the hearing.
Pretty confounded today.
It's very important work.
And I noticed that I don't use the.
Don't forget to reliable translation. But having said that, I have to tell you something hurt. Somebody read that word from that translation and I always wondered what denying that was that.
Saying no to.
They go to work great for God. That's what teaches us to say.
That rules.
But the grace of God.
And that's in our in our chapter.
The Lord says in verse 6.
I, the Lord changed not.
Oh, what does the change? That's wonderful. It's one of the most wonderful things about the name Jehovah. That's basically what it means.
The ever existing one that's changed.
And.
He says I don't change.
Therefore you said the Jacob are not consumed.
Oh well, it's 6 tons of Israel or something. Jacob.
Don't we feel it sometimes that we're really fun to shake it? I like it that God called protection, that the fact that he's the God of Jacob, He likes to tell us that I'm the God of Jesus.
And now we realize that, Beloved, I think it encourages our art to know that because he doesn't change, we haven't taken soon.
We deserve to be consumed, don't we? I'm sorry, the name of Jacob? I was just searching it recently. They were. Jacob occurs almost more times than Abraham and Isaac.
Isn't there a lesson there?
But yeah, I I want to report what you mentioned. I agree with you 100% in connection with the basic overall veracity of that translation, because we have to remember that the Septuagint.
There's a comment that Darby makes that it was not really a faithful translation. It would be Greek version of it in general, but we should remember the Lord himself.
According to reported from that.
And many other parts and other translation cities that their sister arrested. She has one that we don't know which one it is, but it was beautiful and I didn't pursue it enough to see if there was a distance. Following that, let's say that this long convention comes in lightning first from a certain translation.
Not not. The departure is that we depend upon that translation because it has any false.
Well, at first I changed that. I just suggest Hebrews 13 verse 8. Let's put that in our heart.
Jesus Christ, the same should be capitalist. That's one of his names. Let's say that beautiful yesterday and forever. That's why we have such solid faith. It's because his word of God never changes. Man will try to change it, but he says you can do nothing against the truth only for it.
01:05:16
And I think that is so precious to know he chases not and they make change because.
As they say, they want to reach the mountainous tree. So you know, God will never bring the word down to the man of the street. You'll bring the man of the street up to his word. Oh, so don't be taken in by simpler, clear translations. I call a version. That's what they are. And they keep coming more and more. And Satan's going to be sure they keep coming. Yes, there's something that are true in them.
But you know, after 1820, I'm gonna just give it for what as as it is in the NIV since it's been brought up.
If you were two or three come together in my name, I will be with them. That's true because Satan can use things that are true to deceive anyone. Say it too. But we want the truth, and that's the way it is.
Two or three are gathered together there. I am in their midst now. The Liv has systematically taken in the midst out from Genesis to Revelation and I know of 24 very important times is there. They've taken it out systematically and all I'm going to say is that is really.
Going either upwards of the.
Real systematic error. OK, That was that's what a King James says in Target, too. I'll do a lot with that. It's a dishonest version of our citizens. I didn't want to run it. It was rather if somebody offers you a box of candy that sounds good, looks good, but it's only got a few pieces of poisonous, don't touch it.
Close years back of under 18 rounds had a sample talking about all the different translations from the NIV. That 60 / 60 times worth blood was omitted after that scared me off.
Left out.
One thing we have to be careful in comparing these things too, we get as long as.
Discussion of translation but just didn't seem to have come up. Maybe I didn't, I'm sorry if I did, but.
The.
You have to be careful that it isn't whether some expression is left out or not left out, it's whether it's an accurate translation or what.
Scripture says what God said. I say that because I picked up a little family at one time in a Christian bookstore, a Christian bookstore that was owned by a brother. And I looked at it and it was put out, but it was Interior Bible Society. And I looked and said.
It had a comparison of translation, but they said this one denies this and this one denies that, and there is being one of those that do not.
I took it to the brothers.
Why do you ever sit there?
Isn't the issue. It isn't whether it says Lord or doesn't say a word or it says blood or doesn't say blood or I don't think wait because you're not at all from your point. I just want to say that you have to be careful. If God didn't say blood, we shouldn't say blood either. In other words, we want an accurate translation and.
First John 5.
5.
Example of that where it says there are three to bear witness to heaven, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
And free to bear with us on earth.
That doesn't say that in the original text, and every Jehovah's Witness knows that. And if you don't know it and you try to use that first quiz move?
01:10:01
You're gonna be embarrassed. We want what God says so.
One place that one where it says we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin is required to go the same verse. You have a reason that says through his blood. In Colossians it doesn't.
Why? Why that? Well, you could look into it. You find out it's not denying the blood at all, but there's a reason why it's not there. God is idly put things in and leave things out.
This is a book given by God, holy men of God.
Were inspired or the word I think is carried along by the Holy Spirit and in leaving something out or including it.
It was the Holy Spirit of God to put to that, and respect for that is an important thing to ensure we have respect for what God says. You don't agree with that with your brother? I like to say one thing is valid, that God is in charge. And I've checked enough of the vast versions of translation to find out that the Gospel versions are many times stronger than that in the KJ. What does that mean?
God intends that souls can say, but once they're saved, they're dwelt by the Spirit of God and the teacher will let them see a bad translation. I mean, God is wonderful. I just have to use it. I see up among the three Indians, but you know, the three Indians get saved by it. They soon know it's wrong. Doesn't take long when the experience is well too. But even the even the Catholic.
Bible is a good Bible.
And actually, the 524 you mentioned is stronger than in our book. Our Bible is unsafe conversation, don't you like? And so on. So God's in charge. He could use the NIV, but I won't use it. There's a difference. I'm not God. The young man in the jail where we go who was arrested on, we're having strangled his mother on Mother's Day.
Under the influence of cocaine.
And the whole accusation against him was so devastating to him that they were afraid he was going to take his life. And they put it, but they're 24 hour surveillance, the bright light, nothing in the room that he could take his life.
And the only thing you could find in there was the New American Bible for Catholics.
Hey, I'm a Catholic.
And he got saved.
And he came to our Bible studies in jail.
Soon delivered from Catholicism.
But God used that Bible that was sitting there in the self, the only thing you had access to at that time.
God will use what and who he will, but never forget it. My servant nevertheless. But don't forget it and use Satan history. He will use whoever he will. I think he'll have his will done whatever the translation, but I don't preach from it. But I thank God that those people saved by. That's the nice part God faithful.
Malachi 3
Reading
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A God and Father, we thank you once again for our Lord Jesus. We thank thee for the thoughts expressed in this hymn. Thank you for reminding us.
Of that blessed that glorious day for our Lord Jesus shall return to take his rightful throne over this world as King of Kings, as Board of Lords. Lord Jesus, those here amongst us of ourselves as lovely. How we long for that day when this world will have to own by that our King of Kings and Lord of Lords. They'll have to own and provide rightful sway. But that as we have had before us this morning, we think of that call that prepares our hearts.
That call to repentance, that call to be looking up and looking for the board teachers and to as we sang earlier, that him as to any objects that we might have that divide our hearts with the Tortiva sweet pray without discontinue to lead and guide and direct work in our hearts that we must be found not just in Word, but in in the very depths of our hearts waiting and watching for these but I sure return. Lord peaceful, we love thee, Lord Jesus, for each and every glimpse that we give of myself in my word. We pray now for the time before us as we have another meaning. We ask these advice here. It might be at liberty to a godfather to take of the precious things of Christ.
To reveal them to our hearts, to win our hearts away from this poor world. We ask these things with thankful hearts. My precious name, Lord Jesus.
I like this chapter.
Works well a man robbed God, yet he have robbed me, but he say, wherein have we robbed me and ties and offering your cursed and cursed when you have robbed me even this whole nation spring me all the ties and the storehouse, but there may be meat in my house and prove me now, if you're with being the Lord opposed, if I will not open through the windows of heaven and pour you out of blessings that there shall not be room enough to repeat.
I will refuse to devour for your faith. And he shall destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine. And he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, said the Lord opposed. And all nations shall call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land, says the Lord upon us.
Words have been stout against him, saith the Lord. Yet he say, what have we spoken so much against me? He has said it is vain to serve God. What prophet is it that we have kept this ordinance, and that we have walked more easily for the Lord of hosts, and now we call the town happy? Yeah, they that work quick in this set up. Yeah, they that tempt God are even solid.
Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it. And a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that talked upon his name. And they shall be mine, says the Lord opposed. And that day when I make up my jewels, and I will spare them, that the man spare his own son that serviced him, then shall he return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him the serve of God and him that serveth and not.
For a past week, there's just an acid Greek crown man's body.
6th verse before we go on, because it seems to introduce what follows next, and that is, the Lord is reminding them that He doesn't change. And of course, as our brethren pointed out previously, that corresponds to Hebrews 13 and 18. Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever. I like the Darby rendering of that. Not forever, but in the ages to come.
And here, though, it seems that the Lord is reiterating his divine purposes, His divine counsel concerning His people, that is, He has purpose them for blessing.
Not going to give up on it. Well, that's an encouragement to them that tells what the heart of God is. Because here, right at the end of Israel's history, when everything has failed, when they've had to be carried into captivity because of unfaithfulness, when even those who have returned from the captivity were allowing things. Excuse me?
00:05:22
Things in their lives that were out of character with the position they had taken the Lord reiterates in the first part of the chapter that is chapter one. I have loved you said the Lord. And then in the sixth verse he reiterates that he does not change as to his purposes of good and blessing concerning him. And so maybe we can remember that because what follows next here is.
You might say a dialogue that brings out where they really were at and the.
You might say.
Character of their heart, but didn't realize how far they were from the Lord. But it all begins with the Lord assuring them that his purposes of love have not changed in place.
22 to 23.
It is the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed because his compassion failed not they are new every morning. Grace is thy faithfulness, for we have to remember, President, that when we belong to the Lord is eternal facility. There is no question of that not going to close because we were chosen in him before one thing was.
That is made.
For the foundation of the world, we were chosen in God's heart for blessed. It was God's purpose and that's our foundation. It has nothing to do with us at all. But I think we should have that confidence that He doesn't. He selected us. He didn't choose Him. He chose up, but not just when He came. He came for us because God chose us in Christ.
To read that thought is another thought as to Jacob coming in here that I think is very encouraging to me. Jacob and I think brother Sam mentioned that God delights call himself the God of Jacob war even in the God of Abraham Jacob set forth.
A life of discipline.
And probably nobody more in the Bible needed more.
More correction than Jacob, but the end of the life of Jacob you see in there is the worshiper.
And as Bill said, the purposes of God don't change. He's going to flap his people. If we're not walking consistently with the God that says be holy for I am holy, then there's going to be chasing a correction in our lives. But it ends up in you if you want to bring it to his seated worshipper. And that connection, let's pick up the story of taking it. Never more working for your good, that all these things are as interesting.
And and we.
Feel that?
The way things are lined up against it. But as with Jacob, he didn't see that they were all working for the was a blessing that he longed for because he loved citizens of life. That's the word that he said on five years.
Pentecostal denominations particularly that make a big thing out of sight, and I'm surprised, as I talked to Christians, how many of them think that that is something no matter what other giving is to be done, the tithing is fundamental. I don't think, if we go to the New Testament, quite anything about tithing in the epistles.
Willing to be corrected on that, but I don't recall anything in the officials about fibers. There's lots about giving.
But in the application of this, I think that tithing is an obligation. It's not something voluntary. And I think the Lord is saying here, you brought me, you haven't given me what you should have given me, what the longest should be.
00:10:07
And then he says in offerings also that goes beyond that. That's what goes beyond it. And I think if we're honest, we have to say that's what's wrong, isn't it? We've we've not only missed, I'm not talking about money now, I think you know what I'm talking about. We haven't really given him his view, what's fundamentally his view.
So that's not 10% of our salary unit or whatever formula itself worked out. We have a sister in our assembly in South Tabor who?
Very interesting case. She was the sister of a Barber of our brother Alberto Sarna and.
Came up from Ecuador for a while she was part of a denomination down in Ecuador where they they do exist on fighting and they insist you put the amount on an envelope with you know how much you carry and everything that always bothered us but you can't and.
Her Barber assistant says Alberto takes it to the meeting. I think she ought to go to the meeting.
But she did. She came for a good long time with the majority conference and then went back to Ecuador.
And.
And Debbie tried to get in touch with her down there and they had limited success.
And we're done with the conference down there and we both grew up.
And at the word table now, she said. Recently moved up to the state.
But she told me that the pastor said that's how we live is what the time.
That's how we see it.
That's why we have to keep track of them. That's why we have to know whether you're giving or not.
That's not what God is talking about. He's talking about in principle. I'm sure he's talking about literal size here, but I think in principle, in the application of a Todd is have we given God what is due?
It's not a question how would you offer something?
High and often.
Spies and offers and you notice he doesn't say bring your in the 10 words bring the the the offerings in bring the whole time everything that is owing to God. Can we be honest before the Lord would say where we haven't done that we haven't given what it's really trying, but thou has required.
A Not materially now.
Entirely. But have we given the Lord everything?
I recently read a book.
Hold my heart, my life, my role.
And it made me stop to think we sing so glibly.
Not him, the beautiful him. I found a friend of such a friend to say my heart and my strength, my life, my all are his and his forever. That's right. But is that true? Do we do it?
I'm talking to myself.
Take care of ourselves first, but there's something leftover to take care of the Lord. The word is bring the whole.
Time all of it into the treasure house, into the place that I've reserved for them, and then see what I will do. Typing today is like the vow, which we don't think, but they make a vow for the whole year and that.
You don't promise God anything if the Lord will. A tie is really as the Lord has blessed us and there's no limit to that. You give till at first you know you don't do that.
But it ought to be Our whole life is beside. We owe Him, you know. Whatsoever you do, do it mightily, as under the Lord, not under man. That's the guy.
You know you've got a nice house, use it for the Lord. That's all we're talking about. He didn't say sell the house, give it to support. Oh, use this for the Lord. If you have a car and help young people, get them meeting. If you're young people, you know everything should be accounted to Lord and then use it yourself as well. I don't know how many people here are old enough to remember the stories are being required.
00:15:30
Celebrating, celebrating, celebrating equipment and manufacturing So.
For earth moving today like nuclear and others was invented by him.
Well, detectives if I remember correctly.
I remember being very impressed with the boy reading his That Man.
He gave to God at one point 90% of his earnings.
You think the Lord was regretted in him?
No way. That doesn't mean you're going to get rich. It's not the point you want to be rich. I don't think those that will be rich have a special condemnation in the epistles. But I think the point here is not just money, it's everything we owe the Lord.
Our heart, our strength, our life, our role.
And the words are free.
And I'm afraid we were very miserly and very.
Careful, I go to the meetings up here every morning.
Is that what the board is saying? I don't think so. I think he says everything that is your obligation bringing.
And be careful.
I used to think of when I was the younger boy, I'd read that story about that poor widow out there gathering a few stickers.
Cook the last meal for her son and herself and the provinces.
Make me first of all cave.
Wow, that's hard. That's.
What?
And as I got older and I realized that's really what God wanted. He wants to be first, but.
Bring it in, Bring it in my storehouse.
Food in my house and prove me doubt. That's the reason God likes to be tested.
He likes to be done.
And prove him.
And cease what he's going to do.
Shoot me now. What does that mean? That means put into the steps, in your assembly, in your family, in your private life.
In everything, put it to the test for him to the test. He's up to us. You know, we have prayer vision, a lot of corporate friends. There's special powers and corporate friends, but individual friends, we have that privacy and if we can pray to him anytime and it's always he's always blessed me.
Ever a busy system is beautiful, but you know in every president in the whole world put all their problems and concerns both before the Lord at the same moment. It would hardly act in granted and big help. How little is his tax now please think about it, how much you really put it for him and not your own reason.
You know if the Lord will forever. That's it.
Principles of hiking is.
Weather in the standard 90%, but 26 it talks about the first group. And I think what's important for us for as young people in this day and age is are we giving the Lord the first? Are we giving him what's left? I think it's already been mentioned what's left over after we've taken care of ourselves. I think of that and I'm not just talking about, I don't think any of us are talking about money now.
Speaking first, the Kingdom of God.
And in righteousness and all these things shall be happening.
00:20:03
In the morning when you get up, you give him the first fruits of the morning when you get up, before the rest of the house is up and and all the claims of of daily life come in. Are you giving the Lord a little bit of that first?
Brother **** mentioned that widow that like you said, make me now a little tape and then afterwards get yourself a weekend in the board. Even the first of our lives. Are we going to wait to give you what's left over after we've done what we want with our lives?
There would be a slight difference, which are not, between what we have in Malachi here and what we have under the wonderful light and blessing of Christianity that is here. As we've had it mentioned. It was an absolute obligation. Here is what you must give. Now with the offerings there is a little latitude. There were voluntary offerings which could be brought at any time, but basically they were told what they should do.
And here in these verses, if you will do this, the Lord says, then I will do this.
Well, under Christianity, how much more wonderful to consider everything in the light of grace. We don't deserve anything. And so the Lord Jesus could say, when you have done all those things, say ye, we are unprofitable. First we have done that which was our duty to do that is, God doesn't owe us anything, does he? And yet we get in Romans 8, He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not with them also freely give us all things?
So the magnitude of God's grace and God's giving was displayed as Calvary's Christ. Israel didn't know that in the same way that we do, but we know that.
And so in the New Testament, the drawing out of our hearts.
Is what brings us to the point of being ready to give to the Lord. Whether it's ourselves, whether it's our substance, whether it's our time, whatever it might be, because the only motive that.
The scripture knows for service is love of Christ, isn't it? And that's what we need more of. That's what we need to have in our hearts. That's what we need to have. Draw out our hearts, the love of Christ, strengthen them, and then all this will fall into place.
Lord will bless, but that's not the motive for doing it, is it? No, the motive is love to Christ. And if the Lord never gave me anything.
If I had, shall I say, perish the thought that if I had a miserable life?
As the circumstances all the way through.
It would be well worth it to follow the Lord and give him what was his due because of all that he did on Calvary's truck. The Lord doesn't act like that does He does no man status. He'll give you and me that joy inward me that nothing can explain. But you want somebody.
So the the suffering of the little wild are not worthy to be compared to the glory that lies ahead for us.
And that's it. Whatever it is infliction, poverty, what's the difference what the suffer here is, is God even worthy to be compared to what we have ahead For sure. And Paul said this little while I think that's lovely in the glimpse of eternity in glory anytime. Here is just a little while President that we can serve him and I'd like to mention you'll never have an opportunity again to please reward and serve him in the sense we do not.
Never in Florida would you be serving him. He may be praising him. He'll be serving you forever. So this is the time we can do it.
So the subject is second Corinthians 9 was chapter 8 is specifically given. I suggested it's the principle of it. So I read verse seven and eight of Chapter 9, but this I say he would stole it verbally shall be false apparently, and he was so bountifully shall recall his bountifully every man according has been purposes in his heart, so letting he have not regularly or necessity for God's love of the truthful giver.
And God is able to make all grace about 40 that she always having all sufficiency in all things may abound in every good work. God is able to make all great amount for you.
00:25:12
What an encouragement.
That was so needed for the Corinthians, wasn't it? And that verse that you quoted, I think it's 8-9, is it? That verse is the king verse for the Corinthians. They had promised and pledged to give for the forsake in Jerusalem.
Year at the time, you know, months and months went by and those things were suffering, you know, the Jews in Jerusalem and Judea.
That turned to Christ, were persecuted, lost their job, suffered terribly, driven out. And so Paul kept reminding them, you're storing it up, he said, just to pit their conscience. And finally he said, I sent someone to remind you. You promised, you know, you know, isn't that the way it is with a lot of us remain well, but they didn't do it, you know, so Paul decided.
He would firstly come and take it to Jerusalem.
Although he didn't go there, but he didn't take the gifts of some Jerusalem. It was so important. Well, that's the Corinthians he had to give him, for, you know, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was poor, that's not the Corinthians, but he brought that up. So he was poor. Yes, for your sake. I'm sorry. So he was rich. That's for your sake. He became poor, that she to his poverty might be rich.
Now give There's the standard. Beautiful, there's the standard.
There was a blind evangelist in College Point, NY by the name of Ralph Monsanto.
Man, I met him once.
Really devoted to the board at a white speech and did that site. Great help to him. I think they met while he still had site.
But one night they were they went to a missionary meeting.
And heard and appeal concerning some phase of the Lords work.
And their hearts were touched. They didn't consult one another, but they went into their funds and Rob took everything out that he had and put it in the collection of this missing project.
So to be.
And they didn't talk to one another right away after the meeting.
He told me this very talk to one another right away after the meeting but.
After the people were all gone and they started to talk about going home.
He said. You know, but I got something important to tell you today. I don't have the bus fare to get home, so neither do I.
I put everything I add into this collection, so I thought I was going to tell you I did too.
Well, he happily said, well, that's joyful to do that. For the wordless walk home. He had a long way to go. I recall lately, maybe a mile and a half, two miles to walk home. And in the College Point, NY, I probably got a very pleasant thing to do.
They've gone down the street a little bit and he said Ralph, look.
He said I can't look.
Anymore, which I could, but I can't look down, she says. There's enough there on the ground for both our bus fares and an ice cream cone inside, he said. What a lesson I learned out of that. That's how God does this.
There would not room for the blessing, really. So they they had their Punch Man, they didn't have to walk home, and besides that, they each had an ice cream coat.
God is good, isn't it?
I'd like to ask Brother Stan to comment on that scripture again in 2nd Corinthians 9. When is the reaping either sparingly or valently? Is it in this life or is it in glory?
I'm looking forward to the water.
So is it right to say then that?
The reaping may not take place until we're up there. I love that story your brother **** just told. And we could all tell similar stories where the Lord has boundlessly rewarded those who gauge so freely of whatever they had for him, whether it was time or money or energy or given of themselves in any way. But the reason might have to wait up there. So we get up there like that. We shouldn't necessarily expect it down here.
00:30:27
And tell one more story.
Brother Ruskin Jill visiting probably even prior to the depression came to Bloomington, IL and stayed with a couple by the name of in Waller. And this is a kid. I barely remember them, but he stayed there and it was a days of of of someone really forgive me for the labor and he said I'm on my way to Chicago and they said well.
Here we keep a little bit on the Mantel. We want to give it to you. So without knowing how much they give them, because you do, he did not have anything to get into Chicago. He went down to the train station and they gave him exactly the supreme ticket price for getting these Chicago.
And he was just he worked in the American boundary between no warranty.
Was there others? But there's an old German couple.
Set aside a little something and this brother was going to go to Chicago and he didn't have a guy and they fight.
Can I ask another question then?
What is the 4th of the windows of heaven being opened?
In verse 10 and the blessing being poured out so that there is not room enough to receive it.
Well, Ephesians chapter one might have the answer to that.
There are two things here that got this from others. I appreciate them. And that's in verse 13. Over shape is one.
And verse 14.
You were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.
That his feeling or his brand upon us, if you will. But then there's the part that I understand is for us, the earnest of that, the part that we enjoy here. So, yeah, even if we don't read in this scene, we have a sort of, if you will, what a promissory note, the earnest of the spirit. There's something given to us. And it may be the change on the sidewalk, which is the bus fare home, or it may be something else that assures us, you know, that there is something there for us when we get there.
And is it also the enjoyment in our soul of all that Christ is and all that He is for us, if we give out of the fullness of our heart, give ourselves to Him? Apostle mentioned that about the poor Saints that were in Macedonia. They gave first of all their own self, that is, their hearts were in it, and then, well, they were poor, they didn't have very much.
But they gave, it says beyond their power. Let the brother and sister, our brother **** was telling us about. They gave more than they really should. By rights have given not to have enough to get home by bus perhaps.
What was the difference? All their hearts were in it. But then what's the Lord going to do? Was he going to necessarily fill my bank account again? He may do that. And there's that promise in Second Corinthians there that He will provide for them. But there's far more than that. There's far more than restoring to me the material things that I've given. There's far more than giving me the bus fare home, wonderful though that is. There's far more than giving me the.
Train fare to Chicago.
And the brethren here that brother **** and brother stand, no, I'm not in any way taking away from the value of that, but there's far more. Oh, the enjoyment of Christ in the heart and all that He is. The enjoyment of Christian blessings, the enjoyment of being able to walk through this world and look after his interest instead of my own.
Who accept that? The Lord Jesus Christ. Did he get anything down here? No, outwardly nothing.
But who is the happiest man that ever walked through this world, who for the jawing that was sent before history. That's as an example for us in people 12 and that joy can fill your heart and mind. And I believe that's what's intended morally speaking, within the framework of Christianity by the windows of heaven being opened and the blessing being poured out there. So great to say. I I just can't receive it. I don't know how to take it. It may be as I say again.
00:35:26
Down here, the Lord should lighten the kid He delights to work in a wonderful way.
But I have to know who have given everything for Christ and who have got nothing down here.
And hopefully the boy.
And my mate and my brother messed up. He said he was looking forward to the judgment. See the price and what what you're saying you think of all the martyrs that willingly laid down their lives to be burned at the stage. What was the reward that that lay ahead for them? You know, to think of receiving to lift the Lord Jesus in the faith and to have him say well done.
God's good and faithful servant, I think for the soul that loves the Lord Jesus, and I think most of us ears do, there's no greater reward. Excuse me?
The whole thing is not extreme from firefighters, for our confidence will not be disappointed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.
And shall not be room enough to recruit. I like that part and I think it's great to mind for me first Christian is too. First I'll mention what Paul says to the Corinthians in verse two of First Corinthians 2I determined not to know anything among you say Jesus Christ and him and surprise, the verse I had in mind is nice. I have not seen.
Nor ear heard.
Neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him, what God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit. For the Spirit searches the deep things of God.
That's about the answer to that. The reason there's no way we can have it all till we get the board. What we're going to see him face to face and everything is because in him Christ.
Do you have a word on the storehouse?
Very good question.
Would have been the temple with them.
Here probably yes, but I think applying it spiritually what I meant by a good question.
Courthouse.
I think it would be Christ.
We should throw it at your street Now, families, one way to do it. But there's thousands of ways to give which Christ just follow. But it has to be for him. And when he translated treasure out. Yeah, treasure out.
For yourself.
As the words of Nehemiah 13.
Verse four for the enemy of God and.
Israel and first thought, Oh, I took the great chamber. We're a poor time. They laid the beetle offering the frankincense and the vessels and the pies to horn for new wine and the oil, but just made the beginning of the Levi set it up and he took that chamber.
And he gave it to this Avaya, someone from the world. And so when Nehemiah came back, he asked why out of that chamber so that it could be used again to score the five. And we had a earlier about worldliness and there was a storehouse. The purpose for it was for the things gone.
And the risk sector thing in spiritual things, having a storehouse, I believe in the Testament recognizes that we find, for example, in First Corinthians 16 that the apostle instructed them to lay by in store as God had prospered them. I believe showing us that I don't necessarily have to put everything into the collection on Lord's Day morning that the Lord may cause me to lay aside for him. No, he may.
00:40:23
Exercise me to lay by something in store.
And then if there's a need, perhaps that comes up unexpectedly or something that.
Comes up, then there's something to use for it. I remember a brother asking another brother many, many years ago now. He said, how come, How come you always have money when there's a need for something for the Lord? He said, you don't have any bigger salary than I do, and yet you always seem to be able to have some. And he answered and he said, well, I act on 1St Corinthians 16.
And he said then I don't spend it all. That's why the.
Government takes their slice off the top when the paychecks are issued because they know if they expected individuals to pay it out of their own pocket, they might not get it. Well, God knows our heart, and so he likes there to be a storehouse. But there's a storehouse in spiritual things, too. You get that perhaps at the end of Matthew 13, where the householder brings out of his treasures.
Thank you and all. He's got a store there. And so spiritually, I believe God would have us play by a store that we can dip into. Well, all of that perhaps would speak of exercise and somebody mentioned it to me in the just after the last meeting with the jury that it took exercise to have these things. I don't know. Is that is that partly the thought that we can't have all these things without there being diligent and exercise in them?
Brother James Ryan used to say salvation is free, but discipleship is cost.
There are a number of books of very few of them that I've read in my life that have kind of revolutionized my life. And one of the little book is still available for A True Recycle Ship by William McDonald.
Many of the young people haven't read that book. I recommend it.
Doesn't bring in as far as I can recall, having read it several times, I don't recall anything that would bring you things that would be contrary to what we know and enjoy the truth of God, but it's a challenge.
My wife and IA couple of years ago had the privilege in California of visiting the author of that book.
We thought we would like to take him out for lunch.
Assaulted dead is worth his influence on me. Called him up in front of the bill when you go out to lunch room and she said I'll have lunch with you. But we got to his door and he said no.
You're coming up here.
We were upstairs and there was.
Very simple apartment.
And.
Is prepared sandwiches and soup for it at a lovely time with fellowship.
But I know that in his heart and he's thinking of stupid people.
In declining the invitation as well to a restaurant.
Practical. I was very practical.
We don't know what discipleship really is.
Don't know what it is.
And Luke is very plain about it. Matthew's plain.
The word uses expressions like he cannot be my disciple unless he does this that the other have we applied those things to our consciousness and our lives now as to the.
Treasure house or I was thinking this that.
Everything we have.
Should be later this week.
A young man with great promise that some of us have read about Jim Elliott.
Very intelligent man.
Went down to Ecuador.
00:45:01
Like to reach a tribe that had never heard the gospel. It was on his.
I think he was bringing it.
Something into God's treasure house.
He's the one I think he made Somebody correct me on this quote because I never get it quite right and he is no fool who gives up what he cannot cheat.
Get that which you cannot lose.
Tremendous statement. Tremendous statement.
He is no fool who gives up, not which he cannot keep.
You get that which you cannot lose, gain that which you cannot lose.
And I, I I'd like to challenge all of our hearts with that sort of thing. Are we bringing all and laying it before him to hear Lord Jesus, it's all God, everything is fine.
Don't say it unless you mean it because you're made like Jim Elliott, have to lay your life down.
Very touching to me to read.
How his wife went back into that tribe, seeking to reach.
Those very people that her husband had given his life for.
And I'm not talking about the Lord's Table when I say this, but she sat down and broke bread with a very man who had speared her husband.
What a game, what a privilege.
But then unspeakably, and again, please don't misunderstand me, I'm not talking about position now, I'm talking about.
The wonderful privilege of seeing that man who speared her husband.
Sit there with her and have fellowship with her.
Those are real things. And sometimes, you know, beloved brethren, I value being gathered. I was gathered.
1954.
Great exercise and more. It could have been a lot more exercise, but.
It was painful to be the brother that I was with.
I've never regretted that step.
But sometimes I look at my life and I say how little I show my appreciation to the Lord for that wonderful privilege of being gathered.
How little I devotion there is to him, and how much more devotion I see in other other Christians who have less light and less.
Less, perhaps, being able to say I'm confident this is where the Lord wants to be.
And don't, don't take it now. Please understand me. I'm not undermining.
What to understand and believe in? I value that my trust for today than I did in 1954 but.
I also realized.
How little reality there is sometimes in our lives. And this challenges me. Bring it. Bring in what you owe me, the word says, and prove it.
See what I will do?
Are we willing to take that risk?
And as I said, basically laying down your life before.
In his words of common brother and put your finger on that earth and.
Claim, but it's a promise from God.
If I give the Lord the first part of my life, if I only claim he's going to bless me in a way that I just can't, I can't contain it right there as a promise. We can put her finger on that person and go to God in prayer and say, Lord, you promise.
In the first place in our lives.
And I think the first part of the verse 11 is part of the promise there too.
Does it work or not to say that there may be meat in my house?
There are a process that takes place in the storehouse.
Well, look, Jehovah did say give me my bread. You know, that's what we ought to do.
00:50:06
Fred, the court is the sustaining food, and that's Christ. We speak the truth, but the bread is Christ, and God wants Christ. He wants his Son for himself. Give me my bread. And so many are not offering up Christ.
And emerald, which is what God wants.
That's the secret, Lord said. My bread that means his whole heart would ever be here, is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work to thank God. He did what God intended, but now God wants his friend, that's his son.
I agree totally. The promise would also indicate that if there are a devourer.
If there is the fruit being destroyed.
If the wine is tested, is fruit that God is speaking to us and dealing with it?
That we haven't given him what he should have.
So do we wake up to that or do we just say well?
It's a day of weakness.
I was enjoying not long ago.
The incident where?
The children of Israel carried the not enjoying the thought of it, but it's carried the parts out into battle.
And.
It would sound as defeated.
They got together and they said why? What's the reason?
And I'm afraid we don't do that sometimes.
God wants to bless what the blessing is richly.
And what he's dealing with, what is not pleasing to him?
In our lives as individuals and corporately and we need to get before known to the Lord and then he's going to bring blessing in he's going to rebuke the devourer for our.
Hard safety. He will not destroy the fruits of the land. Apparently he had destroyed the fruits of the land. Would you think that didn't happen during this and.
And then there's going to be a testimony.
Verse 12 Man, all nations are going to bless them.
Right now where much of A reproach.
But do we want?
To be seen in living reality and truth to be set out, the Lord has given us.
I used to work for RCA.
So you know that years I worked for it is credit manager and.
Back in those days, they had a advertising slogan, Living Color.
Talked about television, but our television, the beginning days of our television, I guess they said you see it in living color. You know, the lovers. We have the privilege of setting forth the truth of God and living color.
Setting it out in such a way that people can display other people to collect look at it.
Well, I'm afraid there's a research connected with it more than.
Just for the Lord's Savior, the reproach, because we don't set it out in living color.
There's people have a lot of truth after they walk in it.
Have you heard that ever?
I heard it happened to your brother.
Strange and others.
I know that.
But we need to walk in these things. Give the Lord his place to live. He'll, he'll.
He'll make it so that they're free. A brilliant demonstration.
And we're set forth a manifold wisdom of God, the all very varied colors, wisdom of flaws.
00:55:14
On the present, I'm not saying that these persons are the true responses of my heart that are delighted to be the last three birds with inhabitants, although the pink tree shall not blossom.
Neither shall fruit be in the vine, the labor of the ollies, and shall fail, and the fields shall yield no heat. The flops shall be cut off from the gold, and there shall be no herd in the salt. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my foundation. The Lord God is my strength, and you will make my feet my hindsight, and He will make me to walk upon my high places.
To the cheap sinker on my spring and.
How could there be anything more spiritually delightful than to be able to say that anything and everything in this world amounts to nothing? But I'm going and I have nothing. But I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy if the Lord God is my strength. And the conclusion is, and I think the translation is capital using the Lord Himself to the chief singer on my screen.
If we want the melody of heaven before we get there, there seems to be the way I've enjoyed that Brother Stan and that last person have a cut. He maketh my feet like I'm speaking, makes me to walk on my high places. God sees fit to repeat those words three times in the Old Testament. They're so significant and.
So you can't think of a bleaker picture than what you get there.
But yet the individual rises above it. And so I've enjoyed that thought and connection with verse eleven of our chapter because.
The Lord may in fact rebuke the Devourer in the present day, and I believe the Lord can and does do that. He made allow everything to work out well for us down here. But I don't think this verse is meant to imply that there won't be any problems or difficulties in the Christian life.
No Israel could expect earthly blessings, and the mark of God's favor was in fact just that. But for the believer, it's heavenly blessings. And as you say, it's the enjoyment of those things that lift us above this present world. Well, that's something that you can't. It's just an intangible thing. It's the unseen things that you get in 2nd Corinthians 5.
And it's the enjoyment of all that Christ is in our hearts that that we can have. Doesn't mean that the problems all go away, but it means we can have that president enjoyment of all that he is.
Characteristic of the day we live in is all and I think we ought to really give the glory to the Lord for this all that we're thinking about. And I first would read verse verse 8, the silver of chapter 2 at the eye.
The silver is mine, the gold is mine, says the Lord of Hope. That's his highest title, began by Anna back in first Samuel 1/2. The Lord of Hope, he introduced how nice it is. It follows on. But what did he say? He said what is real and worthy is mine and he knows it's like.
This verse tells me.
Like ***** 17, he knows them that trust in him. That's our eternal security. But what I have in mind is more important. The glory really should be.
The latter glory of this House.
Shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hope. And in this place, of course, that's where he is. That's it. In this place will I give feet. That is the Lord of hope. What does he mean? The latter glory of my house. Well, I will tell you. Where did he dwell today?
01:00:11
In the believer, we are the temple of God, corporately in the midst of those who are gathered to his name. How can this be more glorious than 1St century Christianity of fallen Peter and John? You know, I thought of Here's how it can be in 1St century Christianity. How many places did they have to go when they became traits here?
Think about it, I only had one place to go to false doctors and today how many places do they have to go when they become Christians?
About 2600 United States, but many more in the world.
That's the glory that freezes in the former glory.
In spite of the terrible condition we're in, in chrysanthemum in this world, God and gather to himself, think about it. Think about where you are. You had nothing to do with it. That's the glory of this flatter house, this house.
You ought to get all of our classes introspective. Whether.
All God's word for the glory of His Son.
The water yet he said, What have we spoken so much against me? You have said it is vain to serve the Lord. What property is this, that we have kept his ordinance, and so on.
Look at the 1St chapter of Malachi, verse 10. Who is there even among you that would shut the doors of my house for nothing? Neither do you Kindle Fire on my altar for nothing. I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hope. Neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
That's what he's saying here too. You know they wouldn't do one thing.
For the Lord, except as renewable age outside, isn't it? How sad? But they didn't even feel it. You said it's saying to serve the Lord has to be something for me. That's sad when you say it's sad to think that.
We we are more time for it. Why should we be looking for some profit out of it?
And walking mournfully before him and I believe.
Recognition of our state of faith.
Do we look for a profit on that?
You know, sometimes we there's a whole prosperity doctrine out there that kind of says if you give the Lord this, you send in your $25, you'll, you'll get the tremendous blessing.
Especially to get a T-shirt with my picture on it, that sort of thing.
And that whole mentality has been filled up.
In Christian circles today says, well, what's in it if you do this?
I just honor the Lord, that's the prophet is so the Lord talks about that is as things speaking thousand against him, speaking strongly against him.
Because God doesn't always anything he wants to bless you just.
And he sometimes will.
Down here will let us even see the results of that.
My heart was touched. I believe it's in the book for the Bill reads thing more carefully than I do. Speak correctly on this. Brother Willis book Sales of the Middle Kingdom tells about a returning missionary coming back from China to his wife on the same ship as the President of the United States.
When they come into the Golden Gate and.
Arrive at the harbor and there's a band waiting for where the president is. There all sorts of honors for them.
01:05:10
The dear old missionary brother is looking at me, one of the things waiting for him. Not much waiting for him.
And he started to cry.
He said nobody's waiting for it.
She touched the diamond. Teachers were not home yet.
We're not home yet.
What a lesson, brother. We're not home yet.
We sing at him and we like to sing in. Our rest is in heaven. Our rest not here. We would not lie down, you know. And roses you love.
And we're looking for a blood chain in the future.
I sometimes think that your sister has touched your husband's arm and said we're not home yet and a wonderful service to that man.
Cheered him through a difficult time. Should there have been Saints waiting on the dock for him?
Man who had devoted his life like that to the service, Yes.
But we're not home, and the Lord is going to.
Reward every act of thought and devotion for him still rewarded in that coming day in a way that we can hardly imagine.
The cup of cold water give it to his face.
Will be rewarded.
But don't look for it down here.
The first person in the past and last verse, and I'm going to read ahead to the first verse of Chapter 11 or so. There's no chapter break there. 1St Corinthians 10 and verse 33.
Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking my own prophet.
But the prophet is many that they may be saved, be followers or be imitators of me, even as I also am a Christ.
1430.
It is saying empty the first block.
You know they want reward open the door to the house without being safe. But today the ******* say the crystal jump better the past 33.
Dollars and.
Let's don't forget that this is suffering time, brethren, if we're looking to rain now, we're way off thing. We're going to rain, but this is soccer tonight. I'll read the verse life here.
For the third 29 of 1 flipping.
Or under you it is given, is the gift, brethren, in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his faith.
You know, all considered all the suffering as the glory. I mean, it was to assault Christ. It was for him. And I don't think I know anybody.
Pastor, president who suffered like fall, you know, just Christ, but he's suffering and he considered it game to suffer, although things that are considered glorious were vain and dumb and quiet, but he didn't mind it. He didn't mind suffering for Christ.
And rather, this is the only time we have to do that. I mean, you have a reproach by bringing out Christ, Lloyd, peace to you, Peter says.
You ought to rejoice in your reproach for Christ, because what a glory of all your head. I should turn to it, Peter. Well, let's read it, because this is how to get things right. First, people first, Peter, I think maybe second.
First Peter chapter 4 okay, verse 12. This is what I had in my beloved thinking not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is the triumph. There's though some strange things happen under you, but rejoice in as much as you are partakers of Christ suffering not on the cross, but as you walk through here in holiness.
01:10:17
Christ suffering, that when his glory shall be revealed, he shall be glad exceedingly with joy. Notice this, if he be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are you for the spirit of glory and of God rested upon you. On their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. That's the privilege of the gift.
That Paul was Speaking of as clippy as what it is given unto you to suffer for Christ. Here the time is almost over, forever, almost over. And how much have you done really any of that? That's the real.
Thought.
Just before we could only have about 8 minutes and I don't want to do the honorable but I want to read verse 15 and 16.
And now we call the proud happy name day that works wickedness set up gave A10 dog are.
Then they that feared the Lord take often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard Him, and the Book of Remembrance was written before Him for them that fears the Lord, and that thought upon His name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord, opposed to that day when I make up my jewels, and I will scare them as a man spare of his own son. You know, could we have in conclusion something on that?
Very, very real encouragement.
That's a good word, brother. Standards so much on my heart.
I said, well, these other things that we're into, they're very important. I hope we get to that 16th 1St because it starts with a word then.
And when you find the word Zen, that's a time statement. What kind of a time is it talking about? A time when all this condition of things existed in Israel, The time when it might be, the time when you would say, I give up, there's no point in going on.
Is that what's encouraged here? No. Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another from the midst of that condition. And may I say, beloved brethren, that you and I have that.
Same privilege.
We're not going to find, as I see it in the Scriptures, a general restoration of things.
I don't think we're going to find whether generally waking up to this.
But there will be the privilege.
Of those who.
Fearing the Lord, those who care about Him and His.
Rights and his instructions in His word. Those who fear the Lord to speak often one to another. What did you talk about the the new curtains in the meeting room or something? Is that what they were talking about?
Well, I think it's illustrated for us. I like to think that these jewels that are talked about here are.
Portrayed for us by the Holy Spirit.
In the beginning chapters of Luke.
Smoke of the North.
Look at Zechariah. It's just an example. I use an example there Zechariah.
Old man didn't have any children. The Lord gives them a child.
The whole nine months of pregnancy and balanced clothes, you can't say anything.
It's quite a larger form, I'm sure.
But the moment he says his name is John.
And his mouth was open. Now he can look at my son. What a wonderful place. Go back and read that you'll see he takes 8 or 9 verses talking about the Lord Jesus not about then he says boy, I didn't say anything about this travel and thou child shall be called the prophet of the highest. But what does he speak about speaks about the Lord. And so I think that's what's taught here that they they spoke about the Lord and.
01:15:08
You think the Lord notices that?
So we spent some time together and we talked about the things of God.
I don't mean complaining about the Saints and complaining about the complaining about this or that thing.
But talking about them more?
We're working. He saw it, and he heard.
And he said, I'm going to write down the book of remembrance about those people.
And I like to think that the early chapters of Luke, the words of electricity, a few pages of that book that I've written, they often look at the early chapters of Luke in that way. Zechariah, Elizabeth.
Mary, Joseph.
The Shepherd.
And Simeon.
Wonderful.
But are they all of them? Is that all the jewels? Does he show all the jewels off in those tractors? I don't think so. Please, I'll let you see a few pages for his current thing. And that book is written.
Before him, loads of fears aboard.
Cared about His right. They cared in the midst of all of that condition.
And the thought upon his life.
But upon his name.
Searching is there, What do we get together? What are we talking about?
The new car we're going to buy. Nothing wrong with buying a new car.
The the new stairs we're going to build. And where do we talk about him? Talk about him?
To reveal to me, and an encouragement at the same time, that whatever time we do spend it Speaking of the Lord together, encouraging one another, God knows he's writing it down.
They'll be buying it that day. They'll be mild. I'm going to own them as mine. I don't know if I understand if that.
My birthday.
My own part, I have no doubt that these people did that. I have no doubt that they were sensitive to the fact that they hadn't brought the ties in as they should have and other things that perhaps they had not done for the Lord. But doesn't mention that it makes things that you might save everyone could do, even if you were not in a position to be involved outwardly in doing some of these other things, fearing the Lord speaking to one another about it.
And I love that because in the day in which we live, I don't think this verse is meant to imply that we are simply to do a lot of talking and nothing else.
That isn't for thought, no. If the heart is right, what's in the heart will be translated into action one. But it has to begin with the heart. And so here those who feared the Lord sought out others that had the same thought so that they could enjoy fellowship together. And I have no doubt that it was translated into that which was reflected in their lives.
Take the One Lamb God Has Provided for You
Children—E. Munck
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It's a large and find out that he is a major daughter. Let's look at accident Chapter 11 or 12.
Read a few verses here. I like to stand up there too high. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, and the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of month. It shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, the 10th day of this month. And we shall take to them every man a lamb.
According to the House of their father, a lamb for a house. Now there's one word here, boys and girls, that I want you to pay attention to, and that is that word. Take, take.
Verse four. And if the household be too little for the Lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto in his house, take it according to the number of the souls, every man according to his eating, he shall make your account for the land.
Your lamb shall be without blemish a male of the first year he shall take.
It from the sheep or from the goat, and ye shall keep it up until the 14th day of the same month in the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the East.
All boys and girls you know.
God is man, a life?
Worth it. The soul that sin has, it shall die. But here there was something found for the children of Israel. You know they were sinners, just like the Egyptians. Boys and girls, you may be raised in a Christian home. You may have Christian parents.
Your father may be a preacher.
Our sinners just don't hate, you know. It's a privilege to speak to children that have been raised in a Christian home. You know, the world around us, they don't know anything about it. They are utterly blind as to what's coming. God is a thrice holy God and He must judge sin. You know, He told us about a lamb. You know, boys and girls.
Where to pour?
We are too poor to provide a lamp that God will be satisfied with her.
You only have to take the Lamb that God has provided for us.
God wants us to take the Lamb that He has provided for us.
Though they had to kill that lamb evening, that is said in verse seven. And they shall take of the blood and strike it on the two side post and on the upper door coast of the houses wherein they shall be in, and they shall eat the flesh in that night, roasted fire and unleavened bread.
With bitter earth they shall see.
Verse 12 We read, For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord, and the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are. When I see the blood I will pass over you, and the play shall not be upon you to destroy you.
When I find the last of Egypt.
What girls you know we cannot provide the lamp for God, but God has provided for us.
A lamb and his old beloved son. Let's look at John chapter one.
00:05:01
Verse 29, the next day John, see you next day John, see if Jesus coming onto him and saying, behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. You know, all the lambs and all the offerings of the Old Testament aren't enough to wash away our sins.
But God's lamp is enough.
To take away the sin of a whole world of sinners against himself.
Boys, girls, God provided a lamb.
How blessed it is. You know, there was a woman, a girl by the name of Francis Ridley Abergall.
And her daddy was a preacher, and he was a faithful preacher of the gospel. She thought of the little girl, you know, I'm born into this world and I'm a Sinner. She knew she was a Sinner. She says, oh, I'm so troubled. I'm so troubled because after I die.
I'm going to be judged by God.
Charged if my sins are forgiven.
We'll have to go to hell. I'll have to go there because if my fins aren't washed away, I'll never be able to stand before God.
All that young lady, she got saved. She took God's land. She came to the Lord Jesus. You know what she wrote?
She wrote that precious hymn that we sing together. Precious, precious blood of Jesus, shed on Calvary, shed for rebels, shed for sinners, shed for me, boys and girls, you know, when we're young.
We don't realize our sins very deeply, but we need a savior.
We need a savior. As we grow older, we find out more and more. We look at ourselves and we find out that there's a tiger inside of us.
That woman found out that that blood was shed for rebels, for rebels. Oh thank God it was shed for rebels, the very one that crucified the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus could say to his Father.
All Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. Did they know what they were doing?
Thank you. But he's always just like he said this picture that they.
20 Sorry.
If one be found slain in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
To possess it lying in the field, and it be not known to inflamed him. Then thy elders and thy judgers shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him. That is plain.
And it shall be that the city which is next under the slain man, even the elders of that city, shall take a pepper which hath not been wrought with, and which has not drawn in the yoke. And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer into a rough valley, which is neither here nor stone.
And shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley.
The boys and girls you know.
Who killed the Lord Jesus? You know, there was a brother one time he was going to Italy and he asked the children there. He said what kind of soldiers was it that killed the Lord Jesus?
A little joker ****** ** at.
The Italian soldiers and killed the other people.
And you know who was it that delivered up to the Lord Jesus to be crucified?
It wasn't Jews that did it.
So both the Jews and the Gentiles, they were guilty of crucifying the Lord.
00:10:04
And in our hearts, boys and girls, whenever we say I don't want to go to something school, I don't want to learn the verses, we're saying, you know, little measure the thing.
We don't care about the Lord Jesus, you know, he cared about us even though, even though.
And he went to the cross. You know, in John's Gospel we read these words, and Jesus, bearing his cross, went forth.
Before.
Look at you, God might have a man that we might have a lamp to offer to God that we might take that one who who are guilty and we have crucified him yet he said, oh, I'll be your man, I'll be your man. You know, there was a brother one time in prison.
During the war and he was preaching the gospel to some children and he was telling them that the Lord Jesus was the Lamb, that they could come to God by.
He is telling them, you know, that there is a judgment to come, just like that Passover night when God passed over and he looked for a lot on the door.
You know one little boy, when he asked him about it, you know what he said. Well, that's a good thing to think about when judgment's about.
That's a good thing to think about when judgment is about to come.
Talk to another little boy. He went to interview. He said would you like to be saved? Would you like to be saved?
I would like to I would like to know if you want people to reopen this Bible. John 6.
47.
Simple words, very simple verse. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me have everlasting life.
He's believeth unto me I've everlasting variable boys and girls, God's lamb.
Is available for.
Every boy, every girl that wants.
You can't be too bad for God.
You know that little boy? He took the northeast from Second City.
And it's below 3 days later, that little boy.
Let this thing be gone.
Well, you know, God says when I see the blood, I will pass over you.
You know, boys and girls in the old days in English.
They used to have railroads and railroad carriages, and the people would get in them and sometimes it was night time and they would go down the farm. They would sit in that railroad carriages and the conductor would walk down the pile of the carriage. You know what you would say?
Tickets please. Pick it please.
Your people, they would give me a ******* pull out a ticket, show up because it's your doctor. You know, They didn't have life in those days. Very good light. Seductory had a lamp. He would shine the lamp on the ticket. He didn't shine it in the people's face to see what the people looked like. No boys and girls, you know, It's not what we look like and it's not the extent of our sins.
Because God tells us that the blood of Christ is of such a value before his eyes, that it will cleanse from sin all those who put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:15:05
Well, the conductors hear Chinese glance in their face to see what they look like, but he wanted to see what happened to him.
Well, you know we can be safe by coming to the Lord Jesus, because he has said, come on to me, all ye that labor in our heavy lake, and I will give you rest. You know, there was a lady one time who was burdened about her sins, and she went to a place and there this old man.
He had texts on the walls. He was Bibles around the house, she said. Mine isn't a funny place.
Did you know, I'd like to know a little bit more about the Bible and this old brother, he started telling her about the Lord Jesus, that the Lord Jesus went to the cross and died for our sins. You know, we had that. What's a memory verse for today? You can tell me what the memories were doing.
I know some of you learned it.
Who knows? OK, stand up.
Very good.
But he was wounded for our transgression, he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of RP, that means the punishment of our peace was put upon him, and with his strength we are healed. You know this lady.
That, you know, it's no use. I'm lost, he said. Oh, that's good. That's good.
You know, that Lady was my mother, she said. If you knew what I was suffering in my soul, you wouldn't say that was good.
The man said to her, you know, it's good to see somebody who knows himself to be a Sinner in God's sight.
But the Lord Jesus is standing in heaven now, and he's saying, Come unto me.
All ye that labour nor heavy laden and I will give you that. You know what my mom said he did, she said to her. So I'm going to go home and I'm going to pull the curtain and I'm going to come to the Ortiz.
On the way home, he was walking home and another friend of hers came by and said, oh, Margaret, come shopping with me. She said, oh, no, I've got to get home. I've got to get home. Margaret, you can come shopping with me. Oh, you know, the devil didn't want my mom to get saved. No, you know, my mom relented and she went home with her. I mean, she went shopping with her all the time. She was thinking to herself, what if I died right now?
What if I died right now? Where will I go?
You know, she blindly, she clumped the door of that car and she went and opened the door of the house and she pulled the curtains. She got down on her knees and she came to the Lord Jesus. You think the Lord Jesus pushed her off? You know in the German translation of that verse it that the Lord will not push you off. He won't push you off. The Lord won't push us in or away.
Oh, thank God for that.
As he hasn't pushed me away, Paul, thank God he's a savior today and I want to read another verse. I'm going to read another.
Revelation Chapter.
6.
Verse 15.
6017.
And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every fond men, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens, and in the rock of a mountain. And he said to the mouth of the rock, fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath.
00:20:17
Of my life.
Well, can you sing it? I can think of a Kitty.
Catching a bird is eating it, but Can you imagine?
The wrath of the mouth.
Can a lamb be angry? You know my granddaughters, they had a little lamb and it never was anything but gentle. But here we find in the end of the word of God those that refuse.
Shelter themselves those who refuse to take the lamp.
Found hundreds of rats although like you know God is justified himself in every one of his feelings when he gave the Lord Jesus to die on the cross to be a sin of for gold, He has justified himself in His Holiness. Oh God is a thrice holy God and only an infinite sacrifice could fervent.
But he has also shown his great love.
Darling of his bosom, to be a savior for you and for me.
All will you have him or he's worthy of your trust? Come to him and be saved for everyone.
Shall we just look for it?
Blessed God and Father, we look to these, we own to thee, that the best words that could be chosen are but feeble and fast and expressly.
Thy thoughts, thy heart, thine appeal, thy righteousness, thy wrath. Oh Lord Jesus, we look to thee and ask Thy blessings. Upon these few words we do again. Just ask thy helper. Pray for the children, that they might not put it off. And they give me just a little longer, for this world seems now so bright.
When I feel that I am dying.
I'll be safe, but not now, not tonight. Oh Lord Jesus, we ask thy blessing them. We give these thanks to medicine in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Every morning come to the Lord Jesus and find out that He is a major law. Let's look at Exodus chapter is Chapter 11 or 12.
Read a few verses here. I like to stand up there too. By And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, and the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of month. It shall be the first month of a year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, the 10th day of this month.
Take to them every man a lamb, according to the House of their father a lamb.
Now there's one word here, boys and girls, that I want you to pay attention to, and that is that word. Take, take.
Verse four. And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next onto his house, Take it according to the number of the souls, every man according to his eating, he shall make your account for the land.
Your lamb shall be without blemish a male of the first year he shall take.
It from the sheep or from the goat, and ye shall keep it up until the 14th day of the same month in the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the heat.
00:25:11
All boys, girls, you know.
God is man of life.
Or stitch the soul that sin has, it shall die. But here there was something found for the children of Israel. You know they were sinners, just like the Egyptians. Boys and girls, you may be raised in a Christian home. You may have Christian parents. Your father may be a preacher.
With you, our sinners justified, you know it's a privilege to speak to children that have been raised in a Christian home. You know the world around us, they don't know anything about it. They are utterly blind as to what's coming. God is a thrice holy God, and he must judge sin.
You know, he told us about a lamb. You know, boys and girls, we're too poor.
We are two, four.
To provide a lamp that God will be satisfied with.
Though we have to take the Lamb that God has provided for us.
God wants us to take the Lamb that He has provided for us.
So they had to kill that lamb evening. Then it said in verse 7, Then they shall take of the blood and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door cold of the houses wherein they shall.
And they shall eat the flesh in that night rose with fire, and unleavened bread with bitter herbs. They shall see.
Verse 12 We read, For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord, and the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are. When I see the blood I will Passover you, and the play shall not be upon you to destroy you.
When I fly to the latitude.
What? Girl, you know we cannot provide a lamb for God, but God has provided for us.
A lamb in his old beloved son. Let's look at John chapter one.
Verse 29, the next day John seeth, next day John seeth Jesus coming on to him and said, behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. You know, all the lambs and all the offerings of the Old Testament aren't enough to wash away our sins.
But God's lamp.
Is enough to take away the sin of a whole world of sinners against himself?
Boys and girls.
God provided a lamb.
How blessed it is. You know, there was a woman, a girl by the name of Francis Ridley Haberdall, and her daddy was a preacher and he was a faithful preacher of the Gospel. She thought as a little girl, you know, I'm born into this world and I'm a Sinner. She knew she was a Sinner. She says, oh, I'm so troubled. I'm so troubled because.
After I die.
I'm going to be judged by God.
Judged. If my sins are forgiven thee, I'll have to go to hell. I'll have to go there because if my fins aren't washed away, I'll never be able to stand before God.
Oh, that young lady, she got saved. She took God's lamb.
She came to the Lord Jesus.
You know what she wrote? She wrote that precious hymn that we sing together.
00:30:04
Precious, precious blood of Jesus shed on Calvary.
Shed for rebels, shed for sinners for shed for me, boys and girls. You know, when we're young, we don't realize our sins very deeply, but we need a Savior. We need a Savior. As we grow older, we find out more and more. We look at ourselves and we find out that there's a tiger inside of us.
That wasn't found out that that blood was shed for rebels, for rebels. Oh thank God it was shed for rebels, the very ones that crucified the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus could say to his father.
All Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. Did they know what they were doing?
Thank you. But he's always just like he says in scripture that they.
20 Sorry.
If one be found slain in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
To possess it lying in the field, and it be not known who can blame him. Then thy elders and my judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him. That explain.
And it shall be that the city which is next under the plain man, even the elders of that city, shall take his cat birth which hath not been wrought, with, which hath not drawn in the building. And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer into a rough valley, which is neither here nor stone.
And shall strike off the heifer's neck there the valley.
The boys and girls you know.
Who killed the Lord Jesus? You know, there was a brother one time he was going to Italy and he asked the children there, he says what kind of soldiers was it that killed the Lord Jesus?
Children booked up at instead. It wasn't Italian soldiers that killed the ****.
And you know who was it that delivered up the Lord Jesus to be crucified?
It was the June.
So both the Jews and the Gentiles, they were guilty of crucifying the Lord.
And in our hearts, the boys and girls, whenever we say I don't want to go to something school, I don't want to learn the verses we're saying, you know, little measure the same thing.
We don't care about the Lord Jesus. You know, He cared about us even though, even though he cares.
And he went to the cross. You know, in John's Gospel we read these words, and Jesus, bearing his cross, went forth.
Before.
Look at you and I might have a lamb that we might have a lamb to offer to God, that we might take that one who who are guilty. We have crucified him yet He says, oh, I'll be here man. Oh, I'll be here. You know, there was a brother one time in prison.
During the war and he was preaching the gospel to some children and he was telling them that the Lord Jesus was the Lamb, that they could come to God by.
He was telling them, you know, that there is a judgment to come, just like that Passover night when God passed over and he looked for the blood on the door.
You know one little boy, when he asked him about it, you know what he said. Well, that's a good thing to think about when judgment's about.
That's a good thing to think about when judgment is about to come.
00:35:06
Now to another little boy, he went to him and he said would you like to be saved? Would you like to be saved a little bit?
I would like I would like to know for what she said. We open this Bible, John 6.
47.
Are simple words, very simple verse. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me have everlasting life.
Even to leave it on to me. I've everlasting life, boys and girls, God's lamb.
Is available.
For every boy, every girl that wants them.
You can't be too bad for God.
You know that little boy? He took the Lord Jesus and Mercedes.
And below 3 days later.
That's really cool.
That did seem to be gone.
You know God says when I see the blood I will pass over you.
You know, boys and girls in the old days in England, they used to have railroads and the railroad carriages and the people would get in them and sometimes it was night time and they would go down the they would sit in the railroad carriages and the conductor would walk down the pile of a carriage. You know what you would say?
Pick it please. Pick it please.
Don't people, they would go out with chicken, show up to the conductor, You know, they didn't have lights in those days, very good lights. And the pedestrians had a lamp. He would shine the lamp on the ticket. He didn't shine it in the people's face to see what the people looked like. No, boys and girls, you know, it's not what we look like and it's not the extent of our sins.
Because God tells us that the blood of Christ is of such a value.
Before his eyes, that it will cleanse from sin.
All those who put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
So the conductor, even China glance in their face, see what they look like, but he wanted to see if they happen to.
It grows. You know we can be safe by coming to the Lord Jesus, because he has said about to me all ye that labor and our heavy lake, and I will give you rest. You know there was a lady one time who was burdened about her sin that she went to a place and there this old man.
He had texts on the walls and.
Bibles around the house, she said. Mine is the funny place.
Did you know, I'd like to go a little bit more about the Bible and this old brother, he started telling her about the Lord Jesus, that the Lord Jesus went to the cross and died for our sins. You know, we had that. What's a memory verse for today?
You can tell me what the memories were doing today.
I know some of you learned it.
Who knows? OK.
Very good.
Buddy was wounded for our transgression, he was bruised for our iniquity. The chastisement of our feet, that means the punishment of our peace was put upon him, and with his strife we are healed. You know this, lady.
00:40:12
Yes, you know, it's no use and loss, he said. Oh, that's good, that's good, that's good.
You know, that Lady was my mother, she said. If you knew what I was suffering in my soul, you wouldn't say that was good.
The man said to her, you know, it's good to see somebody who knows himself to be a Sinner in God's sight.
But the Lord Jesus is standing in heaven now and he's saying amongst me all ye that labour are heavy laden and I will give you that. You know what my mom said? I did, She said you were. So I'm going to go home and I'm going to pull the curtains and I'm going to come to the Lord Jesus.
On the way home, he was walking home and another friend of hers came by and said, oh, Margaret, come shopping with me. She said, oh, no, I've got to get home. I've got to get home. Margaret, you can come shopping with me. You know, the devil didn't want my mom to get saved. No, you know, my mom relented and she went home with her. I mean, she went shopping with her.
All the time she was thinking to herself, what if I died right now? What if I died right now? Where will I go?
You know, she blindly, she clumped the door of that car and she went and opened the door of the house and she pulled the curtains. She got down on her knees and she came to the Lord Jesus. You think the Lord Jesus pushed her off, You know, in the German translation of that verse.
That the Lord will not push you.
He won't push you off. The Lord won't push it Sinner away. Oh, thank God for that because he hasn't pushed me away all. Thank God He's a savior today and I want to read another verse. I want to read another.
Revelation Chapter.
6.
Verse 250.
6017.
And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captain, and the mighty men, and every fond men and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rock of a mountain.
And an incentive amount was lost. Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the left.
Or can you say I can think of a Kitty?
Catching a bird and eating it. But Can you imagine the wrath of a lamb? Can a lamb be angry? You know my granddaughters, they had a little lamb and it never was anything but gentle.
But here we find in the end of the word of God.
Those that refuse.
Shelter themselves those who refuse to take the lamp.
To be found utterly right, although right, you know God is justified himself in every one of his dealings when He gave the Lord Jesus to die on the cross.
To be a sailor for those that run. He has justified himself in His Holiness. O God is a thrice holy God, and only an infinite sacrifice could literally.
But He has also shown his great love. He would give me, the darling of his bosom, to be a savior for you and for me. All you have him, all He's worthy of your trust. Come to Him and be saved forever.
00:45:00
Intelligence Book.
Blessed God and Father, we look to thee, we own to thee, that the best words that could be chosen are but feeble and vast and expressing.
Thy thoughts, thy heart, thine appeal.
Thy righteousness.
Thy wrath, oh Lord Jesus, we look to thee and ask thy blessings upon these few words.
We do again, just ask God help, pray for the children that they might not put it off and say, give me just a little longer, for this world seems now so bright. When I feel that I am dying, I'll be safe, but not now, not tonight. Oh Lord Jesus, we ask thy blessings and we give thee thanks. Permit us to be in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's embarrassing, but.
Present Christ Wherever You Are
Address—D. Gorgas
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.
As our defenders from the Lord.
Our blessed God and Father, it is joy.
For us to look above and see that blessed One on the throne.
God with anticipation to the day when he will have his rightful place.
We thank thee that in thy purposes it's all an accomplished thing.
And we're glad that we have that joy too, to confess his name.
To the wearied heart.
To proclaim this.
The Lamb of God.
What a joy our God that we have to know the reality of these things that we've been singing now.
We do pray that thou will make them ever more precious to her.
Guidance as we open Thy precious word.
What is communicated may be communicated from the risen head in heaven.
Preserve the instrument from that which would be.
Any display of self.
We ask these things our God precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I'd like to turn to some very familiar scriptures for just a moment.
New Testament.
Chapter 4.
And verse 10.
And I want to read.
Through verse 13.
And I'm going to read it from the J&D translation, because there's some important.
Things I want to call attention to that are clearer there.
Also the print speaker.
He the descendant, is the same who has also ascended up above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.
Each side together and the joy to look above.
Beyond the growth, isn't it, brother? Isn't it a joy to see him on the throne?
And he has given.
Some apostles.
And some profits.
Some evangelists.
And some shepherds and teachers.
For the perfecting of the Saints.
With a view to the work of the ministry, with a view to the edifying of the body of Christ.
Until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.
As a full grown man at the measure of the stature of the fullness of the.
I'd like to go over now to the.
12Th chapter.
Acts 11 Chapter Excuse Me of Acts.
Read a few verses there.
Starting with 19.
I believe these verses that we're about to read give us.
An illustration of those gifts that have been laid out.
In Ephesians chapter 4.
They then, who had been scattered abroad through the tribulation that took place on the occasion of Stephen, passed through the country to Phoenicia and the Cypress and Antioch, speaking the word to no one but the Jews alone.
But there were certain of them.
Cyprians and Cyrenians from entering into Antioch spoke to the Greeks also.
Announcing the glad sightings of the Lord Jesus.
In the Lords Hand was wisdom.
And a Gray number believed in turned to the Lord.
And the report concerning them reached the ears of the assembly which was in Jerusalem.
That they sent out Barnabas to go through as far as antagonists.
Having arrived and seeing the grace of God, rejoice.
And exhorted all with purpose of heart to abide with the Lord.
00:05:07
For he was a good man.
Full of the Holy Spirit and the faith.
And large crowd of people were added to the war, and he went away to Tarsus to seek out Saul.
Having found him.
He brought him to Antioch.
So it was with them that for a whole year.
They were gathered together in the assembly and taught a large crowd and the decision.
In the Antioch.
A wonderful illustration, beloved brethren.
Of what we get in Ephesians.
Now we know that the apostles and prophets spoken of there are foundational gifts.
In the sense of a revelation, we no longer have prophets.
We no longer have someone who receives a new revelation from the Lord.
And communicates it to us. The word of God is complete.
The Apostles had passed off the sea, but there abides these wonderful 3 gifts that God has given.
The Lord Jesus has given.
In Ephesians, those gifts are not abilities, they're the people themselves.
The people themselves are the gift.
He has given some apostles and some prophets, and he's given.
Some evangelists and some shepherds and teachers.
I understand that the thought was shepherds and teachers is it's kind of a compound where shepherds teachers.
I think our experience is that.
Sometimes a brother is born a shepherd and sometimes he's more cheap, but the work goes together, and I think we'll see that in this passage in Chapter 11 of Act.
God uses circumstances to get us moving sometimes.
There's something called inertia. Any of you high school students that have studied about physics, you know about the law of inertia, the tendency of a body in place to stay in place.
Sure, I see Honey smiling. He certainly knows that.
A physics law. The tendency of a body in place to stay in place.
We all suffer from inertia, don't we?
God knows how to get us moving if we are suffering from inertia. What did he use to get these people moving?
Persecution.
Stephen had been persecuted. Then. After Stephen was persecuted, there arose of persecution of the other believers, and they scattered them, not the apostles. There was a reason why they stayed.
But the other believers were scattered.
Now the Lord had told them they were to go into all the world, didn't they? He shall be witnesses unto me.
Sometimes people say the Great Commission isn't for us, and I think in the sense of Matthew perhaps that's so, but in the sense of Acts, chapter one, where the Lord says he shall be my witnesses and he lays out where.
That is for us. That is for us.
We're to be witnesses for the Lord no matter where we go.
So if circumstances take us, a job takes us to a new place.
The education takes us to a new place. We had the pleasure recently of having our brother Matt Cameron come and take up residence in our assembly.
Because he's going to Seton Hall Law School.
That brings him to the Newark, NJ area. Great joy, which is telling his grandfather how glad we are to see him there.
And it doesn't matter where the Lord puts this. We are to be faithful to him.
So what did they do when they went every place?
We better keep quiet about this. We had enough trouble being Christians in Jerusalem. We better be quiet now.
00:10:05
The Spirit of God moved them to speak about the Lord everywhere they went.
They spoke the word.
Remember Brother Beg calling our attention years ago to the fact that it says Preach the Word, Not preach about the word, preach the Word.
He said the word is what has power.
And they brought the word.
But they were very limited in who they spoke to. Their hearts hadn't ventured out beyond the Jewish community at that point.
Had the Lord told them not to go to the Jews, but not to go to the Gentiles? No, He hadn't told them that. But there was habit and.
A reservation on their part, but I want to call attention to these Cyprians and Cyrenians.
They've got evangelists hearts. They can't. We can't just tell the the.
The Jews about this, This is wonderful. This is for the Gentiles, also for the Greeks. And so they tell them.
They go into Antioch and they speak to the Greeks.
They give the gospel the good news, the glad tidings of the Lord Jesus. By the way, don't ever disconnect the Lord Jesus from the gospel. There is no gospel without the Lord Jesus. People try to do that today. They try to talk about a gospel or a social gospel disconnected from the Lord Jesus.
Paul tells us in Romans chapter one it's the Gospel of God.
Concerning his Son Jesus Christ.
The gospel of God concerning his Son, Jesus Christ. There is no other gospel. There is no gospel without that.
Don't ever disconnect the Lord Jesus from the preaching of the gospel.
Because it's just foolishness. There's no there's no message. It has no content, no meaning.
And I like verse 21. It says the Lord's hand was with.
Doesn't that encourage you?
Did you ever go out on a little work for the Lord and justice, sense the Lord's hands with you? Did that?
How did they know it?
A great number.
Believed and turned to the Lord. A great number doesn't tell us how many, but it was a great work of God blessed by him, and I believe God shows his approval here of evangelistic work.
Without evangelism, there will be no need for shepherds and teachers.
That's why evangelists are mentioned first.
There's an expression preaching to the choir.
Or preaching to people who are already saved, already know things.
Telling people things who really know them already, and I'm not saying one should never preach to people who already know things. That isn't the point. But God's purpose is that an evangelist go out and give the good news to those who don't know.
Somebody go out, for example, to Malawi and reach out to people and give them the gospel of the grace of God.
That's wonderful and it encourages the heart.
I can tell you from the little limited experience we have in going into the jail that I have much more joy preaching the gospel in the jail than I do preaching it in the meeting room.
Does that mean I'm not going to preach in the meeting room? No, of course not.
But the joy comes when you go out to people who don't know.
I remember the first time we had a meeting.
With some Spanish people in the jail.
The administration had asked me, they said, do you know anybody that could give these fellows a Spanish meeting? They said these Spanish fellows have no meeting at all. Nobody's there forgot.
So I'd be glad to do it if you'd like. I said yes, come.
So we had, I expected maybe two or three and there were 23 the first day.
00:15:04
And none of them had ever had a Bible.
In their possession.
Our way there is to give a Bible to all these prisoners who come to the.
To the meetings.
So they can read it because from reading the Bible is where reading the word of God is where.
Light comes. The word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two edged sword.
No words of mine can ever.
Equal what God's word can do?
At the end of that meeting.
I said, Guys, you've gotten this Bible now. I hope you'll take good care of it. By the way, how many of you have ever read the Bible before?
Three fellows raised their hands.
I figured I probably had a largely Roman Catholic audience, and I did.
And it was confirmed to me as they were walking out, they said, would you bless his father?
Had to explain that I wasn't their father.
And that God was willing to bless them on the basis of receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. Many of those men opened their Bibles and read them.
And were blessed in their souls from reading the word.
But I want to encourage.
You to think about evangelizing.
That means preaching the gospel, reaching the souls that don't know the Lord. Tell them about the Lord.
And God was pleased with it. Here his hand was upon them in blessing.
A great number believed.
And they didn't only believe that. They turned to the Lord. That's the working of an evangelist.
That's the work of an evangelist.
Well, a report case.
Of that work.
Isn't it wonderful when we get a report of blessing in the Gospel?
Somebody comes to prayer, meetings, mentions, or you know, Brother Ruben Ruger was down in such and such a place and Rudolph time, and the Lord was pleased to bless that work That warms my heart. Does it warm your earth?
The report concerning them reached the ears of the church.
I sometimes tell people who would like to think of the churches and building a stone building as you ever see one with years.
You ever see one with yours?
God's concept of the church and man's idea of the church is very different.
This was a body of believers, wasn't it?
The body of believers meeting in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ there in Jerusalem.
I don't think.
By any means necessarily did they find a 5000 seat auditorium and together I think they met it smaller groups, but there was only one church. There was.
My heart will come from then.
Blessed time.
The report concerning them reached the years of the Church which was in Jerusalem.
Wow, that's wonderful. Let's just let's try to support that work.
What do they need, these people? They need shepherding. They need shepherding.
Sheep need shepherding, but if you don't preach the gospel, there won't be any sheep to shepherd.
So just be the children that grow up in the meeting and precious children that grow up in the meetings. God bless them. I'm happy for that.
But there's nothing like people coming in off the street.
From the highways and hedges to stir our hearts physically.
Omnibus, you have a you have a gift for that. Would you go down there to Antioch?
I don't think the Church had any authority over Barnabas as a servant of the Lord.
I think there's enough in Scripture that teaches us.
Local assemblies of believers have no authority over sending the Lord's servants around. What do they do? They let them go.
Get that in the 13th chapter.
00:20:03
They support them.
I don't know how far this went, but I can imagine that some of them said farmers, that you probably don't have much money to make this trip. But, you know, here's a here's a few shekels that Lord has given me. And when you go down and what you're going to eat while you're down there, well, here's a sack of rice you can take with you.
That's what sending forth here, as I understand it means.
Don't you think so?
They sent him forth. Go, brother, here, we're behind you.
I've been the recipient of that kind of encouragement on trips like that many times tonight. It humbles me and I thank the Lord for.
It's so heartwarming.
Comes from surprising places sometimes.
Surprisingly.
All right, I'll go down. You cut down there.
And what did he see? He saw the grace of God. The grace of God? What does that mean? He saw the grace of God. Have you?
Ever seen the grace of God?
Something wonderful.
To see the grace of God, reach out to lost sinners and.
Bring them to salvation. And when he saw that.
What happened? He rejoiced. He rejoiced. Oh, this is wonderful, He said this.
Precious.
Well, dear ones, would you go on with the Lord?
Stick close to him. That's what cleaving means that we have in our standard Bible pleading to the Lord.
With purpose of heart.
Make it your business. You can stick close to the Lord. I believe that's the shepherds ministry.
Some important things about him here. He was, first of all, a good man.
He was a good man.
And he was full of the Holy Ghost.
In a place.
And of faith.
Shepherding the Lord's sheep takes faith.
What happen?
Large crowd of people were added to the war. What does that mean in a practical way? They were brought together as an assembly.
That's so important. When the gospel is preached, God doesn't say, Well, now it goes somewhere and pick out a church and go there.
I remember years ago there used to be billboards up that said go to the Church of your choice. I don't see them so much anymore. Probably they don't care about going anywhere today, but when I was younger I used to see that. I remember brothers calling attention to the fact it's not our choice.
In fact, there's a pamphlet that I use a lot in the gospel that has a major defect. On the last page it says now that you're saved. It says it's important for you to pick out a nice Bible believing, faithful church to go to. I'm referring to all of the questions. I don't know if any of you use it, I like it, but that I always have to when I give it to the fellows. I told him, hey, that's wrong there. You notice they don't have any scripture reference for that. If scripture references for everything else in the whole booklet.
But not for that.
It's not our choice.
Dear Barnabas.
Son of consolation.
Gathers them together.
Gathers them together, Adrienne Roche told me years ago about going down to Kentucky.
To work with Brother Donald Fudge down there. I don't know if any of you remember Brother Donald Fudge but he was an evangelist down in Kentucky and.
Some of those who work.
Engaged with gathering them together afterwards. Probably some of the assemblies down there are fruit of that work, I don't know.
00:25:01
But.
Adrian told me this, he said when the man gathers sheaves.
He scratches his arm.
The scratches resort.
And I believe that's so A man engaged in the work of gathering together the people of God.
It's going to have scratches on yours. If you don't want scratches on your arms, don't be a shepherd.
Of the Lord's sheep. If you don't want to lie awake, sometimes crying at night because some sheep is going astray, don't be a shepherd. But there's thank God. There's something the Lord has given to the Church. To men. By the way, says those gifts are given to men, not even to the Church. They're given to men for the edifying of the body of Christ.
In the grand sense of Ephesians, those gifts.
Are given universally.
There's no person who is an evangelist who's an evangelist at Eskimos only.
Thank God for every man who is an evangelist who goes and talks to Eskimoser. I guess they have a new name for that. Now excuse me if I offend anybody with not using the new name, but is it Inuit? I think, yeah.
But.
Where an evangelist who lepers or evangelists of children.
That's not how, if you're an evangelist, you're given to men for the edifying of the body of Christ.
And an evangelist on temple tell you this is an evangelist, whether he's in Ottawa, he's in in Malawi or he's in South America.
The dear brother that no people don't know as well, 97 years old, 94 I think he is now. Brother Sheila Adama's in the Dominican Republic. That man is in the soul winning business. You don't see him do anything else. That's his whole life.
Sometimes we go to a place and we're visiting a little bit. Where's Chino? What happened to Brother Chino? There he is, across the street at a store with some men playing dominoes, sitting there with his Bible open and giving them the gospel.
Thank God for men like that.
Those gifts come from the Lord, from the risen Lord.
A shepherd.
I received a letter one time.
Brother Alberto Cerna, who is a very beloved brother, Colombian brother, who has a Dominican wife, he's very precious to us. He's he's got a real shepherd's heart.
And he often would say to me, brother **** let's go see brother so and so.
And one day, he said. Let's go see.
Think of his name now. But he was a blind man.
Line from diabetes.
And he took me to see him. We spent a happy time with him.
Believe we encouraged him. He was a believer.
And a few days later I got a letter from the pastor of the church where he went, he said.
Aren't there other sheep who can worry about than mine?
My heart was broken.
That's the way man have come to think about these at Life Block.
Leave them alone.
I spent four months in prayer before I reentered his letter.
Because I couldn't think of how to answer.
Finally, I said to him, Brother, those sheep belong to Christ.
And he wants us to shepherd them no matter where they are.
They don't belong to anyone of us who are under shepherds.
He's the shepherd, the big great shepherd of the sheep, the wonderful shepherd of the sheep.
What are we if the word is given as that different word?
Under shepherd, that's all.
I use an example.
The Shepherd of Christ is riding on a bus.
He happens to be sitting behind two sisters.
2 ladies who were talking. One of them opens her heart to the other one and says, oh, I'm so distressed about my son who is into this and that. The other thing the other one says I don't really have a good answer for you. Wish I did, but I'll pray for you.
00:30:16
That man sitting behind, does he have a right to talk to them?
As the sheep of Christ, of course he does.
That they are part of the body of Christ.
These gifts are not local.
By that way, that's another important point. Don't say someday. I'd like to be in the You're not an evangelist. God takes people who are already in that work and sends them where he wants them to go.
Already in that work.
I've been debating. Years ago, even before I was gathered, I went used to go regularly to Jack Watson's Word of life rallies and I remember missionaries would come and they.
Give a stirring word about it being to better somewhere like that is, you know, is there any one of you young people who would be willing to dedicate his life going to that?
I could. I had a hard time sitting in my seat.
But I realized later on, if I'm not willing to go give out traction in South Philadelphia, I was brought up in Philadelphia.
If I'm not willing to give out traction South Philadelphia, if I won't talk to the mailman about the Lord.
If I won't go to the amp and speak to someone about the Lord and the AMP.
Is God going to use me to send me down to China?
No, no.
God help us to understand these things.
But you know, Barnabas is good as he was and effective as he was in shepherding work, he says. These people need something more.
And dear brethren, one of the things I want to point out is that there is a tendency.
Among Christians. And perhaps it spills over. Not perhaps it spills over.
Among us sometimes.
That we get territorial.
That's my work.
That's my word. Leave it alone.
Dear brother Pierre Potter, one time went to a place I won't say where.
But he went to a place and he taught something, Brother said to him late.
Get out of here. That's my work.
You go in your own place and talk about that about a year.
He came back and was indignant, he said. How could anybody say that? Spare one?
It's God's word, Sir.
There was no spirit of.
Envy or jealousy here among these brothers.
It was a spirit of we're on the same team.
We're on the same team.
Years ago, whether Avelino Chavez from Bolivia and Argentina.
And I did a little traveling together.
Navellino was very anxious to get some tracks for the work he was doing.
And he called brother Ron Reeves, who was still in fellowship at that time.
My brother Reeves, he said, could you supply me with some tracks? He said I'll, I'll get it whatever money I can together. Ron gave a beautiful answer. He said, oh, no, brother, he said we're on the same team. I'm just playing the print part of it and you're playing the distribution part of it.
I really respected that answer.
And so did Brother Chavez. He told me about it two or three times on our travels together.
How encouraged he was.
With that kind of an answer.
Yeah, wait a minute. These people don't. They need to teach And I'm not really a teacher.
Yeah, I can shepherd them.
But I don't teach. I know I can't lay out the truth. I know a man who can.
00:35:06
Saul up there in Tarsus.
Let me go up there.
I don't think it was an easy thing to find, says inversion.
26 having found him.
He brought him to him.
Now do you think he forced him to go? I think Paul makes that very clear that he didn't because he said I begged the police and he said but it wasn't his mind to do it.
All had no authority over a policy.
Barnabas had no authority oversaw, but I imagine it's something like this and he said.
You know.
Other soft God is blessed down there in Antioch.
Great number of come to the Lord through those who were scattered abroad and brought the gospel. They're Greeks, by the way.
Great.
And I.
I've been able to give them some shepherding, but you know they need teaching for. Would you go with me?
Would you go with me, brother Salt?
Well, I don't know if I have the price of that trip. Oh, here. The Saints have given me this. Let me give you this as part of that trip down there. All right, let's go.
And so it was with them.
That for a whole year.
A whole year.
They were gathered together.
In yourself.
See now you won't come and we're going to straight you all out.
That speaks to my own soul, because I believe there's a tendency of those of us who.
Give the whole of our privilege to give the whole of our time to the work of the Lord that we sometimes think we have.
Have it all to say.
Nobody else has anything to say.
I think one of the best conferences I was ever at was meeting up in strong ME.
Were not one full time servant of the Lord made it to those meetings?
We had some blessed ministry, wonderful ministry.
And they just gathered together with the assembly and thought they exercised their gift in teaching.
They did it together.
Isn't that nice in fellowship?
I hate to see and hate to hear about it.
Competition.
In conferences where Brethren.
Complete the talk.
I was very humbled one time we were down at a conference in Dorothy and there was a lot of stepping on one another.
Brother Michelle Fayette. I don't know him. I hope you'll meet him sometime. He works among the French in Canada.
But he's bilingual, perfectly bilingual. And he gave us a word.
And he said, is what we have to say so important that we can't wait to hear what our brothers receive from the Lord?
Wow, that was a singer.
That was his English.
And the Lord sing to me with it.
Another time I was over in.
Bournemouth The only time I ever went to the Bournemouth meetings, I went with my dad.
1984 Baumanns were there and we had a happy time there.
I think I scared Brother Bob to death with my driving. I'm not sure.
Beg your pardon?
Kept you praying, all right.
But as I'm driving on the left side of the road, you know, but we were at the meetings and.
I guess Mother Peer Potter was there. I took a lot of part in the meetings. Perhaps Brother Grauman some too.
And then the intermission brother Bill.
Funny sex.
Came to us and he said.
Would you, Yanks, give us a little chance to talk?
Not beingly.
But in humbleness.
These two gather together with the assembly, and the Lord gave room for their teaching gift to be exercised.
00:40:08
But you know, sometimes the best teaching involves drawing out of someone else.
Something.
And I can't imagine that this was an exclusive presentation of Paul and Saul and and Barnabas. Do you think it was? I don't think so.
I think together for a whole year they taught those brethren and what was the result? It produced character in them to such a way that they became known as Christians.
But some denomination called Christian No, they were like Christ. They were followers of Christ.
Now, beloved brethren, what is on my heart and what has been on my heart in this little word, is to encourage us.
To understand that God has given gifts.
By the way, they're not titled.
I only recently, and I'm ashamed to confess this, but I only recently, perhaps in the last five years, I became aware that apostle was not even entitled.
We put a big a apostle Paul.
But I've noticed that Paul doesn't say that he says Paul comma Apostle says.
He doesn't say the apostle Paul writing to you.
No. A gift. A name like that is descriptive of what the brother does.
Men loved titles.
Men love titles.
I recently ran across a little quote from Spurgeon.
It had to do with the use of the word reverend and if some of you receive regular postings from me.
On Internet you know that I quoted that it was so moving to me, but Spurgeon said from henceforth I don't want to be known with a name that's robbed from God.
Psalm 111.
For six, I think it is. I don't want to be known by that.
I want to be known as a servant of Christ.
I don't want to be known by the fact that my collar is gotten buttoned in the back or that I wear a special coat.
All that men love those things. They love them. It all hatched back to Judaism.
May the Lord stirs to be evangelists, if that's what God has given you to do.
I had one of the best.
Dear Leonard, pure Plato.
There was a man who, I'm not talking about how he behaved in the assembly or anything like that. I'm talking about his gospel work.
One time we were sitting on the Staten Island Ferry, enjoying the sunshine.
I can tracks in our hands. He slapped me on the lady says. What doest thou here, Elijah?
And we got up and we gave out the tracks.
God has incalled you this. Sit around here, period Evangelist.
I thank God for Brother Bauman means their evangelistic ministry. I've heard a little better from Sue Hadley out of India. What? What the Lord gives out there?
That's a great work. We need to encourage men like that.
I thank God for John Kemp.
I don't put Jelly on Bologna sandwiches like he does, but.
I.
I hope John doesn't do this tape. I'd be in trouble, won't it?
But he does the work of the Lord in the gospel.
He doesn't sit still a moment.
Brother grenade, he said to me. I can't believe this man, he said. Every time I get a letter from him, he's in a different country.
That's the work of an evangelist you don't have to go to. You could just go downtown to the missions or or to the pawn shops or wherever and give out the gospel.
Ha, Ironside tells.
00:45:03
Stirring story.
I think Brother Bill told me he has the book where he tells that story. Reminisces. Is it or random reminisces? He tells a story about a time when he.
Went out to.
One town and he was having some meetings there and they finished the meetings and.
He said to his wife. You go back to Oakland, where they lived.
And he said, the Lord has put on my heart to go to Sacramento.
Because someone in Sacramento had said to him, Brother Aaron said, Would you come here some time to preach the gospel?
So Mr. Ironside got a ticket for Sacramento and his wife left home to Oakland.
And he arrived, and he went to the brother's house, and the brother was away.
On vacation.
I wondered if he had the Lord's mind and going there.
He thought, I'm here to be faithful to the Lord, and so he.
Checked into a cheap hotel?
And he went out and gave out tracks and had meetings as much as he could in the street meetings and such.
Finally, his funds ran out.
And he was pretty discouraged.
We got to check out of the hotel and he took his stuff.
And then he went.
Check this stuff in with a local merchant who is friendly to him.
And.
He went out. He went to the bars and dance halls.
Throughout thousands of tracks.
Find me about 2:00 in the morning. 3:00 in the morning. The bars closed and the dance walls closed. Now where's the brother going to go?
So he found a weeping Willow tree laid down under the Willow tree.
And went to sleep.
That's the kind of a life of an evangelist. I'm not saying you have to do that all the time, but he was willing to do that.
And then the Lord began dealing with him as he lay there.
He said, Why did I come here? The Lord said to him, Well, you know, there's this that's wrong in your life, and this and this and this.
And he said God provided us starving for me.
To bring me to repentance about some of those things.
I'll finish with one more story. My grandfather.
Christopher Knapp.
Went to a place called Staples Minnesota.
Had two weeks of meetings.
And is often the case in those that he saw no blessing at all.
And he went with a heavy heart and went on his way with no blessing.
20 years later.
Came back to Staple to visit the brethren.
And they said.
For the nap, they said.
There was a man here today who told us that his brother had died and that didn't go to any church.
But they admired the Brethren's testimony, and they wondered if we could get someone from the assembly to take the funeral.
And.
They told us that.
When we asked them why they said well we got saved during a two week campaign that a Mr. Knapp had here.
20 years ago.
God gives fruit to the Evangelist.
Sometimes he doesn't give us what will cause us to be proud.
He knows we need encouragement.
But in a coming day in glory, we'll see it all.
But he gives us just enough now to keep us happy and encouraged and going on in that work.
Evangelist.
Shepherds Oh, how important that work is.
Gracious God our Father, we pray that thou wilt stir our hearts to these things.
Are so very needed. Even in these dark days, we know that those gifts are.
00:50:02
To be in operation until we all come to the unity of the faith.
Full knowledge.
Oh God, we haven't gotten there yet.
Pray this old it was used to be diligent to go wherever we do, wherever we now, to send our feet.
That we might give thy gospel.
Those around.
Then, oh Lord, we pray that they will raise up shepherds how we need them.
The cheaper scattering, the cheaper, discouraged Lord, raise up those who can, with a gentle hand and a faithful heart, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, that they might help such.
And then we need teaching, and we thank you for the teachers our God.
We pray that.
There may not be any of us that would lift ourselves up over the assembly, but meet with the assembly.
For the blessing of thine own.
So that we might be known as Christian.
We ask it in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Suffering For and With Christ
Address—B. Prost
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Plus for the Lord together, blessed God our Father, we thank me for what we have sung together and surely our hearts are humbled as we think of the example that has been set before us of our Lord Jesus Christ, we think of that one, our God and Father who?
In every step of his pathway.
Glorify thee was obedient to thy will, and yet went down, down, down.
And we have sung together at the end of this hymn, words which perhaps for some of us at least, are much to sing.
And all our rest and pleasure find in learning. Lord of thee, O our Lord, we pray that.
It may be true.
And so we ask for help as we open Thy word this afternoon, commending it to Thee and praying Thou wilt speak to each one of our hearts, for we ask it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
What I have on my heart this afternoon is to speak a little on suffering for Christ, and perhaps to distinguish between suffering for Christ and suffering with Christ.
And so let's turn first of all to the book of Hebrews, chapter 12.
Some of these scriptures may seem to be a little, shall I say, disjointed in the way that we're going to look at them.
But.
We trust that the Lord will bring out.
What I think he's laid on my heart. Hebrews, chapter 12.
Verse one. Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself.
Lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds, for ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
And then turn over to a connecting verse please in the 9th chapter of Acts.
Acts Chapter 9.
And we'll read from verse 13 to get the connection.
This is after the conversion of the Apostle Paul.
And the Lord speaking to Ananias, who was to go and baptize him.
Acts 9 and 13 then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man.
How much evil he hath done to thy Saints at Jerusalem, and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel.
Or I will show him how great things.
He must suffer for my name's sake.
We want to point out right at the very outset.
That the pathway of the believer is, we might say, by definition, a pathway of suffering.
And all who try to get out from under that are going to find that they can't walk that pathway. Brother Ernie mentioned yesterday in the reading meeting that salvation is free, but discipleship is costly.
And the Lord Jesus laid that very firmly on to the people who followed him, when great multitudes followed him, you'll remember in Luke's gospel.
He turned around and reminded them that if any man were to follow him.
It was a question of denying himself and taking up his cross daily and following him. And so the Lord Jesus reminds us that the pathway of the believer is a pathway of suffering.
00:05:08
In Hebrews here in chapter 12, I believe it's very significant the way it is presented.
Because if you go through the book of Hebrews, you will find, I believe, 4 separate times in which the Lord Jesus is directly referred to as being sat down or sitting down at the right hand of God. Three of those occasions.
He sits down for himself in virtue of who he is, in virtue of what he has done.
But here in Chapter 12, it's distinctive because he sits down.
As an example for us, and you'll notice here in chapter 12 That while sufferings are mentioned.
The atoning sufferings are not brought in, just as they are not brought in in Philippians 2, which was read to us this morning, because you and I could never, of course, follow him in those sufferings.
I say the atoning sufferings. I believe that's understood. Although properly speaking, it's interesting that the word atonement is never used in the New Testament. It's used in our King James translation once. But it should read reconciliation in Romans 5, not atonement, because atonement simply means to cover. And at Calvary's cross, the whole issue was settled once and for all, wasn't it? And so it's not that our sins are simply atoned for, although I don't object to the expression.
They have been dealt with once and for all by the finished work of Christ, But then when the Lord Jesus calls you and me and we are truly saved.
Then it's a matter of following a rejected Christ, following one whose pathway through this world was one of rejection.
And suffering. And it's rather interesting that right at the beginning of the Apostle Paul's career, as soon as he was saved, before he had even been baptized, before he even perhaps realized in the fullest way what had happened to him, we find the Lord speaking to Ananias and telling him that here was a chosen vessel, a chosen vessel. And it's a wonderful thing to think about.
When you think of the grace of God that picked up a man like the apostle Paul, to think that here was a man who was one of the worst.
And what had he just done? He'd been standing there when Stephen.
Was stoned to death standing there when the brightest light that God had in that early church, the one whose ministry, whose preaching was so powerful that no one could resist it. And Satan says I'm going to put that light out. I'm going to put it out. I'm going to get rid of that man. What is the grace of God do? I've said this before, but we'll repeat it again.
The grace of God, we might say, and these are not my words originally, they come from Mr. Wigram's ministry. But.
The grace of God says, all right, Satan, if that's what you're going to do, I'm going to take the worst one, the very worst one of those that were responsible, pick him up. And as it were, God says, all right, Paul, all right, Saul, you come and take his place then, if that's the way it's going to be, what could Satan say to that? And so here he picks up Saul of Tarsus. What does he tell Ananias about that man?
Oh, it's true. He's going to be a chosen vessel.
He's going to be a witness before kings and before the children of Israel and the Gentiles.
But then he says I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.
Why does it say that? Oh, because Paul was the if we could use the expression, the prototype, the standard bearer, the one who kind of pointed the way in the day of God's grace.
So much so that if we turn to Colossians, we don't need to turn to it, but we find that Paul could say that.
He filled up that which was behind of the sufferings of Christ for his body's sake, which is the Church.
I don't suggest that you and I do that in the same sense that he did, but nevertheless it was a pathway of suffering.
A few years ago.
Quite a few now, I suppose. Probably 20.
There was a missionary in India. I do not know who he was. I only read what he wrote.
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But he had been in India many, many years and had not come home on furlough for a long time.
And when he came back, America was his home. And what I'm going to repeat is no slur on the United States. It wouldn't have been any different if he'd come to Canada or perhaps parts of Western Europe. But he came back home. And after he had been here a while, his reaction was, where did you get this false American gospel that I hear being preached that promises health and wealth and prosperity in good times and the good life and everything if you follow Christ?
He said. That's not what I read in the word of God. That's not the pathway that the Master marked out. That's not the pathway that the apostles marked out. That's not the pathway that faithful men have walked in all down through the ages of the church's history.
Where did you get that gospel?
Well, some years ago, perhaps more recently, there was a man from the United States who went over to China to visit, and he was a true believer. And in speaking with Chinese believers there and being perhaps overwhelmed by the persecution that they endured, and it is very serious there, he made the remark rather in the way of.
Just as I said, being overwhelmed by what he heard, he said why? Why does God allow the believers in China?
To be so devastated by persecution year after year after year.
Well, he wasn't prepared for the comeback that he got because the Chinese believer looked at him and he said we have a question over here in China, too.
He said why does God allow the believers in North America to be ruined by materialism?
Year after year after year.
Hard to reply to that, isn't it?
And yet we can't change the lock where we are cast. Just as the believers are in China and we are in North America, We have to live and move.
But what we want to speak about, perhaps, is a little of suffering for Christ and with Christ. And so let's turn Our time is going.
To a couple of scriptures that bring before us suffering for Christ. There are several of them, but turn to Philippians for one scripture.
Philippians chapter one.
Verse 27.
Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and see you, or else be absent.
I may hear of your affairs, that she stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel, and in nothing terrified by your adversaries, which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation and to that of God.
Now here's the verse for unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for his sake.
Turn over now to first Peter for a couple of verses.
First Peter, chapter 4.
There are many others that could be referred to, but these will do for our purposes.
First Peter Four and verse 12.
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you.
As though some strange thing happened unto you. But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's suffering, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ. Happy are ye.
For the spirit of glory and of God rest upon you on their part.
He is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
We don't face too much of what we might call suffering for Christ.
In these favored lands, at least not in the way that it is spoken of Indiana. Some of these verses.
I remember standing a few years ago.
On the Front St.
Of the city of Oxford in England.
And noticing a monument there that had been set up, the three men.
One of them was named Cranmer, and he was a man who was high up way back in the 1500s there.
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And he was called upon to give up his faith in Christ.
And for a while he did, and signed his name to a document that recanted.
All that he believed in, but afterward when he got back into the Lord's presence.
He thought of how awful that had been to deny his Lord and Master, and so he, along with two others, went forward.
And said they wanted it to be known that they believed every word that they had previously denied, and they reaffirmed their faith in Christ.
And I'm told on good authority that when the three of them were burned at the stake there, right on that very spot where that monument stands.
That he was so horrified, even at that time at what he had done.
But as they lit the wood around him and the flames came up, he.
He said that unworthy right hand that had signed that document, that unworthy right hand, and he held it out in the flames until it was burned to a crisp.
Without flinching.
And there are many dear believers today that are suffering for Christ. You and I know that, but we need to be reminded of it. There are those that are suffering unto death.
I have had the privilege for some years now of visiting the country of Romania.
And there are those sitting here who have grown up in that country, and they know better than I some of the things that were suffered under the fires of persecution there.
And so it goes on. Today there are probably more believers who are suffering bodily for Christ.
Today than at any other time in the history of the Church.
Do you and I suffer for Christ? I believe we do if we're faithful, because although we may not, at least for the moment, suffer bodily persecution.
We suffer the reproach, we suffer the cold shoulder, we suffer the rejection that comes with following one who is not wanted in this world. And it may get more difficult as time goes on. We don't know how long the liberties that have been afforded to us.
But it's worth it.
It's worth it.
Sometimes we wonder how those who went through such things could go through them and still are going through them.
A man could hold his right hand in the flames without flinching.
And many stories like that could be multiplied.
If I may be permitted, I'll tell a story about Romania.
I believe it's true.
Where there was a young woman in her early 20s who was out and out for the Lord.
And the Securitate there had their eye on anyone who was out and out.
Secret police. They often let ordinary Christians alone as long as they minded their own business and didn't.
Become too much of A testimony. But here was a girl who was out and out, who spoke of Christ, who radiated the joy of Christ.
And they watched her for a chance to get her.
In due time, she fell in love with a young man.
And they were engaged to be married, and the day came when she went together with him to the place where they were to be married, dressed in a beautiful dress.
And with their friends and relatives all standing around.
And it was at that point that the government chose to arrest her.
Took her away right from the side of her husband as they were exchanging their marriage vows.
And took her off to prison. And those who were present at that time say they will never forget the look on her face, tears running down her face. Yes, there were. But they will never forget the way in which she calmly and with a look of joy on her face, held out her hand.
So that the handcuffs could be applied and saw that she was taken away.
Did she know what was ahead of her? I believe she did. And I'm not going to soil your ears with what happened to her.
But in being kept five years in prison, those who saw her afterwards said that she aged 30 years. Was it worth it? Indeed it was. Indeed it was.
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Well, why do we go over these things in the context of where you and I live? 2 reasons.
Two reasons. First of all, let us remember those that are in bonds, as it says in Timothy is bound with them.
Let us remember that, and let us remember that if you and I enjoy the wonderful liberties we have in these favored lands, we can be thankful for them. But let us remember that there are many others, probably the greater part of those who are believers in this world, who are suffering for Christ.
But then there's another reason, and that is and that leads us on to what we're going to talk about.
Because I read a story some years ago, and if you've heard me tell it before, pardon that, but it struck a chord in my own heart.
Probably well over 100 years ago now. This was in London, England. Charles Spurgeon was going to preach the gospel.
And he was walking along the street there toward the place where he was going to preach.
And a fellow believer who knew him very well.
Notice that it was Spurgeon. Excuse me?
And caught up with them and fell into step with them and they walked along chatting together.
Suddenly he turned and said Spurgeon.
Would you have the grace? Would you have what it took to be burned at the stake for your faith in Christ right now?
Quite a question, isn't it?
Spurgeon, I thought, gave a good answer. He thought for a moment.
Thought a little longer and then he said, well, he said, I have to confess that at the moment I don't know that I would.
But he said that is not the kind of grace I need right now. What I need is grace to preach the gospel in about 20 minutes, and that's what I'm asking for.
That was a good answer.
Because he wasn't being called upon at that moment to give up his life for Christ. He wasn't being called upon at that moment to go through suffering.
In that same sense. But he had a responsibility and that's what he was asking for.
And let us remember that those about whom we speak, they are men, they are women of like passions, such as we are, as Scripture says.
And it is God who gives the grace for whatever circumstances he sends.
But we want to talk a little bit perhaps.
About something else. Because while I believe we all, in that sense, perhaps not physically, but in various ways, suffer for Christ.
There is a dimension which I suggest, and I don't want to be misunderstood, please. I don't want this to be taken in any way as a belittling of the physical sufferings of those who suffer for Christ, or a belittling in any way of the reproach and shame and rejection that perhaps you and I experienced from this world as a result of walking through it as believers.
But I believe Scripture brings before us a dimension, but is in one sense a higher calling even, and that is suffering with Christ.
To see what I'm talking about, turn to 2nd Corinthians 12.
2nd Corinthians 12.
Or I'm sorry, 11, not 1211.
Now, we're not going to read this chapter, but it details many of the sufferings of the Apostle Paul.
How he was beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, stoned, and all of the various things that he went through. But notice the end of the chapter.
Verse 28.
Beside those things that are without.
That which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
Who is weak and I am not weak? Who is offended and I burn not?
If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.
The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed forevermore, knoweth that I lie not.
In Damascus the governor under Aridus the king, kept the city of the Democines with a Garrison desirous to apprehend me, and through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.
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I used to wonder about the end of this chapter.
And I wondered why the Apostle Paul would speak of all of those things that he had suffered physically.
Things our brother Bob Bauman mentioned them the other day that probably no one has suffered as much as.
Paul did. And many of these things we wouldn't know about anywhere else. They're not recorded anywhere else in the Word of God.
Except here.
And yet, after detailing all those things, he tells a story about being let down in a basket over the wall.
I don't want to try and be humorous, but I can remember as a young man thinking, what was so bad about that? That would kind of be a bit fun. Wouldn't it be a bit of an adventure? Somebody all around the city with a bunch of soldiers waiting to get you and then you out with them by getting let down over the wall in a basket and running off and saying aha, they didn't get me or something like that. That would seem to be a little bit of fun. And after all, he did get away, So what was so awful about that?
But what does Paul really say here?
Let me use an illustration that perhaps lacks something, but it makes the point.
We'll suppose for purposes of discussion, that President.
George Bush of the United States were to come to Denver, and he comes, as I am sure would be the case, with a motorcade and police escort and all the fanfare and maybe a band that would play Hail to the Chief and all those things.
But for some reason, and we're just talking a hypothetical situation while he is here in Denver.
For some reason, the tide of public opinion turns against him and he makes a decision that makes him so vastly unpopular.
In Denver.
That in the middle of the night, one or two good friends in the Secret Service get him up and say, listen, we've got to get out of here. We've got to get out of here. And so he climbs out a window of the hotel where he's staying, and shinny's down by a rope and goes furtively through the streets, disguised in a cloak or coat or something so no one recognizes who he is. And they sneak out of Denver and somehow get on to Interstate 70 and get out of there.
Would that be an adventure?
Maybe in one sense, but it would be a pretty big come down, wouldn't it?
It would be going right from the top to the bottom.
It would be going away without all the honor that he was due.
That's what Paul's talking about here. He came to Damascus the first time with a retinue of soldiers, with men with him, with letters of authority and everything. Then he comes to Christ, and what's the result? He has to sneak away.
I understand the Chinese have two words in their language for suffering.
And I'm no expert on it, I just read this, but one of those words.
Refers to isolated incidents that may happen to us.
That may cause suffering. The other refers to taking on that as a whole way of life.
What Paul is talking about here, because here I suggest this, is more suffering with Christ, He was finding out that walking in the steps of the Master entailed not merely being rejected, but losing everything in this world.
Turn to another scripture. We'll come back to this, but turn to Philippians 2.
Or three. I'm sorry, Philippians 3 the verses I want.
Philippians 3.
Verse.
Well, we'll read from verse 8.
Yeah, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the Excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things. And do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ to the righteousness which is of God by faith. Now notice this, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection.
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And the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death, if by any means I might attain under the resurrection of the dead, the fellowship of his sufferings. Oh, that's a deeper thing than suffering for Christ, because it means entering into, if we can put it this way, His thoughts, his feelings about it all.
Sometimes you don't find those in the New Testament in the same way, but if you go back to the book of the Psalms, you read verses. For example. Reproach hath broken mine heart.
Reproach as they were there.
And you and I, in following a rejected Christ, I believe can have the highest privilege of the believer.
And that is to feel what he felt.
There's no premium on that.
I can't say, well, I live in North America and so I can't feel all of that.
Have you ever been misunderstood?
Have you ever done something for the Lord and had someone take the credit for it? Have you ever worked hard behind the scenes?
And found that you got nothing for it.
The fellowship of his sufferings.
Have you ever found something happen to you that no one else knew anything about, and yet you realize that you were being taken along the steps of the Master? Oh, what a privilege that is. And so I believe the apostle mentions that here in Philippians. Why does it bring together the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings all? I suggest that you and I can't have one without the other.
We love to have the power of His resurrection. We love to have power in our lives. But may I suggest?
To my own heart most of all, Why is there so little power in our Christian lives? Why is there so little power to witness for Christ? Why is there so little?
Spiritual power manifested generally. We're not talking about knowledge. All of this, I suggest, transcends.
Ecclesiastical considerations, although they are important.
But it means, why is there so little power? Oh, because the world looks on and says.
Are you really following the one that you say you are following? Are you really following a rejected Christ?
Or are you trying to do what the Corinthians did, reign as kings before the time Paul says, I would to God, ye did reign. Oh yes, we want to reign with you, but it's not time to do that yet. It's time to follow the Master in the pathway of rejection. And so if we want to know the power of his resurrection, because if we could put it this way, Philippians 3, as we all know, is Christ as our object. And it's the, shall we say, the energy of the Christian life. It's Christ in glory.
As opposed to the second chapter, which is more Christ as our pattern, the graciousness of the Christian life? More Christ in manhood perhaps?
But if we want to have the power of his resurrection, there needs to be the fellowship of his sufferings.
I don't need to go looking for it. He'll put me through all of that if I will simply allow him. But if I say Lord, I can't do that, I don't want to do that, then I believe we'll find that to that extent, there won't be the power of His resurrection. Turn back now to 2nd Corinthians 11 That we had before. Notice how it starts out there. Paul says the care of all the churches.
Care. Care of someone else? Do we get so taken up with our own problems and difficulties that we let someone else look after their own?
I relate the man by the name of Scrooge and Charles Dickens book, The Christmas Carol, who basically said I look after my own affairs and I expect everyone else to look after theirs. That's the way the world generally is. Oh, we're thankful for the efforts and the effect of Christianity in some of these countries that provides for others, but it's not our natural hearts, is it? But here Paul says the care of all the assemblies.
Oh, he says. Who is offended? How does it read?
Who is weak? And I am not weak. What does he mean? Oh, he means if there are those that are weak, does Paul look down his nose at them and say, well, what's wrong with you, Get up and get going. Oh no. He says, I feel with them who was offended and I burn not. Did they have any business getting offended? No. Do we have any business getting offended? No. We should be able to rise above it. But does Paul say, come on, you guys quit getting offended? No.
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Who is offended and I burn not all how much He walked in the steps of the Master in feeling with those who are going through troubles and difficulties even of their own making, and how many times the Lord Jesus looked with compassion on those.
Who had trials and difficulties that they had brought upon themselves.
Well, let's turn over now to Second Timothy.
Two Timothy, chapter 2.
This is beautiful here because, as we know, Second Timothy was probably the last epistle that Paul wrote.
And he was in prison, probably for the second time, probably in a real prison, not his own hired house as we get at the end of the book of the Acts.
And already he was beginning to see the break up of the work that he had labored so hard to establish. And so in chapter one he has to say, All they which are in Asia be turned away from me. But notice what he says in chapter 2 here verse 11. It is a faithful saying, For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with Him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him.
You'll notice, I think, that the.
Darby translation translates that word suffer in verse 12 as endure, and the sense of the word is enduring the suffering over a long period of time. We shall also reign with him if we deny him, or if we deny simply if we.
You know if we deny, he also will deny us if we believe not or if we are unfaithful. Yet he abideth faithful. He cannot deny himself.
In both cases, the suffering is connected with the glory.
But I do suggest this, that the suffering for Christ perhaps is more connected with coming glory. The suffering with Christ is connected with the reigning with Him and enjoying His heart for all eternity. And I suggest, although I can't prove it, but I just suggest the thought that perhaps that's something of the thought in the white stone that is spoken of in Revelation chapter 2.
Because they are at something secret that is not outward. There is reward that will be public. Have thou authority over 10 cities, a crown to be warned. And we wouldn't take away from that. But then there's the white stone that is given, and there's a name written on it that no man knoweth, but he that receiveth it. We don't need to turn to that scripture, we know that.
But what does that bring before us? May I suggest that that Whitestone? I just suggest the thought. If anyone argues with this, I can't prove it.
But I suggest the thought that the Whitestone is perhaps connected with suffering with Christ, because in Suffering with Christ I share his thoughts, his feelings, what he went through in walking through that pathway.
Everyone here that is married knows what that is like. Every husband here, I am sure would very gladly suffer physical pain for his wife if called upon to do so, and probably each husband here if it became a question.
Would give up his life in order that his wife might live.
I still remember working in the emergency room of my local hospital quite a few years ago now and having a man's body brought in dead. He was a man about my age now, and he had been changing a tire by the side of the Expressway and all of a sudden he heard a very loud and insistent blast on an air horn of a semi behind him. And he turned around just in time to see that that semi had lost a wheel and that it was hurtling straight for them as they were trying to get the spare out of the trunk.
Coming, I suppose, probably at 70 miles an hour, and that man's last act was to give his wife a tremendous shove and send her rolling head over heels into a grassy ditch just before that wheel hit him and killed him instantly. He gave his life so that his wife could live, and I am sure that the husbands here would gladly do that, and probably the wives for their husbands, too.
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But what is the greatest privilege of married life? To be able to share someone's heart, isn't it?
To be able to feel with them in the same things that they are feeling. To be able to understand.
Sometimes it takes a lifetime to learn that, doesn't it? Sometimes there are facets of things that don't come through right away.
But it's a joy and a privilege to learn that, and how much more with that Blessed One who walked through this world.
Because we see something of what his pathway was. And that's why I believe Philippians 2 is given to us. It's right to read it during the remembrance of the Lord, but it's there as an example for us. And so here it says.
If we suffer.
We shall also reign with him. Oh, what a privilege that is.
Right at the end when things were being given up, does Paul say, well, Timothy, you're just going to have to let go a little bit? Obviously, what I've been preaching and teaching isn't, isn't holding. They're giving it up. They don't want to follow a rejected Christ. They don't want to follow the one who calls them for a heavenly calling.
No, he says, Timothy, you be strong at the grace which is in Christ Jesus.
And I say that to each one of our hearts today. Turn back now for one last verse to Romans chapter 8.
Romans chapter 8. Beautiful verse.
And verse 16, Romans 8 and verse 16.
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.
If so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in US.
I understand that when it says here if we suffer with him, we may be glorified together. The thought.
Is suffering with and glorified with that is it's doing it together with the Lord Jesus.
Isn't that a wonderful privilege?
Are we willing to take that place? Are we willing to learn more of that Blessed One?
The hymn expresses it well.
Opatation spotless one our hearts in meekness trained to bear thy yoke, and learn of thee, that we may rest obtain. But I suggest, even if we could say it going beyond that expression, why do we do it?
Oh, does it bring joy to our hearts? Of course it does. But let's get right out of ourselves and think of the joy that it brings to His heart. Because what does God want to see displayed down here? He wants to see.
His beloved son in each one of us.
And now I just want to read one verse in closing in the 17th of John.
John 17.
And verse.
22.
And the glory. Now this is the Lord Jesus in his prayer just before he went to the cross.
And the glory which thou gavest me.
I have given them that they may be one, even as we are one.
I don't want to try and explain this verse totally.
But I will remember meditating on it a little after this chapter was taken up at a general meeting some years ago.
Because one brother brought out from this verse how wonderful it was to look on to coming glory.
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And how wonderful it was that that glory was all of ours. It was all ours.
Then another broke up. Another brother spoke up and said.
Why do we have to make it future? It's ours now.
He didn't elaborate.
I thought a little bit about it, meditate a little upon it.
And I believe the future is definitely embodied in this verse.
But I believe there is a sense in which it is displayed now.
And that is?
In the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who was heir to everything.
The one who was the Creator and the One.
By whom this whole universe subsists.
Came down into this world and in a voluntary humility walk through this world.
And displayed. What a glory.
Tell you a story to illustrate this, and again, pardon me if you've heard me tell it before, but it bears repeating. I've never forgotten it.
I got it directly from brother our late brother Eric Smith, so I'm sure it's accurate.
And he told how he owned a piece of property down there in Bolivia.
He had bought it, intending to build on it at some point, but then the Lord directed otherwise, and so he simply held on to it for many years, and in time property values rose.
And more than that, there were minerals discovered on that property which he knew nothing about when he bought it, and as a result, the value went a long ways up.
This, of course, is going back many, many years and he thought, I'm going to sell that property.
And then I'll have a bit of a nest egg, as we call it. I'll have a bit of money. I won't have to be a burden to anybody.
This is the Lord's way of giving me a bit of money to live on when?
I get older, isn't that wonderful?
Well, he was contemplating that and I think about to sell the proper deal, though I'm not aware that he had actually.
Put it up for sale or done anything. When he was visited by a committee of people from the government, perhaps 4/5 of them, who came to his home and they had papers in their hands and everything. And they said, Mr. Smith, do you own that piece of property, that they described it and so on. And he said, yes, I do. And they said, well, it's being expropriated by the government of Bolivia. We are taking that property.
And because it's the government taking it, we hope you can understand that we aren't intending to pay any remuneration for it. When the government needs a piece of property, we, we take it. And so if you'll just sign these papers here and put things down and just sign that you're, you know, that you're the owner and so on, and everything will be done and set and sealed. And we'll just sit at your table and finalize these details and so on, if you don't mind.
I hesitate to think of how I would have reacted under those circumstances.
Well. He calmly sat down and began to sign the papers.
But just as he was in the act of doing it, there was a tremendous earthquake.
Not a small one either. Not just a little shake, but a tremendous earthquake. And all those men, of course, knowing exactly what was happening, leaked up and ran out of the house as fast as they could.
And the earthquake lasted for five or 10 minutes, and the whole house shook and swayed back and forth, and Eric Smith calmly remained in his seat at the table.
After things had subsided a little bit, the men came in. They were kind of shaking.
They looked at him. They said my.
How can you sit here so calmly in the middle of that earthquake? You could have had the house come down around your ears. It was a well made house. It wasn't just something of.
Mud Hut or something like that. It was a concrete hull.
Oh, brother, Smith said calmly. Those who knew him can just imagine those eyes. Kindly, sympathetic and yet with a piercing look to them when they needed to.
00:50:03
Men, he said. I was just sitting here rather enjoying how my father could shake you up for what you're doing.
And he didn't say that to be funny.
We laugh, and I don't blame you. I do too. No, that had an impact more than if he'd turned a machine gun on them.
An impact. The glory which thou gave us, me I have given them.
Oh, there was a moral glory there that was worth more than $75,000 that the property was worth at that time.
God has called us to display that. He has called us to display the moral glory of His Son, and I don't know how to say it any different in a voluntary humbling of ourselves and walking through this world suffering with Christ.
That they may be one even as we are one.
You put that together, it's almost beyond expression, isn't it? And yet God has called us.
To be one with his beloved son in testimony in this world.
Blessed God, our Father.
We thank Thee for our Lord Jesus Christ, that one who came into this world.
And we thank thee that like the disciples of all.
We are privileged to suffer shame for His name. O our God, we trust that we may not shrink from this.
But that we may gladly, joyfully take that which is our portion in this world.
As following a rejected Christian.
But or God we pray to that we may have that appreciation of suffering with Christ.
Of entering into his heart and all that he went through and all that he experienced.
We pray that we may be worthy.
In some small way in that day.
To have that stone of white given to us.
But O our God, we know that it is all Thy grace we bless thee for.
Where is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure? We commend thy word to thee then for thy blessing upon it, and ask it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Open Mtg.
Open—D. Gorgas, D. Leining
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Helping us, our spirit.
Bring those things that we need to exercise about.
And as well, our God and Father, we thank you for reminding us of the blessings that we have in the person, the Bible of its God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Who now we're gathered here.
An hour we just looked at me and was counted upon to our daughter and their father.
For thy continued reading by thy spirit.
It's all itself.
Answer to our very needs as we are gathered together.
All the snowboards are God and Father, and we know the Falcons richly supplied them, so we do count upon these for this hour.
We thank you for the allowing us to have this fellowship together.
We thank thee for undertaking for us and such a marvelous way.
Exceedingly and abundantly.
Above all that we could have more than we do. Thank you for this.
We thank you for our brethren who will sit with us.
And we thank the that we've all been privileged to be out of the town of thy words. Not true in many lands.
So now we would just further wait in our presence, our God and Father.
Knowing that I that our.
Desires will not.
They want it. So we count upon you now for thy health and guidance.
That can be our God and Father, all that we have, and the Person, the Bible of the sun, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Turn to the.
Zechariah.
And the.
13th chapter.
Perhaps a few verses at the end of the 12Th chapter first.
I don't know how.
The rest of you feel when you.
Read the news of what's going on over in the Middle East.
It's heartrending.
The enmity that has been displayed against Israel.
The ganging up on Israel.
I don't know any other way to talk about it than the gathering up, ganging up on Israel.
But then to think that God is working out something.
In all of that is thrilling for myself.
Perhaps we can begin with the.
Eighth verse of the 12Th chapter.
In that day.
Will the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem?
Isn't that encouraging? The Lord will defend.
Inhabitants of Jerusalem.
They seem almost.
It seems like a hopeless situation at the present time.
Even.
This country, which has stood with Israel for many, many years.
That position is changing.
And God has something to bring them through.
That is indeed sobering to think of.
There will be.
A sifting and a harrowing that will go on in that nation.
But there will be a day when the Lord Jehovah.
Will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
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Let's go down to verse 10.
Well, the end of I shouldn't really select verse 9 says and it shall come to pass in that day, and I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Any nation that comes against Jerusalem.
Is going to have to deal with the Lord.
With Jehovah.
But in the meantime, the Lord is going to pour upon the House of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication.
And they shall look on. Now look at this, it says, They shall look on me.
Whom they pierced?
In other words, that's a declaration that when they pierced the Lord Jesus Christ.
God says.
They were after me.
They pierced me.
It's very touching, isn't it, to our hearts to think of that.
And they shall born for him, as one mourneth for an only son, and shall be in bitterness for him.
As one that is in bitterness for his first born.
In that day there shall be a great morning in Jerusalem, as the morning of Haddad rimmed in the day of the Valley of Megiddo, and the land shall mourn. Every family apart. The family of the House of David apart and their wives apart. The family of the House of Nathan apart and their wives apart. The family of the House of Levi apart and their wives apart. The family of Shimmy and I apart and their wives apart. All the families that remain. Every family apart.
And their wives are more.
As I I'm not a I'm not one of these brothers that knows a lot about prophecy.
I.
I like the thought of women, Hoffman said to me one day. He said I'd like to brother ****. I like to just look down over it and get an overview of it, and that's kind of how I look at things. I want to have the overview. I want to have it right. I want to have it scripturally.
But I'm thankful for those brothers, brother Lundine and Adrian Roach and others that went before, and some current brothers that Bruce Anstey and others that really get into the nitty gritty and the details of things.
And I'd like to sit and listen and hear what they have to say.
But the overview that we get.
Is that?
There will be a terrible shifting of the nation of Israel. We can hardly imagine what it will be.
God will sift out of that nation, and justice leave only a little remnant within them, and that remnant will mourn, for they'll look on him whom they pierced.
Oh, we pierced the Lord Jesus Christ. We thought it was we were piercing.
Profit. Some obscure profit when we were piercing Jehovah, when we did that.
Can you imagine the effect of that on their hearts?
It's just wonderful to think of, I think.
I love the Jewish nation, and maybe because.
Way, way back.
I mean way way back.
My father's side of the family.
There's some Sephardic Jewish.
Uh.
At background.
We know that because while they went to Spain from Macedonia and in the early.
Centuries of the Christian era they were.
Thrown out of Spain in 1492.
And.
Went to Holland where a lot of the Jewish people got refuge and then came to the United States. But they came under the influence of the Word of God and the gospel.
00:10:04
The meanwhile, but we're thankful for that.
I can't claim Jewishness because it has to come through your mother in order to claim it.
My mother certainly didn't have that background, but I love the Jewish nation. I think of them because my savior came from there.
Anti-Semitism.
Should never.
Appear among believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And yet I hear it.
I hear it now.
What a day that will be when their eyes are opened.
It was that we missed him.
We missed him.
I live near the town of Morristown, NJ. Not far from it, there's a big.
To publish your seminary in Bardstown very.
Earnest.
Orthodox Jewish.
Young men studying.
And when I drove a bus for a while, I used to get on my bus every Friday afternoon.
To go out to a little section where there were a lot of Jewish merchants and one day I asked them, what are you going out there for?
Oh, we want to persuade them to shut their stores on Shabbos.
So we got to talk quite a bit. We became quite friendly.
Plus, wasn't that crowded. We could talk together.
And I asked them, I said, what's your hope?
Messiah was.
Christ.
Then said grace. It wouldn't say grace. It's a Greek for Bashir.
When I see them with bumper stickers that say we want Monsieur now.
I think, oh, if you only knew you missed him.
He came and he was nailed to a tree.
But I love them.
I love them.
And I look forward to that day that we have in the 13th chapter, the first verse. In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the House of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
Isn't that glorious to think of?
They will have been through the mill.
The shifting terrible time.
But when their eyes are opened.
They'll mourn.
And then there'll be a fountain opened.
I want to go over to verse six of chapter 13.
That's particularly what's on my mind.
One shall say unto him.
What are those wounds in thy hands?
What are those wounds in my hands?
You know.
I want to take a lot of time with this story, but I'll tell you about it anyway. Very dear brother. He's written some commentaries.
Called me up one day, said Brother **** he said.
Have you ever heard the expression the freshly slain Lamb?
I think most of us have heard that if we've heard some ministry in connection with Revelation Chapter 5, Freshly Slain Land, my hadn't thought much about why that would all right to say, he said. I used that in my commentary and I've been called the task for it.
He said. Do you know any scripture that would support that?
I said, well, let me think about it brother Phil, I'll get back to you.
Well, a couple of years went by. I looked diligently in ministry. I couldn't find the expression. Freshly slain Lamb.
00:15:01
Actually there is the implication of it in.
John says I saw a lamb.
As it had been slain. No, it says as slain. That's how it really reads, as slain. That implies a freshly slain lamb, doesn't it? A lamb is slain.
But it bothered me. I wanted to get back to our brother and put it in the back of my mind.
And that was, I think it was in the Dominican Republic. Bob Tony was there at that time and.
Bob, get up.
After the breaking of bread and read this sixth verse.
He said. Did you notice that it doesn't say? What are these scars in thy hands?
Their wounds.
I said that's the answer that I've been looking for for a couple of years.
They are wounds.
The freshness of them is evidenced by the word blooms, not scars.
And Bob was very emphatic that you don't use the word and the scripture doesn't use the word.
Scars in connection with the Lords. The marks in the Lord's hands.
So I called up our brother and I said brother, I think I've got the answer.
You should touch it.
That's it.
What are these wounds in my hands?
Very quickly, Genesis.
I don't want to take much time.
Let me tell you, brethren, that.
I believe the story of the restoration of Joseph to his brethren is one of the sweetest things in all of Scripture.
Because Joseph makes me think of Jesus.
Joseph makes me think of Jesus.
And I just want to touch on a couple of points in regard to that. We know that general outline of it that he was sold and.
Into slavery.
Wrongly accused.
Take him from prison.
Raised up.
And put into the highest place in the.
Egypt.
I'm going to start with a couple of verses in chapter 45.
Verse 7.
So God sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth, and to save you alive by a great deliverance.
He had just told them, I'm Joseph, your brother. Can you imagine the consternation in their hearts as they as they looked at him? And they already had some hint that there was something going on because he had sat them down according to their birth order.
It was either a very good guess or he knew the story.
And he wept.
He wept.
Beloved, I believe the Lord Jesus will weep.
At the restoration of his brethren to him.
Those covenant theologians and.
Who would make Israel?
The church.
Are robbing the Lord Jesus of that.
Blessed moment of the Restoration with his brethren.
Very poignant.
The Egyptian Sir.
The House of Pharaoh.
Joseph said to his brethren. I'm Joseph. Oh, in a moment.
I'm Joseph.
00:20:01
Chose them O the consciences began to work now.
And I believe this is what created.
This is what created what we have in Zechariah 13 that the House of David mourns and the House of Nathan and go on go through those numbers there those people every family apart, the mourning because.
Of what they did to him.
I started to read first.
Seven but I just read verse five verse not be not grieved and be not angry with yourselves that you sold me, hit her for God sent me before you to preserve life.
That whole story of the rejection of the Lord and his crucifixion.
Not some afterthought. He was delivered by the determinant, counsel and foreknowledge of God.
Don't lose that.
Yes, the guilt is there and they're going to acknowledge it.
And the Italians with the user mentioned the Italians earlier today, the Italians are going to have to answer to it. That represents our suspect.
God sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth, and to save your life by a great deliverance.
He says them, You meant it for evil to me, but God meant it for good.
You know, my heart was very touched. I guess most of you have heard who Lisa Beamer is and Todd Beamer was. Todd Beamer was the man on Flight 93, the believer in the Lord Jesus who after a long conversation on the cell phone said, let's roll. And I guess they took over the plane and crashed it into the ground rather than allow it to go into the White House or the where the.
Where the capital is, they think perhaps it was headed for.
But Lisa Beamer.
Has a website, or rather those who set up a Memorial Fund for Todd has a website. And I went to that website and my heart was thrilled to see that she says you meant it unto me for evil, but God meant it for good.
What a statement of faith.
God meant it for good.
And he says to verse 9 Haste and go up to my father, and say to him, Thus says thy son Joseph, God has made me Lord of all Egypt.
What a declaration?
For Joseph's fainting heart, to hear that his son that he loved so much.
Was made.
Lord of all Egypt.
Their beloved brethren.
We have that same.
Message to give that God has made our precious Lord Jesus.
Lord of all.
Of all creation.
I just wanted to notice a couple of other things that.
First of all, He made a very wonderful provision for them on the way home. Hasn't the Lord made wonderful provisions for us on the way home?
You know, there's one thing I'd rather not read that I should read because he says to them.
Now see that you fall not out by the way.
New translation gives that Mister Darby's translation gives that Do not quarrel of the way.
Beloved brethren, why is it that we don't pay attention to that? The Lord has said that to us. Don't quarrel on the way.
And we don't pay any attention to them, do we?
We quarrel over this and we quarrel over that.
00:25:04
You think that pleases him? I don't think so.
Am I advocating peace in any praise? Not by any means, beloved brethren, not by any means.
But I'm also saying, the Lord said to his, Don't quarrel on the way home.
Why do you say that?
He knew their dangers, and the Lord knows our natures, doesn't he? And he tells us, don't quarrel.
Someone once told me in an unkind way that you put two Englishmen together in the same assembly and you'll have a division the next week.
This is unfair thing to say, I'm sure, but if you look at that was an English brother that told me that. By the way, Walter, Jason told me that.
But.
We're no better, aren't we?
We're no better.
Now they come to their father, and they say to him, the last three verses are what? I'll close with the last three verses of Genesis 45. And they told him, saying Joseph is still alive.
He had said, Tell him of all my glory.
Tell Him of all my glory what will preserve us, beloved brethren, on the way home.
If we could speak of the glory of that blessed one more.
We have less time for contention over things.
They said Joseph is still alive, He is governor over all the land of Egypt.
And his heart fainted.
As he didn't believe her.
I'm sure a lot of you remember that Mister Hale used to say all our failure, whether as believers or unbelievers, springs from unbelief to the goodness of the heart of God toward us.
It's a true thing, isn't it?
And he fainted.
'Cause he couldn't believe it. It was such good news, such wonderful news, something that he probably.
Hadn't the least thought that he'd ever hear again, but now he hears it.
And they spoke to him all the words of Joseph. What's the remedy for fainting hearts, beloved brethren?
The words of Joseph.
The words of our blessed Savior are what the remedy is for faking cards.
And he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him.
Have you looked at those wagons?
They're wonderful, aren't they?
The wonderful provision the Lord has made for us.
To carry his home, it's just wonderful.
And the spirit of Jacob their father, revived. Ah, that was the answer to his fading.
Wonderful.
And Israel said it is enough.
So now.
That has. That's one word in Spanish. I like it. Pasta. Pasta.
It's one word.
It's enough.
That's enough.
To know that our blessed Savior is risen from the dead and seated at the right hand of God and made Lord of all.
My heart was very moved as we were thinking of various scriptures in connection with His exultation. I don't know that I've ever been in the breaking of bread quite like this morning, where one hymn after another rolled from our hearts concerning His glory.
Some of you probably have, but I that was a wonderful experience for me.
The glory of that Blessed One.
Every hymn in our book, I guess, about his exultation.
It's an exaggeration, but certainly a lot of them.
00:30:03
It's enough, Joseph, my son is alive, beloved brethren.
That fact that our blessed Savior is alive and at the right hand of God is enough.
To sustain our souls and to keep us until we get home.
I will go and see him before I die. Beloved brethren, that's the hope of every believer today.
We're not looking for judgment day.
A lot of damage has been done by.
Radio preachers talking about we're looking for judgment. We're not looking for judgment day.
We're going to go see you.
And the blessed hope of every believer is before I die.
Now we may die.
Just before I sit down, I'll tell you that when my dad was.
As last was great privilege to be at his side during his last day.
We we had him at home.
He kept talking about the.
The coming of the Lord and the hope of it.
And now finally, he said to me, it looks like the Lord's going to take me.
Today.
And then he said, But you may find out you're taking me out to the cemetery. You won't get there.
What a hope.
What a real blessed hope for our souls.
After that experience, one of my sons said to me, Dad.
I used to be afraid of dying a little bit.
He said the Lord took that all away with grandpas words.
Watching Grandpa die.
Joseph Jacob had a long time ahead of him in Egypt.
But I believe that what he says here is enough.
Joseph is alive.
I will go and see him Before I Die is a type and a beautiful type of the hope in your heart and mind that sustains us until that coming day.
I would like to.
Just build on Brother Dick's. I'm going to read one of the verses he read there.
Ye shall tell my Father of all my glory in Egypt.
And I believe the way he put it was that if we had the Lord's glory before us more.
There would be fewer problems amongst us. Maybe that's not exactly the way he said it, but.
Turn with me to First Samuel.
22.
I thought.
That same thing.
It may be a different picture.
First Samuel 22 David. King, David. In Rejection.
At The Cave of a doem. David therefore departed thence and escaped to The Cave Adolem.
And when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him.
In everyone that was in distress and everyone that was in debt and everyone that was discontented.
Gathered themselves unto him, and he became a captain over them.
And there were with him about 400 men.
You know, beloved, there's three different classes of people here that.
That came to David.
Debtors discontented and in distress. And we're the same way those of us gathered to the Lord's name. We have various backgrounds, we have various needs that oppressed us to to.
00:35:00
To the feet of our David, to the feet of the Lord Jesus, our needs have brought us.
You know, nobody here had to go out. None of these 400 had to go out to The Cave of a dullum. They went out because they loved David. David had won their hearts.
And I don't know if I want to take the time to meditate here on on these that are in debt and discontented. Let me just say about the discontented just for the sake of brevity. You know, sometimes we become sick and tired of ourselves of being me, being who we are. Maybe others have experienced that, but you know, that's a great, great reason to come to the Lord Jesus. You know, God's purpose that in US the life of Christ would shine out.
And.
Sometimes we become discontented, but then it's a wonderful opportunity for Christ to shine out in our lives. But what I really had on my heart in the same vein with what Brother **** had, why were all these gathered together in this cave? You know, sometimes it's like our assemblies. Most of us here are gathered to the Lord's name. We come from various assemblies. We have various problems and trials and challenges in our local assemblies, but the assembly sometimes is quite like this cave. We're we're not set up for a lot of comforts.
For the flesh. And you know, and sometimes we're, if you will allow the picture, we're kind of pressed together and in close proximity. We know a lot about each other's lives and there's not a lot of privacy.
But you know, beloved, when we have our eyes on why we're there, we're there because we love David.
Then everything works right.
It works, right, But when we get our eyes off the Lord Jesus, and I think that's kind of.
The spirit of what we had before us in Malachi. It's so easy to get our eyes off of the Lord Jesus. It's so easy to forget why we're living our lives down here. It's so easy to forget like our brother Bill brought before us. It's so easy to forget why we we suffer things that we suffer. You know, we need to keep our eyes. And especially for the young people, I'd encourage you to seek the Lord early, to seek him first. Keep your eyes on the Lord Jesus. Because when we get our eyes off of the Lord Jesus and we forget why we're living our lives the way we are.
Then people are stepping on my toes and I'm jostling people around me and they know too much about me and I know too much about them. And The Cave can become a very unpleasant place. But we need to remember why we're gathered to the Lord's name. It's because the Lord Jesus has won our hearts. And I just want to say this too, if we look further on to the end of the life of David and David talks about these mighty men that came out.
You know, these were the, these were the same ones, I think these 400.
And that's like us, beloved, you know, our needs and and our shortcomings bring us to the Lord Jesus and we find in him the one who's won our hearts. And in a day to come, we're going to stand before him at the judgment seat of Christ. And you know, he's going to put on display little victories that you had and victories that I had that we never heard about. You know, these mighty men of David, we never heard about them before, most of them. And here's on display the victories that they had that they want, but the love.
The love of David was why they were there.
They learned to follow him. They learned David had won that great victory over Goliath, and David was a mighty man of faith, and they followed him. And in the end, David.
Held them up and the victories that they had won.
I'd like to turn to a verse in Genesis 41.
I think as we all have had.
Times before the Lord.
And we have become acquainted with his ways.
We have found that there's two different ways in which the Lord draws us along.
One is by showing us an object that's before us.
And looking beyond the difficulties of the present day and seeing something of worth and value and blessing.
And somehow it just carries us over the waves.
And then, in the ways of God, there's moments of sifting.
And some have called it the objective side of things.
00:40:03
And the other one is the subjective side of things.
And I would just like to touch in with those two things to.
Maybe give expression to some thoughts that are in others hearts too today because as we have.
Gone over that third chapter of Malachi.
I thought of that verse that Job said.
Though he slay me, yet will I trust him?
Because there are times when as the word of God was penned.
It was penned to stir up the hearts of his people.
It was penned to slay things that were governing the hearts of his own that came short of the calling that then was upon their hearts.
And I asked a brother this morning thinking about Philippians 3.
What is the concision?
And as we meditated together, we came up with somewhat of a little formula.
As to what the concision is.
Now in Philippians 3, we'll get to it in a minute, but.
There, Paul says beware.
Of the concision.
And.
What we came up with that concision is a fleshly effort.
To cut off what we know is wrong.
Without having the Lord Jesus before us.
And the thought that came to me is in this chapter.
And we have in chapter 41 an exalted Joseph.
It's so precious, brethren, as we read of Joseph's sufferings.
And we had this that this morning in the breaking of bread. But we also had as our brother mentioned.
And exalted Christ.
And oh, this is so beautiful.
As Pharaoh is telling Joseph.
He says in verse 40, Thou shalt be over my house.
And according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled.
Now some time ago in the new translation.
It says this, I read this. I trust this is the way it says it. He says, And according unto thy word, shall all my people regulate themselves.
And you know when we hear the expression rules and regulations.
We're very much acquainted with what that means.
I believe everyone of us has a strain of legality in our bosoms.
That as we have sought to maybe walk in something in the scripture and we see someone or some others not walking in, that we have an animosity toward them and we would like to lay something before them that would move them into the path.
It just comes as easy as breathing.
But as we have this here, brethren, it says, and according to thy word.
This is the Joseph that suffered.
And he suffered greatly.
And as it has been said, God meant it for good.
Because he was a chosen vessel indeed that suffered, and that was going to reign with him, because he suffered with the Lord.
But what I'm going to get at?
Is that?
When we have something brought before us in the word of God.
And we had it during our conference as the discipleship to the Lord.
It's costly.
And I believe the greatest cost.
Is not by coming someone coming and holding a knife to my throat.
It's not someone who's coming to threaten me or my well-being.
It's the battle.
That goes on in here.
Because the Lord is calling me from earth apart.
To be just for him in this world.
And that is where the power comes, beloved, that according to thy word, this is not the word of man.
00:45:05
This is the word of the Lord Jesus who suffered and died and bled for our souls. It's according to his word that we would regulate our lives. You know, a brother, one time not too long ago, a year, he spoke about some who just love to live on the edge.
You know, there's something thrilling about living on the edge to the natural man.
To be in that area where you know life could ebb away, life could go or life might stay.
And he just challenged us as to, is this the way we take up the word of God?
How much can I get away with and yet be in happy fellowship in the Assembly?
Oh what a what a deceitful thing that is.
But wouldn't we long? Wouldn't we long to be in that state of soul?
Where we say, Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.
Wouldn't we want that rather than to say, well, I know what the word of God says, but you know, I don't have to just give him everything?
But is that what the Lord wants? Just part?
And I believe that is what the Lord gave us while we were here at this conference, was, as the Lord looked down upon His people, Israel.
And looked right down into their hearts.
That he gave them a little inkling of what his ways were. So I'd like to go and touch into a little subjective thinking.
It was the thought of I will purify the sons of Levi.
Now, how do you purify something?
You put it in the freezer.
Maybe.
But I think generally the way of purifying is to apply heat.
To an object.
The heat.
You know, it tells us in Revelation 14 that there is a company that's going to be here on the earth. Our brother referred to them as the children of Israel.
And it says that they sing a song.
And no one else could learn that song but them. What does that mean?
That means that you and I cannot step into their shoes and sing that song.
Because we were not there. Or shall we more accurately say we shall not be there, but they are going to be put through a sieve.
And testing intrigue, pressure, the peril of death.
And through that, they're going to learn a song that no one else can learn.
I will purify the sons of Levi.
You know.
They are going to endure unto the end. Why? Because they are not going to give up to what they know is wrong.
I'd like to turn to Matthew chapter 10.
I.
This is a very interesting chapter.
And I will try to keep it as short as possible on this point.
But it's during the days of our Lord as He.
Sent the 12 out.
And he gives them various instructions as to how they are to carry out their service for him.
And.
Well, let's read from verse 21.
And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death.
And the father, the child.
And the children shall rise up against their parents.
And cause them to be put to death.
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.
But he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
But when they persecute you in this city, flee into another. For verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel.
00:50:01
Till the Son of Man become.
Now this is a very important verse because it shows us that in this chapter the Lord is speaking about a present.
Message of blessing of the coming Kingdom through the 12 disciples.
But the way it's worded here now tells us that it's going to apply to the 12 or shall we say, to that remnant of Israel.
That in the coming day are going to go out and proclaim Messiah is coming.
And they're going to take the gospel of the Kingdom out to all the farthest corners of the world.
And you shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of Man become.
You know, I believe that the Lord has written this.
So that the shall I say the emotions of our hearts would be stirred because.
At this very time, this company is going to be tempted to take a lesser path.
Have we ever been tempted to take a lesser path?
All the time.
And when we follow on in this chapter.
He says verse 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me.
Is not worthy of Maine.
And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
And he that taketh not his cross.
And followeth after me is not worthy of me.
He that findeth his life shall lose it.
And he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Just think of that, brother.
I wouldn't have thought that the Lord had to say this to these Saints.
Because normally in a time of persecution and trouble and trial.
We're not thinking about ourselves.
We're thinking about what we have to face and what we have to overcome.
But you know, even for this dear remnant.
They have the same heart as you and I.
And it's always easier to not give the Lord everything.
But to see.
If it's possible to live on the edge.
He that taketh not his cross.
And followeth after me is not worthy of me.
He that findeth his life shall lose it. O brethren, think of this.
You know, James asked the question. What is your life?
And I'm looking into the faces of students.
Fathers and mothers, grandparents. And you know what?
It was some time ago that I heard this expression over and over and over again. Now, you young people.
Now, you young people.
And you know, that bothered me.
Because how easy it is to look on those.
Who are younger and consider them as not having quite made it where I have.
And brethren, we should bow our heads, those of us who are maybe a little older than you young people.
Let's consider what is our life?
And you know, I believe that we should unite our hearts with those that are younger.
And let's remember we're in this pathway together.
Then we would want the younger to feel that their older ones are accessible.
They haven't made it quite yet either.
And we need to remember, like Barzillai and Chimham.
Barzillai. He was too old to go up with David and reign with David.
But there was number. There was nothing like this with Barzillai and Chin Ham. Barzillay. I could say Chin Ham will go up with you. And you know what Chim Ham means.
It means my longing.
And so rather than say you young people, we're going to say our longing.
And not with a sense that we have made it.
00:55:01
But with the fact that the Lord is saying to everyone of us, he that findeth his life shall lose it.
You know, we could start and we could put a list up here.
And write down the things that might be a snare to your heart or to my heart. But the Lord didn't do it that way. He said it with a view.
That we would say, OK Lord, what is my life?
And to challenge ourselves honestly.
Because the Lord will have truth in the inward parts. I remember as a boy I watch television a lot.
And one program I loved to watch was I LED 3 lives.
And you know, now I don't want to lead 3 lives. This man was a father and he was an FBI agent and I forgot what other health he was. Maybe he just was a businessman.
But that is not what the Lord wants, and I'm sure that everyone of us can say we're very prone to lead maybe 2 or even 3 lives where we should be leading one life and we only have one life to offer.
Only once, and then it's gone.
Well, I wanted to turn over to.
Jeremiah 48.
And thereto again.
Maybe see something of the ways of the Lord?
As to how?
He draws.
US.
It was such a searching thought.
This afternoon.
As to the one that spoke about those that lived in this country.
And how we found it so easy to.
Just live at ease.
Take thine easy drink and be merry.
But I believe in the circle of experience of everyone that's in this room.
I would say there's burdens right now.
And we ask ourselves why.
Why has the Lord allowed this or allowed that?
But as the Lord exposes one of the enemies of Israel, Moab by name.
Verse 11.
He says this.
Moab hath been at ease from his youth.
And he has settled on his lease, and hath not been emptied.
From vessel to vessel.
Neither hath he gone into captivity. Therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.
If there is going to be something for the Lord in our lives.
And it's not that we can't start anytime, but I believe.
Got to start from our youth.
There's something so lovely.
About a young person, and I'm sure many of us have been.
Stirred. As we've seen a young person begin to stir, you remember how it says that the Spirit moved, Samson?
From time to time, I'm not. I don't think that's the way it says it exactly, but there were moments when the Spirit moved Samson and he moved out of his place.
In order to accomplish something for Jehovah.
But what does this mean? Moab hath been at ease from his youth.
Oh, what a word to us.
Would we rather just be at ease?
And justice settle down, I noticed in the Book of Revelation.
There's a class of people that are called they that dwell upon the earth, but when it comes to the vials.
It says that it's going to come to those that are settled on the earth.
I believe that that's even a greater enamoration with what's here in this world, and they've chosen it.
Oh, thank God.
We have a heavenly hope here this afternoon.
Because it's a Kingdom that can't be shaken.
01:00:03
But there are those who will be here who are settled on the earth.
Well, I believe I should have my new translation here, but I was thinking that it spoke about them.
As Oh yes, it's in the next verse.
Therefore, behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send unto him horrors.
That shall pour him off.
And shall empty his vessels and break his bottles. In other words, in the ways of the Lord.
The things that.
Stir us Is the Lord pouring us off from vessel to vessel?
Maybe it's a death.
Maybe it's the loss of a friend.
Maybe it's a disappointment at work.
There's 101 Things.
Domestic difficulties?
But these are the things that the Lord uses to pour us off from vessel to vessel.
And you know, brethren, if it wasn't that way.
I think we'd all be as those who are settled on our leaves.
Neither hath he gone into captivity.
I'd just like to close with that portion.
Let's go to Philippians 3.
And all this is so precious to my heart.
There's an expression in Timothy.
Maybe I should just read it. You'll make your turn to it.
That they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil who are taken captive.
By him.
At his will, there are those.
Who have been taken captive? Who have fallen?
But you know, there's another captivity.
It's a wonderful captivity.
It is found in Chapter 3.
Of Philippians.
My brother read I believe bound through verse 10.
Now let's read at verse 11, if by any means I might.
Arrive, it should read at the resurrection from among the dead, not as though I had already attained.
Either we're already perfect.
That I follow after.
If I I'm going to try to.
Excuse me, read this.
I wrote it down quite small.
If that I may get possession seeing that also I have been taken possession of.
By Christ.
There is the most blessed captivity that this world has ever known. It's not somebody being ensnared by the cords of his sins, but it's a man who was the direct instrument of Satan to to kill the Saints of God.
Who gave his body to the ready service of the devil, and now he says, I have been taken possession of by Christ Jesus.
It tells us back there about Moab. Neither did he go into captivity.
Is there such a thing that we would not want the Lordship of Christ?
Is it possible to reject the fact that the Lord wants me spirit, soul and body?
So that I might, as we said earlier, live on the edge to enjoy my life of my youth.
It's very possible.
But think of it, dear ones, I follow after, if I may also get possession of the fact that the Lord Jesus has taken possession of me.
It's not something that he's going to do.
That is something that He has already done in the mind of God, and it's for us by His grace.
To be ready to lose our life.
01:05:03
That we might find it in this precious circle of fellowship of love with him. Oh, it's so blessing.
And I don't know of any other way to truly rise above.
The course of this age.
Than to feel what it is to be loved by someone who will never let me go, who has taken possession of me for eternity.
Seeing that I have been also have been taken possession of by Christ.
Well, this was what was upon my heart.
That the Lord does pour us off from vessel to vessel. It's part of His ways.
With a view of knowing that He's there by his word, shall we regulate ourselves?
That's so far above rules and regulations.
It's a person directing my heart.
And as I read the word of God.
To leave it open.
So that I would be fully under the control of that precious word.
Well, may we not be?
Afraid, shall I say, to be poured from vessel to vessel.
And as our brother Randy was saying earlier, and I don't believe there's anything that more.
Churns our hearts.
Then the trials that come.
From those that we love the most.
So may we rather than be ready to be poured off.
That's the way that the Lord uses.
To stir us up.
To know that the Lord is purifying His people even now.
Now I'm speaking about a practical thing, because by one offering He has perfected forever them that are sanctified. Let that be an established fact.
As our brethren told us when I was first gathered to His name, it was so precious to me as they told us that when we get saved, we are just as ready for the glory as the most seasoned St. the oldest St. in the room. And it's true.
Because it's not according to our experience. It's not according to our faithfulness.
It's a knot according to how we've endured. It's rests on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's his blood that cleanses us from all sins, but He is purifying us because we're in a world that's contrary to our progress.
And just as soon as Israel crossed the Jordan River.
There was that formidable city saying, no, you're not coming in here.
And the principles that we want our life to be governed by are not accepted by this world.
And I know it's difficult for those especially.
I have a business where I am pretty much alone.
But those that are in offices and there's three or four maybe 1020 other employees.
And try to live your life for Christ among them. And you find that there's a battle going on because they do not want you to make progress to follow your Lord into a heavenly pathway, to walk as heavenly citizens. They are dead set against it.
Well, thank the Lord we have one in us that's greater than he that is in the world.
And through this word.
The word of the Lord Jesus.
See that you refuse not him that speaketh from heaven all these precious epistles.
These are the words of the Lord Jesus.
And by them.
May we seek His grace to regulate our lives.
They would be for him.
Today and a beautiful remembrance this morning. We hardly do this anymore, but we just enjoyed it all. By the Holy Spirit. Such blessed thoughts.
01:10:02
This afternoon.
Crazy, but I'll continue to give us thoughts and thy beloved spot that are beyond description. Many times we've been exercised farther and it's good to be exercised because we can't really grab what thou has done for us. We can lay down a life for thee. That wouldn't be enough. We just give me thanks so that we have that blessed hope.
Which has no question.
About it, but where we expected momentarily. Father, that time when thy Son will come and take his bride to glory, we give her thanks for the blessing of the past two days.
We have a gospel ahead of us and we would have others enter into the fullness that we enjoy and they have to be safe to really drive and joy.
We do, we want that faith, we want them to feed like we do together, a godfather. We just here to thank you, praise me for everything thou has done these days at this conflict, and we give the thanks and the precious worthy day of thy sight, our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Gospel
Gospel—R. Bauman
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Our gracious, our loving God and Father. We give thee thanks that Jesus died for me. We hope each one here can say it. If so, this gospel will be a joy for them to hear. If they're not saved, it won't be so happy, but it's so necessary.
They realize what lies ahead for them should they go on in their sins. And so we know, Father, Thou would have all awakened and realize the terrible peril they're in if they're not saved and belong to Jesus Christ, thy beloved Son, our God and Father. We ask for help, and we look to thee in faith in the precious, worthy name of the only Savior of sinners.
Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
You know, when I was driving along, I was looking for some music.
On the radio, and I heard a deep, rich voice. It was a black man, and he was going to preach a gospel. So I didn't hear the gospel, but I heard his introduction because his voice was so rich. I wanted to hear what he said. And he said, tonight I'm preaching on this verse. Genesis 310. Adam, where art thou? Then he said, I divides it into three parts.
You know, thoughtfully, he said. Every man has got to be somewhere. Secondly, he said some men are just where they ought not to be, and thirdly, those that are where they ought not to be.
Sure will be where they don't want to be if they don't get saved. And that was a beautiful way, wasn't it? I would have liked to heard his gospel, but I didn't. I wanted music.
OK, we'll read.
Still in Titus. Now we'll read in Titus.
Verse four Titus 3 verse 4.
Verse three says.
We were fully disobedient, deceived, serving divers loves and pleasures.
That describes every Sinner outside of Christ. That's the way that is. But after that verse 4 the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man, appeared not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.
Six He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, but being justified by His grace.
We should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful save.
The kindness and mercy of God, then a wonderful expression. The kindness and mercy of God. Do you know God that way?
If you don't, you don't know God at all. If you don't know God the Father in his kindness.
And his mercy and His grace. You don't know him. You need to be saved.
You know, it says.
Have you experienced that mercy?
I have, But if you haven't experienced that mercy, you're lost. And that's a sad thing to be on your way to hell. Well, you may be religious. I'm not saying that. You may be very good citizen and all that. You may even be active and faithful in a Church of some kind. Or you may attend service on Christmas Eve or perhaps Easter Sunday.
But perhaps some of these days I begin to forget them. Good Friday on and on. But you may still be lost. You know only Christ saves. All that doesn't save has nothing to do with with salvation. And you know this is a faithful saying. That's what it said. What makes a saying faithful? Who said it? If you have confidence in who said it, that's what makes it faithful.
And you know we have it is this God cannot lie.
And this is the word of God. You know, it says it is impossible for God to lie. I think that's beautiful. We have the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began. Well, this is the gospel we're going to have today. Turn to Romans 3. I just want to mention one thing that Paul brought out so clear, the apostle Paul.
00:05:15
Romans 3.
What advantages verse one then has the Jew or what prophet is there of circumcision? Much every way? Why? Chiefly because unto them were committed. The oracles of God unto us is committed the whole word of God. Isn't that precious when you think about it? Then he said, For what if some did not believe?
Gentiles were getting saved all over, but not too many Jews after that first.
Epic. There where Peter preached and others, and they were scattered, but Paul was finding they didn't receive it too well. He said What if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid, let God be true, but every man a liar.
I've often thought if everybody I'm preaching to today doesn't believe and they walk out lost.
Doesn't make any difference with my soul. I'm going to glory and Satan can't stop me and I won't be able to get myself out of the Lambs book of life. I'm on my way because his word has effect and I believed it. I hope all of you believe what you hear tonight, feeble as it'll be given out because it's still the word of God. Faith comes by hearing.
And hearing by the word of God. And you're going to hear a little of the word of God tonight.
And I know you've all heard before, it doesn't mean you're saved, but it means God is faithful and he's going to get the message to you. Well, we'll look on. This is a faithful saying. You know, we have that in.
First, Timothy, I think it's chapter 115. This is a faithful saying. It's worthy of all acceptation. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Did you ever claim your place there? As sinners, you know you're all qualified to go to heaven.
Your sinners and your lost You can't do one thing.
You ever claim that or do you disqualify yourself? If you disqualify yourself and say I'm not such a bad Sinner as my neighbor or this guy who ends up in jail, you won't get there.
Hell is your destination unless you can take that place.
Faithful saying because it's the word of God and God cannot lie. He that hath received his testimony. It says in John has set to his seal that God is true.
Isn't that wonderful? If you believe the testimony from the word of God, you you set to your seal that God is true. I used to be a notary and I sealed many, many documents and they were authentic throughout the whole world because I put the notary steel on it, you know. But I haven't got a seal that says I'm authentic.
You know the very fact that I belong to Christ is my seal. That God is true because I walk trustfully. I do as I should before him, and I preach, I hope, faithfully before him. That's my seal, proof that I'm saved. Isn't that wonderful? We set to our seal that God is true. I think that the beautiful verse.
When a Sinner receives Jesus Christ, he is saved and he knows it. I have no doubt I know, Paul said. I know who I have believed and I'm persuaded that he's able to keep that I've committed unto him against that day. And I say, yeah, and Amen, Paul, I too, you know, that's really the seal.
There can't anything shake you from it.
There was a General Howard in the Civil War and he was one of the best generals General Ulysses Grant had and they were very close friends.
00:10:09
General Howard got saved down in Tampa in the barracks of the soldiers. He liked to mix with the soldiers. There was a gospel given, and it touched his heart and convicted his soul of his need. And General Howard, that great man, went to that old ugly, rugged table in the middle. He kneeled down, put his Bible on the table, and he confessed Christ openly. He got saved.
You know, the word went around the Army camp fast. General Howard is a Christian. General Howard is saved. People just couldn't believe it. The next morning he was heading for the officers dining room and one of his officers was coming toward him who was an infidel. He was a scoffer, Didn't believe the Bible and he said, Howard, is it true what I heard?
That you're a Christian, Howard said. Yes, it's true. Last night I gave my life to Jesus Christ and I haven't been so happy ever since. I'm a Christian. I believe the word of God. You know what he said? He said, Howard, I could show you 100 discrepancy in that book right now. And Howard said you keep your discrepancies to yourself. You can't show me.
That I didn't receive Christ last night and that I was so happy I haven't slept a wink.
You can't show me that God will take care of all the discrepancies in his time and he walked on. Very good answer, brethren, because the world can't understand us if we're saved. There was a rich man, and I think you've all heard of him, a railroad Baron named Cordelius Vanderbilt. I think he was a multi millionaire, but I know he died with 100 million. I guess that makes him multi and he was on his deathbed.
And all of his family were gathered. Of course, the doctor was there too.
And they were all paying the last loving comments to Vanderbilt.
And you know, he called for his black valet, who was with him for many years, who was saved. And the valet came up nervously. And Vanderbilt said, come here. And he came here and he said, please sing me that song. And the hymn he sang so beautifully was. I hope I remember it. Oh, I shouldn't have even started. If I don't, then let's see if it was.
Oh boy, I can't remember. I want to go on anyway.
Something about poor and needy Sinner and when he got done.
Vanderbilt said to his family. I am that poor and needy Sinner.
And I'm saved. You know, he was 100 millionaire but poor in this world and went home really rich. 100 billion means nothing to what he inherited there. It's a beautiful story. You just have to believe, Not think it out, not reason it out. Fate. They'll be sure you're wrong every time. You just believe what God said. Let's turn to Psalms.
Psalms, I think it's 85, Psalms 85.
If you're in Canada, it's Sam. Same thing. Psalm 85.
And verse.
7 Show me Show us Thy mercy, O Lord.
And grinas thy salvation, I will hear what God the Lord will speak.
For he will speak peace. You know it's not hidden from you. It's a wonderful thing. The word of salvation, the gospel of God, is open and out for every Sinner in this whole world. I think it's so. Show us thy mercy. Oh Lord, He's shown it to you many times. You know, God gets the word out. He gets the word out many ways. But we've preached Mondara lakes in Toronto where they have.
A A White.
Screen and they put up numbers and all the hymns that they want to call those men come in really ragged and undone. They sit down because after they sing gospel hymns and hear the word of God, they get fed. And you know, they asked for them to call a hymn and then they'll sing it. There's a piano player there and him they always called first is Jesus loves me. This I know.
00:15:21
Isn't that lovely?
They learned it in Sunday school. God is so faithful. You know you've heard in the in funerals. I know you have the gospel or at least the word of God enough to save one verse can take you to heaven. And so God is so faithful and that's what it says here the Word is nigh under thee. It's not far. I think it's yeah, verse 9. Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him.
Come on to me, all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what he's done for my soul. But if you don't fear God, is no use telling you. If you haven't got a holy reverence of God and who he is, you won't believe what I tell you anyway. But it has to be Those that fear God turn to Acts 13. For that I just came to mind Acts 13.
And I think false speaking.
Acts chapter 13, verse 16. Then Paul stood up and beckoning with his hand, said men of Israel And ye that fear God, give audience, you know, it's a beautiful thought. What's the use of speaking to somebody that doesn't believe this is God's word? I don't waste time until they believe. At least it's God's word. I don't waste time anymore.
Too many souls to reach? Then you don't reach those you know. If they believe there is no God, they're not. They're going to mock and ridicule. Well, that's the thought here, you know. And look what it says in 28, I think. And though they know, I'll go back.
In the end of verse.
26 Whosoever among you feareth God to you.
Is the word of this salvation sent for they that dwell at Jerusalem?
And their rulers, because they knew not, they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets.
Are read every Sabbath day. They have fulfilled them in condemning.
Jesus And though they found no cause of death in Jesus, yet desired, they pilot that he should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a sepulcher. But God, I love the but gods in the word of God. But God raised him from the dead, and he was seen.
Many days of them which come up with him from Galilee.
To Jerusalem who are his witness under the people. And we declare unto you the glad tidings, how the promise which was made under the fathers God hath fulfilled the same verse. 38 Be it known unto you, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, How many sins have you committed?
I had a mountain of them when I was saved. A mountain of them. You know what? They're all gone.
I've got a sin left to answer to God, not one. Isn't that wonderful?
Jesus Christ took all those sins in his body on the tree when he died for me. And that's what I want you to know for yourself and by Him all that believe are justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the Law of Moses.
Will turn to act 36 again 15 I think acts 36 this time and 15.
But thou, O Lord, art of God, full of compassion.
And gracious long-suffering plenteous in mercy.
And truth, oh turn unto me, and have mercy upon me.
Give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thy handmaid.
Show me a token for good.
00:20:00
We know you must have that token if you remember Rahab.
At Jericho the harlot on the wall.
That a good business going there and she was fearing.
God, you know, come unto me, all ye that fear God, and I'll tell you.
And the spies came to Rahab's house on top of the wall of Jericho.
And she hid them who were searching for them because the rumor got out.
The Israelites have sent spies in. They're going to attack this city and she hid them how beautiful on the roof. And then she said how they could be saved to get away after they spotted out she turned traitor on her own country.
So did I when I received Christ. So will you if you receive Christ.
You have to turn your back on the country. And this world is a terrible world. It's the valley of the shadow of death. All this world can give is death. That's all because of sin. Well, she turned her back on it because she knew God had something better. And you know what she said to those five before they left. Give me a toe cut. Isn't that something? You got to have the token.
Give me a token.
And what was the token they gave her?
Blood.
A red line. Put in thy window when we return and you'll be safe. Isn't that wonderful? Blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses from all thin. So she didn't do what they said. Noon As soon as they left, she hung it in her window. She didn't wait till they returned. But that's all right, you know. If you want to be sure and sure, do just that. When I was saved, you know, I was so pleased and so happy.
But Satan got to work. He says you're not saved. How can you do the things you're still doing and be saved? Well, I really was sad. So what I did, I took Satan right back to the cross again. And he had such a dubbing there. He left me alone, hadn't bothered me about that. Didn't that wonderful? That's the word to God. Satan can't resist it. He can't trouble you if you believe the word of God. Well, that's what we're talking about. Give me a token, you know, whenever I speak of a token.
I think of England.
I was in England with my wife and we had been done visiting all the assemblies in England and we were at Gatwick Airport and I was getting ready to go. I'm sorry I didn't tell that right. We were heading for Gatwick Airport. We had been in Fulham. Now Fulham had only one sister there and no brothers.
Big building and it leaked in the roof, but a young brother came there every Lord's day so they could break bread. And remember the Lord. That's all that was left in Fulham. And you know, we had a lovely time breaking bread. He came with his wife, though there was five of us, a crowd, and you know, as we were singing hymns.
The lady came in middle-aged cot.
You know, Ragged, there's some holes in it. She had babushka on. She walked right in and sat down. She stayed the whole time. And you know, some place like England where they're down to one or two. That's a thrilling thing. So we talked to her after the meeting. Now, Brother Honeycutt, honey set was go ahead, his car ready. So he said, I'll lead you to the airport.
You just follow me, get you through the traffic and you might make your plane. He knew when we were taking off. So as we talked to this woman, she said, I've walked by many times. That big church across the street, the cathedral there, she said. But they didn't want me there. I walked in a few times and they said, well, that we have no public restrooms or something, you know. And so she said, this time I walked on this side of the street.
And I heard that beautiful singing little flock hymn book, you know?
Some beautiful about it. Not that we sing beautiful, but we make a joyful noise. That's what God wants.
And she heard it. She walked in and we were all so excited because that would double the existing meeting. 100% increase. That's wonderful, isn't it? Well, what happened was my wife was sitting in the car. So was Brother Honey set or Honeycutt? I feel bad there's a Honey set, United States Honeycutt there. But don't matter. Anyway, he had his motor going and my wife had my motor going. And I still was so enthused talking to her, you know, I thought.
00:25:24
Well, I ran out and I jumped in the car we went, got there in time. I said to my wife, you take the tickets and take care of everything and I'm going to turn the car in and I'll be back in time. Take off, OK. I was too. She was in the plane and everybody was in the plane. They hadn't taken off yet, so I went running up. You know, where's your passport?
You know where it was back in Fulham? I left my lunch, failed there. I mean, my Bible case, yeah.
So what do you do? I don't know. I watched the plane take off.
That awful. That's the last I saw my wife for five days, so I didn't have the token. You know, isn't it awful if you don't have the token when the Lord comes?
Open to us, Lord, didn't we do many wonderful things in thy name? Didn't I teach Sunday school for eight years in thy name? All these things? Lord, I never knew you. You don't have the token. You know, we went on the when the Board of Trade was still there, the Twin Towers took our kids down there. And you know, I didn't know anything about New York. And they warned me all the things that I should do. I left.
My, my van and.
Chatham, because everybody says you can't take it into the heart of New York, you lose your tires or something. So we were going to take the bullet and I had all the instructions to take the bullet. And so they said it comes in fast and you load fast and it goes out fast. So watch it with those kids. I think we had about 9:00 then. I'm not sure. Any rate we were waiting. All the kids kept together and the door opened and as we went in.
One man was still running. Hold it. Or he says that he had his briefcase. I think he was a lawyer. But the door slammed shut and he ended up and I saw his expression. He missed it. You know, it's an awful thing to miss it. Well, we started going, and I got a little adjusted. And I said to the man next to me, how long before we get to the Board of Trade Center? What? You're on the wrong. You're on the wrong what? You know, it's just as bad to be on the wrong one as to miss the right one.
Come on.
That's it. Religion won't get you to heaven, brethren. I hope no one is depending on religion, so I've taken too long to tell you that. OK, where were we? All right, 8617. Yeah. Show me a token. Oh, how wonderful that is. The token is the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son. The blood of Jesus Christ his son. Cleanses us from all sin. That's a token.
You know, it's a token to heaven. It's a token to pleasure and glory here.
It's a token to joy you'll never have if you're in your sins. I hope there isn't about anybody sitting here in your sins. How sad that would be. You know Christ is our Passover.
He sacrificed for us. Isn't that a beautiful verse? That's First Corinthians 5 Seven. Yeah, maybe. Anyway, it's there, all cross of Christ. I love that hymn. O glorious tree, what place can be compared with thee where God's own son.
Was crucified and for our sins a ransom died.
You have that token. Think what he gave to give you that token.
He took the brutality and the hostility of his own creatures, and they spit in his face, brethren. And they sat down there to watch him suffer. And he knew what they were saying. But more than that, he knew the thoughts in their hearts before they became thoughts in their minds. And yet you know what he said before he died. Father, forgive them.
Can you imagine that, Father? Forgive them, the ones that were crucifying him, he said. They know not what they do, but they knew and you know, and if you haven't received him as your Lord and Savior.
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You're responsible to God. You're going to have to do with God about your sins. You know God doesn't overlook sin. He can't overlook sin. Thank God my sins are gone.
In the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, Well, we'll turn to Genesis 2, Genesis 2, the seed plot of the Word of God.
Genesis 2 verse 16 No 15.
And the I'm going to go. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it.
For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.
What was it if they took of that fruit?
Everyone here is a Sinner by birth. That's it.
Your center by practice too. But if you're saved, you're saved. Sinner. That's nice. Only a Sinner saved by grace. But God never calls a Sinner A Sinner again once he's in his son. Christ isn't that precious. He never calls us a Sinner once we're saved. No, we're saying I like that better. Don't you? A St. Yeah. Well.
I better go on. Thou shalt surely die. Read chapter 3 and verse.
Four. And the serpent, which is Satan, said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. What is that? That's a lie. It's a lie because Satan is a liar from the beginning and the father of the lie. Have you ever lied? It's not just the sin, it's Satan working in you. He takes your mind and makes it his play fake. And you know I sad to say, Eve.
Was deceived here, didn't that something. Eve was deceived. And she told Adam, hey, that's a good tree. We're not going to surely die that. Don't worry about that, the serpent told me. We're not going to die.
You read, you read chapter 5. I'm not going to take time and you'll find everyone mentioned, no matter how many years he lived, 610 or 780 or 940 and he died.
This is not Trump thinner. If you're still in your sins, you're going to die. But not just die, you're going to have second death. How awful. You ever heard of second death? Well, the Lord wants you to know about it, because if you die in your sins, you're going to die again. And that eternal separation from a holy God whose love and life that is second death.
And in hell, lake of fire, which was repaired for the devil and his angels. But you'll share it if you don't receive Christ, if you're lost. I hope you do tonight. But any rate, it's not prepared for you, but you're going to be there if you die in your sins.
How awful. What is hell like the lake of fire, The blackness of darkness forever?
Why? Because God is light and second death is eternal separation from God. There's no light in hell.
What else is hell? Many things. God speaks more of hell than heaven. Why? Because he doesn't want you to go there.
He wants you in heaven. He wants you in glory. The other thing about hell.
Those weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. And the loudest sound you'll hear if you're there is your own teeth latching above all the others. What does that speak of? Torments. There's no love in hell. That's it. No love. God is love, and God is light and eternal separation from him. Second death, that's where you are.
How awful. Well, I better go on. Let's see, where were we?
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2nd Corinthians Try 2 Corinthians chapter 13.
No, I'm gonna turn the Romans. Sorry. I'm gonna turn to Romans and chapter. Cause time's running out. Romans in chapter 3 again. Romans 3 then got much time left. You know the worst enemy of me is time. That's it. But time will cease to be someday. Thank God. No clocks in heaven.
All right.
Roman for taking my time here. Roman St. 1St 22.
The righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ.
On the wall and upon all them that believe, for there is no.
Different.
For all have sinned.
You are all qualified. The righteousness of God is unto everybody in this room.
No question about it. But you notice it's undo all that believe, I hope you believe before you leave this building, because we expect the Lord to come any moment.
I've often thought when I preach the gospel, what if he comes before we sing the last hymn of praise?
And you're sitting in your seat, One or two or four of you, you'll know what happened. We didn't leave going out the door. We were gone. We just went through the ceiling.
You'll know your condition and your faith, and I can't think of anything more awful, can you?
Than to sit there and know you're going to hell.
Well, I didn't mean to get into that, but that's so solemn to me, all right?
Well.
3/26.
To declare, I say at this time his righteousness.
That he might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.
How can a holy righteous sin hating?
God be just and justify me a Sinner without punishing me for any sin. How can he do that? Doesn't sound right, does it? It's what it says.
He'll justify you if you'll just believe his word, that's all. Because he wants you in glory in his house. He wants you to be an eternal companion to his Son, and he'll do anything to convict you of your need.
You know just and justifier isn't that lovely of them that believe. It's all you have to do believe on Jesus. You know God's provided him as a substitute for sinners. Jesus first died on that cross for sin of this world that's on the wall. Everyone here what it is under it's upon those that believe. That's it.
If you believe Jesus.
As Savior and Lord, your sins are gone, and you have the righteousness of God in him.
Oh, it's wonderful. Isn't it just wonderful? I can't help but dwell on those thoughts to declare this, to declare His righteousness, that he that is God might be just in the justifier of him which believe in Jesus.
I think it's so lovely. You know, he's just when he justified me, he didn't overlook one little lie that I told one bad thought that I had one fully thought for the fully thought is sin. We don't understand sin, but that is a sin. And I still sin. I'm glad they quit so many Bumpers stickers because when I drove I send all the time. I'm sorry, God, I read those Bumpers stickers.
Well, anyway, you don't realize what sin is in God's sight.
But they're all gone for me. You know, there was a judge, and I told this one time before. Usually I told the end of the year, Christmas season. But anyway, in Torrance, CA, there was a judge in that small town who on Christmas Eve day was holding court and everyone's the first one that came before him. He said $500 fine and three days in jail, which I'll suspend.
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And good behavior.
I will forgive the $500 too. You may go.
Rest of them there couldn't believe it. They all had tickets and offenses, affidavits. They just looked at each other and the judge says in the spirit of the season, I did that and I'm going to do it for everyone here that comes before me today. I'm going to forgive all of you. Whatever is the charge. Isn't that something? Isn't that lovely? Yeah, it's lovely. Well, they came by 4:00.
There were just as many in the courtroom as there was at 9:00 when it started. What happened? The ones that got their offenses forgiven ran to the phone and said to their friends and relatives, Get over here. Have the clerk move your case up. Tell them you're going to plead guilty, but get over here. And so the clerk would always move them up if they're pleading guilty. Get rid of a lot of the docket. So that poor judge looked at all those people.
Trying to close guards and he said I'm going to be true to my word.
All of you, tell the clerk you were here. And when we start tomorrow, I don't know what tomorrow, on Monday. I I'll keep my promise. You'll all be forgiven. Your sins of your fences will be done with.
Was he just? No, he wasn't just he overlooked all their sins, all their offenses. He wasn't just. So I'll tell you something. The very same day in Tucson, AZ, there was another judge trying case Christmas Day, Christmas Eve Day. And he wasn't doing that. But he was expecting they were expecting a Mexican man.
From Mexico to appear because he gave him 30 days.
30 days before he was arrested in an accident driving under the influence of alcohol.
And he fined him $500 and he would suspend any jail sentence if he brought the 530 days.
But he didn't appear when he called his name, he says, put that affidavit over. We'll give him till the end of the day, about 3:00, door opened. And that old Mexican man came in stumbling in, sweating, and he was hugging in his arms a plastic jug. Everybody looked at him and the judge looked at him and he came up before the judge and he put that big jug on the bar, the judge's desk.
And he said something in Spanish. The judge says, get the interpreter. So they got the interpreter. He told the judge he was sorry, but he brought all that he could collect and gather in 30 days. But he was about $167 short. And he said, judge, if you'll just give me another week, I will promise to be here with that extra money I owe you, you know, the judge had tears in his eyes.
He told the people, I've never experienced anything like this. Never. That man didn't have to appear. He didn't have to come back. the United States. We have no jurisdiction over him. He was free. And yet he gathered all he could and walked all the way and paid what he had and begged for another week. He said, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to forgive him everything else.
But still, only you're free, and the interpreter told him. And that man was so rejoicing.
One their lovely thing to do, he wasn't just.
It wasn't just when he justified that man. He overlooked the fine. He didn't bring in 500.
So brethren, God will be just when he justifies you. I want to turn to Luke. I may not have much time, but I can do this fast if I find it. I think it's Luke 18 and verse 10. Two men went up into the temple to pray 1A Pharisee. The other's a publican whom the Pharisees and the religious leaders called publican and Sinner.
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They considered them like that, like we do ice cream and cake. They never mentioned publican without saying thinner. All right. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. God, I thank thee. You know, isn't it wonderful that he's there to pray? And he thanks God. Isn't that good?
He said, I thank thee that I'm not, as other men are, extortioners, unjust adulterers, or even as this publican Sinner. Isn't that something? I fast twice in the week I give tithes of all that I possess it to thy prayer. You know there's a mighty big eye in the middle of pride, and that was an eye prayer. And he he prayed 5 times longer than that publican.
And the publican wouldn't even lift up his eyes. Verse 13 Unto heaven He was so ashamed he smote his breast. And he said, 7 words, brethren, sinners, 7 words. God be merciful to me, the Sinner.
What did Jesus say Justified?
Isn't that wonderful? He can be just and justified all them that believe.
And you know that public unbelieved two things. He was worthless and Christ was ready to save him. That's all you got to believe. You're worthless until you come to the end of yourself like a prodigal son.
You can't repent. You can't repent the only There's no salvation without repentance. But repentance is the most beautiful emotion that there is. When Christ brings you to repentance, that's beautiful. You realize you're helpless. You're lost, you're nothing. And then you cry out to God for mercy.
The publicans said be merciful to me. Is that what he said? Let's see. I think it was. Wait a minute. Be God. Be merciful to be the Sinner that's coming to the end of yourself. Isn't that wonderful? We like to hang on to something, don't we? I mean, there's some little good I got left. No, you don't. But Jesus Christ is ready to save anyone, worthless though they are.
And give them all the riches of glory. What a wonderful story. I hope there isn't one here who would dare leave this room in your sins.
I say, dare your daring God not to send his son tonight, because if his son came, you're on your way to hell, there's no doubt about it. And if you die in your sins, you're going to die again. That's the picture that's ahead of you if you don't receive Jesus Christ as savior tonight, you know.
There was a well. There's no time left, I know that. No time left. So the clock of life is only wound once and no man has the power.
Let's see if I remember it. It's been a while since I used. The clock of life is wound but one. No man has the power to tell what hour the hand shall stop late or early hour. I believe that is the first verse. But to lose one's health is sad indeed. To lose one's wealth is more, but to lose one's soul is such a loss no one can restore.
Eternity in hell when it could be in glory.
It's up to you tonight, you know. It's up to you tonight.
Let's look to God and commend ourselves as we leave.
Our gracious, loving God and Father, We thank Thee for Thy word.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but thy word shall never pass away.
We give thee thanks that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
And how wonderful it is One verse, if believed, can take a Sinner to glory. We pray there aren't any here tonight that would dare walk out of this building in their sins. How dreadful. More than that put their head on their pillow tonight in their sins and not knowing whether they wake up in eternity or not. What an awful thought.
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Our God and Father, we know Thou would have all to be saved.
And come into the knowledge of the truth. So save them before it's forever too late. We give thee thanks for the gospel and thy love and grace and mercy that still pleading with willful lost sinners. We commended all to Thee, Father, in the worthy name of thy beloved Son, our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Gospel
Gospel—M. Hapanowicz
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If we might.
First, turn to a verse in Matthew verse 22 of Matthew chapter 27.
Pilot saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus?
Which is called Christ.
You know Pontius Pilate asked this question about 2000 years ago.
But really, it's a question that every person has to answer. No one can escape. You can't escape. In fact, I dare say an answer has been given already.
But is it, has it been the right answer and what has your answer been? Pilate said. What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called the Christ? You know, his wife tried to give him a little help concerning Jesus. She gave him some counsel a couple of verses earlier here.
In verse 19 it says she sent her husband a message saying have nothing to do with that, just man.
Have nothing to do with that, just man, you know, there's a couple of difficulties I have with.
That council and as we consider a little bit I want you to consider what if you were standing there with the Lord Jesus in your presence and you had to answer that question. You know that's really the situation tonight. It really is but the problems with the council of pilots wife were too. The first one was was absolutely the wrong council because have nothing to do with that just man is absolutely the wrong thing to do.
It would have been much better.
If she had said to him have everything to do with that just man, or if she decided to him bow down at his feet, cast yourself upon his mercy, put entrust yourself to him, that would have been much better counsel. And that's what we would counsel you to do tonight.
Fall down at his feet, cast yourself on His mercy, put your trust in Him and trust your life to him. And you know the other problem with what she said, the other difficulty with what she said is it's impossible.
It's not possible to have nothing to do with that. Just man.
Hebrews tells us all things are naked and open in the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
You have to do what the Lord Jesus Christ you have to. The question is what will you do with Him? Will you receive Him as your Savior or will you say no?
Dear people, what will your answer be tonight? You have another chance. God has given you another chance. If you're sitting in this room and you don't know the Lord Jesus tonight, thank God you have another chance.
Put your trust in Him. I bless the God and loving Father, we do thank thee again for thy mercies.
And for thy love that has left us here one more week. Every time, Lord, we come to a meeting like this, we marvel.
That there is one more we know. It's only thy grace that has left us here.
And the part that seeks lost sinners. And so we do pray thy blessing upon thy word tonight. We pray that if there are any here who don't know the Lord Jesus as their Savior, that tonight would be the night Lord, that I would convict them and, and compel them to come to the cross of Christ, to look up there and see the Lord Jesus who loved them and died on the cross for sinners. So we pray thy help hear our God and Father, apart from Thee, we can do nothing.
We pray that Thou will work. We thank Thee again for so great a Savior.
And for the privileges to be able to speak his name. And so we give thee our thanks and commit our time to thee in Jesus name, Amen.
We could turn to the First Epistle of John.
Briefly.
I've enjoyed.
Looking at what John has to say about these things.
And if we were to start reading in first John chapter one, verse one.
John would tell us that that which was from the beginning we have heard, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled.
Of the word of life.
For the life was manifested, and we have seen it and bear witness.
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And show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us.
That which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things right we unto you, that your joy may be full.
You know, John, the man who wrote this was a fisherman.
He was a man just like any of the rest of us sitting here.
And yet he saw some things.
And he saw some marvelous things.
And he says here I've seen it with my own eyes. I've seen him, and I want you to know about it. I want you to know about him. That one that was life itself. He says, verse 2 here life was manifested and we have seen it.
And we bear witness of it. That which we have seen and heard. Declare we unto you. And why?
That your joy may be full and this is the message that God has for you tonight.
He sent his own Son into this world to save sinners.
To save you if you're not trusting in Him yet as your savior.
And John says I saw him, I saw the one who was God himself.
Come down as a man. I saw him and I want you to know about it, he says. I saw him with my eyes.
Verse one that which we have seen with our eyes, he says I touched him.
The Lord Jesus, the one who can save you, the one who can save men.
The one who can save all.
And I want you to know him. And you know, we're going to probably spend most of our time in the gospel that John wrote, which is a little earlier in the book. And I'll tell you why. It's very simple because of what he says in chapter 20 and verse.
31.
He says I wrote these things.
These are written.
That ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
And that believing he might have life through his name and so this whole.
Book This Gospel of John was written for that very purpose that you would believe, and that you would have life through his name.
You know, we started with Matthew 27 and we had the picture there of Pilate and standing before Pilate.
Was to all outward appearances of man.
But it wasn't just any man, and Pilate knew that there was something not quite right about this situation. He knew that this wasn't an ordinary man and he had to make a decision. What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called the Christ? And as we said already, you have to make that decision again tonight. It's really been made already.
Some of you, I know, believe in the Lord Jesus. Some of you, I fear, perhaps have not yet.
With the heart believed in him and received him.
Put yourself there.
Not pretend, but put yourself in Pilate's place with him standing before you. What are you going to do with him? Who is he? Who is this man that was here?
His pilot's wife called him a just man, and indeed he was just. He was the only sinless man that ever walked in this earth. Not only was he a sinless man, but he was God come down as a man. And that's what captured John's heart so much, he says. I saw him.
I touched them. I heard them with my own ears, with my own eyes.
And I want you to believe.
Let's turn to.
John's Gospel chapter one.
This is what John writes. This is how John starts this book. This is how John starts the things that were written that ye might believe. He says in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. So when John writes his book that ye might believe about this one, what does he say about this one?
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He says he's the ward, the logos.
The life.
Force the essence.
He says he was with God. He says he was God.
He says he was the life.
Says he was the light.
And you know, if we look down to the 14th verse.
We see it. We see the connection, the one who is talking about in verses 1:00 to 4:00.
Comes down and becomes a man in verse 14. John chapter one, verse 14. The word was made flesh.
And dwelt among us. So the Lord Jesus that stood there that day before Pilate.
Was not just a just man. He was God manifest in the flesh. He was God come into this world to save sinners.
What have you done with them? Have you received them as your savior?
Verse 12 of John chapter one tells us as many as received him.
To them gave thee power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Have you done that? Have you received the Lord Jesus as your Savior? You know?
It's not possible to have nothing to do with that. Just man you will.
Make a decision.
You have made one already. Really.
And God has given you the chance to make another one, you can say I believe.
I want him for my Savior. Or you can say no. Have you? What have you? What decision have you made? It's impossible to be neutral. You know God will not accept a neutral position. There is no neutral position.
You either believe in him or you don't.
Christ is the issue.
Not you, not me, not what I think, not what you think, not what you want.
Christ is the issue, and if we turn over to the third chapter of John.
I'd like to look at verse 18 for a minute.
I'm skipping over a whole bunch of nice stuff in John Three, if you'll pardon me.
That English nice stuff, but some very precious things. In John 318 he says he that believeth on the son.
Excuse me, He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not?
Is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. You see, there isn't any neutral ground.
You believe in Jesus, you're not condemned. You don't believe you're condemned already. Condemned already sitting here in your seat. Think about it. If you don't know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you're condemned already. What does that mean?
Condemned. What does it What does it take for a person to be condemned? There are some assumptions made in this verse about being condemned. For someone to be condemned, first of all they have to commit the crime.
OK, they have to be apprehended for the crime.
They have to the evidence is presented and they have to be found guilty.
Of the crime.
The judge then after the guilty verdict, comes in.
Goes and determines the sentence. In this case the sentence is eternal death because that's what God says. The wages of sin is death, and not just physical death, but what the Bible calls the second death, eternal death in hell.
So the sentence is given.
The verdict is passed and the sentence is given. Condemned already. That's where you sit. Where are you? You're sitting on death row waiting for the execution of the sentence.
If you don't know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, that's where you are tonight.
You're sitting on death row waiting for the sentence to be carried out.
Do you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior? Do you know what I even mean when I say that?
Do you know him? If I asked you, if I stood face to face with you across from me and said, do you know him? What would you say to me? Could you say, Oh yes, I know him? Or could you say, well, what? I don't really know what you're what you're talking about.
00:15:10
Would you say that?
If you're saying that, you probably don't know.
But you need him. You need to believe. See the difference in this verse?
Isn't what you do or what I do. It's he that believeth.
Christ is the issue. Have you made him your Savior? Have you made him your Savior?
You know, if we would go back to the beginning of this chapter, chapter 3, we would read there about a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus. He also saw some things like John. Perhaps he saw the Lord Jesus preached. Perhaps he even saw miracles. He comes to Jesus, says he comes by night. Verse 2, The same came to Jesus by night and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher, come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him.
He saw some things and he wondered and he wanted to know more and he had some questions.
But he came to the right place. He didn't do what Pilate's wife told Pilate to do. He didn't have nothing to do with him. But he comes.
He had questions. Have you ever had questions about these things?
Maybe things you don't understand.
About God, about sin, about the Lord Jesus. But he comes to the Lord Jesus.
And he doesn't really get a chance to answer or ask his questions because the Lord tells him he needs something.
It tells me it needs to be born again. He needs a new life. In other words, the life that he was born with in this world isn't good enough to please God.
Why? Because it's a sinful life.
So what? It's a simple life. That's a lot of people's attitude. You know, if you and I could stand in the presence of a holy God for one second.
We would know what that meant.
We would know that we're absolutely wretched and vile. We would know it.
This life that we're born in isn't good enough if you're sitting here.
And you don't have that new life.
You'll never come into God's presence.
And you know, there's only two places in eternity, the presence of God and away from the presence of God alias.
The eternal fires of hell.
Those are the only two places for eternity. Which will it be for you? John 318 told us what what it hinges on. Do you have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ?
Here's the issue.
Have you bowed the knee to him? Have you received Him as your savior?
He needed to be born again. That your natural life isn't good enough.
But with faith in Christ.
We can have that life. God is willing to give it. In fact, he tells us in verse 16, God so loved the world.
That he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life whosoever believeth in Him.
Don't leave off those 3 words. Three believeth in him. He's the issue.
Not you, not me, not what you think, not what I think. Christ is the issue. Do you believe in Him?
Is he your savior?
There's some assumptions made in verse 16 also.
Says whosoever believeth in him should not perish. What's the assumption?
They're perishing. The world is perishing.
If you've never come to Christ, you're perishing. If you're sitting here in the state you were born in, you're perishing.
God is giving you an opportunity tonight to believe in His Son again. Have you made Him your own?
He doesn't want you to perish. That's what this verse is saying. He loved this world.
He wants you to be saved. Whosoever believeth the name should not perish, but have everlasting life. That he's the issue. He's the issue.
John said that which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you.
I'd like to look at a couple of incidents that we have in scripture.
Some people who had some experiences with the Lord and see what they saw if we can.
00:20:03
And hopefully.
Prayerfully, if there's some in the room tonight who haven't received them yet, that they'll follow the example of these people and believe in him.
So let's go back to the first chapter again.
And start at verse 43.
The day following, Jesus would go forth in the Galilee and find his Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Beseta, the city of Andrew and Peter. And Philip findeth Nathaniel, and saith unto him, We have found him of whom Moses and the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
And Nathaniel said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? And Philip saith unto him.
Come and see.
And Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him, and saith of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile. A Nathaniel said unto him, Whence knowest thou me? And Jesus answered, and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, and thou hast under the fig tree I saw thee.
Nathaniel answered and said unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God.
The King of Israel And Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under a fig tree, believeth thou thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter you shall see the heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
Well, certain of these have found the Lord Jesus. They were Jews. They knew what their Bible said. They knew that there was a Savior coming, a Messiah.
I don't suppose that their thoughts rose to the level of God's thoughts in these things. Man's thoughts never do, do they?
But they some were excited that they had found Jesus. They had recognized that here was one that should come. And Philip was one of these. And he went to his friend.
Whose name was Nathaniel.
Says we have found him.
Of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did right, Jesus.
Of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. We have found him, you know. Maybe your friend brought you here tonight because he wants you to know this one too. Just like.
Philip did for Nathaniel, he said. He says Nathaniel, we found him.
Somebody brought you here tonight. We know God has brought you here because he's ultimately the one who wants to see you saved.
Perhaps it was your mother or your father who brought you here so that you might know him, just like Phillip brought, his friend said. We have found him. But you know, Nathaniel knew his Bible a little bit, maybe a lot.
And so when Philip says Jesus of Nazareth, Nathaniel says, wait a minute, Nazareth, can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Why did he say that he saw that? Because I believe that he, he read this book and he was familiar with his contents and he knew that the Messiah, the one who was to come, because, you know, God had promised one who was to come long ago.
I think he knew that that one wasn't supposed to come out of Nazareth.
And he raises a question.
Is there any good thing come out of Nazar? He didn't understand, but what does Philip say to him? He says come and see.
That's what we're saying to you tonight. Come and see. Lift up your eyes to Jesus.
And see him the Son of God and God the Son. See him as your own.
And so Nathaniel does it. He didn't let his questions stop him from coming to the Lord Jesus. He comes.
Verse 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to them, and he saith, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile.
Simple statement. It wasn't anything terribly revealing about that, at least as far as I can see. And yet it touches Nathaniel's heart. He says, How do you know me? Verse 48 Once knoweth thou me, Jesus answered and said, before Philip called thee, when thou hast under the fig tree, I saw thee. And what is Nathaniel's response?
Verse 49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God.
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Thou art the King of Israel.
What does he say? Jesus says to him, I know you, I knew you, I saw you under the fig tree. And that touches Nathaniel's heart. And you know, I wondered about this, this passage, why that had such an effect on, on Nathaniel. I, I've, I've learned recently that that apparently the fig trees over there, the kind that's being talked about here is, is a tree that kind of drapes its branches down onto the ground and that.
Some of the Jews would actually go inside there and by the trunk, and so they were covered from the branches outside and they couldn't actually be seen from the outside.
And they would go in there and they would pray for Israel under the fig tree.
And so when Jesus says I saw you under the fig tree, Nathaniel recognizes that this was number ordinary man.
That he could see what couldn't normally be seen.
He says you know me from that, says you're the Son of God.
You know the God in heaven who loves you, the Lord Jesus Christ who is here.
He knows you inside and out. He knows all about you, just like he knew Nathaniel was there under the fig tree and knew Nathaniel. He knows all about you. He knows everything that you're thinking right now. He knows everything that you thought was hidden from the eyes of your parents or or whoever. The eyes of the law, perhaps.
He knows all about you and he loves you and he wants you to be saved and he came to pay the price himself on that cross.
And you know, that's the same thing that touches the woman's heart in the 4th chapter of John. Now, first of all, that he would talk to her. We don't, I don't know that we'll spend the time to go through the whole thing.
But not only was he talking to her, he gets to the point where she wants the living water that he offers. And he says go call your husband. And what he's really saying is, wait a minute, we've got a sin question to deal with in your life. He says go call your husband because he knew that woman too.
Just like he knew Nathaniel and she. When I read that, I can almost see her turning around and saying I don't have any husband. She says I have no husband. He says, you're right, you don't have a husband because you've had five husbands and the one you have now isn't your husband. In that you said truly, but he knew all about her.
And when she saw that he knew all about her and he was still talking to her, her heart was touched.
And he knows all about you too. He knows the wickedness of your heart. He knows the hatred of your heart toward God. If you're sitting here without Christ, that's what's there in your heart. You may not know it, but he knows it, and he loves you anyway.
Just the way you are.
Nathaniel said Thou art the Son of God. Would that you would say the same thing tonight.
The King of Israel, the Son of God, he is the Son of God. He's the one who came to save you. Would you be willing to put yourself in his hands? Did that woman at the well, did she have anything to fear from him? The one who knew all about her? You know, if you knew all about me, I'd be scared to death of what you might say to somebody else. But she was safe in Jesus hands and so are you.
Will you put your trust in him? That's what he saw with his eyes. And John no doubt saw this too. He saw what happened to Nathaniel. And he says I'm.
That down.
That you might believe he wrote this down.
Will you believe in him? Have you believed in him?
It's a matter of faith from the heart, dear people.
Lay hold on him with the hands of faith. Make him your very own.
He's the issue. He's the one you need. The whole eternal question revolves around that one thing. Where do I stand with the Lord Jesus Christ? What have I done with the Lord Jesus Christ? Have I made him my own Savior?
How I believed in him, received him, his mind.
Let's turn over to.
Well, actually I want to go to the 7th chapter right now.
You know Nathaniel?
He says Thou art the Son of God.
You know, there's a lot of people that would try to make out that Jesus was just a man.
And that he isn't really God, he was just a man.
But you know, that's not the case, John says. He was the word and he was made flesh. And you know, people who say that, you know, it's really they really.
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They can't. It's a it's really, if you'll pardon me, it's really a stupid thing to say.
Why? How could it be a Goodman? You know what kind of claims Jesus makes.
You know, maybe before we look at the 7th chapter, maybe we should look at.
Go back to the 6th chapter. You know, in the 6th chapter, in the beginning of the 6th chapter.
They're tired, they're hungry, they don't have any food. They've got 5 loaves and two fishes and Jesus breaks that bread and he distributes it and they all eat and were filled. And you know the men, some men who were there, they saw that and they said, hey, this is pretty good. If this guy can do this, you know, he's, he'd be a pretty good guy to have around.
And they talk like they might come and make him king. And.
When he knew that he left them and they tried to find him, they came following him.
Because they wanted to be around somebody like that.
But he wouldn't have that, and he makes some statements here that are remarkable.
Verse 35, John chapter 6 and verse 35. Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life, He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
Now think about that. Put yourself there. You're one of the people in that crowd now.
You're standing around, there's a group of men there and they want to make Jesus King.
Because hey, if he can do this, think what he could do for us.
And he's there and he makes this statement. He says I am.
The bread of life, he that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst.
What do you think? What goes through your head when you hear those words, when you look at this one standing there?
And you know, he was a man.
I don't think there was anything striking about his appearance. Isaiah tells us when we shall see him. There is no beauty that we should desire him.
Probably less than six feet tall, standing there and you see him and he says these words. I am the bread of life.
He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst. What goes through your head when you hear those words?
What goes through your head now?
If I could take the godliest person in this room and stand them here, and if they were to say those words to you tonight.
I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst.
If you could sit there and watch a man standing here say those words, what would you think? You'd be horrified.
That anyone would make such a claim and you'd be justified in doing it. And yet Jesus was there and He said those words and he said similar words over and over again if we were to go to the 8th chapter in verse 12.
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world.
He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
What kind of a man can make a statement like that?
What would you think of a man who made a statement like that?
And yet some people will say he's a man. With making claims like that, there's only three things that could happen that could be true about him.
He's a madman.
He's a terrible liar, or he's who he says he is.
Those are your only three choices.
Another has said that I believe it was CS Lewis pointed that out and you know, all three of those choices are anticipated in the scriptures here in the 7th chapter.
Let me see, I'll find the verse here.
Well in verse 20 the people answered and said Thou hast the devil who goes about to kill thee, because Jesus said that.
They had gone about to kill thee and says you've got a devil in you, you're mad.
Then further on down in the chapter.
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Oh, I'm missing it, I'm sorry.
No, that's one I'm sorry I lost dear some he's a good man and some said no, but he deceives the people. That's the one I'm looking for. Thank you.
Yes, verse 12. There was much murmuring among the people concerning him, for some said he is a Goodman and others say nay, but he deceiveth the people. So there are the three. Those are your three choices.
What kind of a man could stand there and say those things?
To say that Jesus is a Goodman and nothing more than a Goodman.
As CS Lewis says, it's patronizing nonsense. You can't take that position.
If he's a liar, if he's standing there and he's saying those things and he knows he's not telling the truth, he's a liar and he's not worthy for you to follow. You shouldn't follow him. If he's out of his mind, if you know, perhaps he thinks he's God. You know what happens if somebody you meet somebody on the street and he says I'm God.
What do you think of that person?
I said why? Don't want nothing to do with him, He's out of his mind and you'd be right to say that in every case except one.
Who was him? Who was this man Jesus? Who was he?
He was God. He makes these claims over and over again. What kind of a man could say, I am the bread of life? He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst. What kind of man could say that? Only one.
The God Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who you need to bow the knee to, the one you need to accept as your Savior, the one you need to believe in.
He's the one that can make those statements. He's the one that went to the cross and can save your soul because he offered there a sacrifice to wash your sins away.
Believe in Him. That's why you're here tonight. If you haven't received Him as your Savior, don't wait another second. Look around this room. There are people here who can tell you the painful truth of that verse. Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. You may never have another opportunity to receive the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
There are people sitting here in this room that could tell you with tears that's true, who have lost.
Husbands or wives or children, small and large.
Don't walk out of this room not believing in Christ as your Savior. You may never get another chance.
God gives you now. Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation.
Receive Him as your savior if you haven't done it.
Turn with me.
Over to the 11Th chapter.
This interesting exchange between Martha and the Lord Jesus, her brother was dead.
Her brother Lazarus had died. He had gotten sick. They had sent a message to the Lord Jesus.
They sent the message that says he whom thou lovest is sick. They wanted him to come and heal their brother, and he didn't come.
And Lazarus died and he's in the grave four days.
Verse 17 Then when Jesus came, he found that he had been laid in the grave four days already.
Now Bethany was an eye unto Jerusalem about 15 furlongs off, and many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him. But Mary sat still in the house, and then said, Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had not died. But I know that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
Jesus saith unto where thy brother shall rise again.
Martha said unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life he that believeth in me.
Though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth thou this?
Believe us thou this what kind of a man could say I am the resurrection and the life?
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He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. What kind of man could say that? What if you were Martha standing there face to face?
With the Lord Jesus saying that.
You know, this is an interesting portion to me.
And recently I've been wondering, you know, Martha says to Jesus.
He says even now what's over? Thou wilt ask God, God will give it thee.
What was it that she wanted him to ask?
You know, we're familiar with the story of Martha and.
You know, Martha's used as an example of how not to be sometimes, but you know, this woman had faith.
I don't know what she was thinking here and she said even now I know that whatever you ask, God will give it thee. Could it be that she was thinking of resurrection? And then the Lord confronts her face to face and if I could put you in the in front of him tonight.
Oh, I wish I could do that, but you could look into his face.
And speak to him like Martha did.
If you could see him.
And believe, he says to her, I am the resurrection and the life.
He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth thou this? Do you want eternal life?
The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. God is trying to give it to you.
The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
You know Martha says verse 27. Yeah, Lord, I believe.
That thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. And when she had so said, she went her way.
No, I don't know that you could blame her.
I am the resurrection in life.
You know.
Verse 39 Jesus says take away the stone.
Verse 43 Jesus says Lazarus.
Come forth, and he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot, with grave clothes, and his face was bound with a napkin. And Jesus saith unto him, Loose him, and let him go.
What kind of man has the power to raise the dead?
Only one Jesus Christ, the God man.
Have you received him as your savior? Have you believed in him? Have you made Him your own? Are you still sitting here and you don't really know him, you know?
Probably 95% of the people in this room could get up here and give this message.
But as a friend of mine often says, they miss salvation. They miss eternal life by 18 inches.
The distance from here to here.
Because they know these things here. Even some 10 year old children. I've heard some 10 year olds give some pretty good gospels.
But you know, unless you don't have Jesus here, you don't have anything. You know Him as your Savior. Have you believed in Him? Have you received Him? Tonight with the hands of faith? Lay hold on Him and make Him your own.
Our time is running out, John Chapter 19.
This is one of the other things John sees.
You know, when I read these words of John, it's like, it's almost like he can't hardly believe it, but he's seeing him and he's overjoyed that they're happening and he said.
I'm here, I'm seeing these things and it's like I almost can't believe it.
After this verse 28, after this, Jesus, knowing that all things were accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith I thirst.
And now there was so a vessel full of vinegar, and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it on his sip, and put it to his mouth. And when Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished, And he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
The Jews, therefore, because it was the preparation that the bodies should not remain upon the cross in the Sabbath day, for that Sabbath day was in high day, besought Pilate, that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. And then came the soldiers, and break the legs of the 1St and of the other which was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was dead already, they break not his legs, but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water, and he that saw it bear record.
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And his record is true, and he know that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the Scripture should be fulfilled. A bone of him shall not be broken, and then again another Scripture. They shall look on him whom they pierced. No, I don't doubt that this was perhaps.
One of the lowest moments in John's life when he was there and he saw the Lord Jesus die.
And again, like perhaps some others, there were things that he didn't understand about the Lord Jesus.
And yet he loved them, and he was there.
And, you know, he knew what crucifixion was. You know, crucifixion was not a Jewish form of punishment, a Jewish form of death. It was a Roman form of death. It was meant to be as awful as it could be. And people didn't die from loss of blood or any of that. They died because they suffocated, because they were too weak to hold themselves up.
And you know, the Romans here, they wanted to speed things up because it was a Jewish holiday coming. And John could see this coming. He could see this band of soldiers approaching the cross, and he knew what they were going to do.
So we're going to break the legs is because, you know, they would hang there on that cross and they would use their feet to push up because the way they died from the suffocation was their bodies would hang so that they didn't even have the strength to pull in their breath. And that's how people died of crucifixion. So these Roman soldiers were going to come and they were going to break the legs of these people so that they couldn't push up anymore and they would have to hang on themselves and suffocate and die. And John knew his Bible too, a little bit, I'm sure.
And he knew that the scripture said a bone of him shall not be broken. And what was he thinking as he saw these soldiers approach the cross?
Ready to break the legs of those who are hanging there.
And to his astonishment.
They break the legs of the 1St and then these Roman soldiers, perhaps the most disciplined on earth, they walk around that middle cross.
And they go to the next one.
They skip the middle one and they break his legs, the legs of the other one on the other side.
Why did they do that? We didn't read it. We didn't have time. In John 18, when they came to take him, the Lord Jesus in the garden, they says we're looking for Jesus, the Son of Nazareth, Jesus of Nazareth. And he said I am, he, I am. And you know what they did? They fell backwards on the ground.
Because he said those words, I am. They didn't have the power to take him, and the same power that made those people fall backwards on the ground, made those soldiers walk around that middle cross and not break his legs.
And they didn't know what to do because the power of that one that was on that middle cross and so one.
Takes a spear and he shoves it in his side. And you know what John saw when he saw those things?
He saw the scriptures of God being fulfilled.
And he says I saw it.
Verse 35 He that sought bare record, and his record is true, and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.
He saw the scriptures being unfolded before his very eyes.
And he said these things were done, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. A bone of him shall not be broken.
And again another scripture. They shall look on him whom they have pierced.
And this John?
Says we saw. I saw him with my own eyes. I touched them. I handled them the word of life. I wrote these things that you would believe.
Have you believed on the Son of God? Have you made him your own Savior tonight? Make tonight the night that you'll receive Him as your Savior. He is able to save your soul. Three days after this incident, He rose from the dead because death could not hold him.
Sin had no power over him. It was all gone. That's how you know.
You can be saved and I know I can be saved because every sin that he bore on that cross is gone or he wouldn't have gotten out of that grave. God took him out of that grave because they were all gone. Not one remains. Your salvation and mine was accomplished there, yours if you'll have it. What will you do then with Jesus, which is called the Christ making your Savior tonight?
I just pray that I will work in the Heart Beach here. Tonight is our work here.
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Their Savior that will open the eyes of their hearts. They might see their need, and that they might see Him who is able to meet their needs, who has made every provision for them. We pray that Thou wilt grant salvation to any here who are lost tonight. We thank Thee that we have a gospel of good news to tell.
Our God, thy heart is so wonderful that yet over this scene that we are still waiting, and we know, Lord.
Perhaps this will be the last time the gospel goes out in this room. We know that for some, perhaps there might never be another opportunity. We pray that there are any in that case tonight, that tonight would be the night that they would be saved and not put it off. We thank Thee for the One who loved us and gave himself for us. He thanked Thee for the One who died on that cross. We thank Thee for His privilege to be able to speak His name and to speak of that glorious work. So we give thee our thanks in his name, Amen.