Denver Conference: 2016
Table of Contents
1 John 3:1-6
Reading
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Our God and Father, this indeed is the first reading of this conference. Let me ask for special blessings. We know that Thy Word is divinely inspired Spirit of God, and so we can only understand it and be in the enjoyment of it through the hours of Spirit. So we pray that that Spirit would be obvious.
In the remarks and in the reception, in each of our hearts of Thy words solely, thank You for the opportunity of so many being here from other places, and some we know so well and some we know, but we find that we're all known to Thee. So when asked for a special question upon this meeting and other meetings.
If thou just leave us here and beloved to come.
And my precious name, Lord Jesus, Amen.
I have had John's ministry very much on my heart lately.
And I had a chapter that I had particularly been enjoying and thinking about.
Then Jim read from it in the prayer meeting.
Would the Brethren consider taking up First John chapter 3?
Many years ago, Very many years ago. Back in the 1800s.
A well taught brother on his death bed made a remark which I read and never forgot, he said.
Don't let Johns ministry be neglected in favor of Paul's. I don't think anyone was more appreciate appreciative of Paul's ministry than he was, but he recognized the need for John's ministry and.
I believe it's very necessary for us. Would that be OK?
First John, chapter 3.
Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us.
That we should be called the sons of God.
Therefore the world knows that not because it knew him not.
Beloved.
Now are we the sense of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be.
But we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
And every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure.
Whosoever committeth sin transgresses also the law.
For sin is lawlessness.
And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins.
And in him is no sizz.
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not.
Whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
Little children.
Let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous.
He that committed sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy for work of the devil.
Whosoever is born of God does not commit sins.
For his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
In this the children of God are manifest.
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And the children of the devil, whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and flew his brother.
And wherefore blew him?
Because his own works were evil and his brothers righteous.
Marble, not my brother, if the world hate you.
We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the President. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
Hereby perceived we the love of God.
Because he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
But whoso hath his word?
This world's good and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him. How dwelleth the love of God in him?
My little children, let us not love in Word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.
For if our heart condemneth.
Condemn us. God is greater than our heart and noeth all things.
Love, if our heart condemneth not, then have we confident for God, and whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments.
And do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
And this is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of the of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as He gave us commandments.
And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him.
And he is young, and hereby we know that He abideth in us by the spirit which he hath given us.
John's ministry we know is quite different from Paul, because of course Paul's ministry deals with the truth of the church. And in Paul's ministry all the councils of God are displayed, aren't they? From 1 eternity to the next eternity, so that Paul can say in Colossians that he was to complete the word of God.
There's no new revelation since Paul's ministry. Uh, others like John perhaps filled in after Paul, some of the details, but as far as any new revelation, uh, there is no new revelation since Paul's ministry. But John's is different, isn't it? And it's wonderful to see he doesn't deal with the church. In fact, I don't believe he even mentions the church, at least not in its.
Broad character mentions a local assembly, perhaps, but not a He doesn't deal with the truth of the church in in that sense, he deals with you and me as the family of God.
And what a wonderful thing it is to recognize that and to enjoy it, because in order to enjoy all the things of God, we have to have a life and a nature suited to it. And that is what we have been given. And so John's ministry exemplifies that and shows us that which is really presently displayed now.
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That is the new life that God has given to us in Christ, and of course some of the dangers that are present in living out that new life.
I suppose if you wanted to impose a structure on the book and.
We have to be careful about imposing man made structures on things, but sometimes they are helpful.
The second chapter perhaps brings before us more danger from the world. This chapter perhaps more danger from the flesh. The 4th chapter perhaps more danger from the devil. But over and above all of that, we have the wonderful privilege of a new life in Christ that you and I can live out here in this world. And of course, it's in contrast to.
The family of the devil, the only other family there is in this world, and all that characterizes that family.
So it's a wonderful thing, as we get in the beginning of this chapter, to be part of the family of God.
Though we speak of Paul's ministry and John's ministry, we should ever keep in mind that they are perfectly in harmony with each other. There is a real danger that we set one over the other, but it's not as if there are two preachers and all. I prefer his style over his style.
They all, they gave us the inspired word of God. It is all the word of God. And so there is a danger that we can set Paul's ministry aside in favor of John's ministry, the world, uh, Christendom as a whole.
Enjoys the thought of the family of God. That is as wrong as to send John's ministry aside in favor of Paul's. It's all the Word of God. And in the first chapter, In the second chapter of the three epistles.
What is it that characterizes the child of God who sort of keepeth his word in him is verily the love of God perfected. The word is the word of God. Not just John's ministry, not just Pauls ministry, but both, but John wrote at a very critical time in the history of Christendom. If you if your Bible has a date, it's written around 8090 AD and at that time the heart of man as it is, he's always seeking fresh light, something new.
And John, uh, steps in as the aged apostle, and he gives us these epistles where he takes us back to not something new, but to that which was from the beginning. And he gives us the characteristic life, that new life that we possess, uh, in the believer as expressed in the believer. And so that's what we get through this, these chapters of this book, that which characterizes the life of the believer, and also that which we might use to try the spirits so that we might be able to discern that which is false, the error which was rapidly coming in to Christendom in that day.
Against that which was true, the truth of the word of God. So if we understand the context of the book, I believe it's, it's, it's, uh, it's very helpful in understanding the book and the, and its mode of expression. It doesn't look at experience because if you looked around you in that day, experience was telling you something that was contrary to the word of God. If we look around us today in Christendom and seek to understand what Christianity should be based on experience, we gonna come away with the wrong picture.
So John presents things has often been said in a very abstract way and we'll see that particularly as we go through this chapter as we would if we picked any chapter of this book.
Thank you very much, Nick. That is so important, as you say, because Gnosticism was coming in right at that point, wasn't it? Where man was seeking some kind of new revelation, some kind of, well, where did it come from, visions, whatever, and seeking something new and exciting. And as you say it, it was just at that point that God brought John's ministry in to take them back to.
What was at the beginning, excellent?
It's all all of John's ministry is really for that, isn't it? And so is Colossians too.
Yes, he cut to a counter Gnosticism, which was the Greek philosophy saying that the, the body or the flesh or every material was evil only, uh, the only thing that was pure was the spirit. And so you get in the Colossians the fullness of the Godhead dwelled in him bodily and just, uh, you know, to bring that out because I do think it helps to.
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Understand the book, when you go down back to John, you find out in just those first few verses, he just destroys, uh, by teaching the truth, he destroys that whole, uh, concept of Gnosticism. He says in the beginning was the word. And so that is what manifest the bringing the mind of God. He was the one who manifests the mind of God by words. You understand that And the word was with God.
And the word was God.
And same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him nothing.
Was, uh, not 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. And then he goes down and he says and the word was made flesh where it became flesh. So this is to overthrow all that thing. And this really inundated the church for the 1St 200 years.
Really inundated that because it, it, uh, it spoke to the intellectual intellectualism of man and, uh, just a simple truth, uh.
They tried to, it's like today, they tried to put the word of God and psychology together, you know, and make it palatable. But, uh, so I, I think it helps if you see the Colossians, he was counteracting the very same truth that was coming into that day, and he didn't do it by telling us what Gnosticism is.
He he did it by telling us what the truth is.
Paul called it the science, falsely so-called hymnosis knowledge. Falsely so-called it was false knowledge. They professed to know more than what the Bible had. They denied Christ as Messiah. They denied Him and his relationships to the Father, denied him in his sonship, eternal sonship, and his humanity and his relationship to men. And when you deny that, what happens to our relationships with God? They come under fire as well, and they crumble and our relationships with one another.
Crumble as well. And so it starts out in this chapter with a manner of love with which we've been loved. We've loved with the same love that He has for His Son. Well, if you deny his relationship to the Father, then you touch God's love to you and to me.
Mm-hmm, Which is the basis of our love for one another. Everything begins to crumble. So this needed to be brought back. It was eroding, uh, the very fundamentals of Christian relationship. And one thing I've really enjoyed about John's epistles, they come in and they give us the proofs of reality, but it's always in a positive light. By this we know, not by this we don't know.
It's always by this we know it's never to bring the believer into the place where he questions.
His relationship with God, but to reassure him of that relationship, because the attack of those evil doctrines was to undermine that.
Was thinking of that, that well known saying that you quoted from the 1800s. I've read that myself from that brother on his deathbed and he goes on to say an explanation I think in that little note.
He goes on to say call gives us the dispensation or stewardship in which the display is John, that which is displayed.
And so in Paul we have man taken up into glory and finding acceptance there, that heavenly side of things in John, characteristically, not exclusively always, but characteristically in John we have that divine life come down and being displayed in John's gospel chapter one.
Where we were just referring, it says in him was light.
That's it. But God was pleased to display all that He is in that one man, Christ Jesus, the eternal word, Son of God taking flesh. But now in the first epistle of John, the plot thickens because of God's desire to carry out His eternal purpose, redemption having been accomplished. Now if you go back to chapter 2 of this epistle, it says which thing is true in him. That's John one and in you.
And now this life is really an astonishing thing that is displayed in the children of God.
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As we get older and the ones we love, uh, we see them only occasionally, like at conferences and we see someone we've known and then we see their children. You know, it almost brings tears to your eyes because you see someone you've totally loved and you see that life displayed in them, the way they talk or their, the way they move there. And it's, it's that life reproduced. So it's beautiful in this epistle we see.
This wonderful outflowing of that eternal life. So when the Lord Jesus was here, it says, we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John in his epistle here at the beginning, says, we have seen in our hands of handle of the word of life.
But as we have been saying, the Lord Jesus is not here in this world the way he was.
When he walked amongst men 2000 years ago and those glories shone out in everything he said and did, there were even flashes beyond his moral glory that those observed on the Mount of Transfigurations when they came to take him in the garden.
He could say at the end of it, I have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do. But I believe it's a very serious thing and very exercising to realize that all of this world is going to see a Christ. Today is what indicates of the Word of God. And as we've been saying, John's ministry brings before us not so much exhortation, but it brings before us that which is the characteristic of divine life and that which ought to be.
Displayed and exhibited in your life and mind today.
As we walk in newness of life and in the power of the Spirit, because the Spirit of God is the power, uh, for that life. And I just say this too, that in connection with John's ministry as to Paul and Peter in Paul's ministry and Peter's ministry at the end of their ministry, they both speak of the last days of the closing days. But John brings us down even further than that. Just back up and notice in the second chapter in the 18th verse.
He says little children, it is the closing time, or if you notice Mr. Darby's translation, it is the closing hour.
Isn't that interesting? He brings us right down to the closing. Not just the last days, not just the closing time, but he brings us right down to the closing hour. And brother, don't we have to admit that's where we're at now? We're at the closing hour. We're just at the end of this dispensation. And what characterized what John speaks of as the spirit of Antichrist and what characterized things in his days, We can certainly see the seeds of it.
Have, uh, risen and we must be right in the closing hours. So it shows how important and relative John's ministry is. One other comment, not to belabor it, but it's interesting that almost the last words Paul records by inspiration are that all scripture is given by inspiration of God. That interesting that is Paul that records that. And I suggest this simple thought. It's the Spirit of God anticipating whether the the fact that there would be a tendency to give up one or the other.
But Paul says it's not just my ministry that's given by divine inspiration is all scripture. And as has been said, Paul John writes a little later than Paul, but Paul has already confirmed that that which has been and would be written by divine inspiration was all profitable. And he gives a list there in second Timothy three of those things that it is profitable for. So just confirms how necessary and important and relevant.
The ministry we have in this chapter really is.
Spiritualize them away and they don't have any effect on our souls and on our lives. But umm, appreciate what you say, Steve, that when he writes in the 5th chapter, he says I've written unto you these things. Not that you may know if he had eternal life, but that you have. And so as we read what this life that we have is like.
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It's not so much designed. It should exercise. It's indeed and will, but it's would it be more that we would say, oh, that's the life I have. I want to know more with the reality.
Preciously.
Yes.
And in that sense, there are commandments mentioned over and over again, aren't there in John's ministry, but they are commandments that are in keeping with the new life that we have. Paul, as we heard, gives us more exhortation. But.
That divine life that we have, God wants to see it exhibited in this world.
It's characteristic. And so when there are commandments, it is in keeping with that new life that we have. And so the world doesn't know anything about that new life. As Jim was saying, all it can see is what it sees in you and in me.
Is that an exhortation? Not in the same way, but it certainly lays a burden and a, shall I say, a, an encouragement on our hearts, doesn't it?
And I believe not.
To go on in the chapter, but I suggest and will get to it later, but it's in keeping with this remark.
That, I suggest is why it says in verse 20 for if our heart condemn us.
In verse 21 of our heart, condemn us none.
If I fail to obey an exhortation.
Or I disobey the word of God. It's my conscience that condemns me.
He had failed to allow that new light to display itself. It's my heart that condemns me. That's in one sense a deeper thing, isn't that? It hits right home to the root of the problem.
Do I have that new life? Yes, I do.
Am I walking in fellowship with the one who gave it to me? Is it being displayed practically to deeper things? Isn't it?
Brother, would you repeat the emphasis on the conscience and what you emphasize in the heart?
Or just saying that in verses 20 and 21 of our chapter.
John mentions that if our heart condemns, God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things.
There it is. If I am not walking in communion with the Lord, my heart condemns me, and then I have to recognize that there is one who knows it all. But.
If my heart does not condemn me, then we have confidence before God. But what I was pointing out is if I deliberately and willfully disobey an exhortation of Scripture, it's more my conscience that condemns me. But if I fail to display that new life practically down here, it may not be the overt disobedience to the Word of God.
But my heart condemns me, not because I am overtly doing something wrong, but because I am not allowing that new life to display itself properly because I am not walking in communion with the Lord.
Would you agree with that?
And I can make it not close. But John, he doesn't tie sinkers on it. He doesn't modify the truth. It's objective. And so you get that just in the second chapter there. It's, uh, what's to say It says, uh, uh, in the ninth verse it says he that saith that he's in the light and hateth, his brother is in the darkness even until now. Well, you know that that contradicts, uh, some of my feelings because sometimes I've had feelings against my brother.
But that's not the new life that's modifying it. My experience is modified what is what is true. So it's just good to see that all the way through. He that, uh, is born of God, send it not, you know, well, am I not born to God? No, because it's telling the thing which is characteristic of that life that he's given. So there's no, he doesn't modify things.
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Tell them like they are.
That would narcissism has already been mentioned. It comes from the Greek word to no. But so happens that John loves the word to know and so it's like he counters what Gnosticism has. But if you ever look into that subject and just a few years ago, one of the so-called Gnostic gospels was published by none other than the National Geographic Society. So this world is still very much occupied with it. One thing that characterizes them is secret knowledge.
But as believers, we don't have some secret esoteric knowledge that we're aspiring to. Throughout John's writings, he says Ye know, ye know, ye know. To complicate things a little bit, there's two Greek words, but no, which we want to get into right now.
But that those those distinctions between those two words aside, we know. And if we know there is that which should characterize our lives. There is that which should practically manifest itself in our lives. And that is what we have right here in these post couple of boasts of the men throughout this chapter.
I believe that's why in the Darby translation the word Suns here in the 1St 2 verses really is properly children, isn't it?
Not that we aren't sons, but the word sons brings perhaps before us more the thought of a maturity, and that's a wonderful thing. But the thought of children brings in the expression of relationship, doesn't it? God emphasizes the beauty and the warmth and closeness of that relationship.
And it's very practical, isn't it? Because if you and I walk through this world in the conscious sense that every step we take, we are consciously the children of God.
We have His nature, not independent of Him, but a derived life, if we could say it, that is dependent. But it's the same life, the same life as Christ has. We have that new life, and if we walk in the good of that and in the enjoyment of His love.
I speak to my own heart. What a difference it makes.
Does the world understand? No, the world knoweth us not.
The world doesn't. If we could use a common modern expression, the world doesn't get it when it sees the Christian. It just doesn't understand. But you and I have that new life and.
As it says in verse 2.
Looking at us.
It doesn't yet appear what we shall be. We don't have new bodies yet. We've mentioned a few people this morning that are facing the end of the journey because of disease and things that happen in this life. And there are some of us here that are not feeling as strong and healthy as we did a few years ago because we're getting older. That's part of living down here too. But there is a day coming when we will be perfectly like Christ. We will see them as He is.
Well, there's no exhortation in that sense connected with it, but.
What a difference it makes to our hearts when that's a living, present reality in our souls. So it's the Father here, isn't it? Because as you say, it's the children in relationship to the Father and His love. When we present the gospel, we often present it in the light of God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. And that's right and proper. But that's not what we have here. We have something far beyond that.
We have the intimacy of relationship the father and his children, and here he begins this chapter. This chapter begins with that love of the father because what characterizes children in a family is they're loved by the father.
If things are normal, I know that natural relationships are out of whack on every level today and it's a day without natural affection. But in the normal course of things, if things are in order, that's what characterizes the children in a family. They're loved by the father. But I want to just go back to something that was alluded to. It might have been Steve alluded to it a few moments ago, and that is brother and I don't believe we can really understand.
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Or appreciate fully the love of the Father for his children until we see something else that we have in John's gospel. And I'd just like to take a moment and go back and make a little connection of Scripture, first of all, in the third chapter.
Of John's Gospel.
John's Gospel, chapter 3.
And the first part of verse 35.
The Father loveth the Son. This expression is repeated three times in John's Gospel. You have it in the 5th chapter and again in the 10th chapter. The Father loveth the Son.
And I believe, brethren, you know, it's it's so easy to just be what what the Father is to us and what his love is to us and to be the center of things. But I believe to really start with this, the Father loveth the Son to consider the one who was daily the delight of the Father, not only in his pathway here, but from a past eternity, the one who a comp came down to accomplish the Father's will, the one who glorified him on the earth and finished the work.
The one that's been received back and seated now at the Father's right hand is a glorified man. The Father loveth the Son. Now keep this in mind and go to the 17th chapter.
Chapter 17.
And I just want to read the last part of verse 23. And hath loved them.
As thou hast loved me, this a tremendous statement. Brethren, The love that the Father has for his children is no less love than the Father has.
For His only begotten Son, just to stop and consider that in fact that you and I, as the children of God, are loved with the same intensity of divine love that He had for the only begotten of the Father. But just go back to the 15th chapter.
Chapter 15 and verse 9. As the Father hath loved me.
So have I loved you. Continue, ye my love. Here's something else. Not only are we loved by the Father with the same love that the Father has for the Son, but the Son loves us.
With that same intensity of divine love. Now, not to get off our subject, but while we're in the 15th chapter, just notice the little exhortation in that light, verse 12. This is my commandment, that ye love one another.
And He doesn't stop there, as I have loved you. The love that is characteristic of divine life and that we are to display practically 1 to another is the same love that the Father has for his Son. The same love that the Father has for each of his children. The same love that the Lord Jesus has for each of his own is the same love that is to be practically displayed.
In your life and mine and we have the very life and nature that can display in a practical way that love. So when we consider that and then come back to the opening of this chapter and find that we are loved in this way, not just by God. That's true, but by the Father and drop down to the 16th verse of our chapter to the. I think it's important to see little again. The translators added a little couple of words in italics but in the 16th verse of our chapter here by.
Perceived we love.
Again, that's the character. What's the character? What characterizes the family is that love, and we are to seek by the grace of God to enter in to that love that the Father is not so much, again, the love of God here.
Translators added that but it's the love of the father for his children, and the more we enter in to what that love was for his son, the more we will understand and appreciate what it is toward us. Brother Jim some time ago.
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I was struck.
No, the first mention of love in the Bible in the Old Testament is in connection with Abraham's love for his son Isaac.
And so the Lord says to Abraham, Take now thy son, thy only son whom thou lovest, and offer him for a burnt off.
Well, we know that's a picture.
Of the love of God the Father for his Son Jesus. I thought to myself, now where is the first reference?
To love in the New Testament.
Oh, the heavens were opened under him, and saw the Spirit of God descending like a dog.
Inviting upon him a lower voice from heaven. Same. This is my beloved son in human welfare.
Years ago I remember being in one of these corn mazes.
And it was easy to get lost in the Mace. Some of you perhaps have experienced it.
But there was a announcement made that all could hear that if you find yourself lost.
And you run into somebody that you don't know, you've never met before. Just remember, you're not strangers.
They're just friends that you never met before.
And I thought to myself.
Because I did get lost.
And I did find I was mingling with others.
Are these ones really friends? It's true I've never met them before, but I was inclined to think they were more like strangers than they were friends. But when I come to a conference like this?
There are many here that I've never met before, I've never seen before.
But the wonderful thing is.
That one is never met before. Why is this? It's because of this very truth we're speaking about here.
That the believer as a divine nature.
And what characterizes that nature is that.
In the same family and brothers and sisters.
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Lord Jesus Christ, we can't get around that fact. It's yes, it's the Christianity is Christ is everything and I believe the closer that we are to the enjoyment.
Of the sun.
Might manifest the the laws of thought.
Well, it's a wonderful thing, isn't it, to realize that there's a day coming when all the hindrances are going to be removed and that which hasn't been such a clear picture in our lives is going to be absolutely a clear picture in that day. There are things now that hinder and distract us, and we don't always manifest properly the characteristics of the of the divine nature, but there's a day coming when there's going to be a full manifestation.
Not only of himself, but of his heavenly company. And we are all going to.
Not only be with Christ, but like Christ, when the Lord spoke to the disciples in John's gospel in anticipation of his return to the Father, he simply there said, for their comfort, I will come again.
And receive you unto myself. But he didn't develop it. But isn't it beautiful that John gives us a further little detail in connection with this, that not only are we going to be with Christ, that's true, but we're going to be like Christ.
And in the day of manifestation, when He comes forth in glory, we are going to come with Him.
And when the world looks on, they're going to see a full manifestation of the divine nature wherever they look.
Just take a minute and go back to Paul's ministry for a moment in Second Thessalonians.
Because He gives us something very beautiful there in Second Thessalonians chapter one, speaking again of a day, of a future day of glory and manifestation.
He says in verse 10 of chapter one when he shall come to be glorified in His Saints and to be admired in all them that believe out the italics in that day. What is that day? Well, that day is a future day of manifestation and it throws my heart rather than to think that there is a day coming when the heaven opens up to reveal the Lord Jesus coming back in power and glory, crowned with many diadems, and we are going to come with them.
The world is going to look up, and wherever they look, they're going to see a reflection of the glories of Christ. What they see in my life now is sometimes a very clouded picture. I don't always manifest the characteristics of divine life.
But there's a day coming when we're going to be with Him, we're going to be like Him, We're going to be manifested in that way. And what is if we really have this hope firmly implanted in our souls, this hope in Him, what is going to be the result? It's going to have a practical purifying effect on your life and mind. Now when I see a brother or sister in Christ.
Who? It manifests practical godliness and piety in their life, I'd say there's a person, there's a brother, there's a sister who's enjoying the love of the father, and a brother, a sister who is.
Looking on with glad anticipation to that future day of manifestation.
And so in that sense, we do have something in the third verse here which is very practical for us, isn't it?
Every man that hath this hope in him. The hymn refers to Christ. It should be thought of in that way.
Purified himself even as he is pure.
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We live in a world today when the general attitude is what Paul gives us.
In First Corinthians 15.
Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.
The horizon.
Of the thoughts of most in this world today are live for today because tomorrow looks terrible. The future is so uncertain, so live it up now because you may not have tomorrow. Well, if we had hope only in this life, that might be a reasonable philosophy to live by.
But if we have the Lord's coming before us, if we have eternity before us, what a difference it makes.
And it's the losing sight of the Lord's coming in my heart that makes me want to settle down here, that makes me want to go after the things in this world, that makes me want to let all of the things that the family of the devil enjoy.
It makes me want to enjoy them too, because after all, there is pleasure in sin or season. There is fun in this world. There is pleasure here, up to a point, and Satan dangles that before every one of us, even if we are not so young anymore. It is perhaps a little different ways we get older, but it's still there.
But God wants you and me to be as much as possible like Christ while we're still down here, doesn't.
Every man that hath his hope in him purifieth himself. And what's the standard? Even as he is pure, he would reach it down here. If someone thinks they have, I'd like to meet you after the meeting.
No, we don't reach it down here. But God never sets any standard less than that before us, does He? Because we have a new life. It is the same life as He has.
Change into the same image from war into YES.
Changed into the same image from glory to glory. Thank you.
Maybe see if we could just read that scripture and speak of it for a moment in, uh, Second Corinthians 3 I believe it is.
Yes, Second Corinthians 3, because I believe it goes along with what has been ministered to us in the last few moments. And I believe it's an important, uh, truth to consider first. Second Corinthians 3 and verse 18. But we all with open face, beholding us in a glass, the glory of the Lord.
Or if you notice another translation looking on, the glory of the Lord with unveiled faith are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. And very simply, what this verse is saying is in the measure in which you and I are occupied with Christ where he is now. In that measure there will be an unconscious reflection of Christ in our lives. It's no doubt an illusion back to when Moses went up on the mountain met with God.
But when Moses came out from the presence of God on the mount, the children of Israel couldn't look on Moses.
His face shone to such a degree that he had to veil his face. But, brethren, for you and for me, the veil's been removed.
And we can look as we used to sing when we were young people, look full in his wonderful face. And what is going to be the result? That we try to create some testimony or we try to emanate the characteristics of divine life. No, when Moses came out of the presence of God on the mount, his face shone. But it says he with not that his face shone. It wasn't that he tried to anoint himself and make his face shine in a certain way.
It was the unconscious reflection of being in the presence of God on the mouth. And that's what He wants in your life and mine. Now He's going to have it fully as we said according to 2nd Thessalonians 1 and so on.
In a coming day of glory and manifestation. But He wants us to have that reflection in our lives now. And how much is it true? If we're occupied with ourselves, with one another, with circumstances, we're not going to have those characteristics in our lives, but occupation with Christ and what He is to us is what is going to manifest those things.
Just say in a practical way, umm, I'm not saying you haven't, But just to say it this way, you'll find the sweetest moments in your life are the moments in which you are occupied in personal meditation on the glories of the Son of God. There isn't anything that gets better than that down here. There really isn't Trump and I know.
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2nd Corinthians 3 specifically the Lord and glory. But from the Manger to the glory, from glory to glory, one after another, and it will be our endless occupation, one glory of the Lord after another.
But here, the sweetest moments that our souls can have.
Enlargement of heart, you know we fall out of the psalmist said I will run away. I'm sorry in Psalm 119 there's a verse that says I will run the way of thy commandments after thou shalt enlarge my heart. So we we often quote in Second Corinthians. I think it's chapter 6 be not.
Let me, let me turn off my heart, Bibles open to it.
In in the verse that's often quoted the the practical exhortation of verse 14 of 2nd Corinthians 6 is be not unequivocally yoke together with unbelievers. That's one of those things I suppose that pulls the cork down that you were speaking about 1/2 hour ago, but just before that it says, Holy Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged.
Then verse 13 now we're recompensing the same. I speak as unto my children be also enlarged. Our hearts are enlarged by this formative, uh, occupation and enjoyment with the personal Christ. Not abstract virtues per SE, such as patience or humility, but these things seem in the one in whom all the fullness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell. It really hasn't affected upon us.
And lo and behold, we find that.
We are taking care of things in our right for purifying ourselves. I remember standing around when I was first staying with some brothers in the local meeting and.
The custom there amongst the men who were saved later in life was they were very heavy smokers, very heavy use of tobacco and they used to get nervous when the laboring brothers would come through from.
Montreal to the Maritimes and vice versa, because we were on the way. And you see a lot of uncommon on this, you know, and, and I remember a conversation once where a brother said, well, why don't you just, you know, get rid of that? I mean, it's, it's, you know, what, what is it? What good is it? And he made a comment, well, the Lord hasn't taken it away from you.
And, you know, I'm young and they're older and.
I've pondered that for some time. And I said, you know what? That's not the right thing at all. We're supposed to be purifying ourselves. And so the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians and said, let us cleanse ourselves, right?
Small filthiness of the fleshly spirit. And so we have that duty, just like in natural things, The adults here, we didn't just wait for someone to wash us up and shave us in the morning, right? We took care of ourselves. And so that's the way we are to be in our spiritual life, and not in a routine way. But when the heart has been captivated, things get pretty simple and easy, OK?
That's really what we have here, isn't it? It's the one that has this hug. He is the one that purifies himself. There is a practical manifestation of that in our lives.
And you say, well, there isn't always. But remember, John is not talking about my experience. He's talking about what should characterize or what not should, but what will characterize us if we have that hope within?
And what spoils it is what we get in the next verse, verse 4.
And the correction, and I was so glad that Bruce made it when he read the chapter, is very necessary here. It should read Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth, and notice it says also the law.
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Four, sin is lawlessness.
That is, the essence of sin as we know, I hope, is not merely the breaking of a known commandment, but rather the exercise of an independent will before God.
And that is what is characterized or what is characteristic, I meant to say of the natural man, isn't it exercise of an independent will? And it never gets any better in the believer that old sinful self still wants to exercise its own will. And so sin is really that will of mine wanting to.
Push itself against what God wants me to do as manifesting that new life. And so I can spoil that purification. I can spoil it by allowing sin in my life and.
What did God do about that?
He was manifested to take away our sins.
And in him is no sin.
That latter comment.
Brings before us not only the.
The fact that in the person of Christ there is no sin, but it also leads into what we have next.
And that is that the new life which you and I have cannot sit.
And so God brings before us here the seriousness of sin. And if I don't realize the seriousness of sin, and sometimes I don't, I need to go back to the cross. I need to see what was necessary to put it away in order to have it driven home to my soul how serious sin is in the sight of God.
It is so easy to let the spirit of the age affect us, and whatever we have in the world will often affect the people of God if we're not careful. And in regard to what has just been said as to sin being lawlessness.
Isn't that what we see manifesting itself more and more in this world today? Because it began with self will in the garden. And it's going to, uh, that's going to be the final climax of man's history of sin. And self will and human rights have always been practiced from eating down, but they're not just practiced today. They're preached and glorified. It's my right, it's my way, I can do it the way I want and, and so on.
But we need to be careful, brethren, that we don't get caught up in the in the spirit of the age. In fact, man's history of sin is going to culminate by what it says of the man of sin in a future day. It says the King shall do according to his own will.
Unbridled self will and lawlessness is what is going to finally climax man's history of sin and bring down God's judgment on the on this on this world. But I say again, we want to be careful, brethren, that we don't get caught up.
You know, as many believers today who are caught up in in human rights and it's my right and and and and I deserve it and it's owed to me and so on. Brethren, the only thing I deserve with the Lake of fire.
And what I have by grace is only by by grace. And so sin is lawlessness, but it is not what characterizes the divine life. Christian liberty is not the liberty to do what I please.
Christian liberty is the liberty to act in the characteristics of the divine nature.
Did we say the first and last dances of 234?
Verses 1:00 and 5:00.
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Nsnoise.
4642, 5/2.
Three.
Change from glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place. The last verse, please, of 296.
Uh.
Nsnoise.
Job 28
Address—Bill Prost
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Could we sing together #171?
171.
He bids us come, His voice we know, and boldly on the waters go. Thank you.
To him, our God and Lord, we walk on life's tempestuous sea.
For he who died to set us free hath called us with his word. 171.
He builds us calm, his voice way no.
And boldly on the waters go.
To go on December 2004.
Nor over pillows round us. Dread.
While on the Lord.
We look.
And I'll come to write his voice.
It is on the way.
Let's ask the Lord's help. Loving God our Father, we look up to Thee this afternoon and we thank Thee for the words of this hymn that we have sung together.
O we thank thee, our God and Father, that thou hast sent.
Thy beloved Son into this world, and we thank the Lord Jesus that as thou didst bid Peter to come to thee on the water.
So thou dost bid us to come to thee.
And to walk on life's tempestuous sea.
And we thank Thee not, although the pathway may be rough, Thou art with us, and that that pathway ends in certain glory, Sir. Now we look to Thee this afternoon as we open thy word together and pray for Thy help.
In the time that we had before us, praying that thou wilt use thy word in blessing to our souls, and that above all Christ might be exalted, for we ask it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
I'd like you to turn with me, please, to the Old Testament, to the book of Job.
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Book of Job, chapter 28.
I reminded myself when this subject came before me, I trust from the Lord that I had spoken on it before.
And there are at least a few people here who will probably remember that. But it wasn't here in Denver, and it was between 30 and 40 years ago. So I suppose we can be allowed to speak on it again. But I'd like to read the first few verses of Job chapter 28 down to the end of verse 8.
Surely there is a vein for the silver?
And a place for gold where they find it. Iron is taken out of the earth.
And brass is molten out of the stone.
He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection, the stones of darkness and the shadow of death.
The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant, even the waters forgotten of the foot.
They are dried up, they are gone away from men.
As for the earth, out of it cometh bread, and under it is turned up, as it were, fire.
The stones of it are the place of sapphires. It hath dust of gold.
There is a path which no foul north, and which the vultures I hath not seen. The lions whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.
And then turn over for one verse please, to the New Testament, John's Gospel, chapter 13.
John, Chapter 13.
And verse one.
Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come.
That he should depart out of this world under the Father, having loved his own which were in the world.
He loved them unto the end.
We want to speak this afternoon a little bit about the pathway of the believer through this world.
And I know you may think this is a rather unusual and interesting scripture to which to turn in order to bring that out.
Jove lived a long time ago, probably sometime around or a little after the time of Abraham.
And.
You're all familiar, I'm sure, with his history, how that God allowed untold sorrow in his life in order to teach Job something that he could not learn, perhaps any other way.
And during the speeches of Job and his three friends, we find sometimes, especially in what Job says, something that is very precious to our souls.
Here job takes us into the mining industry, which evidently they were doing way back then.
Perhaps not on the scale that they can do it today. They didn't have the sophisticated equipment and the ability to go down into the depths of the earth that possibly can be done to day, but nevertheless they did it.
And they knew about going down into the earth in order to find that which was not evident right on the surface.
And so it talks here about silver and gold and iron and brass, or it should be, I believe, copper, but that is not really important for our purposes.
And it talks in other places in the Word of God about mining. So does evident it was known back in that day.
Why does God bring it in here?
We want to emphasize this to each one of us this afternoon.
Because whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning. And I believe way back in Job's time, God used Job to give vent to some of these things in order that you and I with the benefit of the New Testament.
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Can look back and see that God was teaching us through those things. An illustration of the principles in the New Testament. I would suggest that one of the thoughts here is.
That everything that is wonderful in this life is not right there on the surface. It takes effort to get it.
And nowhere is that more evident than in the Christian life.
We tend to want life easy today.
And don't get me wrong, I have no objection to modern conveniences or doing something to make it easier to achieve a certain task or whatever you want to get done.
But nevertheless, the fact remains that what we have to work a little bit for, we value more. And God has placed much of what he gives you and me in Christianity.
In a place where you and I have to exercise ourselves in order to get it.
No, I don't mean that in the wrong way, because there is much that is right on the surface, don't get me wrong, but at the same time God has provided that which you and I can have by diligent effort.
Remember reading the story of a man whom some of us were talking about the other night, A man who was actually born in England but lived most of his life in Canada, but ministered a great deal in both north in both Canada and the United States.
James B Dunlop. I never knew him, of course. He was long before my time, But what exercised him in the Lord's things at the age of about 24 was that Scripture. The soul of the diligent shall be made fat.
He said I want to have it and it's going to mean diligence and he got it much used of the Lord went to be with the Lord back in the late 1920s if I remember rightly.
But the point is in this chapter, and we want to dwell particularly on verses 7 and seven and eight, there is that which has to do with things outside the vision of this world which you and I can lay hold of only by faith.
And every believer here knows something about that, because you have had to lay hold of your salvation by faith.
And even the youngest child here that is saved knows that he or she had to grasp it by faith.
Wonderful.
And it did my heart good to talk to a young girl just the other day, six years old.
And we were reading together, all right. She was my granddaughter. OK, but.
I asked her. I said, Do you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior?
I'd never heard her confess Christ, although I was pretty sure she was saved. She said yes, I do.
By faith she laid hold of it.
But there's much more than that for you and me. By faith we lay hold as we were speaking this morning.
Of things that are outside the natural eye, the glories of Christ.
And they're brought out here, if I can say it, compared with the silver and the gold and the iron and the copper.
That have to be mined under the earth. Yes, Once in a while you can find a gold nugget, so they tell me and all you have to do is pick it up. But most of the time it's not that easy, is it? You have to dig for it takes effort.
But what about that path for the believer where you are going to enjoy those heavenly things?
Verse seven because this meeting isn't an hour long, we're going to have to go along a little more quickly than perhaps we would otherwise. Verse seven. There is a path which no foul knoweth.
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The Spirit of God knew when it penned these words that birds, I suppose, have the best eyes and probably the best ears in the animal Kingdom.
Some of you young people maybe know this, and maybe some of the children here too, but birds of prey especially, such as Eagles and Hawks and owls have tremendous eyesight.
Just to give you an idea, an eagle could probably stand on the edge of A10 Story Building, right up on the roof of A10 Story building.
And without any problem could see an Ant crawling around on the ground below. And if an eagle's flying up in the sky, he could probably see something that he wants to catch, like a rabbit or something like that.
Easily a couple of miles away. Amazing.
What does that bring before us?
There is a path which no fowl knoweth. What about the ears of some of those animals?
Absolutely amazing.
I haven't made a study of this, but I looked into it once just because I was interested in it. Owls have one ear set a little bit higher than the other so that the sound reaches 1 ear before the other.
Because of that hearing, they've got their own GPS system. They can track their prey, they know exactly where it is, the slightest rustle it makes, and they can hear it.
Even almost to the point of hearing the heartbeat of what they're after.
A hawk can hear a mouse under a foot of snow.
Wiggling its way through the grass.
But that brings before us, I suggest, the perception of the intellect of this world. Has man been able to do wonderful things? Yes, he has. Has he been able to discover things? Indeed he has.
And he's worked hard at it. He's worked hard at it. Some time ago, somebody gave me a book and said you ought to read this. And it was the story of the Wright Brothers as they literally invented the aeroplane.
Work, work, work, work, Day after day after day. Trial and error mathematics. Go and try it again. Have the plane crash. Oh dear, what went wrong this time? On and on and on till finally they got there.
But there is a path which no fowl know, and you can't discover it by human wisdom.
It can only be discovered by faith.
But what we want to emphasize is that there is a path.
And there are many who are giving up today, and it concerns many of us.
Not only because it grieves our hearts.
But because we know only too well the tendencies of our own hearts that if we're not careful, we could give it up too.
Why is it so difficult in these last days? Because the devil is making a very special attack if he can.
To destroy anything in this world, it honors Christ.
This isn't a young people's meeting, but young people. He's taking special aim at you, to use a common expression. He has you in his crosshairs. He doesn't worry so much. Sure, he's after everybody, but he's not so much concerned about people in my generation because he knows that within a few years we're going to be off the scene. But he wants to destroy your lives if he can.
And he's going to go at it, as the old saying goes, hammering tongs with any way he can.
In order to discourage you. But let me tell you, on the authority of God's Word, there is a path.
There is a path and it will be there right until the end, but no foul knoweth it.
And which the vultures eye hath not seen.
Vultures. What do they bring before us?
What's a vulture like to do?
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Feed on dead things, doesn't it? Feed on dead things? And the Vulture brings before us the activity.
Of this world energized by Satan, seeking to feed on that which is morally dead.
And that's what we're seeing in the world around us today. We are saying moral.
Death.
People that are very much alive, very much able to go about things in this life, but morally bankrupt because the absolutes of the word of God are being taken away from us so that basically everything becomes relative.
And that results eventually in moral death.
Vultures. They're looking for dead things.
I've never had this happen to me, but I can well remember my late father-in-law telling me about how he was visiting in southern Mexico in Oaxaca, and he liked to walk and he liked to try and keep up with those brothers down there as they walked out over the mountains. Occasionally they gave him a mule to ride on, but sometimes he walked. Of course, keeping up with those men that were used to it was.
Not that easy. And one time at the top of a hill, he.
Was obliged to lie down and just.
Like this and try and catch his breath, not realizing that he could pretty much follow Spanish. One brother looked down at him and said to another brother, do you think he's going to die?
And the other brother said no, he won't die. He said the spirit truly is willing, but the flesh is weak.
But while he was lying there, the other brothers walked on a little ways and figured that he would catch up because it was going to be downhill from that point on. And my father-in-law opened his eyes into his great horror, saw this great bird slowly circling down, down, down, down. And he realized that if he didn't show some signs of life, that bird might land on top of them.
Vulture.
Are the vultures attacking Christians today? Yes, they are. Why?
Because Christians are playing dead.
Morally dead.
It can be brought out. Let's turn to the Book of Two Thessalonians to see.
What happens there? It is not brought out as death.
But rather as sleep.
Sorry, First Thessalon. Yes, First Thessalonians. I beg your pardon, not Second Thessalonians. First Thessalonians, chapter 5.
Verse six. Therefore, let us not sleep as do others.
But let us watch and be sober, for they that sleep, sleep in the night.
And they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
Whether you're asleep or whether you're drunk, it's all one and the same. You are not alive as to what's going on.
And you and I ought to be alive in this world, because we're children of light.
And the Vulture cannot attack you in that path. But Satan is using his vultures today to attack young people in order to take you and me off, because he recognized that even though he can't take away the salvation from a believer.
If there is morally a giving up of some of these things that God has given us.
There's moral death, and that's what the Vulture preys on.
We don't need to go into specifics, but moral death comes from feeding that old sinful self. To be carnally minded is death. In scripture you get three kinds of men, natural men, spiritual men, and carnal men. The natural man is the one who has nothing but an old nature.
The spiritual man is one who, in the power of the Spirit, walks with the Lord, but the carnal man is a believer who walks in the energy of the flesh.
And when we go down that way.
Then we open ourselves up to those attacks.
But there is a path we can follow by faith that doesn't involve that attack.
00:25:08
The Lions whelps have not trodden it.
I've had no experience at all with Lions.
I've only been to Africa a few times and at no time did I ever see a lion.
For those who have had anything to do with them.
Fear them greatly.
They're very powerful beasts.
In the days before they had guns, they were tremendously feared by those who had only homemade Spears and things like that.
Nobody tangled with a lion.
Yes, there were men in the Old Testament that could handle them. David killed 1, Bennyaya killed 1, and so on. But a fearsome animal?
But Mr. Darby's translation takes a broader look of it. And if you look in the Derby, it says the proud beasts have not trodden it.
This hits right where the rubber hits the road.
Because there is a tendency.
Even in believers for there to be pride in walking the Christian pathway.
I can't walk the Christian pathway with any degree of pride.
The proud beasts and the natural man is built on pride. It's the first thing that is mentioned in the things that God hates.
Now, we're not going to spend the whole time in this address on the negative thing, don't get me wrong, but we want to cover these things because they are a problem today.
The proud beasts have not trodden it.
And you and I, if we are going to walk the Christian pathway, there must be humility in the presence of God.
There must be the recognition that in every step of the pathway we need to walk in absolute dependence, and that goes for any age group. I cannot walk that path in my own strength. Some of us were talking about that earlier today.
Because I'm looking at a company that for the most part is gathered to the Lord's name and many here have been brought up. Thank God.
Under the sound of that good ministry, a wonderful heritage, but, sad to say, there can be, if we are not careful, a tendency to be proud of it, yes.
We perhaps have something that much of Christendom does not have, but as I was quoting to a brother, and this came from a brother many years ago, he said if we do have more than other believers in the body of Christ, we can do one of two things with it.
We can either use it to accredit and distinguish ourselves as a body, or we can seek to use it for the benefit and up building of the whole body of Christ. May we remember that that does not mean to compromise.
But it means that we seek to use what we have for the benefit and blessing of others.
That means reaching out, that means in our hearts embracing the whole body of Christ, while at the same time.
Being willing and gladly willing to walk a narrow path in faithfulness to the Lord, The devil wants to destroy that wonderful balance. The devil wants either to take us on the side of a broad path and a broad heart.
Or he wants to take us on the side of a narrow path and a narrow heart, and both are equally wrong. God wants us to have a heart as broad as that of Christ, but a pathway as narrow as His was.
The proud beasts have not trodden it.
Nor the fierce lion pass by it. Ah, the fierce lion is Satan.
Again, I say I've had little or nothing to do with lions.
The only time I ever heard a lion really roar was one that was in a zoo.
But I can tell you it made me jump because I wasn't expecting it.
And the roar was incredibly loud. I had never heard it before. For those who had to do them. I remember reading the story of some who were trying to build a railway in what is now Uganda in Africa way back about 1900.
00:30:09
And the lions were a problem, terrible problem. They brought all kinds of workers in to try. And of course, being a hot climate and working on a railroad where every day the end of the tracks was further along, they didn't have any permanent settlement. How could you build a railway that way? So they had to sleep in tents, and they would surround those tents with fences made of thorns and everything so that no man could possibly get through.
Those thorns without doing terrible harm to his person. It was physically impossible.
And in the morning, a man would wake up.
Maybe six men would wake up and find the 7th man in their tent was missing.
And the lion had been so quiet and so careful that he had not only come through those thorns, but he had come right into the tent, killed that man with one bite, taking his body away silently so that no one even woke up.
Unbelievable.
And it happened time after time.
I finally got them.
If you want to see them, go to the museum in downtown Chicago. They're there and you can still see the scratches on the hides of those lions even though they're over 100 years old.
Where they went through the thorns, but they did it so quietly that no one ever heard them.
Picture of Satan the fierce lion.
That's out there to get you and me. He doesn't always appear that way. Sometimes he appears as an Angel of light, and that's what he's doing sometimes today. But he's also the fierce lion.
And again, he can't take away your salvation.
But he wants to destroy your Christian life.
But he can't touch you in the pathway of faithfulness to the Lord and in the enjoyment of Christ.
And I want to emphasize that in the last few minutes.
Some will remember reading The Pilgrim's Progress, and if you haven't read it, I would encourage you to do it.
And you will remember there was a time when the man there by the name of Christian came along and there were two lions.
And he thought, how am I going to get past them? One was on one side and one was on the other.
And if he made a wide berth around one, he'd fall into the mouth of the other. And if he made a wide berth around the other?
Then the other one would get him. How is he going to do it?
And if you'll remember, there was a path that went right between those two lions, and both of them were on chains, and each one could go only so far and as long as he stayed on the path.
Neither Lion could get him deviate this way, and this one would get him. Deviate this way and this one would get him.
You know John Bunyan didn't know all the precious truth that you and I know.
But in that illustration he brought out a most important principle, and that is.
Balance in the things of God, and we're not going to dwell on that this afternoon except to emphasize its importance.
Because a lot of problems among the lives of believers come from.
Not perhaps the embracing of positive error, but the holding of truth in improper balance.
And that, perhaps, is not the province of the young people so much as it is those of us that are older.
And if we don't hold the truth of God in its proper balance, we will get out of balance. And then the lion comes in right there and gets us.
Well, in the last few minutes I want to mention a little bit.
The positive side of things. Is there a positive side of it? Yes, indeed there is.
Let's look at the end of this very chapter in the book of Job, Job 28, verse 20.
Whence then cometh wisdom, and where is the place of understanding?
Jobe was asking an honest question. He was up against it. Where do you get it?
Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air.
00:35:01
Destruction and death say we have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof, for he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven.
To make the wait for the winds, and he weigheth the waters by measure.
When he made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the Thunder.
Then did he see it and declare it? He prepared it, yeah, and searched it out. And unto man he saith, Behold the fear of the Lord. That is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.
Now turn to Proverbs chapter 8.
Proverbs 8.
Here again we have wisdom brought before us, and notice what it says here. Wisdom personified.
Verse 22 The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old.
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth. When there were no fountains abounding with water, before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth.
Well, as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.
When He prepared the heavens, I was there when He set a compass upon the face of the death.
When he established the clouds above. When he strengthened the fountains of the deep, When he gave to the seas decree that the water should not pass his commandment, When he appointed the foundations of the earth.
Then I was by him as one brought up with him, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.
Rejoicing in the habitable parts of his earth. And my delights werewith the sons of men.
Now a verse in second one, First Corinthians 1.
1St Corinthians 1.
Verse 30.
But all of him are ye in Christ Jesus.
Who of God is made unto us, Wisdom.
And righteousness and sanctification and redemption. That according as it is written, he that Gloria let him glory in the Lord.
By faith.
You and I lay hold.
Of those precious things that God has for us in Christ.
They're meant to be enjoyed now.
If we go down to the second chapter of First Corinthians here we find that it says in verse nine, I hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
And we often have that verse brought before us, considering the portion of those who have departed to be with Christ.
Wonderful, and it's true, but what does it say in verse 10? But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit.
There is a path.
And I can remember an old brother sitting at a Toronto conference many years ago.
And saying, brethren, what a blessed path it is.
But it is a path that I cannot find with natural wisdom. I cannot find it if I am morally dead. I cannot walk it in my own strength, especially in pride. But it is a path where?
The devil cannot attack me. The devil is attacking a lot today, and we are seeing more than one turned aside sometimes. Not with any special issue or any special problem, but simply general discouragement. General, if I could use the term, lackadaisical attitude. It's too much trouble. It's too much energy.
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Can the Lord give us that which is needed? Indeed He can, but what is the problem? What is the problem with my heart?
If I don't have the desire to go after those things.
May I suggest?
Among other things that I am taking a temporal view and not an eternal one. And in that sense it is not merely that I look forward to the joys of being in heaven with Christ, wonderful though they are.
The root of the problem in many cases is that I am blind.
Or the devil has blinded me till the glory of Christ.
We won't turn to it, but in 2nd Corinthians 4, the Apostle Paul in talking of unbelievers, says the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light and it should read of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God should shine under them. He does not say that God has blinded their minds to their lost condition and their need of a Savior, although that is true also.
But primarily he is blinded their minds to the glory of Christ.
And the devil's whole energy today is to blind your mind and mind to the glory of Christ, so that instead of.
Enjoying the glory of Christ presently, right now, in everyday life.
Well, looking forward to a fuller and more complete revelation of it for all eternity.
He gets me thinking about how rough life is down here and how difficult it is and how can I cope with this problem or that problem or worse still, shall I say it?
Within the experience of the local assembly, this one rubs me the wrong way, or that issue bothers me, or this happened over here and I can't handle it, and so on.
I don't think that I am immune to that any more than anybody else. It affects us all if we're not careful.
But then, over and above it all, we see that One who is made unto us. First of all, wisdom.
And the wisdom of God will cause us to look at that blessed one.
Who in His person embodies, as we had brought before us the other day in the reading meeting, all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And then it says that He, that Gloria let him glory.
In.
The Lord.
There is a glory of Christ that is shining. Now there is a glory of God that is shining.
In his face.
And the Lord Jesus wants us to understand and enjoy that glory, even here and now.
Can we do it?
That path is there.
But it's a bit like mining, as we've said, you want to know more of those glories of Christ. It takes diligence, it takes effort, it takes time, and it may mean having to give up something in order to get it.
It may mean having to give up something in order to have it.
We could. Our time is gone now. We could tell lots of stories, but there have been those who have given up much in order to enjoy those glories of Christ. Are we willing to do that? Sometimes it takes that, but it's well worth while. Just the same way as those who spend their time and their energy mining go down to get things that are not visible right on the surface.
But it's worth it because of what they can get.
And they're willing to make the effort. The natural man will make all kinds of effort.
Witness the gold rushes that have taken place in North America in the last 150 years, one after the other.
Right here in Colorado, you had one.
People would do anything, go after anything, endure any hardships and we had one up in the Yukon in Canada.
A lot of Americans came up there too, wanted that gold, willing to do anything in order to get it. God has given us that which is far beyond in the glories of Christ.
Let's sing part of a hymn in closing #168.
And will sing only the last two verses for the sake of time. 168, verse 4.
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O pardon us, Lord.
That our love to thy name is so faint, with so much our affections to move.
Verse Five O Kindle within us a holy desire.
Like that which was found in thy people of old. 168 verses 4:00 and 5:00.
Oh, pardon us, Lord, that our love to thy name is.
The faith with so much of.
Perfection still move.
Our call? Not much more. Spell us.
So let's go the love not.
So little.
OK, no weather.
The ladies are like that.
Which was?
Found in the.
Paper.
Whose hearts were on for?
All they were.
Cut and patience.
By face to.
Behold.
Bless God our Father, once again we look to Thee this afternoon and commend thy word to thee.
For Thy blessing upon it we thank Thee that even in these last days.
Thou canst tell us in thy word there is a path, and we thank thee for.
A path, Lord Jesus, that can only be found by faith in walking with thee.
A path in which thy glories are revealed.
We pray that we might, as we have sung together, have a desire for those glories.
To have it kindled within us that we might follow after Thee, blessed Savior, until thou dost call us home. We thank Thee, our God and Father, for the object that was set before us.
Keep that object before our eyes, we pray.
For we ask it, Lord Jesus, in thy precious and worthy name.
Mm-hmm.
1 John 3:6-11
Reading
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331.
331.
471, 89415 Cry all over heaven.
You're bringing God home till you hear Him.
00:05:14
Nsnoise.
Our God and our Father, how it does thrill our hearts.
This afternoon to contemplate the manner of love and dollars bestowed upon us.
And we should be called our children.
I wonderful would be I love that would deliver us from going down to the pit.
Deliver us from eternal damnation.
But to think that my grace has brought us.
Family.
And to enjoy a place.
And die eternal home. We thank the our Father Thou hast given us to thy Son to bring home to Thee, and we look forward to that day when.
United with Walter, redeemed to sing thy praise, to worship and to adore.
He and we thank thee that we have opportunity now to open that awareness and continue.
The Epistle of John. We asked us all.
Margaret Watts that we might.
That need to give thy Son, as we often sing for a world by sin and dying.
And so this afternoon we.
I was to make Christ precious to our hearts.
And I spared him. Liberty used whomsoever bewill.
And we just thank you for the way that that was undertaken thus far this day encounter the great wonderful privilege to be gathered in this way in the presence.
By your son.
And so we admit all the D and give you our thanks.
Diablo, Precious, most worthy name, Lord Jesus, Amen.
We didn't get very far this morning, I suppose.
Maybe if we begin with verse six, would that be all right?
I just remind ourselves that we have only this reading meeting and one more, and this one isn't that long. So maybe we could start with verse six if that's all right.
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First John chapter 3, verse 6.
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not.
Whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
Little children, let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even if he is righteous.
He that committed sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works.
Of the devil.
Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God.
In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil.
Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
For this is the message that we heard from the beginning.
That we should love one another.
Nadis Kane, who was of that wicked one, and flew his brother, and wherefore glued he him, because his own works were evil and his brothers righteous.
Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hates you.
We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren.
He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
Hereby perceivedly the love of God, because he lay down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
But whoso hath this world's good and good, and see if his brother has need, and shut us up his vows of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
My little children, let it not love in Word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.
For if our heart condemneth, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
Beloved, if our heart condemneth not, then have we confidence towards God.
And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because he keepeth his commandments, because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
And this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of the Son of his Son, Jesus Christ.
And love one another as he gave us commandments.
And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and He in him, And hereby we know that he abideth in us by the spirit which he hath given us.
We were mentioning this morning that John speaks generally in the abstract.
He doesn't go into the practical exhortations very much.
He simply states the character of what is.
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And I suppose this verse in our chapter is one of those.
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not.
That is the normal proper walk of a believer, isn't it? To abide in Christ and not to sin.
God never assumes that the believer will fail. We do fail.
But God never assumes that will happen.
It's not character characteristic of the believer to carry on in sin, and we might say that.
The Word of God never gives any comfort to a believer who is deliberately and willfully walking in a pathway that is contrary to the Word of God, or if we could say, living out of communion with the Lord.
We never get any comfort in Scripture in that kind of a pathway.
Yes, we know of course that, uh, God.
Recognizes the difficulties down here. The Lord Jesus, as our great High Priest, is there for our infirmities and for the difficulties we pass through. But we have everything we need in order not to go down that wrong Rd. But then what do we have here?
In the latter part of the verse.
Whosoever sinneth hath not seen him.
Neither know of it.
Strong language, isn't it? And yet very, very true. And so that is the family of the devil. They haven't seen the Lord, they haven't known him. And the natural man, the old sinful self, can't do anything but sin.
I well remember many years ago again quoting a story from my late father-in-law who?
Went around his hometown of Smiths Falls ON giving out gospel tracks, and they were a lot of people that he got to know over the years. And when he went to one home, there was no answer at the door. Well, he knew the individuals well. So he peeked in the window and there was the man of the house with his head down on the table, a bottle beside him, and he knew very well what was going on.
So, knowing the family well, the door wasn't locked, he just quietly went in and put a gospel text that had been printed up right up against the bottle. Christ died for the ungodly.
And then quietly went out and shut the door.
Half an hour later, he met the man on the street. Mr. Hayhoe, were you in my home a little while ago this afternoon?
Yes, I was. Well, he had no problem, no difficulty with Albert Hayle walking into his home. That was not the problem. The problem was that verse.
I don't like that word. Ungodly Mr.
Was he a believer? No, he wasn't, but he didn't like to be billed as being ungodly.
The world doesn't like to have it said that they don't know Christ, They haven't seen him.
But that's where the natural man is at. And I would only suggest this, maybe others would comment on it, but is that put here as a warning to us? Because John, I don't believe, wrote this primarily for the years of unbelievers or the eyes of unbelievers. He wrote it to believers because he wanted us to realize, and there are other verses here and we don't mean to get caught up in one verse, but.
He wants us to realize the tremendous difference there is between the pathway of the believer and the pathway of the world, the character of the believer and the character of the world.
Modern Christianity wants to merge the two.
And Satan has done a good job of it. But John wants us to note the tremendous contrast there is between the two.
00:20:03
Those who are bringing the evil doctrines of the Spirit of God is raising a standard up against had ungodly practices, and there really in that way that the believers have that life, they love one another, and those are the positive proofs to themselves that they were his, but those who were not that were coming in in that way.
This is what they were characterized by.
Would that be the 29th verse of the second chapter? But ye know that he is righteous. Ye know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of Him. They weren't righteous so really manifest that they were not born of God.
So we don't want to give the impression from these verses that a person can reach this level of spirituality in their life where they don't sin. Because these verses have been misconstrued by many to say that you can get to a certain plateau, a certain plane in your Christian life, and sin is burnt out and you're not going to sin anymore. But it's been already said this is looked at in connection with what characterizes divine life.
And I'd just like to say too, in connection with what Bill said, that at the beginning of this epistle, there's no excuse for sin, but there's provision for it. And I was thinking of Peter. The Lord said to Peter before he denied the Lord, I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not.
And if Peter had only availed himself of that resource, he wouldn't have acted the way he did, uncharacteristic of of one who belonged to the Lord, if he had availed himself of that resource. And so the resource is given to us at the end of the first chapter, in the beginning of the second chapter where we have the advocate. And unlike the priesthood of Christ, he doesn't sympathize with us when we sin in our infirmities and the trials of life. He sympathizes with us, but not when it comes to sin. And so there is no excuse for sin.
But there's provision for it. And I say that because, again, we don't want to ever take these verses out of context and assume that a person can reach A level where they become sinless.
It's really practice, isn't it? It says.
Practice.
Is that so absolute in that sixth verse that it doesn't mean in a certain sense?
I'm asking us a question. Is say that again, Vern. I didn't. Well, whosoever the fourth verse says, whosoever committed it should be practiced.
So, but now it says whosoever abideth in him sinneth not. Is that practice to sin or absolute? Doesn't sin at sin at all? Is he just talking about the nature? It's absolute. Later on we get expressions that are properly translated practices. Mm-hmm. But this one, he says whoso abides in him.
That takes us back to John 15 and abiding in the vine. He's the true vine and the father's, the husbandmen, and he's looking for fruit. Can that vine produce anything other than good fruit?
It absolutely cannot.
Who is the Vine?
Christ is the lie we abide in him. There's nothing else that that life can produce but what's pleasing to God, but we have an old root in us too. Despite that another scripture. So I think in this verse maybe the tendency again, I stand to be corrected, but I think it's more absolute. There's other scriptures in first John that that Mister Darby translates practices their their life is characterized all through by that.
Practicing Sense.
Oh, I agree 100% with that, Steve. I believe that is the force of it. It's because if.
If, and it it is an if, if I have a new life in Christ and I am abiding in Him.
And it is absolute that new light cannot sin. And you get that further down, which is often mistranslated in and we don't want, we're not here to throw rocks at various translations, but in not understanding the way John writes, some have translated verse 9. Whosoever is born of God should not commit sin.
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But that isn't the force of the verse. It does not commit sin simply because that new life that you and I have cannot sin, no more than the light that Christ had could sin. It's the same light. And so that's the force of it, isn't? It? Does that. Isn't that all practical? It is practicing new translation, yes.
OK, so let let's just make this very clear. We've said it before, but just so we understand, the life that we have in Christ, the divine life, the divine nature, it cannot sin.
We but we also still have the sinful flesh and an unbeliever has the old nature. We want to make these these distinctions because they're helpful and important. And so an unbeliever who has that old nature, that old nature cannot please God. They that are in the flesh cannot please God. Even the best things an unsafe person does, it says all our righteousnesses are the best things we can do.
Are a filthy rag. A person may go to a place of worship, they may sing hymns, they may say prayers, they may read their listen while the word of God is read. They may do charitable works, they may give to certain organizations. If they are unregenerate people, that is a pile of filthy rags to God. And so the old nature can cannot please God.
With the believer we have that divine nature that as we said, and I want to stress this, we want to stress this, it cannot sin. It is the very life of Christ. However, we still have the sinful flesh.
And we never get real peace in our souls, brethren, until we understand it. And the man in Romans chapter seven and eight, he never began to get deliverance until he said, it is no more I, but sin that dwelleth in me.
In other words, he said, when I sin, God doesn't see me in that light. When I sin, it's not the it's the old, it's not the new Jim Highland. It's not Jim Highland in Christ. It's no more I God doesn't see me in the old, the light of the old man. I'm a new creation in Christ. Do I sin? Yes, because I have the sinful flesh. But what gives me comfort and peace is to realize that God sees me.
In all the light and perfection of Christ.
Now maybe if you'll just allow me, and again, I don't want to get away from what we have here in these verses, but I've enjoyed a little illustration of that helps us perhaps to understand this from the Tabernacle in the Old Testament. Because we find that the Tabernacle, those boards collectively were the dwelling place of God amongst his people. But individually, I suggest they speak to us of our individual standing and position before God in Christ.
I say that because there were two things that characterized those boards. They stood in two sockets of silver. That speaks of redemption. Invariably silver speaks of redemption in Scripture. But then there was something else about those boards. They were covered completely with pure gold. And when the guy and that speaks of divine righteousness. And when the eye of God looked down on those boards, what did God see? The rub cut lumber that was underneath. No, what he saw was that which spoke in tight of the righteousness of Christ.
And you and I are seen in all the light of the new man where seen in the new position. And we are the children of God. We have the divine light. And what characterizes the divine life is that we don't sin. There is no sin connected with the divine life. And if we ever lose sight of that, brethren, we're on very shaky ground, doctrinally speaking.
When we get to, uh, glory, there will be no seeing why you said it's because.
00:30:11
But also the work of Christ is dead, as he put an end, as it were to be.
I understand and known him, but what is he saying hath not seen him if he referring to seeing him with Gaiah face? Or what is John saying here?
Well, I personally think, uh, I've always looked at it, John as being the eye of faith because he does say whosoever in the first chapter we know John and referring to others like the other disciples and ones who had known the Lord on earth talked about having seen him and handled the Lord Jesus as the word of life. But I believe it's with the eye of faith here. Uh, the natural man has no desire to have anything to do.
With the claims of God, they may in countries like Canada and the United States sing about the Lord Jesus at Christmas and even pay lip service to Easter or something like that. But the natural mind is at enmity with God, isn't it? There's no desire to have anything to do with God, to see him or to know him.
He told Nicodemus.
Except the man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. He was talking about faith, although he's talking about a Jew and no Jew will see the Kingdom of God, a manifestation physically if he's not born again. But I think he's talking there about you can't see it really and.
So he comes to him and he says, Rabbi, we know thou art a teacher, come from God. He couldn't see God, He was standing before him. To manifest in flesh. The Lord says, ye must be born again. You need that new life before you're going to see the way you should see.
And it shows us in these verses, doesn't it, who is the head of that family, that natural family now in this world? We've mentioned it before, but it bears repeating that when the Lord Jesus was rejected, the Word of God began to call Satan both the God and the Prince of this world.
And in that sense, Satan for the moment.
Has it all his own way, Only, of course, in so much as God allows it. He can't do anything beyond what God allows. We know that. But once man rejected Christ, Satan becomes God. I suppose you'd say religiously in the Prince of this world, politically, and he's behind the family of this world.
Practically, let us remember that. That's why it says here.
He that committeth sin verse verse eight is of the devil, for the devil Sinner from the beginning, and so on.
Let's remember that you have the family of God and the family of Satan. Either I act in character with the family of God to which I belong. And I appreciate what Jim said. That's the way God views us.
If I sin, the Lord doesn't say well.
00:35:01
Now you're part of the family of the devil again. Some people, some believers try to teach that and you have to get saved over again. No, but I'm acting out of character. And so we need to keep that very much before us, as we said before. But as it says at the end of verse 8, the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. Well.
The full result of that won't be seen until the eternal state. Even after Satan has been bound for 1000 years during the Millennial day, he'll still, when he's loose for a little season, begin his works again.
But eventually, the power of Christ through what he.
Carried out on the cross destroys the works of the devil, and he never is able to introduce sin again into the new heavens and the new earth. But you and I can be delivered from it now, and we have been delivered from it.
Now God expects us to live and walk in that character, doesn't it?
As noticing in Mark's gospel chapter one.
Which I believe Mark does not give us a chronological, uh, order of the Lord's ministry during the Spirit and after his baptism in Mark chapter one.
It tells us.
Verse 11 There came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Immediately the spirit dragged him into the wilderness, and he was there in the wilderness 40 days, tempted of state.
And was with the wild beasts and angels ministered unto him. Well, we know the result of Satan's effort to tempt the Lord to super evil is totally.
Affiliate. We could not attempt the Lord, and the Lord used Scripture to resist the devil's temptation.
He referred to the I believe it was Deuteronomy three times and he resisted the devil with Scripture, which I believe is our resource as well. But I see how the devil immediately comes to seek to hinder the mission upon which the Lord was sent. But we see how the devil was frustrated in his attempt there, but later on the chapter in verse.
23 It says there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit.
And he cried out, saying, Let us alone. What have we to do with thee, Thou Jesus? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace and come out of him.
When the unclean spirit had sworn and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. So his teeth of the Lord is undoing the worst of the devil. He is here to destroy his reverse.
00:40:08
Persons.
When Nicodemus came to the Lord, it's already been mentioned, but he said, we know thou art a teacher, come from God. But when the Lord answered Nicodemus, he showed him that what man needed was not good teaching. He had good teaching in the Old Testament.
Israel had the oracles of God, but what it showed was that man needed a new life.
And it's important to realize too, when we speak about being born of God and born again, when we speak of the divine life, it, and I want to say this very reverently and carefully, it wasn't a patch up of the old. Do men put new wine in old bottles? Do they sow a new cloth on an old garment? The Lord shows very clearly that He was going to introduce something brand new that wasn't dependent on man. Man had had good teaching all through the Old Testament.
But it had showed that man was rotten through and through, and that there was no way that there could be any betterment of that which he was naturally speaking. And so he goes on in our chapter to speak of being born of God.
And that one that is born of God does not sin. Again, confirming what we have said. And we need to stress this, that the divine life to be born of God is to have divine life, and that life is the very life of Christ.
Christ, who is our life.
Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him. Is that a reference to the Holy Spirit that now indwells the end of the individual? Is that another assurance that once we have the Spirit of God, He will never leave us?
I think of it, uh, all the way back to the first chapter of Genesis. Just read a couple of verses there.
Genesis 1 verse 11 And God said, let the earth bring forth grass, and herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth. And it was so.
And the earth brought forth grass and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit whose seed was in itself after his kind. And God saw that it was good. And that is the character of eternal life. It reproduces that life. And the one in whom it is implanted. That seed, I think, is that life of Christ. And it reproduces. You take a seed and you put it in the ground. It's a corn seed.
You're not gonna get anything else but corn.
An eternal life doesn't reproduce anything else but what we see in the Lord Jesus Christ and the believer. It reproduces after its kind.
So accept the corn of wheat, fall into the ground, and die abideth alone, but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. Is that the thought?
There's a, a, uh, I guess years ago a brother told us, he said. And John's in, uh, Paul's ministry, we find that we're one body, many members united to Christ our head in heaven by the indwelling Spirit of God. And John's ministry, we're not one body with the Lord. We're one plant.
He's that cornered wheat that fell on the ground and it sprung up, and what is on that head of wheat?
All little kernels exactly identical to the one that went into the ground. But where do they have their life? They have it because they're attached to the stock that sprung up. They don't have it independently, and it's a reproduction of exactly what went into the ground. We're one plant with the Lord and John and Paul's ministry, one body and and the truth of the one body. Every member is different.
In John's ministry.
Every kernel identical.
00:45:05
Insulted David's servants. There was a a getting together of Haman's confederacy.
And the Confederates with him didn't do what Hagen did, but they were identified with him in that confederacy.
I I don't know if that would fit exactly, but of whom are you in other words?
Are you of David or are you of hate? Yes. It's not the individuals since perhaps looked at, but of whom are you connected?
And that's it here we're, we belong to the family of God. We have that new life that remains in US. And so even though the word practices is used in the Darby translation, uh, we shouldn't put too much of an emphasis on a word. I believe it is in this ninth verse, absolute, just as it is in verse.
UH-8 absolute. He that committeth or practices sin is of the devil. That is what is characteristic. What does the believer do? He does not practice sin, that is characteristic of him. He has that new life and it reproduces itself as Brother Steve has brought the force.
And we might, we might in one sense say, well, doesn't the natural man desire righteousness? Yes, in one sense he does when his own person or his own interests are involved. But when God's interests are involved, does the natural man want righteousness? No, he does not. A man may be thankful for a good justice system in the country where he lives. He may be thankful for the police. He may be thankful for.
Set of laws that govern things in a reasonable and proper way so that the normal conduct of business and commerce and everything can go on. But when there's any reference to God, man does not want righteousness. He does not want to be righteous. And I believe that's the way we have to look at it. Righteousness and being righteous in Scripture is always measured up against God himself and his claims, isn't it?
It helped me to think of it this way. What does the lawyer do? He practices law. What does the doctor do? He practices medicine. What is an unregenerate Sinner? Do he practices sin?
Use it in the same way.
Like to come back to Brother Bob's question, because this chapter has three proofs afforded to the believer that they're in the family of God. And the first one is that they practice righteousness. There's obedience to the word of God. There's a desire there.
That's in that new life in that sea. The second one is there's a love for their brother, and there's a love for the rest of the family of God, a brother. Bob mentioned the Spirit of God, and that's the third proof, the indwelling Spirit of God. Only those who are in God's family have the Spirit of God. And that's brought out at the end of the chapter. All three fruits are brought together in the very end of the chapter, verse 23. And this is His commandment that we should believe on the name.
Of His Son Jesus Christ, and loved one another as He gave us commandments. He that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in Him, and He and Him. And hereby we know that He abideth enough by the Spirit which He has given us. I should have included verse 22. Because we keep his commandments and do things, the things, those things that are pleasing in a sight. So the Spirit of God is indeed part of the proofs of this chapter, that we are in the family of God.
00:50:21
MMM MMM.
We might mention something also about that word righteousness and righteousness.
The believer having a new life in Christ.
He wants to see righteousness.
And some believers today are getting carried away by that and thinking that it's their job to go out there and seek to impose righteousness on this world.
We don't find that in scripture. We are to be a testimony to this world by being righteous ourselves.
That doesn't mean that we don't reach a man's conscience for.
And I called him on it. I said, Sir, when I went to school, that was called. Why?
Well, you said, yeah, you're right. You said that was kind of he, he insisted on it. But when I boxed him in, he admitted, yeah, you're right, that was kind of unprofessional of me. I said, Sir, it's not only unprofessional, it's a sin in the sight of God.
Unprofessional. That's quite a way of glossing it over, isn't it?
But this one is unrighteous, and we as believers naturally want to see righteousness.
There will come a day when, if I could say it in.
Respectfully, there will come a day when we will get our opportunity, won't there?
There come a day when Christ will manifest himself as the righteous, 1 As the rightful king, we will be with him, and there will be no question in that day as to righteousness.
But what characterizes you and me now is being righteous in our own person, what we say and do and in our actions, very, very important. Because it is, sad to say, very possible in a world where unrighteousness, very little thought of, to find ourselves be overtaken by. And maybe in little things, maybe in little things.
But we can find ourselves being overtaken by unrighteousness.
And so I believe the Spirit of God puts that word in here as a warning to us. That's what characterizes the man of the world. And that's why according to verse 12, and I know our time is nearly gone, but that's why.
We are hated because the world does not mind a believer who acts in righteousness, but it hates the man who acts righteously and references God in it.
Give us a definition of righteousness.
Well, righteousness always involves more than one person. God is like God is holy in his own person and He doesn't need anyone else there, but He's righteous in his dealings with you and me and in respect of sin.
And so righteousness is doing that which is right according to God's standard in everything we say and do. And that's where the natural man doesn't like it.
I can tell an interesting story which some maybe have heard before, where two small boys back probably in the 1880s were sent by their parents to a store to buy something. And as they went out of the store they were counting their change and noticed that the man in the store had made a mistake in their favor. So they went back into the store and called his attention to it. And of course he was very thankful and gladly took the overpayment back and patted them on the head and said they were good little boys to.
Call that to his intention and attention and so on. And when the boys came home, they told their father and mother about it.
00:55:05
And to their astonishment, their boys, their father said, Boys, you did the right thing, but in the wrong way, huh? Wrong way, yes, their father said. You boys did the right thing, but you came home with the glory.
You should have told them that you gave them the change back because you belong to Christ.
That would have probably brought reproach.
I only know that story because one of the boys was Harry Hagel. But anyway, the point is, the world likes righteousness, but not when we bring in God's claims. And that's why Cain hated his brother. That's why the world will hate you and me for being righteous.
So before we close, just a little practical word, and I'd like to read a verse in Titus because I can hear someone say, well, it's all fine to talk about practical righteousness and so on, but how are we going to survive today? This is the day when the standards are completely gone. Everybody has to tell a lie to get along in business or whatever it is. How are we going to do it today? But notice in Titus chapter 2.
He speaks of the grace of God in verse 11 and then grace is a teacher here verse 12 teaching us that is the grace of God teaches us that denying ungodliness and worldly luck, we should live soberly.
Righteously godly when in this present age, that's right where we are now. In other words, there are the resources for you and for me to live to deny that which is ungodly and to live uprightly, to live righteously right here at the closing hour of the the day of the day of Grace. We can never say the day is so dark and the standard is so low.
That we cannot live righteously for God's glory. And Paul at the end of his ministry speaks of a crown of righteousness laid up for me, and not for me only, but all those that love his appearing.
The crown of righteousness has to do with the righteous reign of Christ. That is future. But I also believe in a practical way it is a reward for living righteously in an unrighteous world. Yes, there will be a reproach. Yes, we may not get that raise or that sales deal that we had hoped, but to live righteously now there is a reward at the end. There's a crown of righteousness laid up for us. And so there's no such thing as saying it's too dark a day.
It's too morally degenerate a day to live righteously. We have to compromise a little bit. No, with the grace of God enjoyed and implanted in our souls, we can live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age, right where we are now.
We sing 313.
313.
Soon, righteousness.
01:00:01
Nsnoise.
God's Sovereignty
Address—Steve Stewart
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Could we start the meeting with the 1St 2 verses of hymn #141?
1St 2 verses of 141.
Indeed eternal.
Can't go before the world was made.
Before and she foundation.
On nothing, that's where laid.
God purpose, God bless.
Nsnoise 711.
PM.
Nsnoise.
Riff, our God and Father's help, our God and our Father, we come before thee. We thank thee.
This afternoon that we have thy precious word.
To shed light on all that we need to know and to understand as Thy children here below.
And we pray, as we open the pages of Thy precious inspired word this afternoon, that Thou give us.
That which is needful to establish our souls more firmly, and Thy truth for Thy glory, our God and Father, for the glory of Thy beloved Son, our precious Savior.
For the blessing of our souls, we ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.
Subject I have on my heart.
Is broad.
We won't be able to touch on all of it. We won't be able to answer all the questions that might come with it.
But it's one that's been a burden upon my heart.
It's the subject of the sovereignty of God, the truth of election and predestination.
And the true condition of man.
As a slave to sin.
And Satan, whose will is bound by those things, and divine intervention is needed to deliver him from his lost condition, Brother said to me a little while back.
That there are hardly any groups of believers left in this world that hold both dispensational truth and the truth of the sovereignty of God.
So I'd like to take that up with the Lord's help this afternoon. And I'd like first to turn to the Gospel of Luke to look at chapters 13 and 14 to get some illustrations.
In the Lord's teaching that we will refer back to as we turn to other scriptures, there's much to cover. So I'm just going to touch on things. I'm not going to read every verse.
Or work.
Chapter 13 starts with a context of judgment that had been spoken of in the end of chapter 12, and consequent upon that one comes to the Lord.
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And he mentions how those who had been unjustly slain.
Uh, in their feasts by Pilate must have certainly been under the judgment of God and the Lord brings out from that and he says in verse five, I tell you, nay, but accept ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. In Luke 13 we get lessons on the true condition of man.
And we get illustrations of the sovereignty of God.
To come in and meet him in his condition.
The very first lesson is that all our sinners all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
And all need to repent.
The next lesson we get in verses 6 through 10.
And there we have a tree and a vineyard.
And that tree is a fig tree and it doesn't produce any fruit and the command goes out.
The end of verse 7 cut it down while cumbereth at the ground.
And so there is man. Will he repent? Will he believe he must?
Do that or he'll perish. The very first fruits that could ever be produced for God in the life of any person are believing in repentance. Can he produce that fruit? There's no fruit on this tree. Cut it down.
Oh, but the dresser of the vineyard says let it alone. I'll dig about and dung it. We'll see if it bears fruit, and if not, cut it down.
It doesn't bear fruit. The story doesn't go on to say that.
But that's the force of it. It does not bear fruit.
No amount of cultivation.
Nothing that man by nature and the flesh can be brought into in the way of giving him at every advantage in this world can produce those fruits of belief and repentance. He's a fruitless tree.
He must be cut down. God is patient and for 4000 years He tested that first man.
In the flesh, with every advantage he could give him there in Israel as the sample.
Of mankind, and there was no fruit produced for God.
Is there no remedy?
There is a remedy, but it must be the divine resources of the heart of God, His divine sovereignty. And that's the next lesson in this chapter. Behold, there was a woman.
In verse 11, which had a spirit of infirmity, 18 years, was bowed together, and could no wise lift up herself.
She is a picture of the of man in the flesh. He cannot lift himself up, He cannot repent. He cannot believe. She's bowed over completely. She doesn't come to the Lord. She's not looking for the Lord. He just sovereignly reaches out. He calls her to him in verse 12 and said unto a woman, Thou art loose from thine infirmity, and he laid his hands on her immediately.
She was made straight and glorified gone.
God must come in in sovereign grace. It's the only resource.
What's the response?
From religious man in this world, man who says that he's going to work his way into God's acceptance.
That by his own laborers and the fruit of his own hands he can become acceptable to God.
The ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation because the Lord had healed on the Sabbath. There's the response from religious man in the flesh. Unregenerate, He is indignant at this display of the grace and sovereignty of God. And the Lord tells him, if he even had an animal that fell into a pit, wouldn't he pull it out in the Sabbath day?
And it says he couldn't answer.
The Lord, all the adversaries of the Lord were ashamed. He couldn't lift himself up either.
00:10:00
When we find out something else the Lord says of that woman.
This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath found these 18 years, oh, Satan is involved in this condition of man fallen and ruined. It's not just that she couldn't lift herself up.
Satan's power was active in keeping her in that condition, and Satan has so poisoned all the springs.
Of the thoughts of man's heart towards God, that man is willing to listen to Satan and count him as credible and discounts God as being not worthy to listen to his powers involved in keeping man in that condition.
The next lesson is what is going to happen to the Kingdom when it comes into the hands of man in the flesh, religious flesh, like the ruler, the synagogue. It's going to be like this grain of mustard seed that grew tremendously, became a great worldly Kingdom, the fowls of the air lodged in its branches. Who are they? They're the emissaries of Satan. They're those ones in Matthew.
13 that swooped in to ****** the good seed out of the ground before it could produce any fruit for gone. And they lodge in the branches of this great worldly Kingdom. It's like leaven we read in verse 21, which a woman hid in three measures of meal till it was spread through and through that which should have been food for the people of God.
Is filled with evil. It's especially taking up the doctrine of Christ.
That fine flower typified Christ in the Old Testament offerings. Leaveness spread throughout a picture of evil, and evil teaching as to the doctrines of the person of Christ, have well nigh spread from one end of Christianity to the other. What is this become in the hands of those like the ruler of the synagogue, a great worldly Kingdom.
Devil ridden and filled with evil. And an exclamation is made then.
In verse 23, Lord, are there few that be saved?
In the light of that.
But the Lord doesn't answer him directly.
He turns him back to his own responsibility before God.
And he says to him, Strive to enter in at this straight gate, for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in.
And shall not be able. And so he brings him back to his own responsibility before God.
And you know.
If there are those who teach that man has a free will, that he has a free will to come to God, he is a free will to believe and to repent and that he can do so at any time. And I was shopping for cars with my daughter, met a Christian young salesman riding in the back of the car. We're test driving. We got talking about the Lord and the gospel. Isn't it wonderfully?
Said how God sent a son into this world to go to the cross to pay the price for us. And isn't it wonderful that God has given us all the free will either to receive or reject the gospel?
No man is bound in his will. He is a slave to Satan. He's bowed over. He cannot lift up himself.
If I owed you $10,000.
And I came to you and said I have nothing to pay.
Therefore.
I am not responsible to pay you.
What would you say you'd say? I'm sorry, but your inability to pay does not take you.
Out of your responsibility to pay for those who hold that doctrine of man's free will say it would be unrighteous of God to command sinners everywhere to repent as we read an acts if he had not a free will to repent.
That's not true.
The responsibility to believe and repent is not equal to the ability to to believe and repent.
00:15:02
Two different things, because man is unable does not take him off his responsibility to do so. And so God puts this man back on his responsibilities. Strive to enter in at the straight gate.
While we get in the end, there are those that will come from the east and the West and sit down on the Kingdom of God that come through.
The Strait gate and those in this great sphere of religious activity.
That think they have a place there will find they don't. What is the response to the Lord's words on the part of the leaders of the Jews?
Its threats, its intimidation. You better get out of here. Herod's gonna come and he's gonna kill you.
The unworthy response of the heart of man towards the grace of God. The Lord tells him Herod can't do anything to him. His pathway through this world was determined in the sovereignty of God, that he would go on and fulfill his pathway and his earthly mission and go to that cross and finish the work that God gave him to do. And no, Herod was going to stand.
In his way.
Hell, that fox, he says, And then he presents himself in verse 34. How often I would have gathered thy children together as a hen duck, gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not.
There's man's free will. Ye would not. They preferred the fox to the hen.
That's man's condition.
In chapter 14.
We get 2 suppers and now we are going to get the principles on which God acts and it's contrasted with the way man acts. The Lord goes to the Pharisees house and they watch him.
They're observing him, and there before him was a certain man.
Which had in verse 2 The dropsy. I always thought that was a paralytic condition.
In which someone would suddenly be struck and they just dropped. That's not what it means.
It means an edema, a swelling, a collection of fluids, and sometimes that can be fatal.
Its man in his self inflated self importance. That's what he is.
This man and the the way the expression in Scripture to me is even more beautiful in its illustration of the sovereignty of God than the woman who was bowed over there. He calls her to him.
He tells her she's healed from her infirmity. He lays his hands on her, straightens her up.
But this man, he doesn't call him.
He just reaches out and he took him in verse 4.
And healed him and let him go.
This man wasn't looking for anything.
The sovereign grace of God just stepped in and took him.
And healed him and set him free.
Now the Lord becomes the observer. He observes them. He put forth this parable in verse 7. When he sees, when he marked.
How they chose out the chief rooms.
He looked at the scene in the Pharisees house and it's a the scene of religious man and the flesh in this world. And every one of them has the dropsy, every one of them has a swelling, and they're all elbowing each other out of the way to get to the chief seat, to get to the highest plane. As if religion was this inclined slope that we're all striving to get up to get the best seat in heaven.
But there's no desire for heaven. What's the struggle then? Oh, it's for position, for place, for self, for personal glory. That's what those divine mind is looking on.
In the Pharisees house they all have the dropsy, and he turns to the Pharisee and he exposes him on the principles in which he invited the guests to his house.
00:20:09
That they would be those who could give him something, recompense him something. But he says God operates on different principles. Look at verse 12.
Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors.
Lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee but down in the end of verse 14. But thou shall be recompenseth the resurrection of the just, if he would go out.
And invite on the principles in which God invites. But man doesn't want to be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. Man wants to be paid now. He wanted payment now.
Why? Because though they were striving for the highest seats, there was number desire truly for divine things, no interest in the Day of the Resurrection of the Just or recompense. There it was for here and for now, and for self.
That's man.
But then he introduces.
God's Supper.
Verse 16 And he said unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many.
And he sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden come, for all things are now ready, and.
They all, with one consent, begin to make excuse. Mr. Darby's translation is better. They all, without exception, begin to make excuse. Many were invited, not one of them.
Came all had an excuse. 3 excuses are given.
But there were many more than three invited. They all without exception.
Began to make excuse.
The first set I bought a piece of ground, I must go, needs go and see it. The other I have bought 5 yoke of oxen, I go to prove them. Another said I have married a wife, therefore I cannot come. Three things operative in man in the flesh by which Satan keeps him bound.
The lust of the eyes I must needs go see it. The pride of life I go to prove them.
And the lust of the flesh. I've married a wife and he's the most honest of the three.
He says I cannot come and man cannot come, and he will not come. Both are true.
What is the response? The servant came and showed his Lord these things.
And he sends that servant goat quickly into the streets and lanes of the city.
And bring hit her, the poor and the maimed, and the hauled and the blind.
And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the Lord said unto the servant, go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be full. This stands in contrast to Matthew 22 where we get a similar account. But there's dispensational and it's many servants. And those servants go out there to bid, but they're abused and beaten and.
He sends them out again to bid those in the highways and hedges, but they cannot compel its human servants.
But here the Spirit of God a single servant, and he can compel.
To come in.
He will have his house filled for the satisfaction.
Of his own heart.
In Matthew it's a great supper for the marriage of his Son. It's for the glory of his son, but in Luke it's for the satisfaction of his own heart.
There is not one of us that will be in the Father's house and that day of glory that will not gladly say we were compelled to come in.
That song we sing, Hail's sovereign love that first began that scheme to rescue.
Fallen man. He is a slave to Satan and his own.
00:25:03
Unfree.
Well, he is not free in his will at all.
Turn over to the Gospel of John.
Chapter 5.
Verse 40 we get it repeated again.
And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
Chapter 6, Verse 44 No man can come to me.
Except the Father which hath sent me draw him.
Man will not come, and he cannot come.
He has no inclination to come, no desire to come.
Brother Little used to give us, and I know this is probably a very well known thing he used to say.
All may whosoever will may come. The invitation went out to all.
None. Will they all?
Without exception.
Begin to make excuse none will.
By sovereign grace, some shall compel them to come in.
God is not going to be foiled in the outflow of His love and grace because of man's condition. Let's look a little more in the Gospel of John as to.
Man in his condition, John brings it out in his own.
Way verse five of chapter one.
The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.
Man is darkness. The Lord, the light came in and he did not. The word shouldn't be comprehended, should be apprehended. If I don't comprehend, it means I can't. There's some things I can't get a hold of. If I don't apprehend, I don't get anything.
Nothing. He didn't even apprehend the light. So the Lord had to send a man, John the Baptist, to point and say there is the light.
Because in darkness, man in his darkness didn't even apprehend the light. Chapter 3.
Verse 19 And this is the condemnation that light has come into the world.
And men loved darkness rather than light. It's not just that they were dark, but they loved it. And that's the condemnation. Not just that they were dark, but they love the darkness.
Rather than the Light Chapter 8.
Verse 12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, Ay.
And the light of the world, he that followeth me, shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Man is darkness. He loves the darkness. He walks in darkness. Chapter 12.
Verse 46.
I am come a light into the world that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
Verse 35 Middle of the verse Walk while you have the lightless darkness come or seize upon you.
Man loves the darkness. He walks in darkness, he abides in the darkness, and the darkness is about to seize upon him.
In his portion, unless there is divine intervention in his life, we read in Luke Matthew 22.
Cast into outer darkness. Why outer? Because it's outside.
Of the new heavens and new earth. It's outside of new creation and there's nothing there.
But darkness.
Does not God have a resource?
00:30:03
We touched on it earlier.
John's Gospel, chapter 3.
End of verse seven. Ye must be born again.
He must be born again. He is not telling Nicodemus. Nicodemus, you gotta go.
Get born again.
Saying Nicodemus, this is the requisite condition.
It's the thing that is absolutely necessary and needed if you're going to see or enter the Kingdom of God.
You must be born again and in James. We read that Well, let's read it. James one and verse 18.
James 118 of his own will.
Of his own will begat he us by the word of truth.
First, Peter.
Verse chapter one. Verse 23 Being born again.
Not a corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. Now turn back to the first chapter of the Gospel of John. Sorry we're turning so much.
Is the meeting done at 5:15 or 5:30? I can't remember.
5:15.
Chapter One, verse 10.
He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto his own, and His own received Him not.
But as many as received him to them gave me power to become.
The sons are the children of God, even to them that believe on his name which were born.
Not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, thought of God.
We took up the subject of being children of God in our chapter in the readings.
The Old Testament Saints were born of God. They were his children, but they didn't know it.
It wasn't until Christ came and those that believed on him.
To them gave he the right, the privilege to know themselves as God's children in relationship to God and to one another.
To them gave he the power to become the children of God, even to them which believe on His name, who believed on His name, those who were born.
Not of blood. Not by any natural descent. Not by any royal family or any other lineage that this world has to offer. Not by blood.
Not, nor of the will of the flesh.
Because the flesh cannot be subject to the law of God.
It it's not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be the flesh profiteth nothing.
Not by the will of the flesh, not by any inward will or desire of man.
Nor the exercise of the will of another upon him. Nor of the will of man another exercising his will upon him. It is not through baptism as is so often preached.
But of God, those who believed.
Those who put their faith in him, who now knew themselves as God's children, or those who had been born.
Of God.
He intervened sovereignly and imparted a life.
Where there was none before.
He gave we read in Ephesians 2.
In Paul's ministry that even when we were dead and trespasses and sins.
He quickened us together with Christ and there Lazarus lay in the grave. In John Chapter 11. He'd been dead 4 days. They rolled the stone away at the Lords command and at the voice of the Son of God. Well that we read of in the 5th chapter of John. They, they hear the voice of the Son of God shall live at the command of his voice.
00:35:12
Lazarus come forth. He that was dead came forth. He couldn't hear.
He was dead, but the voice of power imparted life and a hearing year all at one moment. And new birth comes with an ear to hear and with a faith to believe as a bundle package, if I could put it that way. And he that was dead came for.
Visions.
Chapter One.
Who is it?
That he sovereignly quickens.
That he gives that new life were born of God.
Ephesians, chapter one.
Verse three. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who have blessed us with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places.
In Christ, according as He has chosen us in Him before.
The foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him, in love having predestinated us.
Unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according.
To the good pleasure of his will, not man supposed free will.
Hiswill.
Of his own will begatty us by the word of truth, but in a past eternity.
He purposed in His eternal purpose in Christ Jesus, and He chose.
You.
That's election choice, God's sovereign choice. An election. His choice is to be before him, according to his own nature, before him, holy and without blame.
And love.
Its predestinate. It's choice.
Election to be in conformity and suitability to his presence.
Election has the thought of a choice of some out of a larger group.
The next word predestinated us unto the adoption of.
Adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself. Predestination does not have the thought of the choice of a of some out of a larger group. Predestination has a thought of the place and relationship that the elect are brought into.
And predestination is to relationship, election is to suitability for his presence.
Why nothing in you, nothing in me? Just because he's a God of grace and love alone. We owe everything.
Everything to him.
Perhaps there is this thought that comes in with a doctrine.
That I made the choice in my own free will, that I came to God.
In my own free will that I'm a little better than the ones who didn't figure it out.
No.
It was just his sovereign choice. Not only that, that doctrine says there is something good.
In the flesh, but we read in Romans, there is none good.
There is none that seeketh after God. No, not one.
And in Hebrews we read, without faith it is impossible to please God.
But of man in the flesh could come to God, wouldn't that be pleasing to him if he could repent and believe?
Wouldn't that be pleasing to him? It would be a denial of those scriptures.
00:40:06
Gauze God has to work to give life and faith.
From a past eternity, He set his heart on you and on me.
To bring us.
Into the very nearest place, the place of his own son, as near to the place that his own son has as possibly could be.
First, Peter.
First, Peter, we read.
And chapter one and verse one elect.
According to the foreknowledge of God the Father. And then we read in chapter 2 and verse nine with, ER, a chosen generation.
The Saints of God are elect.
4.
And Chosen and Peter. Let's look at some verses about the Lord.
Chapter 2.
Verse four. To whom coming is unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen.
Of God.
Verse 6 Wherefore also it is contained in Scripture. Behold, I lay in Zion, a chief cornerstone elect.
Precious.
And then?
And verse 20.
End of verse 19. Christ as of the Lamb, without blemish and without spot, Who verily was foreordained before the foundation.
Of the world that was manifest in these last times. For you, Mr. Darby's translation, who was?
Foreknown.
We're bound up in the same bundle of life in Peter's ministry with the Lord elect.
For no chosen. But now I want to look, especially in the little time we have left at that word for no. For no. Like to look at a scripture in the book of Amos.
Isaiah, Joel, Amos, Obadiah. I always have to kind of read them through to make sure I get there.
Chapter 3.
Verse two, you only have I known of all the families of the earth.
You only have I known just that part of the verse.
Now let's turn to Romans and the 8th chapter.
Romans brings before us man's condition once again. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
There is none that doeth good. No, not one. While we were yet without strength or still the force of it is. After all those 4000 years of testing of man in the flesh, he's found to be still bowed over and unable to lift himself up by any means.
Still without strength, Chapter 8.
Verse 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.
To them who are the called according to his purpose, for whom he did foreknow.
He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son.
That He might be the first born among many brethren, more whom, moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called, and whom He called them he also justified, in whom He justified them he also glorified.
Four known.
We know that God is omniscient. He knows everything.
He knows everything.
He is also prescient.
He knows everything ahead of time.
He is omniscient. He's prescient.
Whom he did foreknow.
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When God said in Amos, you only have I known of all the families of the earth.
Did that mean that God was unaware of the rest of the nations in this world? Of course not. He knows everything.
But they alone had a special place in His sovereign purpose before Him.
And he could say you only have. I know.
The doctrine of man's free will that has so pressed in to Christianity.
Holds that this expression foreknown means nothing more than that God knew everything and he knew it all ahead of time. That he looked down the long Ave. of time and he saw that you.
Would exercise your free will to receive Christ as Savior, and therefore He predestinated you to be conformed to the image of His Son.
Let's follow that out.
If foreknown only means that he knew everything ahead of time.
And it says whom he did foreknow. Who is it then that he didn't know about?
He knew everyone.
From a past eternity, he knew everyone ahead of time whom he did foreknow, if that's what it means and all.
All are going to be saved, but we know that there are those who will be in a lost eternity.
It cannot mean that he is just omniscient and prescient. It means something more. It means His sovereign choice of you and me in a past eternity. He knew you. It doesn't say what he foreknew. It doesn't say that he looked down the avenue time and saw what you would do. It says He foreknew you.
From a past eternity.
We read that verse in First Peter.
A lamb without blemish and without spot. Verily, Forens.
Is it that he just looked down the long Ave. of time and saw what Christ would do? No.
It was in the purpose of God, and the counsels of God had from a past eternity that the Son of God would come.
And give himself as the Lamb of God in Calvary's cross. It's the same worth.
It's the same thought he foreknew you and me.
Whom he did foreknow, he predestinated to be conformed to the image of his son.
And whom he predestinated in time he called.
By the Gospel.
How did he make it effectual? He imparted a life where there was none before.
So there was an ear to hear and faith to believe and receive and repent.
And that is His divine remedy. He had to sovereignly intervene in your life and mine.
Else we would not come.
And we could not come.
We had no capacity to come.
Them, He whom he called them He also justified through the work of His cross, that we might be holy and without blame before Him in love. And what do we wait for them?
He also glorified who but God can speak of the things that are not yet as though they are.
One verse in closing. 2nd Thessalonians 213.
But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God is from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit. That's new birth.
And belief of the truth, the faith that comes with that new life.
Whereunto he called you the means by the gospel.
To the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, the end and the object of it all.
My burden this afternoon.
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We didn't read it, Amos. It says how can two walk together except they be agreed.
Rather than we need to hold fast the precious doctrines of the scripture that have been committed to our trust are we will go on divergent paths.
And as that doctrine of man's free will and the debilitating doctrine that comes with it, that you can be lost again because of your free will brought you to Christ, your free will can take you away from Christ.
It's destructive to the life of the Saints of God.
Our God and our Father.
Brave it.
In these things that we have looked at together, we might never lose sight of the preciousness of those words. Whosoever cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.
We thank thee for.
That's sovereign love when we were in dark Egyptian night.
That sovereign love that said, arrest that man.
Rethink the house. Set thy love upon us.
I know it's only the only reason is just within line own heart.
Our God of love and of grace, and we thank Thee. Oh, help us to let these things sink into us, that we might see how we owe everything to Thee.
We ask it in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.
Gospel 1
Gospel—Jim Hyland
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Hymn #9. On the gospel hymn sheet come every soul by sin oppressed. There's mercy with the Lord and He will surely give you rest by trusting in His word. Hymn #9. If someone could please start it.
We saw five days of right and the first day of the world.
Nsnoise.
AUGLAU L.
BULKALAUL.
Let's ask God's help and blessing our blessed God and Father. We are so very thankful this evening for the Lord Jesus Christ. We're thankful for that mighty work of Calvary accomplished so long ago. We thank Thee for that precious blood that washes, cleanses from every stain of sin. We thank thee for a risen, glorified Savior tonight, a thy right hand.
And we are so very thankful, too, for the glorious gospel that has gone forth around this world for decades, for generations.
And we are thankful that tonight thou art still working by thy spirit, compelling sinners to come in that thy house may be filled. And we are so thankful for an opportunity here in this building to present the glad tidings once again. And we pray that Christ might be presented in all his loveliness and beauty. We pray that thou work by thy spirit, open the eyes of the spiritually blind open hearts.
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Impart divine Life. We pray that Thou draw to the Savior that no one might go out of this room lost and in their sins.
So we ask thy help and blessing tonight. We ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and for his glory.
Amen. We're going to take some time at the beginning of this meeting and read a number of portions of the word of God.
We won't comment on every expression that we read, but I suggest that these portions, and they may seem a little disjointed at first, but I suggest that they introduce to us the subject that I have on my heart this evening in seeking by the grace of God to present as simply as possible the glad story of Jesus and his love, the good news of salvation to lost sinners.
Like to begin in Exodus chapter 21.
Exodus chapter 21 and we'll begin reading at verse one.
Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.
If thou buy in Hebrew servant 6 years he shall serve, and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself. If he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.
If his master hath given him a wife, and she hath borne him sons or daughters.
The wife and her children shall be her masters, and he shall go out by himself.
And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children, I will not go out free.
Then his master shall bring him under the judges. He shall also bring him to the door.
Or unto the door post, And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him forever. And then I want to read in John's Gospel chapter 8.
John's Gospel chapter 8.
And verse.
32.
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
And then dropped down to the 36th verse, if the sun therefore shall make you free.
Ye shall be free indeed. And then I want to go back to the book of Proverbs.
Proverbs, Chapter 5.
Proverbs chapter 5 and verse 22. His own iniquity shall take the wicked himself.
And he shall beholden with the cords of his sins.
And now just one more portion in Romans chapter 6.
Romans chapter 6.
Beginning at verse 20.
For when we were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death, but now being made free from sin.
And become servants to God, Ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
As I say, we're not going to comment on every expression here. We may not take it up completely in its context, but I would like to speak tonight a little bit about freedom and liberty because you know, we have a message tonight to present a message of freedom and liberty in the Declaration of Independence here in the United States. There is an expression, something thing, to the effect of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
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And I suppose men have men have been pursuing those three things since the beginning of time.
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But there is no life, there is no liberty, and there is no happiness.
Really, without the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we began back here in the book of Exodus.
Because before we speak of liberty and connection with sins forgiven.
With knowing Christ as our Savior, I want to speak of one who would not go out free.
One typified in this story of the Hebrew servant because I believe back in the Old Testament.
We have many stories that bring before us, by figure, by type and shadow by picture, the Lord Jesus Christ and that work that he accomplished there on Calvary's cross for the glory of God and the blessing of man.
And I believe this is what we have in the Hebrew servant, because the time came for the Hebrew servant when he could go out free. But if he had received a wife and children in his time of servitude, he had to go out free alone. If he chose to go out free, he had to go by himself. But there was another option. He could choose to stay, and he was brought to the door.
And his ear was bored through with an awl. And it speaks so beautifully of the Lord Jesus.
Who would not go out free? The Lord Jesus came into this world as a man. He came in incarnation. He walked up and down the dusty streets of Palestine during his public ministry. He healed the sick. He cleansed the leper. He gave sight to the blind. He spoke the words that his father gave him to speak. Blessing was dispensed on every hand. But there came a moment when the hour of the cross was before him.
And he could say, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. But, you know, it was not possible that there be glory brought to God.
Or the liberty given to mankind in the salvation of souls.
Apart from the Lord Jesus go to Calvary's cross and there give his life.
There, there, my sins. In his own body, on the tree there shed his precious blood. No, he would not go out free. And I suppose many of us in our mind's eye have often pictured the scene.
Where the Lord Jesus having agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Having prayed three times to his father, he rises and he goes forth to pilots judgment hall, and then a moment comes when he looks out from pilots judgment hall to Calvary. And I love those glorious words in John's gospel he bearing his cross went forth.
He went forth for you. He went forth for me. He went forth so that we could have life and liberty and happiness.
He was like that Hebrew servant. He would not go out free, the Hebrew servant said. I love my master.
My wife and my children, You know the Lord Jesus, his first motive in going to the cross.
Was love for his God, his Father. It was to glorify God as to the question of sin. But there was another motive.
Love for you and for me. I'm thankful that I can stand tonight with the apostle Paul.
And I can echo those glorious words, the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
You know, I love to put myself in that verse. I love to quote it like this.
The Son of God who loved Jim and gave himself for Jim. It is so personal.
I trust that everyone could stand with Paul tonight and to put their name in that verse with confidence to say that he loved you and gave himself for you all. The first part is true of every soul in this room.
Every soul in this world, the Lord Jesus loves you, God loves you.
There was a young man came to the Lord Jesus one time and I loved the words. They're very unique to the, uh word of God. Jesus beholding him, loved him. Oh the Lord Jesus loved that man. Sad to say, if we were to read that story together, we find that that young man left the presence of the Lord Jesus very sad and as far as we know, never never received the blessing or came into the enjoyment of that love that the Lord Jesus.
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Had for him. And so we find the Lord Jesus would not go out free.
No, he went to Calvary's cross and all, just to think of it after he was treated so I'll by man.
A time came when God said that's enough.
And this world was shrouded in darkness for three hours.
And God laid my sins on the Lord Jesus. He bore my sins in those hours of darkness.
At the end of it he could cry, My God, my God, why St. thou forsaken me?
Before he lay down his life, he could say it is finished.
And the Lord Jesus in a way that no other ever could or has.
Lay down his life, he said of his life. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.
And he did indeed take it again. They took him down, and they laid him in that tomb. But a moment came when God raised him from the dead.
A moment came when he was quickened by the Spirit. A moment came when he himself.
Took his own life back.
And after he had remained on earth long enough to give complete and ample testimony to his own.
That he had bodily risen from the dead, his feet left the mount of olives.
And he went back to the Father. And I love that glorious hymn we sometimes sing on an occasion like this.
There is a savior on high in the glory, a Savior who suffered on Calvary's tree.
A savior is willing to save. Now as ever, his arm is almighty.
His love great and free.
We read in John's Gospel these two expressions in connection with freedom.
First of all, the Lord Jesus said, Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. You know, I am thankful that tonight we can open this book and we have no doubt that it is the truth of God. You know, there are many lies propagated in this world, and some of us have been to countries where false religions are practiced from day-to-day. And you know, when you visit those countries you realize very, very quickly.
That there's no life, liberty and happiness. Really. I've just returned from a Muslim country. It is absolute *******. You know, I've been in Egypt on a number of occasions during the what they call the holy month of Ramadan and the ******* that that brings. They can't. They're not supposed to eat and drink from sun up to sundown. There are certain things that they are not supposed to do.
A brother was telling me one year that he had got on the bus to go to work one morning.
And he sat down beside a Muslim lady and she asked him to move.
Because she had taken a vow for the month of Ramadan that she wasn't to touch a man.
And she was afraid that with the jostling of the Bush, he might bump her. She would bump him, and she would have to add an extra day.
To her, to the month of Ramadan as penance, absolute *******.
I'm in Guyana, South America, on a regular basis. In the major centers in Guyana, there's a Hindu temple. Just about everywhere you look, you go into the interior and there is heathen religion practice, and you feel the power of darkness and all the ******* that is connected with it. But tonight we have that which liberates. We have the truth of God, and it's the truth that sets us free. But there's something more than that.
Because a few verses down we read you shall know the sun. If you know the sun, you shall be free. Indeed, the truth sets us free. But it's the truth as it is in Jesus. Because what we have tonight to present is not just theology. It's not philosophy, it's not sociology. It's not a set of rules and regulations. It's a person. Christianity has to do with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And that's why the Lord Jesus added something when he spoke of the Son. You'll be free indeed.
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You want freedom. You want true liberty.
Oh, it's only found in coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior because as we read in Proverbs, we are held with the cords of our sin you know, we had today in the meetings.
Something of the thought of sin being lawlessness and sin is really doing our own will in independence of God.
And man thinks that's freedom. Man thinks that's liberty. But you know, the way of the transgressor is hard.
And when you talk to those who have gone on in sin all their life, do you find they're really happy? Do they feel like they really have freedom and liberty? Oh no, because we're held with the cords of our sin. It's illustrated back in the Old Testament with the children of Israel when they were in the land of Egypt, they were slaves. They were in ******* under Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
Pharaoh in the Old Testament is a picture to us of Satan and of the ******* that he holds souls under.
Without Christ, In fact, he's a picture. Pharaoh's a picture of Satan seeking to keep souls from coming under the liberty of redemption and deliverance.
Pharaoh did not want to let the people go, but God looked down at the ******* of the of the Israelites and he said he was going to deliver them. But if he was going to deliver them, it had to be in a way that made them realize two things, their guilt and his provision for them. And that's what we need to realize tonight, first of all, our guilt. Because we're born into this world in sin, you know, we're not just sinners by practice.
Sometimes we say one sin will keep us out of heaven, but you know, it's even more than that.
We're born into this world with a sinful nature, and that will keep us out of heaven whether we commit one sin or not.
Of course we've committed many sins, but God cannot have sin in His presence and so we're born in sin. And of course there's nobody in this room, I don't think. Who would have the audacity to say they never sinned, although a friend of mine one time had a man knock on his door as they were having breakfast. A friend of mine was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and this man was poorly dressed and said he was hungry and he needed something to eat.
Well, my friend invited him into the breakfast table, gave him something to eat, and spoke to him a little bit about the Lord Jesus. But.
As they were speaking, this man said, Oh, I've never sinned, I've just made mistakes.
Well, my friend watched, and as he began to eat and to take part in the meal, he took his napkin and everything he touched. He rubbed. He rubbed the handle of the knife. He rubbed the handle of the cup. Everything he touched, he rubbed. My friend got a little suspicious. He slipped out and called the police. This man had escaped from prison. He had indeed sinned. He had gone against society. He had sinned against God. It wasn't long till the police were at his at my friend's door and arrested the man.
And took him back to prison, but never sinned, just made mistakes. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Solomon said there's not a man on the earth that doeth good and sinneth not we had in the meeting today all our righteousnesses, all the best things we can do are just a bundle of filthy rags as we present them to God. And so we're held with the cords of our sins.
We're in. You're in *******. You really don't have liberty tonight.
If you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior.
You know, I believe that the one thing man wants, perhaps more than anything else, is liberty.
That's what he really craves. It was brought home to my soul some years ago.
I had the opportunity to go with another brother in Christ to visit and speak in a large prison facility outside the city of Boston, MA. And we had opportunity to visit in several pads as they called them in the medium security part of that prison. And after we visited from pad to pad and talked to the men personally and left some literature they had scheduled for us.
An opportunity to present the gospel in the Chapel of that prison.
And before the Gospel meeting, I went into the Chapel and I sat down at the back of the room with some gospel hymn sheets.
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To hand to the men as they filed in and I listened to their conversation.
As we waited for the gospel meeting to start and invariably their conversation had to do.
With their parole date, their release date, the day they were going to get their liberty back, and it kind of surprised me because if you had come to that prison with us, you would have thought it was pretty nice. It was a pretty nice prison. In fact. The different pads had several cells off them that opened onto a common room. It was a hot, humid July day in Boston and the rooms were fully air conditioned. In that room there was ping pong and shuffleboard and other activities. Along one side were coffee makers and microwaves and snack bar. It opened.
Courtyard where there was tennis and basketball and volleyball. Very, very nice. I visited in prisons in other countries that aren't quite that like that. But in spite of all the comforts and niceties that the prison facility could provide for them, they lack the one thing they wanted the most. They lacked liberty. They lacked freedom. And you know, as we stood up to give the gospel that night.
We sought to impress upon those men that in a lost eternity there is no liberty and there is no release date. You know, I wonder if one of the worst things about entering a lost eternity will be just that there will be no hope in hell.
When we go back, if we were to go to the 16th chapter of Luke, we would find that the Lord Jesus there pulled the curtain aside.
In telling the story of the lives of two men and those two men, the rich man and Lazarus, they both died.
If you and I had been telling that story, we would have had to end with that.
Carried to their grave and that's it. Like Solomon said, one thing happens to them all.
But the Lord didn't stop there. No, as I say, He pulled the curtain aside and He showed that when man draws that last breath, it is not over, but it is determined where they are going to spend eternity.
The rich man who had left God out of his life, He went to a place of torment.
And it's very significant, I believe that when he lifted up his eyes being in torment.
He never asked to be released from the confines of that place.
I suppose he understood that his destiny was fixed. All he asked for was that someone, Lazarus, would bring him one drop of water to give him momentary relief. That's what he wanted. But he never got that drop of water. He you know, that's a true story. That's not a parable. That's a true story about two men who lived and died here on Earth and entered the next life under very different circumstances.
And do you realize that that man is over 2000 years since he asked for that drop of water? He never got it and he never will and he will never be released from a place of torment. There is no hope. Destiny is fixed when man leaves this world. If you draw your last breath tonight, it's over. You know, we sometimes talk about spending eternity. I just use the expression myself. I have no problem with that expression.
But you know, in a way you can't spend something that never ends. You can spend a bank account.
You can spend your allowance. You can spend your birthday money. But.
To spend eternity will mean that it will never, never, never end. For those of us who know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, oh, we're going to be with the Lord Jesus in the Father's house forever, it says. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. And, you know, it's very solemn to consider too tonight that there is a moment coming in the history of this world when there will be no more Gospel meetings.
Of the grace of God in the way that we are having tonight, There will be no more opportunity for those who have heard.
The Word of God.
To receive the Lord Jesus as their savior. Because when the Lord Jesus comes it tells us when once the master of the house has risen up and shut to the door, they're going to come and knock and say Lord open unto us. He's going to say, I never knew you. Tonight the messages come unto me. But there's a day when the message will be depart from me. What a contrast.
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What a solemn contrast. If you don't come tonight, if you don't receive the Lord Jesus as your savior, you're going to hear those awful words Depart from me to ring in your ears in a lost eternity. And make no mistake about it, there is no liberty and a lost eternity. In fact, in the parable of the king who made a marriage for his son, the Lord Jesus spoke of it this way. There was a man who came into that wedding.
And he came in without the provision of the king who had invited to the marriage.
And when the king came in and viewed his guests and saw there was a man without the wedding garment, the provision.
Of that which would make him fit for the King's presence and the presence of his son.
He had his servants take him, and it says they they they were told to bind him hand and foot. That's not liberty, is it divine? Someone, hand and foot he was to be bound hand and foot, and cast into outer darkness, where there would be weeping and gnashing of tea. No liberty and a lost eternity. And not only that, but it will be to be all alone. It will be outer darkness. It will be darkness.
So deep that it will not be penetrated, and not only so, but there will be no love and friendship.
Inhale. You know all love whether it's natural.
Or divine springs from God. God is the wellspring of love, and to be shut out from God for all eternity will mean that there will be no such thing as companionship.
No such thing as friendship. No such thing as interaction with one another.
And there will be no repentance in a lost eternity. We more chaise.
Remorse, Yes, but no Repentance in a lost eternity, because it is the goodness of God that leads men to repentance. Oh, it's serious. It's very solemn tonight. And so we read in the book of Romans.
These verses, and again, I don't want to get into what's here doctrinally, but just to simply point out again that we are either the servants of sin, we're slaves to sin, or we have come into the liberty of sins forgiven. And as it says in Corinthians, we've been made the righteousness of God in him. This is true liberty.
You know, it's wonderful when you go to other countries and see those who have been under the ******* of Islam or heathendom or Hinduism, whatever it might be, And to see when the light of the glorious gospel shines into their hearts, to see the joy of the liberty that they realize that they have. Because we are exhorted to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of *******. I know that's an exhortation in a different context.
But all tonight, we're not talking about *******. You know, sometimes people think, well, if I receive the Lord Jesus, if I accept the gospel, it's going to bring me into some kind of constriction. I'm going to be restricted in my what I do and where I go and my friends and the liberties that I have and so on.
If you only knew the liberty and the joy that there is in Christ tonight.
It is freedom, unlike freedom, that this world can experience.
You know, there have been so many who have given their lives for the liberty of humanity. Again, I have had the experience with my wife and others to stand at the men engage in Ipers France, and to their experience the little ceremony that's held every night.
To commemorate those who gave their lives in the two great wars for the liberty of of the Western world.
And it's a very stirring thing, you know, on the stone tablets and the.
There are 56,000 names engraved of those who were never found to bury in Flanders fields and then to take a drive around those graveyards in that area, and white crosses marking the graves of those who were buried there, sometimes as far as the eye can see, Thousands and thousands and thousands who gave their lives for liberty. But all tonight we're not talking about the liberty of nations who are under the suppression.
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Of other nations. We're not talking about liberty at the end of a war. Oregon, something like that.
Oh no. We're talking about the liberty there is in Christianity.
Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior tonight?
You know, again, it's illustrated in a little story that the children often sing about.
And that's the story of that donkey. You know, I grew up singing that hymn and that song in Sunday school. And I've noticed in Sunday school that that is often a favorite of the boys and girls. There once was a wild little donkey who had to be tied to a tree. Yes. He didn't have liberty, did he? No, He had to be tied to a tree. You know, it's interesting that in the Old Testament, there are two animals that we are that are likened to naturally speaking.
One is sheep, because sheep like to have their own way and all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. But there's another animal, and that's a donkey. And Job speaks of man being born as a wild ***** cold as a wild donkey because a donkey is stubborn. And so naturally speaking, we're stubborn and we want our own way. That's the natural man. And so that little donkey that we so often sing about.
And that we read about in the gospel, that little donkey had to be tied to a tree because of his nature. But you know, the Lord Jesus said to the disciples, go and release him and bring him to me. The Lord Jesus had need of that little donkey. And when that donkey was brought to the Lord Jesus, and the Lord Jesus sat upon him under the influence of the Son of God, as we sing in the words of that song.
That donkey became quiet, obedient, and good. That was liberty, wasn't it?
You think, well, what's that really? Liberty with the Lord Jesus riding on him. That was liberty compared to being tied to that tree because of his wild, stubborn nature. To have the Lord Jesus riding upon him to be under the influence of the Lord, the Son of God. Oh, that was liberty. He went along right where he where he was supposed to go, bearing the Son of God on his back, but oh tonight to come under the blessing of the Son of God.
Oh, this is liberty. If you only could understand this, the joy, the happiness that you can have. This is freedom. As our verses in Romans says tells us. This is freedom, but now being made free from sin and become the servants of God. Like the donkey, he was freed from the being tied at that place where two ways met. He was free to carry the Son of God.
And ought to be free to serve the Lord Jesus.
You know, I wouldn't trade places with anybody that isn't a Christian. You know, sometimes people think when the gospel is presented, of what they have to give up.
When they get saved, the only thing I gave up were my sins, and I'm glad they're gone. As far as the East is from the West, so far as he removed our transgressions from us, the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin in whom we have redemption through His blood. Even the forgiveness of sins redeemed with the precious blood of Christ you know, to be redeemed as to be bought, back, to be set free. It's more than just being purchased. It's more than just being bought, brought, bought back. It's bought back to be set free.
You want to be redeemed tonight? It's the blood of Jesus. You want to be set free tonight? It's the blood of Jesus.
It's faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Because the wages of sin is death.
Some of you earn wages. Some of the boys and girls, Maybe they do a little job around in the summer. Maybe you help Mom and Dad around the garden, around the house. You get a little little extra on your allowance. That's wages. You earn them. The wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh, to receive that gift tonight, It's being offered. It's free. That's what makes a gift. It's free.
It's not. The gospel is free, but it's not cheap. It costs the Lord Jesus his life. He could not go out free, but now he's offering salvation free to all. He's offering freedom and liberty to those who will come, whosoever will may come and take of the water of life freely. I just say to those of us who know the Lord Jesus in closing to you know when Lazarus was raised from the dead.
00:40:28
There was a special Commission given to those who stood by. I suppose it was the disciples, perhaps, or maybe other family members. They were to release him. They were to let him go from those grave clothes that bound him.
And maybe there's a soul in this room tonight who's struggling. They perhaps they say, yes, I believe the Lord Jesus died for me. I believe his blood cleanses from sin. But they're struggling with certain aspects of the gospel, things that they just aren't free from in their soul. They don't have complete freedom and liberty of soul. You know, we can help a person like that. There's a special responsibility, just as there was a responsibility to the disciples to release the donkey.
Just as there was this responsibility to those at the grave of Lazarus to unwind those grave clothes that were holding him.
So we have a responsibility, let's be sensitive to that after a Gospel meeting like this.
May our conduct be that which commends the Gospel as we close in prayer.
And may we be sensitive, if there are souls that are struggling, that we would be available to be a help to them in presenting simply the truth of God to them, so that they might come unto, And not just to be born again, but to come in to the joy of knowing what it is to have the Lord Jesus as their Savior, and to have that liberty and freedom that we have in the person of Christ.
Faced on his finished work, let's pray our God and Father. We are so very thankful again tonight.
For our precious Savior, we are thankful for that one who went to Calvary's cross, who said, I love my master, my wife, and my children. I will not go out free. Oh, we thank thee for that mighty work that was accomplished there. And now we thank thee that we have been able to turn to Thy living word, use it in blessing. We know it is Thy Word. We're born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible by the Word of God that liveth and abideth forever used by Word in power. Tonight we do pray that no one will go out of this room lost, and in their sins we ask it for Thy glory and for their eternal blessings.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. Amen.
We All Like Gifts, Don't We?
Children—Andy Buchanan and Wally Dear
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.
School back where I live, and so if you're not familiar with it, the children's songs are the ones on the back. But you know.
Umm, there's favorites all through here, so we can sing any of them, but let's start by singing something, uh, to start the Sunday school here.
Does anybody have a favorite?
And if you don't know the number, that's OK, because we might know it if you just tell us the name of the song or what it's about.
You know, I see a little boy up here in the front row. There's a song on the back sheet that's a favorite. I think I enjoyed it when I was a boy. Maybe there's other boys here that like it too #44 is about a boy that's dying here. Maybe we'll sing that 1 #44.
Salvation Story.
Of the children of men, nobody ever has told me before.
No worries. Yeah, I've heard that story. I know.
Again, no way it's not again.
Foundation. Sorry before I go.
And say I'm not children of men.
Nobody ever had so many people.
OK, I said there would be a story, and so here's one that happened just today.
I got in the car this morning. I come here to Sunday school and the person that is, uh, that would typically be standing up here having the Sunday school had already left and we got onto I-25 heading South. They come down to the Sunday school today.
And I saw a sign, it caught my attention and said I-25 closed the head. And just then my phone rang and it was the car that had left ahead of us. And they said we're stuck. We're stuck in traffic.
And I said you better be careful, you better get off here and take this next exit and go down a different road and umm, cut around this.
This highway is closed.
And so my wife looked on her phone after that conversation, and she found that earlier today, somebody was driving on that road and there was an accident and somebody died. You know, it made me think of that verse that says that tells us that we don't know what a day is going to bring forth. We don't know what's going to happen today.
00:05:01
And so it's so important to listen in Sunday school because.
These songs and the verses that we learn, they tell us how we can be saved and how we can be right with God. And so that if that had been you in that car, you would have gone to be with the Lord Jesus. And so we need to be ready. And so boys and girls, here is the story of a boy who was dying and he wanted to be ready. And so I hope you're ready. And I look around the room and I think probably most people in this.
Are ready, but it's a good reminder that we need to be ready in case that's you.
OK, who else has a song? All right.
25.
Fits in really well.
Nsnoise.
Nsnoise.
Umm, if we bring you on your way, you may find no offering yours and your card is not delayed.
Enterprise details today.
In my.
Uh, it is gliding 25 and then challenge may fall on our King of Swan *** flowing time.
All my gratitude count, the cold air in the face of the light may grow, and your priceless soul belongs.
Nsnoise.
Enterprise Nsnoise.
Umm, from darkness and to the highway I'm no way. Let's see the flow.
Oh man, start by having tonight.
Beginning time.
Midnight.
World of life and you have called to be in time.
Inventing along your ways, you may find no open day.
00:10:05
8:00 PM.
OK, good. That was another good song about being ready, being in time. You know, we don't know how much time we have. And so that I don't even, I don't even know if it was a boy or a girl that passed away on the highway or driver. But you know what? I don't think that person started out their day thinking that today would be their last day.
Or the last chance to be saved. You know, this could be the last Sunday school that you get to listen to.
And so it's important to be ready to be in time. It says now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. And so it's important to the Lord. And so it should be important to us to realize it now is is the is the right time to be ready. OK, who else has a song?
Do you have a song? Would you like to sing a song? No. All right.
Kinda tight here. Umm, you know, maybe we should stretch a little bit. Umm, do we all know why? Why does the ocean? That's a good one, kind of wake up in the morning, right? So let's, let's sing that one.
Why? Why did I say hello?
I am having the time of the hit the sink in my.
Or his voice did just be in the heart. And his mother of 3006 Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
Isn't that wonderful? The Lord's love reaches us everywhere. There's no place we can go where the Lord can't love us. OK, who else has a song? It can be from your sheet or one that you know from your Sunday school that you normally sing.
I don't wanna forget so many, OK?
Oh, you tricked me twice, OK.
That's a favorite. Very good.
There once was a wildlife.
He had to be sighted a tree and Jesus was thinking about him. He said go and bring him to me and waste layer brought him to Jesus.
And Craig, we have never taken.
10-4 10-4 10-4 10-4 oh 10-4 10-4 10-4 1 10-4 10-4 10 10-4 10-4 0100. 10-4 10-4 oh 10-4 10-4 10-4 100000 oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh 10-4 100 10-4 oh 10-4 0010010 oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh 10-4 0600. 10-4 oh 10-4 oh 10-4.
When Jesus was on Friday upon him, he went just the way that he should.
Uh, why? Submissive Lee Donkey makes no I love what I don't know God.
And Jesus is able to make you.
Whatever he wants you to be.
He until I want to go to you and make you look happy and free.
Now, we started off by saying we need to be prepared because we don't know today is gonna bring forth, right. But you know, it's more than that. We're just saying about the Lord Jesus being able to have that little donkey go the right direction. We talked a little bit about that yesterday, didn't we? If you were here about the Lord Jesus being able to make a donkey to go the right direction. You know, I think almost every time I hear that song, I think about when I was in school.
Time ago, about 100 years ago or so, uh, we had at our school, oh, every few, every few years there would be a company that would come in and they bring in a bunch of donkeys. And the idea was that the students would be on one team, the teachers would be on another team, and they play basketball by riding the donkeys. You had to be on the donkey to shoot the ball.
00:15:07
Or to throw it to the next guy. And so if you can imagine these trying to pull the donkey this way and other people are trying to get behind and push the donkey to the other side.
And it's they don't go where you want them to go.
And they're just like me, and probably even you.
We don't wanna go the right direction, but you know, the Lord Jesus can help us to go the right direction. And he loves you. Isn't that wonderful? He loves you and He wants to see you grow up into the man or the woman that He has in mind for you to be and to go the right direction. And He can do that. OK, who else has a song?
34 Thank you.
Nsnoise all thrives in a.
1000 and now I'm gonna drink a lot of currency.
Hey, I'm tired and I'm glad he'd been by the glow.
Maybe so I don't, right? I don't know.
Why you have no?
Heart of Jesus.
Ever.
Oh believe me, 03 is being left.
OK, we'll sing another song here in a minute. But while we're singing about it, singing the next song, I want you to think about if you would like to share a memory verse. It could be any verse. Umm, sometimes at a conference, maybe you don't wanna, maybe you wanna share verse that you're very familiar with.
Umm, and you know what everybody likes to hear when somebody wants to share a memory verse?
So think of one and uh, we'll sing another song. Who's got another song they'd like to sing?
44 OK.
Well, we can, umm, do another song, maybe 3939. Thank you.
Umm, brilliant. That's all related to.
Everything, uh, great. Thank you God and prayer.
Oh my, good clean out and.
For blood.
Oh my God. Penguins. Penguins.
I want it from the middle of the earth, shaking it in and great. Thank you God in prayer.
Retirement.
Design and that travel and you were.
00:20:15
Nsnoise.
OK umm uh, where we are, umm, rolling around.
The Tankers and you're still Mara Deewsbury and $2000 in prayer.
S Do you like rented by sports for staying safe?
Rain get through the morning pray and long till day and the day and she'll take and cheer in chilled me out or whatever my grilled soul lentils and then I'm going to be.
I think that's a good spot to, umm, just, let's stop for just a minute and ask the Lord Jesus to help us with, uh, the rest of Sunday school here, OK?
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you so much for dying on the cross for our sins. Thank you so much for making it possible for boys and girls.
Daddies and mommies, older ones, to be able to, uh, have peace with God.
Thank you so much that Your love reaches us everywhere as we could sing, and that You are able to take us as wild little donkeys and help us to go the right direction. And so now, Lord Jesus, we just ask that you would help us with the Sunday school. We ask for help if any of these boys and girls would like the same memory verse that you would help them to say it.
And we just pray that you would guide through the Sunday school. We just asked for help in Jesus name, Amen.
And it looks like.
My relief is here, so I'm gonna turn this over to, uh, Mr. Dear, although it looks like maybe, uh, we still have time to do verses. So did anybody wanna say a verse?
You wanna say a verse? If you wanna say a verse, come on up.
Actually, I think my cord will reach you wanna go first?
And it was always hard to get that first word. And I'm not sure what verse you're saying. So maybe Dad can help you out.
Psalm 18. Two.
My Lord is my rock in my fortress and my river, my God, my stink in him I will trust.
Very good. Thank you.
Uh, did you wanna come up next?
I know it gets makes you shy when you have the microphone in your face, doesn't it? OK, you want to try.
So.
The what?
Is my lock.
My flatulence.
And whom are you test?
Psalm 18 Two. That's really good. Does anybody else wanna try either of you girls?
MMM, the Lord is my.
Rock in my fortress, my God, in whom I'll trust some.
1820, that's great. Thank you. You wanna try?
718 two.
God is my work in my foot.
Well, that's, that's OK. Good job. I I'm glad you can remember where it's found. That's the hardest part for me.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress, my deliverer and my strength, and whom I will trust. Psalms 18 Two. Very good. Thank you. Anybody done? Oh, good. OK.
00:25:06
Where does my rock and my fortress and I deliver my God, my strength, and whom I will trust? Psalm 18 Two excellent. Anybody else?
OK.
I think, uh, gonna hand it over to Mr. Deer here.
Thank you very much.
Does Mr. Buchanan make a good pinch hitter?
Well that was so good to hear you boys and girls.
Learning your verse, saying it by memory, that's great. And I was thinking this morning.
How the Lord?
He gives us so many good things to enjoy.
Every day and.
This morning.
I was thinking that maybe we could talk a little bit about gifts.
How many here like gifts?
Whoa, I see almost every hand up. We all like gifts, don't we?
Well, you know what?
The Lord gave me something this morning.
And it was kind of a different type of a gift.
But according to the word of God, it was a gift.
You see, we were coming down I-25 to come to this Sunday school and all of a sudden the traffic.
Ground to.
Halt.
Now, are we in big trouble? Because, you know, I was asked to take the Sunday school here today.
And the highway is closed and there was so much traffic on the highway, big, huge trucks.
And cars and SUVs.
Well, we thought to ourselves, what are we gonna do?
Well, we had a good chauffeur and we had to get off the highway and of course we were delayed. But before we got off the highway we thought maybe it would be good to pray about this.
And maybe the.
Highway would open up and you know what it says?
In the Bible, in Psalm 55 and verse 22, it says this cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. And when I looked in the little margin in my Bible.
I saw that for the word burden, it said gift.
Gift and so.
This difficult situation.
Was really a gift from God.
And sometimes that's the way it works, boys and girls, you know, the difficult times in our lives that we would like to try to avoid.
Are really times when the Lord wants to do us good and it's like a gift. Well, we're thankful that Mister Buchanan was able to open the Sunday school and I would have been happy to sit and to listen to what he had to say because I know it would have been good. But I think he was trying to be kind to me because I did have a few things to show you boys and girls and the first thing.
I have here in this bag.
Is a couple of these I'm.
Gonna have a hard time holding this so I'm gonna try to speak up.
Now how many brought these to the Sunday School?
Good.
That that you brought yours.
00:30:02
Oh yeah, you can. Oh, yeah, they're there. OK, Everybody has a set of these, right? And so do I. Now, you know, boys and girls, even be though we have a set of ears for a pair of ears.
Doesn't necessarily mean that we are hearing what's being said.
And that's why the Lord Jesus many times he said, he who has ears.
Let him hear.
She who has ears, let her hear.
Boys and girls, are you listening? Today's God is speaking through His Word. He has something to tell you.
And I hope that your ears are open. You know at least seven times in Revelation 2 and three we have these words. He that hath an ear, let him hear.
Seven times over.
And I have a brother.
Shortest to one syllable. He called me Wall.
These are kids of God.
God gives boys and girls ears to hear.
And how wonderful that is.
Did you know that?
A hearing ear and a believing heart.
But.
And boys and girls.
This is a wonderful gift from God. How many here like to open presents?
Well, not even the children, but the older ones too. All of us, we like to open gifts, right? It's a fun time. And when we go to a birthday party?
And one of the happy, fun times about a birthday is opening up all these presents. Now I got a gift.
00:35:27
$100.
But before we do this.
But then.
We come again and open the Bible now. Last night we had our Bibles open.
Now that's a beautiful verse. Psalm 18 and verse 2.
Psalm 18 verse 2. The Lord is my rock.
If we're on the rock, we're on a solid foundation. The foolish man, he built his house on stand. What happened when the storm came? Can you tell me?
Not at work.
Every good and perfect gift he comes down from the Father's life comes down from the Lord. What a wonderful Lord we have to speak a wonderful God.
00:40:06
God keeps the earth in perfect orbit around the sun so that we can have Sunday school.
So I'm going to pass out.
Go on.
All right. Oh, I'm sorry.
Now, does everybody like the bag of money?
And it goes back to the Federal Reserve. And every so often they check money, they scan it and if it's.
5 dollars 3.8 years, 10 dollars 3.6 years $20 bill. 6.7 years, $50.00 bill. 9.6 years and $100 bill.
Well, boys and girls, is what you got in these money bags.
Proverbs, chapter 8.
17 Proverbs 817 I love them that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honor are with me, ye durable riches and righteousness.
To understand and enjoy.
00:45:45
Stop.
A $100. Anybody be willing to buy this for $100?
$10.
Jesus paid the price himself to sacrifice on the cross for me. Jesus paid the price so that you and I, we could have eternal life as a free gift, free gift and the Lord Jesus could say to the woman as well, if you lose the gift of God or the free giving of God, you would have asked of me and I wouldn't give you a living wise.
So God is a giving God, the Lord Jesus is a giving Savior and.
This jet is not going to be.
Your money perish with you because you fought.
That the gift of God could be bought this month.
Oh, that was terrible.
Let's just pray together. Father, we just thank Thee for this day.
00:50:05
And also dice period the Holy Spirit to.
God's Sovereignty in Our Lives
The Sovereignty of God - Lessons from Job
1 John 3:11-24
Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
That's stranger maids.
Maid.
I'm pretty good. Oh, I can hear you.
00:05:01
So we see how far we can get in the rest of the third of first John.
Perhaps verse 11 is that.
Vote right.
OK.
First John, chapter 3.
Verse 11.
For this is the message that he heard from the beginning.
That we should love one another, not as Cain, who was of the wicked one, and lose his brother, and wherefore slew him, because his own works were evil.
And his brother is right, gentlemen. Marble Nut, my brother, if the world hates you, we know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not, his brother abideth in death.
Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
Hereby we hereby perceive we the love of God.
Because he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the treadmill. But whoso hath this world good, and he seeth his brother have needs.
And shut it up his boughs of compassion from him. How dwelleth the love of God in him?
My little children.
Let it not love in Word, neither in tongue, but in thee.
And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.
For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart.
And know it's all things.
Love it if our heart condemneth not, then have we confidence towards thought.
And whatsoever we have, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
Admitted his commandments.
That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as He gave us commandments, and he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in Him.
And He and him, and hereby we know that He abideth in US, abideth spirit which he hath given us.
As we know, the Bible is a book of contrast, and God often teaches us by contrast. And in these verses that we have taken up and where we started this afternoon, we really have three contrasts. We find that first of all we have righteousness contrasted with lawlessness, and then we have the children of God contrasted with the children of the devil. But now we find where we began this afternoon. He's going to contrast love and hatered.
And what characterized Cain was hatred for his brother. He was the result of lawlessness. That's true.
But there was hatred in his heart, and that's really what characterizes the world.
But what is characteristic of the divine life, the divine nature? Not hatred, but love. And so he's going to develop this.
Yes, we find a great deal about love in John's ministry, don't we?
It really is characteristic of his gospel that him expressed it well, and we sung it the other day. What mortal tongue can tell thy ways, so full of light and light?
00:10:13
And love and uh, may not have put those in the right order, but love is definitely the final one. And.
So here we have love developed, as Jim has been saying, in contrast with what characterizes the world.
Is there love in the world? To some extent, yes there is. God has put natural love into man's heart, and so there is even in an unbeliever. Love between good friends, love between a husband and a wife, love between parents and children. We all recognize that that natural love does exist, but we never will find divine love operative in anyone who is not a child of God. Will we?
We will never find divine love operative and the if we could say it, the key to it is that whenever Christ is brought in, whenever God's claims are brought in, then that shows us the difference, doesn't it?
Cain may have showed a degree of natural love. It doesn't mention it, but we know we had a wife, we know he had children, and so on.
And there may have been natural love that was shown there, but when it came to God's claims, there was absolute hatred as to the one that was owned and approved of by God and himself, who of course was rejected because he brought an unfit sacrifice. And so we shouldn't be surprised, as it says here, if the world hates us, not intrinsically.
Because of what we are as children of God. And it's not so much what we do that causes the hatred, it's what we are.
The Lord brings that out on the 23rd of Matthew and He really lays at the feet of the religious leaders of the Jews, calling them a particular generation that all the righteous blood that was shed on the earth would be required of them. And so he starts with the blood of righteous Abel. And so there is a generation in this world that cains generation.
That, uh, is responsible for the shedding of the blood of the righteous in this world and so.
He the issue with Cain was is that his works were evil because.
Standing next to his brother Abel, there was a contrast and it exposed his works for what they were, and that's why they hated the Lord when he came in here and walked a perfect path. And the Father's will and obedience to the Father had exposed the religious leaders for what they were, and they hated him for that righteousness. And so all the righteous blood which is shed upon the earth from.
Righteousness Abel. He was accepted Abel, but it was righteous Abel. That really is what brought out Cain's hatred.
That generation, I think you maybe and maybe there's somebody else who can explain it better, but in Revelation, where you find the false church finally judged, it says in her was found the blood.
Of Saints and so there is a moral generation that begins with Cain and goes all the way until the Lord brings judgment on this world that is responsible for shedding the blood of the Saints, the righteous blood on this earth. And the motive is given here that they're the though they were religious and claimed to be accepted with God like Cain came without blood ignoring the fact really Goliath sacrifices even needed his own condition and denying what God was in himself in the way he came.
Expects to be accepted.
And here comes Abel, and it shows his works for evil, and he hates him.
00:15:03
Because Ables were righteous. And so that moral generation is with us today.
Yes, I believe that's the thought, that the Lord Jesus could say, in the same way this generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled. Well, we know of course the generation in actual fact that existed then has long since gone, but the moral character of those who will.
Take that place under the judgment of God in a coming day will be of the same stripe, the same make up, cut from the same cloth, as we would say. And, uh, the world of today is essentially Cain's world, isn't it? And there were four things that characterized Cain's world. Number one, there was no repentance for wickedness when he slew Abel #2.
There was a questioning and a complaining about the judgment that God placed upon him because of it #3 He desires absolutely nothing to do with God. He went out from the presence of the Lord.
And #4 he does his best to surround himself with everything possible to make this world comfortable in spite of the spoiling of everything with sin. And that world, in principle, is what we have today.
And the heart of man is essentially King's heart, so that God holds man responsible for that attitude and spirit. That began, I suppose, nearly 6000 years ago. And there's an indirect reference to gains generation in Psalm 12.
First One South Lord, for the godly man ceases, for the faithful fail from among the children of men.
And then we get a description going down to verse 7 where it says thou shalt keep them referring to the godly, the Lord. Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever, which suggests that that generation.
Indoors for a while.
Very good.
Well, the wonderful thing is that you and I, with the capacity to show divine love, are privilege to show to that kind of a world what true love really is.
What this world often talks about is love, and what passes for love is really nothing more than the exhibition of man's natural lusts. It's not really love, it's self love in many cases.
And again, we say that because there is true natural love that God placed in the heart of individuals as human beings, and we, we still see it exist in this world. But divine love brings in God's claims and never sacrifices what God is or his righteousness in order to palliate evil. And that's where the man of the world has his hatred. And Steve alluded to that.
Same verse about the Lord Jesus, Because I testify thereof that the work, I testify of it that the works thereof are evil.
And that is why the world hates the believer, because even though he may not even say anything yet, his very walk and wave are a testimony to this world that they are on a collision course, if we could say it with God's claims. And deep down inside they know there is going to be judgment someday.
But what a wonderful thing to show that divine love. And of course that's exhibited first of all to those that know the Lord. We love the brethren. What a wonderful thing that is the whole family of God worldwide.
We can still remember.
Again, I tell too many stories about my late father-in-law, but I found it interesting one time when he came back from the West Indies and Jim will be able to relate to this and uh, he went down to the West Indies and, uh.
There had been a black brother waiting for him down there and he had told the authorities there why he was waiting there. He said I've got a brother coming from Canada. And the authorities were very surprised to find this white man step off the plane and the two of them run into each other's arms and give each other a warm hugs. I don't get it.
00:20:21
The world didn't understand they were looking for a natural relationship.
What a wonderful thing it is to meet a believer from whatever race or ethnic background or culture or whatever, and immediately when we recognize them as a believer, they are part of a family of God.
Only divine love can do that. So it's, even though we've never met them before, hmm. Brother Albert had met this brother before, evidently. And there had been a bond, uh, established between them and, but sometimes we made a believer that we've never met before and we've had the experience. Sometimes we're in the islands and, uh, we're introduced to one who knows the Lord and there's an immediate bond there Were invited into their home, asked to stay overnight, given a meal. Well, you wouldn't trust a man of the world like that.
Or even go into a home down there and you wouldn't go into a home of someone who wasn't a believer and and feel completely safe or confident. But there is that as the children of God that brings us together in that in that way. And I was thinking of what you were saying, Brother Bill, in connection with our testimony to the world, because it's interesting what the Lord said to the disciples before he left them. He said by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples.
If you have love one for another, by the practical manifestation of love amongst the Lord's people in his absence, that was going to be a testimony. He didn't say. By this shall all men know ye, my disciples, if ye speak the truth, or you live the truth, or you walk and obedience, all those things are right and proper. All those things can be a testimony, but the greatest testimony, I believe to this world.
Is when there is practical love shown amongst the people of God. I'll tell this, it happened a long time ago and a long way from here. I don't think anybody will recognize it, but I was saddened one time when there were some difficulties in an assembly and there were brothers meetings till two or three in the morning and finally the neighbors called the police. I thought that was very sad because of what was taking place in that building that was associated.
With those gathered to the Lord's name, the neighbors felt they had to put a stop to it by calling the authorities. That's a very solemn thing. But when there's real love shown. And remember, divine love is different than natural love.
I just like to make that distinction because it has been said there is natural love and the world, you know, even a dog will wag its tail and appreciate when you love it, when you pat it and you feed it and you give it a nice warm bed at night. A dog can appreciate that they have a soul, they have the there's, there's affection there. But divine love is different than natural love. Natural love in a person looks for something lovable in the object.
And it is, to a great degree dependent on a response from the object. And if it doesn't get that response, natural love can wane and even die. But divine love loves when there's nothing lovable in the object.
Now don't misunderstand me. Divine Love delights in a response from the object. My son, give me thy heart, thine heart. He, Divine Love, once delights in that response. The Lord wants a response from us, but it, Divine Love is not dependent on it. It is consistent in its outflow. It is consistent to the object, not dependent on the object itself.
So that's so good to be reminded as to the, once again, we've talked about this already, but the context in which John is writing, he's really giving the distinguishing characteristics of the family of God in contrast to those that are not in the family of God.
He's really giving the believer in this late day in which he was writing, in which there were many false teachings occurring. This Gnosticism was being developed at that time and it was making inroads. And so he gives the believers in his epistle.
The tools to be able to recognize those which are truly of the family of God and those which are not. In other words, He calls upon the children of God to make judgment, to judge.
00:25:06
That which is false. Now we live in a day where judgment coming, arriving at a judgment and saying this is true and this is false is frowned upon and criticized.
We live in a day when every man says, let me live according to the dictates of my own conscience and don't judge me. That's the day we live in. That is simply another way of saying, as we find at the end of the book of Judges, every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
We as believers are called upon to judge that which is false and that which is true. Now you say to me, Well, what about those verses that say, Judge that you be not judge, not that you be not judged?
Well, I would suggest that that type of context is everything in Scripture. You cannot pick one verse of Scripture against another. You cannot pit John's ministry against Paul's. You cannot pit Paul's ministry against John. We need both rails. It's interesting that where we have various lists that involve righteousness and love, righteousness comes first. God's righteousness must never be compromised. It's that which is in in God, that which is entirely consistent with his character.
And in US, it's that as, as Bill explained, righteousness a little bit yesterday, but likewise is that which is consistent in the relationship in which we're talking. That's with the character of God. But so in first, uh, Timothy chapter 6, it says there, but thou a man of God, flee these things and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
And so on. In second Timothy chapter 2, it says plea also youthful us, but full of righteousness, faith, love, peace. In uh, Romans 14, it says the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit of my card. Is that correctly in the book of James, it says there it doesn't use the word righteousness, but it says there that the wisdom which is the from above is the first pure, then peaceable, gentle and so on.
In this chapter we've been looking at righteousness as a characteristic of those that are in the family of God. Appears first in the chapter, then we have love. The two are not pitted against each other.
But to go back to answer my question, what about those voices that say that we shouldn't judge? Well, I would suggest that the judgment it speaks of is rather like Cain's judgment. It's measuring you against me. And whenever I judge you against my standard as to who I am, there will be jealousy, there will be biting of one another as we have in the book of Galatians and so forth. But when we but we are as believers called upon to judge things according to the word of God.
So once again, just remember that this book is giving those characteristics.
Of a child of God so that the believers to who John is writing to could discern between those that were true and that which was false. In the next chapter said, beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether there of God. We are to test things. We are to test things to see whether they're according to the word of God.
Not according to me, not according to my standards, not to compare against me whether I'm better or not. But we are called upon as Christians to make judgments. So as once again, these expectations, they speak to us, they speak to our own hearts as to us, you know, are we exhibiting love and so forth? Are we exhibiting righteousness in our life? But in the context in which John is writing, as I said, he was giving the believers of that day.
Tools to be able to distinguish between those that were true and those that were false.
Uh, let me ask a question and, uh, you were talking about Matthew 7 judge, not that you be not judged. And I've heard that's motives, but did you say that judging one against another because it talks about being hypocrites and casting out right, right. That, that, that amount of your own eyes for. And, and I agree that we are told not to judge, judge motives. And, and, and I would agree with that too. We don't know the motive, the other person, uh, but as this chapter says, if they're not exhibiting righteousness in their life.
That's the red flag. If they're not showing love towards their brethren, that's a red flag. I can only go by what they exhibit in their lives. But we are called upon to make that judgment again, not by comparing with myself, but again.
00:30:01
What we find in the Word of God. But I just merely bring this up because, as I said, we live in a day where we are very strongly told that we are to walk according to the dictates of our own conscience. And don't judge me.
That is not scripture. That is not scripture. I am not to walk according to the dictates of my own conscience. I am to walk according to the Word of God and the truth that is revealed to me there. The 7th of the Daniel tells us that we judge the fruit.
So we're fruit inspectors, some brothers said.
Isn't it, uh, important?
In order to.
Have proper judgment.
To get into the presence of the Lord.
Because I think when we get into the presence of the Lord.
That's when we see shortcomings in ourselves and we see the best in our brother because we see the fact that here's a brother or a sister for whom Christ died. This is one who Jesus loves. He gave himself for this one. And when we contemplate this, we have a different output. We have a different attitude to our brother or sister.
But I think if we're out of the presence of the Lord often.
He used a sharp knife on the brother or the sister and were easy on ourselves. We think the better of ourselves than we do of the other.
And that's why I think, you know, being in the presence of the Lord, it's really an important place to be in order to get a right perspective on everything.
And you know, I, This is why John writes in this abstract way that he does things are black and white. He's not talking about this individual, that individual, this experience, that experience. He's giving us very clear things in black and white and.
Again, it's not about me, it's not about you. It's about the Word of God and God himself. And as you say, I I fully agree that if we are not in the presence of God, we're not allowing His Word to judge ourselves and our judgments are also going to be faulty.
Whoso hateth his brother is a murderer.
Scripture characterizes an act by its tendency. I think the same thing. And so we often use the analogy if you get on a certain highway and it will say Montreal and 100 miles or whatever you're going on that, and maybe you only go 5 miles and get off because you've reached your destination.
But that highway, the, the destination of that highway is to Montreal. And so it is, uh, whether it's in Paul or John, you often have that a thing is characterized morally by its end. Sometimes the scripture, there's moral geography.
Where also our Lord was crucified. Well, I didn't know he was crucified in.
Thought he was crucified in Jerusalem, but in the Book of Revelation it links it morally because there's such a thing as moral geography. And here it's the tendency of hate is to lead to murder. And the kind of hatred here was of the worst kind. And in that sense it exercises, or rather brings to light the very worst tendencies of man's heart.
Because coupled with the hatred, there was envy.
And you get that scripture, I think it's in the 27th of Proverbs. Uh, I might turn to it. Uh, Proverbs 27.
Yes, verse 4, Proverbs 27 and verse 4.
Wrath is cruel and anger is outrageous.
But who is able to stand before ending?
And we know, of course, that pilot, uh, knew very well that the Jews had delivered the Lord Jesus for envy. He wasn't a, he wasn't a fool and he understood what was going on. And that is prompted this murder of Cain. And so the Scripture says that does not characterize the family of God. As Bruce says, God often looks at the end point.
00:35:01
Of where that tendency leads.
But once again, we have a contrast, don't we? And a beautiful one.
What does the family of God do if the new life is operating? We lay down our lives for the brethren, maybe not physically, although it can come to that, but we lay down our lives for the brethren. That is, if we're really walking with the Lord. And I say it.
Humbly knowing how much my own life falls short. But there is the Spirit of Christ that says I will give up my own things, my own ambitions, my own concerns in order to see.
Something good happened to my brethren in order to do something for my brethren. That was the Spirit, that is the Spirit of Christ. And So what a contrast to that is the world takes life. The believer says I will give up my own life because of divine love operative there. Tremendous contrast, isn't it, Brother Bill? Don't we have to have a right spirit and a right heart?
To be able to do that.
Delayed in our lives for the brethren or or love them so much that we want to do anything to help them and and not displease them. And don't we? We can't do that on our own right. We need to have a right spirit and a right heart within us that wants to do that. Is that correct? Yes, and it's divine life energized by the Spirit of God and lived out in communion with the Lord that enables us to do that.
Now we do know, and it's well recorded over and over again in history where individuals have laid down their lives.
The Lord Jesus himself bore witness to that. That, uh, greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend. And that has happened many times in this world's history. But the motive can never be divine love. The motive is not reparable to God.
But the believer lays down his life for the brethren. But as you say, there has to be a walk in communion with the Lord otherwise.
I have an old sinful self that says no, my brethren are going to serve me, I am the one. And some will recognize the source of the quotation, but it's well known self likes to be served and thinks itself great.
But love serves and is great. Tremendous contrast. S likes to be served and thinks itself great. But love serves and is great. But I have an old sinful self that still likes to be served and resents it if I'm not served in the way that I think I ought to be.
But thank God that new nature says I will lay down my life in the spirit of Christ.
In order that someone else might be served. And the Lord Jesus gave his disciples that instruction, didn't He? When they got quarreling among themselves as to which one would be the greatest, He said, Well, the kings of the Gentiles exercised lordship over them, and they that have authority over them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so. And then what did he say? He that will be the greatest among you.
Let him be the servant of all. That's the character of Christianity, isn't it? And the Lord is the perfect example, because he said the Son of Man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
And the Lord Jesus, in a coming day, when we get to the Father's house, he's still going to serve us. He's going to gird himself and come forth and serve us forever. He's going to minister to our every joy and happiness there in the Father's house. But.
Just again to put it in perspective here, so in Cain's world or the world is characterized by three things.
Lawlessness, hatred and violence.
But the divine life is characterized, as we've already said, by righteousness, love, and sacrifice, and the desire to make sacrifice, to serve for the blessing of others. I just want to bring in a little averse in Romans in connection with what's been said, because we may not be called on in this land to lay down our lives in the way many have and are even today.
00:40:15
For their testimony and their service to the people of God. But it does say in Romans 12. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God.
That you present your bodies. Notice that a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your intelligent or reasonable or intelligent service.
And so we may not be called to give our lives physically, but we are called to give our lives in service to the Lord and to one another.
That's really the thrust of what the Lord said when He said, Whoso loseth his life for my sake and the gospel shall save it. That is, if we are willing to give our lives in service and love to Him and to one another.
Why? He said to Peter a hundredfold in the next light. So that's 10,000%. That's a, that's a lot of percentage, isn't it? That's a lot of invest return on your investment. I don't think you have any earthly investment that gives you that kind of a return, but that's the return the Lord Jesus promised. If we give ourselves in sacrifice, if we lay down our lives for the brethren in that way, that's the kind of return we're going to get in eternity.
There was an expression in 2nd Corinthians 12.
It's 12, my marginal reading of verse 15, and I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls. So the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.
And that's divine love, isn't it? Only divine love can act in that character.
Would it be right to say too, brethren, that, uh, in a sense, when we lay down our lives for our brothers, we laying down our lives for the Lord and that ye have done them to the police. And I think having that motive, uh, helps because, uh, I don't know about you, but there's a tendency with us to perhaps it's easier to lay down our lives for some than others.
But, uh, I don't think that the Lord would have us think that way, that we think and choose who we serve. Amen.
Well, this is to be shown out practically as we get in verses 17 and 18.
It does no good to talk about love if there isn't the practical expression of it.
And.
There is plenty of need. It doesn't necessarily.
Always take the form of this world's good, although that's what's mentioned here, but.
There is to be the practical expression of it in deed and in truth.
Of course, again, John speaks simply as to principle. We need wisdom in all of this. We need to be walking with the Lord. And I believe that's where it also comes in, as you were mentioning, John, because the practical display of that love needs to be in communion with the Lord and according to his mind.
I say it very kindly, but some of us have had occasion to visit countries where the general standard of living is much, much, much lower than it is here in North America.
And it imposes a real exercise on our hearts sometimes to know how to help, when to help, and how much to help. And I don't pretend to do it properly. I trust we wait on the Lord and seek His mind.
And of course, our resources sometimes are limited too. But the point is, there ought to be that willing heart and.
It shows really the exercise of divine love when that takes place, when there's the practical expression of it.
00:45:08
I remember well hearing the story years ago about.
A poor sister who didn't have anything to eat, and she went to a little church and so she called the pastor, the minister to come and see her, and he came and prayed with her.
And all the while he was praying, she was thinking, you know, it would be so much more. Well, ** *** appreciated the prayer, but it would have been so much more welcome if he brought a bag of potatoes with him or something like that.
And so the Lord appreciates the practical expression of it, doesn't he? What a difference that makes. And if I can say it.
I'm looking at those.
About whom Paul speaks in first Timothy 6 charge them that are rich in this world we are all in this room every one of us rich beyond the wildest dreams of the vast majority of this world's population and I would suggest that these.
Verses are directed perhaps to us in that way. Not that we don't look for needs within the framework of North America. Yes, we should.
But there is an exercise here that we ought to have, shouldn't we?
God is a giver. God so loved the world that he gave his only God's Son. You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ as though he was rich. For your sakes he became poor that you through his poverty might be made rich. He was going to. I came not to the minister down to but the minister and given my life. So God is a giver and if we have the same life of Christ, it's not damned up.
Will be gracious givers too. God loves a hilarious giver. You know he told the Corinthians that they promised the year before to give. Well, he didn't want to just jerk the money out of them, but it was their whole spiritual life was.
Wrapped up in them learning to be gracious and give, and whether it's giving of ourselves in our time and energy like we've spoken of as a living sacrifice, or whether it's using the resources that God has placed in our hand.
God wants us to make sacrifice. You know, sacrifice is a word that is not common in our the society in which we live. This is completely out of context, but I'm just gonna say this to make my point and and I'll use myself as an example.
When the offering is passed on, the collection is passed on Lord's Day morning. My putting a $10.00 bill in the collection is not a sacrifice. It's not giving us. God has prospered. I only use that as an example and I only speak to my own heart.
What God wants us to do in our care and our practical love for the children of God is to make sacrifice and sacrifices to give up something that I am really going to miss and have to do without. You know, Paul knew what it was to make sacrifices. The Philippian brethren, when they ministered to Paul, knew what we want to make sacrifice. They didn't have a lot of this world's goods, but they were one of the assemblies that was willing.
To perhaps have a little less themselves, if I can put it in everyday language, to eat hamburger instead of steak for a few days so they could minister to the needs of the Apostle Paul. And rather than I find this very exercising to my own soul, you know, I, I go to countries like Brother Bill where our brethren are willing to make real sacrifices. I'm going to tell you a little story and I hope it's not too much out of context, but it really spoke to my own heart in this way.
You know, during the revolution, the three years of revolution in Egypt, I had the privilege of continuing to go over to visit my brother each summer. And in the assembly in Cairo, there are, I would say, 4 very wealthy brothers, wealthy by our standby North American standards, by Western standards. And then there are the other. And those brethren take care in a very beautiful way.
The wealthy brethren take care of the other. But what really spoke to my own heart was.
00:50:05
Three of those brothers told me during the height of the revolution, they said we have the resources and the contacts to put ourselves and our families on a plane and leave Egypt permanently. But they said we won't leave our brethren behind.
I bowed my head and said, Lord, give me that kind of love and that kind of spirit, that unsamed love of the brethren, and they are there to this day.
Taking care in a very practical way, not not just in Word but in deed. They're there taking care of their brethren and showing that divine love.
So how do we how do discern these? Many of us are too private to express any need. Do we have to pry it out of someone or how do we find that out?
I suggest that if we pray about being instruments used to be used of the Lord, then the Lord can give us the discernment and bring things to life.
Without crying or asking at all. And Brother Tim, there's no shortage of opportunities and needs to show divine love in a practical way. The shortage is on my part and the exercise of my soul, but there's no shortage. If we look to the Lord, He will show us very clearly and give us the wisdom as to how to carry it out.
This book was not written to the gathered Saints. Well, it was written to Christians. And so the Apostle Paul, he says in Colossians, I'm reminded of this, he says, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you had to all the Saints. And so it should be to all the Saints. And someone has said that if one is not, is missing in your heart, you don't have on your heart what God has on his heart.
He has all the same subjects and he doesn't have anything.
Sometimes we think, you know, as we read it, we think, well, this is written to the gathered Saints. No, it's written the Luther, too.
It was a call to him to come out from what he was in and to be separate. So it's it's written to all the Saints. Another aspect of giving would not be merely to address perceived need, but to show fellowship with the work of the Lord. I can remember living in a pretty Western standards, at least a pretty poor place, and there were brothers coming through that were quite wealthy by Western standards.
And they were serving the Lord, and, uh, He was.
It was sweet the way those brothers who, uh, really didn't have much.
Hmm. We just, uh, my wife just, uh, gave me a note that was written to my former wife and when my father-in-law died and, uh, he insisted that he did just bury it in a box and have the very simple note said, give 6 or $700 to this, give 6 or 700 to, uh, Bill McDonald's. Uh, and that should be something that.
Will be leftover for me not having a normal funeral. So those words, you know, it's sad, you know, I mean that he wanted that to go to the gospel and the work of the Lord.
Well, verse 19 brings before us the assurance in our souls.
God never uses feelings.
In that sense, to assure us in something that is important in Scripture, it rather rests on His Word.
But the enjoyment of it in our souls gives us an assurance, because we walk in the good of it. I believe that's the thought here. We know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before Him.
00:55:01
I can have the theory of the truth in my head, but I will not have the assurance in my heart until I walk in the good of it.
How very important that is. And so it's a walk. And that's why this practical side of things is so important. Walking in the good of what I have and what I know assures our hearts before him. And as we already mentioned it and we don't need to belabor it again, but we mentioned it yesterday.
If we do not walk with the Lord, even though we are not overtly doing something wrong.
We will find that our heart condemns us.
Those here who are married will know what I'm talking about when I say you don't have to do something wrong in your married life to have your heart condemn you.
It just has to be the subtle distance that gets between you and your spouse, perhaps the omission of something that you really ought to do but you don't do, or a little word or a little gesture or a little look or something like that, and you both know that that happy communion between the two of you is not what it was before.
Does your conscience condemn you? Maybe. But most of all, it's your heart, isn't it?
And we ought to be sensitive enough to feel that in the family of God that we are at a distance from the Lord. Then we don't have confidence in the Lord, then we don't have that liberty and freedom to.
Come into the Lord's presence.
Thank God He's greater than our heart and knows all things and what a comfort that gives and it encourages us to be restored in our souls, realizing that as we've said before, His ways with us may change.
But his love never does.
The other question and I for a long time on this.
Verse. So I appreciate some help if anybody can help me.
God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things.
Is this?
And here's how I've taken it. If I'm wrong, I appreciate correction and my heart may condemn me.
In in matters as we have been brought out.
But the reality is I never know the full extent.
Of how far I've gotten away but he does so My heart may condemn me, but he's greater than my heart. And I may come and want to get that right.
And, and he knows me altogether. He knows really how far I've got. I think I went this far and my heart condemns me. But he says you went that far. Is that the thought? And.
I think we have an example of it in John in Peter's restoration in the 21St chapter of John.
These are not my thoughts.
And it it a little long to go through and I don't tend to go through it and all the subtleties of it. It's a very interesting portion. And the different uses of the word love and the different uses of the word know. But the third time in verse 17, John 21, verse 17, he the Lord said unto Peter, the third time Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time lovers Thailand me. And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things thou knowest. And he uses a different form of the word know.
It's not deceived, but Lord, you know by absolute objective knowledge everything that's in my heart, thou knowest that I love thee. Uh, Lord, thou knowest all thing, Thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus said unto him, be my sheep. And so Peter finally comes to the point and says, Lord, you know everything about me. You know everything about me. I don't have to say anything more. You know me and.
You know, that's, I believe, the point the world is trying to bring Peter to tell you to bring us to.
01:00:03
And then so to answer your question, I believe it includes what you were saying.
He felt his little love for the Lord, but the Lord knew that He read about them. The Lord knew everything about him. He didn't have to say anything.
So you could say, even if everybody else looks and says, I don't know, Peter loves them, the Lord. But he knew more than Peter did. He knew the full extent of it.
Computer really did love it, You know, He really did love it. He proves it later.
And the confidence here?
Brings before us that wonderful privilege that we have to go to the Lord in prayer and with confidence.
It's a wonderful thing to be able to go in real confidence to the Lord.
Not that we boast about it.
Sometimes, and I have heard it, believers say, well, I know I have the mind of the Lord in this. I prayed about it and I know I have the mind of the Lord. It's really saying that I'm living so close to the Lord that I couldn't possibly have missed his mind. The very fact that I make that statement shows that there is pride in my heart and I probably am in a state where I could easily miss the mind of the Lord, but.
It's a wonderful thing and it's individual to be able to go in confidence to the Lord, because I have the sense in my soul that what I am asking for is according to His mind.
Wonderful privilege, because, as someone has remarked many years ago, prayer is founded on the immense privilege of our having common interests with God.
Some man was challenged once as a believer, an unbeliever said to him, do you really believe that when you go to the Lord in prayer, the Lord changes his mind so that what the Lord was going to do, he suddenly doesn't do, or he does it in a different way because you went to him in prayer.
All the man said you're holding the stick by the wrong end, He said When I go to the Lord in prayer, it's not the Lord that gets changed, it's I that is changed.
And we get that, of course, in Romans 8. We don't need to turn to it because sometimes we don't know what to pray for. But the Spirit of God brings that prayer before the Lord according to the perfect knowledge that He has of what we really do need. How thankful we can be. But isn't it a wonderful thing to be able to go to the Lord in confidence? That's the result of walking in communion with Him. Again, not a thing to be boasted about, Not a thing to go to someone else about.
Not a thing to, if I could say it, kindly, start a prayer chain about or something like that. I can't bring others into my confidence, but it's a wonderful thing to be able to go to the Lord.
In that confidence, because we are walking consciously in obedience to His will.
It's a wonderful circle if I'm walking and, and I say this because I don't fall so short, so I feel funny saying, but if we walk in obedience to his word and.
And a path of righteousness and our heart isn't condemning us. And we can go to him in confidence. We're gonna ask what he wants now, what I want. And if I ask what he wants, is he gonna do it? Of course he's gonna do it. And he lends his power to the answer to that prayer because I'm asking what he wants and he's gonna do what he wants to do. And it just is a, a beautiful full circle around. I've enjoyed that, Steve, in connection with what it says in the 37th song, it says delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
That doesn't mean He gives us everything that we want, naturally speaking, but I do believe what it means is that the more we find our delight in Him, His desires become our desires so that we do ask according to His will.
01:05:01
But there's another thing that gives us confidence too, to come in prayer. And we've already spoken of it, but that is to walk in the sunshine and the enjoyment of not so much our love for the Lord, but his love for us. And that's really the contrast between John and Peter. Peter styled himself as the disciple who loved Jesus. John was the disciple whom Jesus loved. And Peter did learn the lesson as we had before us at the end of the.
The Gospel of John, I believe he finally came to that realization, but that's why in the 5th chapter of or the 4th chapter of the book we're taking up, he says there is No Fear in love.
But perfect love casts out fear. That's not our love for the Lord. That's my love for the Lord is imperfect at best. But it's to realize the perfect love and to realize that when we ask what He wants, what He does for us, the answers to prayer are really for our good and blessing and come from His hand of love. And to realize that in love He knows what is the very best for us. And if we come in the enjoyment of His love, full communion and in the enjoyment of His love, that's going to give us confidence.
If a child comes to a father and there's been something come between the father and the child, and the child isn't enjoying the father's love, and there's something on the child's conscience or their heart. Why, the child may ask for something, but they're going to ask with fear and trembling. They're not going to ask in confidence, and they're not going to have confidence that the father is going to give it to them, even though it might be good for their good and it might be the right thing.
But when things are taken care of and the child is back in the father's arms and in the enjoyment of, of his love and the little difficulties been, uh, been judged and, and confessed and taken care of, why then the child can now.
Ask and confidence. And that's why John in the upper room leaning on Jesus bosom was the only one that could ask the Lord about the problem.
Peter was down the table. He couldn't ask the Lord. The others all looked at each other and said, is it I? Is it I? But John was the one who, in perfect confidence, enjoying the Lord's love, could turn to the Lord and make that request.
Tells us in.
Chapter 5 and verse three. His commandments are not reasons.
Why is this?
Because.
Under the law, we find that we're in a ******* we're required to do something that we don't want to do.
You know the old nature does not want to submit.
To the law. But the fact is we now have a new nature.
Or yes, sometimes it's wait.
The Lord's deliverance. It doesn't come too early that we missed out on the blessedness of trusting in the dark, but it also doesn't come too late that we experience the misery of trust and invades.
Well, these last two verses are kind of, I suppose, summing up everything, aren't they?
This is his command.
That we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ.
We could say, well could. He's writing to believers.
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Haven't they already done that? In one sense, yes, for salvation. But faith in that name should characterize us all through the Christian life, shouldn't it? And so the Lord wants us to exercise that faith all the way along the pathway. It's a constant living thing in our hearts, isn't it?
And love one another. As he gave us commandments over and over and over again, we find that commandment repeated. Why? Well, we've spoken about it. Our old nature gets in the way, doesn't it? And we don't show that love the way we should.
And as an old brother used to remark, obedience and happiness go together. Do we want to enjoy the things of Christ and have a happy life than it's in the pathway of obedience? I will never get any encouragement or any comfort in a pathway of disobedience from the Lord. His love never changes and the moment there is an ounce of repentance and a desire for restoration.
All the power of God is there to restore me, and Christ is our advocate.
But I never get any comfort or any help in a vast way of disobedience.
But he that keepeth his commandments, verse 24, dwelleth in him, and He in him. What a blessed pathway that is.
There's a verse that just came to me, Brother Bill, while you were talking. I'm not sure I can find it, but it's, uh, we had an old brother and our assembly in Minneapolis back in the 60s, and he quoted us, uh, to obey is better than sacrifice and to harden than the fat of Rams. Would that fit in with what we're talking about here? Yes. And if we want to turn to it, that's in First Samuel.
Thank you.
I think it's is it 15? I was looking at 14, but is it 15? You got it there. Yes, verse 22. Thank you. First Samuel 15 and verse 22.
And Samuel said, speaking to Saul, a king Saul, ask the Lord his great delight and burnt offerings and sacrifices.
As in obeying the voice of the Lord, behold, who obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of Rams.
What God does, as we've been hearing about, appreciate sacrifice. We get it more than once in the New Testament.
But it needs to be done in the pathway of obedience. Cain offered a sacrifice, but the Lord couldn't accept it. And so everything we do needs to be according to the word of God. And if we willfully disobey the word of God.
We can't expect the Lord's blessing in our lives.
But the Spirit of God delights to minister Christ to our souls and give us that constant, steady enjoyment of all that He is and all that He is for us.
Romans chapter 8, I'll just read it, verse 16. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And so the last great group is His spirit that dwelleth in US, who takes all of this and makes it good in our souls to give us that confidence and assurance and that it bears fruit in our lives. He witnesses with our spirit that we are.
231.
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Nowhere in the heart that never.
01:15:01
For God's birthday, our sins.
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OK, great, our blessed God and our Father thou hast given us, Son.
Things to exercise our heart, and we desire that our hearts will not condemn us.
That our hearts would be full of thy beloved Son, the Lord for us, and that that overflow will flow out to our brother and to others as well. But we just thank you for this time together and we look to be for the rest of the day. We think of the gospel message to go for it in this room if we're left here. And we just pray that thou abuse it for the honor and glory of the Lord Jesus and the eternal blessing of anyone that might still be in their sins.
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2000 and the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel 2
Gospel—Mark Debu
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
I would like to begin by singing hymn number six on the gospel hymn sheet number six that somebody could start at please.
Good evening.
3 BHK Villa for sale in Mustafa 1.
Oh, one gravity.
Striking.
Dahaniya.
Let's look to the Lord for help.
Our Godfather, we thank thee tonight for another opportunity to share the wonderful Gospel message.
Lord Jesus, we thank Thee that thou didst come down.
Down into this.
World by sin and done as we just sang.
Now that that, now let's go to that cross.
Shed thy precious blood, and her sins might be washed away. And we thank Thee, Lord Jesus, for thy patience with sinful man. We think of how.
That work was accomplished nearly 2000 years ago and yet the door is still open today. We just pray Lord, that each one in this room.
Would be honest as to their standing before a holy God.
We pray that there would be none.
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I have heard God's love. I have heard of the Lord Jesus.
Christ, work on the cross.
And decide that it's not for them or decide to think about it later. Lord, we pray that tonight.
Every knee in this room.
Vow to thee, Lord Jesus, we pray this in thy worthy name. Amen.
I would like to start off with.
Umm reading some verses in the Book of Job. Let's turn to the Book of Job several times during this weekend.
And I want to start with some well known verses in chapter one and chapter 2.
And we'll be, umm, pretty brief about those.
Job chapter one and verse six it says now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord.
And Satan came also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and his trueeth evil. While the point I want us to remember from these verses right now is that God proclaimed Job a perfect and upright man, and it was mentioned earlier today, that doesn't mean that Job was completely perfect, but I believe that it means that.
As to his walk, he pleased God and you'll see that later on too in the book.
Umm, when his friends argue with him.
They really can't come up with anything that they could stick to job.
When it came to outward things, Job lived in upright life, and we know that God had to work some things out in the life of Job.
But eventually, all those friends quieted down, their speeches got shorter, and eventually they stopped talking. Now let's turn to Chapter 2.
And read verse seven there from verse 7.
The rest of justice to get the story here, the rest of chapter one is occupied with things that Satan brought upon Job and that God allowed Satan to bring upon Job. Umm, that really destroyed the life that he had. All kinds of things get taken away from him. All kinds of calamities fall upon him and yet.
Job did not turn against God and now in verse seven it says so when Satan forth from the presence of the Lord.
And smote job with sore boils from the sole of his foot and to his crown. And he took him a part shirt to scrape himself withal, And he sat down among the ashes, then set his wife unto him. Dost thou still retain thine integrity?
Curse God and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women.
Speaketh what shall we receive good at the hand of God? And shall we not receive evil in all this? Did not Job sin with his lips? That's wonderful because here Satan is allowed to touch Job himself and he smothed him with plagues. That I think when we, you know, think about it, none of us can imagine the physical agony that Job would have to go through, and yet it says that he did not curse God with his lips.
Did not sin with his lips. But another point here that is pretty obvious right away is there is another person here that plays a big role in that Satan and what does Satan do All he does is stake and destroy all he does is stake and destroy. You know my my point is not to go through what all happened to Job and so on. But but the end of the book is very beautiful because it shows us that despite all the things that came upon him all the things that God.
God's purpose for jobless blessing.
But what we see here is in these first two chapters, Satan is exactly the opposite.
All he tried to do was to destroy, was to destroy. But what's interesting too is that after this, Satan disappears from the sea and it is God working with Joe. But the thing that I really want to bring out is in chapter 23, and we were there earlier today, but I was thinking about the verses before what was read.
00:10:06
Job, chapter thir, 23 and starting in verse 3.
All that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat.
I would order my cause before him and fill my mouth with arguments.
I would know the words which He would answer me, and understand what He would say unto me.
Will he plead against me with his great power? No, but He would put strength in me.
There the righteous might dispute with him. So should I be delivered forever from my judge?
Here's what Job desired and job in this book. He talks a lot and talks about a lot of interesting things.
But Job saw that was happening to him wasn't completely fair. And what Job wanted to do is he wanted to have a little meeting with God and he want to present his cause to God. He wanted to argue, he wanted to reason with God.
And I think that today many people feel the same. Many people in this world feel if I could have my 10 minutes with God and show him all the good things that I have done, bring My Portfolio.
How I've helped this person, done this, done that. Everything would be OK, everything would be all right.
You know, if there was one person that maybe had a right to say this, it probably was Joe, because God himself declared him to be perfect in his ways.
The God, in his patience and his wisdom, doesn't grant Job his request right away. It takes a while. It's quite a long book and there's a lot of things going on in it.
And God is working with Job. And maybe God is allowing things in your life that you think are not right. Maybe God is allowing things in your life that you think are not fair.
And you know, to a certain degree you might be right, because this world is not fair.
And why is that? It's because sin has come in ever since sin came into this world. What you see around us is not what God had in mind. It's not how God ordered things. It's not how things will be when God takes control of this world.
And so.
It takes a little while, but if we turn to chapter 38 of the book, God does speak. God does answer.
And you know God speaks for several chapters. I just want to read the first few verses here of chapter 38. Then the Lord answered Job out of the world when then said, who is this that darkness counsel by words without knowledge.
Girot now thy loins like a man, for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where was thou when I laid the foundation of the earth? Declare if thou hast understand.
Oh, these are some serious words. This is God speaking now. This is not Job saying anymore. If I could just talk to God and present my case, it would all make sense. No, God is speaking now.
What does God talk about? He talks about his creation. He talks about the seas. He talks about the stars. A little later on, he'll talk about animals. And he does it in an interesting way, by asking a series of questions.
There's a question, you know, in school, teachers ask you questions to know if you understand what they're talking about. And so God has job questions.
This is what Job says. Turn to Chapter 40.
Verse one.
Moreover, the Lord answered Job and said, Shall he that contend it with the Almighty, instruct him? He that reproveth God, let him answer it. Then Job answered the Lord and said, Behold, I am vile.
What shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken, but I will not answer yet twice. But I will proceed no further. And then God talks some more. And this is what he says in Job says in chapter 42.
Wherefore I abort myself and repent in dust and ashes. This is verse 6.
00:15:03
And so here we have job.
He thought a great deal about himself and his righteousness and maybe his wisdom too. But as soon as God speaks, he is completely silenced. There's no one argument, he said. I will fill my mouth with arguments.
And as soon as God speaks, there's not one argument, you know, it tells us that there's a day coming where every mouth will be stopped.
A lot of people think that they will have something to present to God with. Every mouth will be stopped. There will be no one that will be able to contend with God. And you know what's very interesting about this too, is when you think about what God speaks about in these chapters, He speaks about the visible creation. He speaks about the animals. He doesn't even begin speaking about man.
Fearfully and wonderfully made, he doesn't begin.
To speak about what's inside man, he doesn't begin to speak about God's. A man standing before God. No, he just talks about, you might say, the basics.
You know, when it comes to the creation, it's, it's wonderful.
But yet, if we go back to Genesis chapter one, it all came into being by God just speaking. It wasn't that big a deal for God.
But when he speaks about that, or when he asks questions about that, it shows how great God is. It immediately shows to the nothingness of man.
Or how small he is not insignificant because God, because God has his eyes on men for blessing, but it shows how small man is. You know, how, how dare men think that they can stand up against God, that they're on God's level. It's impossible. Now let's turn to the well, I want to read one verse in Deuteronomy.
That kind of shows that Deuteronomy chapter 10.
Deuteronomy 10 verse 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of Lords, a great God, and mighty and terrible with regarded, not persons, nor taketh reward.
It tells us in Hebrews that he is a consuming fire, and fire speaks of judgment. Now let's turn to UMM.
The New Testament and umm, in Romans chapter 3, there's some statements there that are made that I think are very interesting. They're absolute statements. This is this. There is none righteous. No, not one. It says there's none that doeth good. No, not one says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
All has sinned and come short of the glory of God.
You know in first John chapter one and verse five it tells us this.
First John chapter one, verse five. This then is the message which we have heard of him. And declare unto you that God is light.
And in him is no darkness at all.
And when we look at what God spoke about in Job and his empowering creation, his wisdom in creation, and we see think of the smallness of man.
If you're not on God's side, that's a pretty fearful thing to think about, God's power. But now this verse that we just read, I think would be even scarier. It says that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. He's not only an almighty God, he's a holy God.
He is a holy girl.
And think of us, sinful man, sinful man.
And we can't set it aside. This is real. You know, a lot of people try to forget about God, pretend it's not something they have to deal with.
You're deceiving yourself and it tells us in Genesis chapter one that God says let us make man.
He has claims over US. Creator, you cannot do away with God.
You cannot do away with God.
Notice after noon Cain was mentioned and Cain went out from the presence of God. And if you read down a little bit further in Genesis chapter 4 speaks of one of the descendants of Cain, Lamech.
00:20:01
And it was his sons that set up the world system as we know it now, arts, industry, everything to please man in this world, everything to beautify this world, everything to keep man's mind occupied with anything but God. But it didn't bring any happiness. If you read about Lamech, he was a man that was characterized by immorality, and he was a man that was characterized by violence. And you know what?
His conscience bothered him. He tried hard.
To go in the path of Cain, away from God, but he may make him happy.
It didn't make him happy. His conscience bothered him.
And so each one here, each one in this world will have to do with God. There's no possibility of putting him away.
But you know when God made those statements in Romans 3 that we quoted about none doing good, none being righteous?
You might say God didn't make those statements quickly. He didn't make those statements suddenly. Those statements were made about 4000 years after man fell in sin.
O God is all knowing, He knew that there would be no one that would be righteous.
As a matter of fact, if we look in Genesis chapter 3 when he talked to Adam and Eve, you can already read there that there's the woman see that is spoken of that would gain the victory over Satan.
They were clothed with coats of skin that shows us that blood would have to be shed to bring band back to God. And so God knew all along that there would be no man that was righteous. And yet for 4000 men, 4000 years, a numeral man passed on this scene and had a chance to prove themselves. And it is. It's like this is God's final conclusion. All have sinned.
And come short of the glory of God, all have sinned. That's very absolute. There's none that is excluded from that. Let's turn to Romans 11 for one verse. I really enjoyed this verse many times. Romans 11 verse 32 it says for God had concluded them all in unbelief. Well.
That's what we've just been talking about.
But then the second part of the verse is so beautiful, you know, if we think about God as a holy God.
And He's been so patient with mankind for so long, and none has made the grade, You might say, you could say, and now they're right for judgment. But that's not what the verse says. He had conclude them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon them all. Now we've talked a little bit about now about God's power, about God's holiness.
But there's another thing. God is love, it tells us.
First John chapter 4 God is love.
We know people that are loving.
But I don't know anybody who is in love.
But God is love, It's his very nature, it's his very being, and God being a God of love. It says in Isaiah that judgment is a strange work.
I know if we.
You have to deal with people that constantly do the right thing. We would say enough with that. You know, some of us own a business or something like that. If you have an employee that constantly do it does the opposite of what you want them to do, you would say, I'm sorry, but I can't deal with that. You have to go. That's not what God did. No, He concluded them all in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all.
How did he do that? God of love? Galatians chapter 4.
You know, there's always this God is love. The God is holy too.
And that really brings in a problem you might say that man cannot solve, but God solved it.
And he did it like this verse four of Galatians chapter 4. But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his son. And I believe the fullness of time here means when man was fully tested, God had given him every single opportunity to prove that there was something in him that could please God. Just a little something.
There was nothing tells us any features that were all dead in trespasses and sins not on life support.
Dead, nothing that could answer to God, no life towards God. So God sent his son for God so loved the world. God is love. And that's what we want to present here tonight. And I started out by speaking about God's, you know, power, God's holiness, because I think we, we, we need to realize that we deal with a real almighty God.
00:25:28
You know when people try to bring God down or make God an afterthought?
Well, you might want to do that, but it doesn't change who God is. It doesn't change who God is. And when soon as Job heard God speaking, he realized, whoa, I way overstepped my little circle here. I went way across the line. I have no right to question God, no right to question God.
But here's the thing.
God sent his well beloved Son into this world, and he didn't come as king. He didn't come to reign, but he came to go to the cross. He came to go to the cross.
Now think about this, when God made this world and everything the universe, he just spoke it into being.
But when it came to the blessing of your soul, he couldn't do that. He couldn't just speak the word. And it was all OK. No, he has a holy, He's a holy God. And so a perfect sacrifice was needed.
And God had to give his well beloved Son.
What a wonderful thing that is. Doesn't that prove that God is love? Oh yes, there will be a day coming when God will have to judge the wicked, but it's not what He wants to do. The very fact that we're here tonight shows us that God is love because He has all right to judge this world right now that He does not not willing that any should perish.
And so.
He had to give what was most precious to him, his well beloved son.
And the Lord Jesus had to go down to the death of the cross. Now let's turn for one verse to Isaiah chapter one.
It's a very well known verse.
Isaiah, chapter one.
And verse 18.
Says this, Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord.
You know Job wanted to reason with God but it didn't work did it? But now it's God saying come now and let us reason together. It's not a reason as we would expect A2 way conversation. It's God doing the talking. It's so beautiful that he says come now, come now. That's what God is saying tonight to each one here come, come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. That's the kind of God.
Yes, he's almighty, yes there's a day coming when he will have to act as a judge, but right now he acts in love towards a world by sin undone, and he says come, and this is what he says.
Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
Do they be red like Crimson? They shall be as wool. Oh, think about the load of sins. Think about the punishment that the Lord Jesus had to bear on the cross.
We all know our hearts. We know them a little bit.
You know, we've talked about this afternoon about how maybe we know ourselves this much, but God knows everything. And so if we're honest with ourselves, we'll all acknowledge that we're sinners. We'll all acknowledge that there's many things that we have done wrong, but I don't think we even know a small portion of how bad we are.
And yet the Lord Jesus came down and died on the cross to wash away their sins.
Shed his precious blood. He know God as a holy God.
He cannot change that.
He cannot change that and so every single sin had to be paid for, but the Lord Jesus did it all for us. I would like to tell a story and some here in this room have heard it before so I apologize for that but about was about 19 years ago I was in Cuyahoga Falls, OH and I was staying with a homeschool family and for a field trip.
00:30:11
This family went to the local courthouse to kind of watch how things.
Umm, go, you know, in the judicial system and we were sitting in the back row and you know, it was all small cases that came up and umm, you know, case after case came up. And at one point this lady was called up to the front. And this lady was no doubt about her that she was a poor woman.
She was dressed not very nice at all, didn't look very clean herself, looked like a hard life.
And so the judge, who was kind of a kind older man.
He read her name and then he read the crime that she had committed.
She had stolen a gallon of milk from the grocery store and she got caught for doing that. And so the judge read in her name says at this day that place you stole a gallon of milk.
And she didn't deny it.
But as he read that thing to her.
She said it was for my children.
And the judge said something to this, I don't know, I don't remember exactly his words, but he said, lady, I believe it.
And she didn't deny, she didn't say anything except for it was for my children.
And the judge shook his head and he could see he was struggling.
And he says, I'm sorry, ma'am, but the minimal penalty I can give you is $200.00 fine.
In what? She said, she cried. I'll never be able to pay that.
She stole a gallon of milk.
2-3 dollars.
You know that woman, That's me. That's everyone here of us.
I doubt that none of us could ever pay back.
In Matthew 18 there's a story about a king who had a servant who owed him 10,000 talents.
Servant doesn't make any money, so he would never be able to pay that back.
Well, as I've been thinking about this, this story, it's us.
You know, and you think if you go to a courtroom, you put on your best clothes, right? She probably did that. But you know, it was it was rags that was her best clothes. And the Lord tells us, oh, your righteousnesses are filthy rags. So if you think that you can appear before God with your good works, you're exactly like that woman standing in that courtroom, dirty.
Clothed in filthy rags.
Unable to pay your debt?
Unable to pay your debt?
The courtroom was extremely quiet. The only noise was the woman crying.
And a man stepped forward, was in his 40s, I think, dressed really nice. We found out later he was the next case. He was a speeding ticket. And he said, your honor, can I say something? And the judge said yes.
Said would it be OK if I pay those $200?
The judge says if you do that before the court, the debt is paid and this woman is free to go.
She could never pay those $200.
If somebody stepped in and paid for her.
Turn to First Peter, chapter 3.
First Peter, chapter 3.
In verse 18.
For Christ also had once suffered for sins, the just, for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.
00:35:04
Being put to death in the flesh.
There was a substitute provided by God for each one of us, the Lord Jesus Christ.
This man stepped in as a substitute.
That judge, though he felt very sorry for her, could not let her go free. She had stolen and there was a penalty connected with that.
God does not like to judge, but He is a holy God and if you have sinned, then we all have.
There's judgment connected with that.
That woman standing there alone.
Had no resource.
I think if you can't pay your fine, the next step is you're put into prison.
There's a day coming and it tells us of that in Revelation. We're a whole lot of people will stand before God.
And it won't be.
Lord Jesus as we know Him now as the loving Savior that invites you to come.
It will be him as the judge.
And just like that judge in that courtroom read off the charge, he will open the books.
In every single thing that.
You have ever done that? I have ever done.
Is noted in those books.
If you think you can hide from God, I would challenge you to read Psalm 139.
I think it starts by saying, O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me, and then it gives some details about how good God knows every one of us.
If God knows us like that.
I do not want to appear before God as a judge.
But I don't have to.
Because God has provided a substitute for me. God has provided a substitute for you.
If you will have him.
Lord Jesus went to the cross for each one of you.
The reaction of that woman was something to behold.
She was crying because she could not pay those sins, that penalty.
She was crying a lot more after the judge said I will accept the substitute. I will accept the $200.00 that that man will give.
Memo. What joy there is if a person puts their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and has their debt paid by him now afterwards, after it was like a 2 hour court session.
You know, the judge had noticed us sitting in the back and he came over and talked to us.
And he said.
Some in the afternoons are really hard, he said.
And he said what you saw this afternoon is extremely rare. It's extremely rare. You know, I don't know what the motives of that man was. Maybe he said, if I show kindness, maybe he'll deal more kindly with me. But that's not the point.
God's motive was love.
God's motive.
What's your blessing?
Maybe those $200.00 really didn't mean that much to that man. He looked like he was a well to do businessman.
But God had to give all.
He had to give his well beloved son.
But he did it.
So I want to end by reading.
Umm.
Well known verse in Acts 16.
Because it kind of sums everything up.
We're dead in trespasses and sins. There's no life towards God in US.
You know, and if the Lord leaves us here a little while longer, we'll all go through physical death.
And once that happens, a return.
Destiny is set.
There's no more.
Changing over, it tells them the story of the rich man of Lazarus, that it was a great gold fix.
00:40:04
Great golf fix. Now if you go look at a courtroom, the way things are set up, there's quite a bit of space between the accused and the judge. There's a high kind of bench wall in front of them and they kinda sit up higher. I don't know if that's to intimidate the people, but that's how it is. It's not a pleasant setting.
I think that the Great White Throne Judgment will be something like that too.
There won't be any closeness nor nearness to Jesus. No, He'll be there as a judge, ready to hand down a sentence. But again, you don't have to meet Him in that character if you accept Him today.
As your savior. And so he was a man. You know the story of the Philippian jailer who was about ready.
To pass into eternity.
But he was arrested by Grace. He was arrested by Grace.
And we hope tonight that you too, don't leave that door on your way to a lost eternity.
Without the offer of God in hell, he gave his son.
I convict your heart, too, that you need him as your personal Savior. And so this man, he turns to another gospel preacher, Paul, and he says, what must I do to be saved?
The most important question you can ask yourself.
And the answer is very simple. The answer was given almost 2000 years ago and the answer is still valid today. It's exactly the same.
Umm, solution to man's problem of sin and man's problem of being.
Far away from God. This is what it says in verse 31. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. You know tonight in the verses that we've read, there's been a lot of absolutes, all of sin. There's none that do it right when here we have another one. Thou shalt be saved.
When it comes to God's offer of salvation, there is no doubt The man that stepped forward and offered to pay those $200.00, he didn't know if that was allowed that he would do that for somebody else. So he asked is it OK if I pay for her? And the judge says it's OK?
But God has put a stamp of approval on the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ by raising him from the dead and putting him at his right hand.
No, today there's a man in the glory.
A glorified man in the glory. It's the very one.
That can be your savior tonight. Don't reject him. Let's pray.
Our Godfather, we thank thee for the Lord Jesus Christ, and we think of how.
Gospel meeting like this.
Is both a happy and a solemn occasion.
Our Godfather, what wonderful love, what wonderful grace in the whole plan of salvation.
But we think too.
That there might be one in this room, maybe more.
That have not yet accepted the Lord Jesus Christ.
O God, we plead with him to come unto thee.
We pray that people would realize.
Who do art?
And that each one will have to deal with God.
We sang that every knee shall bow.
We pray, Lord, that it would be done tonight.
In response to thy author of salvation, not because in a future day every knee will be forced to bow.
So, Lord Jesus, we just leave thy word now and pray for Thy blessing upon it, and Thy worthy name we pray, Amen.
Open Mtg. 7
Open—B. Conrad, R. Klassen
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Please set the Savior for 228.
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Great Forgeva is head of the body. We look to thee is that one from whom all ministry flows to each member according to thy grace. And we do thank thee that the thousands of thy sheep out of the snow each, one of thine out of the snow each.
Soul here this afternoon.
And intimacy.
As to every detail of our lives, and collectively too. And so we pray that Thou give us that which is suited to meet our needs, according to Thy heart of love towards us. Let us keep the feet of Thy Saints. We pray that, uh, that which is given to us would be used for the Spirit of God to keep us in that narrow way.
We, uh, own the tendency of our hearts, uh, to wander. And Lord Jesus, we pray that we might be.
Drawn close to the let us know the need whether doctrine, whether exhortation or comfort, edification until we just pray for the leading of the Spirit of God. I'll just give us that which is from thyself, from thy heart, and we ask this thy name or Jesus, Amen, Amen.
We turn to the 22nd Psalm.
So yesterday our our brother gave us.
Very wide-ranging.
Are we on here or do I have to? We're on OK.
Yesterday our brother gave us a very wide-ranging comprehensive.
Uh, uh.
Walk through a certain line of things having to do with election.
And uh, which which I thoroughly enjoyed and was edified by.
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And in our little section of the meeting room afterwards, there were some conversation and, uh, and I could see there was another pockets too. And, and one of the brothers said, uh, you know, it's often, I've often asked myself in light of that truth, a little question, why me?
And without a show of hands, I suspect that it's pretty common in some of the experiences of life, particularly when we wake up and realize we are now a child of God, that we are saved and on our way to heaven. Why me? And so with picking up just a portion of the time, I would just like to return to three passages.
That have this expression in them.
The first in Psalm 22.
My God, My God.
Why hast thou forsaken me?
Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
Oh my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest or answerest not.
And in the night season and then not silent.
But thou art holy without that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
We have the Spirit of God in the book of Hebrews helping us with this passage in the 5th chapter.
By stating that the Lord Jesus in the days of his flesh, we could turn to it. Hebrews 5.
Verse seven. Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears unto Him there, was able to save Him from or out of death.
And was heard in that he feared though he were son.
Yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.
Hebrews explains to us that he really was heard.
He was heard in that he feared for his piety.
In the 22nd home, I think that the, uh, the accurate translations read there. In the second verse thou answer is not.
The Lord Jesus's man is the author and finisher of faith.
No one ever walked through this world.
Imperfection.
His meat was to do his father's will and not his own.
And then we come to this solemn moment that our brother read some poignant and touching scriptures this morning about this time.
And in the integrity of her soul, or what the writer in Hebrews calls for his piety, he looks up to the God that he had served.
And he says why me?
Of all people, why me? Why am I being abandoned? Why do I look up to the heavens and they're like.
Silence and quiet like brass.
You and I know the story.
That without the work of the Lord Jesus, we could have no part with Him.
Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die. Adviseth alone.
And so he was God's elect.
And perfect servant, who from his youth was ready to die, and pressed on to that moment when he would offer himself as a sacrifice for sin. And yet still in all.
Still in all, when the moment came.
Think of it three times.
Separating himself.
From his disciples.
And the Spirit of God says with strong crying and tears.
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Very, very few times.
In my life.
Have I ever heard?
A man cry strongly.
And we read in the Psalms.
The Spirit of God is pleased to take back the veil a little bit and to show us in passage after passage.
As though there was no question in the Lord Jesus, holy soul.
With complete dedication to do his father's will that he would not do it.
Yet still he felt all that great contradiction of sinners against himself.
And at that moment.
My God, my God, as the man Christ Jesus stood in the breach, Why hast thou forsaken me?
And you and I sang hymn after hymn this morning. It was so touching.
To respond ahead of time.
To the answer that the Lord Jesus will receive.
In the book of Hebrews it says he was heard.
He was heard in the way that it pleased God to answer him.
Him writer put it fiercely full the joy, as fierce the wrath. And in that coming day you and I are going to be present.
When we see him in the fullness of his joy.
He shall look upon the fruit.
Of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. What an answer.
To that cry on Calvary's cross.
Why me?
Let's turn now to the book of Ruth.
2nd chapter of the Book of Ruth. Time doesn't permit us to develop the the account the story, but I'm sure it's known to most.
Ruth the Moabitess.
Married the Israelite who strayed with his family from the land of promise, from the land of bread, and goes into a the land of Moab, which in the language of it means what father?
Limelight dyes. The two sons die.
Naomi turns to her daughters in law that are now young widows and says just stay here. It's all a big wreck.
We're we're in modern language, she just said. You know, this is a train wreck.
Just stay here and do what you can. She just was content.
In the sorrow of her soul, to leave them in the land of what Father?
Moab and Scripture is a picture of the pride of the natural man to take care of himself.
What Father? Who needs a father that's Moat settled on his leaves, we read in the prophets.
And she was content to leave those girls there. But she herself goes back and we know that Ruth cleaved to her and comes back too. She, her hap was to light in the field of Boaz.
Who obviously is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, a mighty man of wealth.
But he wasn't just wealthy and powerful, there was kindness and goodness in his heart and he displays it towards Ruth. And so the second what me, if I can pick it out here in the second chapter.
In verse 10 after hearing Boaz's pronouncement.
That he wanted her to stay in his field.
Why?
Because he wanted to bless her.
You think, young people, that we tell you, you should continue on, gather to the Lord's name because we want to have you just kind of grid it out in some sort of grin and Barrett type of Christianity until the Lord comes, no.
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Told her to stay there because he wanted to bless her.
It's a place of blessing around himself.
And so she fell on her face.
And bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? Why me?
Have you had that experience?
Maybe you were saved at 8 years old.
And you maybe were at the Lord's Table at 12 or 15. The brother I was riding with this morning, hitching a ride here, said he was at the Lord's table at 15.
Wonderful.
Maybe you haven't had this experience. Why me until you were 20? Doesn't matter.
But when we really did you notice in so many of the hymns this morning?
They kind of built on the ******* we were in, the chains that held us, our lost condition. Almost every him had that element in it and built up to the wonderful deliverance we've experienced in Christ.
You may have been raised in a Christian home. You may have been 4 generations gathered to the Lord's name with a name that is recognized from coast to coast. It's a great, wonderful legacy.
But you come in as a stranger nonetheless. You come in as a stranger, sinners of the Gentiles.
And we come in and I can remember when I was saved in my early 20s.
And you know, I may have said this before, I'm at the age now, I guess I repeat myself, but I got saved and I went back home to visit my parents and I said mom and dad. I guess I'm like the prodigal. I'm back, I'm saved.
My mother, I believe she's with the Lord. She is a was a Christian, a believer.
She didn't come across the room and throw her arms around me.
She said. We'll see.
It's really a good answer.
In a manner of speaking, we'll see. I had caused her a lot of pain and sorrow.
We'll see. And there's a sense in which even after we're saved, we need to be.
To display the fruit of who we are.
And whether she was conscious of that or not, that's the way she felt. We'll see.
And so is the first year and 2nd year and 3rd year. And the Lord led, and things that had no place in an upright person's life were no longer part of my life.
And the Lord led me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Then it was apparent that something indeed had happened.
And so I'm back a couple of years later, and I'm going along as an upright person. I'm at the Lord's table.
And I'm sitting in a lecture with all kinds of other young people because I needed a trade and I was at school to learn my trade.
And I'm sitting there on the first day.
Huge lecture hall.
And that's the first time since I was saved.
That that question came into my mind. Why me?
Why was I so happy?
Why was I so blessed?
Somebody, an Angel could have walked up the the hallway in that, the amphitheater, in that lecture hall and said, Bruce, the Lord said it's time for you to go.
I'm ready, my life is a success completely already and I was happy and blessed. The tears came down my cheeks.
And I said to the Lord, why me about all these other people?
I don't know the answer to that.
I didn't get up here because I thought I had the answer to that.
It's because He loved me and because He's God and He's sovereign and He chose to bless me.
And I was running down a broad road, and so were you. And he said, You know what, that one's coming with me.
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That's I foreknew him.
I have chosen him and now it is time to bring him to myself.
And the incompatibility or the gap between what we know of ourselves and what we were by nature.
And what he has already done, and the best is yet to come, is a huge gap. And the only thing that fills that gap, to my mind is worship.
Sense of what we were in a sense of the.
Pure 100% point 000.
Riches of the grace of God.
Is what has taken you and me as brands from the burning and given us to be sons of God.
And we can already sit in our chair, like the hymn writers put it. We stand accepted in the place that none but Christ could claim.
Totally unmerited favor. Why me?
We'll have eternity, I suppose too.
Enjoy that?
Gap, so to speak, between what we had earned and deserved in our wages of sin and what He has afforded to us.
Let's go to another Why me?
In the book of Job.
7th chapter.
The Book of Job.
Let's pick up the account.
In verse 12 of Job Chapter 7.
Am IA sea, or a whale that thou set us a watch over me?
When I say my bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint, then thou scarce me with dreams, and terrifies me through visions, so that my soul chooseth, strangling and death rather than my life.
I loathe that. I would not live away. Let me alone.
For my days are vanity. Just to stop here. This is Job speaking to God and saying to God, would you please just leave me alone? Just let me swallow down my spit until I die.
You had low times in your life. This is a low time in Job's life.
What is man that thou art, that thou shouldst magnify him, and thou should set thine heart upon him, and that thou shouldst visit him every morning and try him every moment? How long wilt thou not depart from me, and let me alone till I swaddle down, swallow down my spittle, I have sinned. What shall I do unto thee? O thou preserver of men, why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden?
To myself. And why dost thou not pardon my transgressions and take away mine iniquity? For now shall I sleep in the dust. Thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.
Verse 20 again, Why me?
I suppose some of us have these kinds of why me experiences before we know that we're saved.
When the Spirit of God is working with us through the circumstances of life to bring us to a place where we can be blessed.
For others, perhaps these kinds of experiences take place after we are saved and we are walking through this world as believers. God is now our Father.
We are his child and he has an interest in our education and he Char has charged himself with.
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With our care and our growth and development.
And this was the case, no doubt, with Job. We read that he was an upright, a righteous man, a man who had faith.
But God had more in mind for him. He wanted to bless him.
When Jacob was running away from the mess that he had made in his unbelief.
In seeking to gain the blessing, the birthright with Esau's hands.
He flees and he has a rock for his pillow and the Lord appears to him and he says, I'm not going to leave you go. I'm not going to let you go until I bless you.
And year and years and years and years went by.
And God did exactly what he said he was going to do. He brought him back. He wrestled him so that he could bless him. And at the end of Jacob's life, we know as he leaned on the worshipped on the top of his staff.
He said.
I'm a blessed man.
One of my close family members growing up.
Had a painful experience in life.
Her fiance was taken suddenly in death while on a medical mission to the.
High mountains of.
Bolivia.
There would be no marriage.
There was a funeral.
I had just been saved.
I was looking to the Lord. What do I say to this unsaved?
Relative.
So I went up to her. I don't remember what I said. It's been 40 years.
She said.
God. Don't talk to me about God. I met a God.
But that which he had allowed in her life was a prelude to tremendous blessing.
And whether it's something as dramatic as that or something or a series of disappointments.
The message I want to leave you with and remind myself before I sit down in a few minutes.
Is that God? For a child of God orders all the circumstances of our life. That's number one, and he does it for blessing.
Can a believer get to this place too? Like my relative who says I just want to be left alone? Yes, we can just say just leave me alone. I can remember as a.
From a young boy up until my early 20s, just.
Time after time I just kept getting the tap on the shoulder.
By circumstances.
And I knew I was being something was I knew I was being spoken to.
Even before I was saved.
And you as a child of God, you know when God brings in certain circumstances in your life.
That is for your blessing.
There's a pamphlet that BTP used to distribute. I don't know if they still have it.
It's I think the title of it is, it's called The Disappointments of Life. It's so worth reading.
I I'm gonna find that again.
And the point in it is it it, it says basically the the disappointments are life or the decrees of love.
They're the decrees of love.
And we he takes away this or he postpones that, or he says, no, I'm not going to bless you through the front door. I really have it in mind to bless you through the back door.
As Armstead Barry once said.
And so, as believers, we can.
Be fortified in our hearts with this knowledge. Are we still going to feel disappointed? Yes, the Lord felt disappointment. The Lord felt what it was like to have lover and friend put far from him in this acquaintance Into Darkness. He was troubled. He felt that. It's not wrong to feel that.
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It's wrong to get discouraged and down under it.
Enact unwisely in the face of it.
In the Psalm 139, I think it's around the third verse. I want to cut this short.
The psalmist says Thou winnowest my path.
And if you look that word up, I think really what it speaks to is that.
You're can't think of an English word, but he he intelligently and consciously, with a view for our blessing and our latter end, organizes the circumstances of our life.
And so Paul could say when he was in the jail in Philippi, no, wasn't in Philippi, he wrote to the Philippians.
And he said I have learned.
When did he learn that? I don't think he learned it the first year or maybe two, but somewhere along the way he learned, he said. I have learned whatsoever.
Circumstance I'm in there with to be content.
This is part of the equipment, the toolbox, so to speak, the tools that you and I are going to need in this life if we're going to go through this life for God's glory and to be a blessing to others.
We had one of our children and I won't mention his or her name.
But he he seemed to have a little bit of a of a jumpy streak to him.
You know, a loud noise or a dog or something like that. And, and we, I can remember one time he's walking down the we had just done some business somewhere. We're walking down the sidewalk and there's columns holding up the, the little.
Ruth and he, I don't know if he saw a dog that was running this way and boom, a couple stitches there and did it again in the vessel meeting room. Boom, a couple stitches there looking over his shoulder. Don't look over your shoulder. I tell you what's over your shoulder, though.
Eric Bilkington once told us this in a relating a story about a brother that was on his deathbed.
And he's on his deathbed. He kept saying something about they got me, they got me, they caught me. And and his loved ones were around. What caught you? Who caught you? What's wrong? And he says they caught me. He said goodness and mercy have been following me all the days of my life, he says. And they finally caught me.
Well, I think of that, dear Eric, relating that story, because that's what's following you, those two sheepdogs, goodness and mercy, to do as good at our latter end. Take your circumstances from the Lord, the old brothers used to tell us.
And your difficulties to him?
He will never leave us nor forsake us. He's a counselor whose counsel is always perfect.
Let's close by turning to second Peter one.
While we get there.
You know, it's, it's so strange the way we get so surprised by circumstances when the Lord has gone so far out of his way to say to us so plainly.
In the world ye shall have tribulation.
But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
But in the world you shall have tribulation, and yet we get so surprised by it. It's our common portion and we need it for our growth and spiritual blessing, which God is more interested in than we usually are.
He's totally committed to your and my spiritual growth in this world and in this life right now.
In second Peter one.
Following up on this line of things that we have been chosen.
Let me jump in here.
In verse three, His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises.
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That by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
And so this is the position of all of us as believers.
We are in a position of having escaped. We've been selected for that and we've been brought out of this world and we are now fellow citizens with the Saints and of the household of God, and we're strangers here.
And so now the young person says I'm saved. What do I do with my life? What's important now?
And so he says in verse five beside this giving all diligence.
And then there's a list. Add to your faith, virtue, or spiritual energy, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, to temperance, patience or endurance, and to endurance, godliness, and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, charity.
Where, if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things, you shall never fall.
Our brother laid before us a whole series of things that in a in a spiritually logical way.
Built us up to understand and justify God falling back on His own sovereignty to bless who He has chosen to bless. And if you are a believer here, you, not you now know, I hope, that it was 100% His sovereign action that said, in your dark soul and mind, let there be light, and now there's light.
We elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. And now what? It's time for us to make Our Calling and election sure.
If you do these things, you shall never fall to press on, now that we have been elect with the confidence that.
He knows what he's doing and he loves us. Let us be seek to be more intelligent as to his ways with us, that we might go through this world being freer from all the fears and anxieties that can cripple us at times, freer to be more help to our brethren.
And more of a light in this Dark World.
Perhaps we could, uh, turn the Ecclesiastes chapter 3.
What our brother Bruce has said is really was what was on my heart. Didn't know whether to accept that it was said in a better way than I could or to underline it and so have patience with me if I'm virtually saying what he said. Ecclesiastes, chapter 3.
And verse one to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven and we.
Let's go on to forsake of time, verse 10. I have seen the travel which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. He hath made everything beautiful in His time. Also He offset the world, or that which is eternal in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end, and then.
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Verse 14 I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever.
Nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it.
And God do with it the men should fear before him.
You know this matter of the sovereignty of God.
In His grace reaching down and and as we heard yesterday of lifting up, those of us who could not lift ourselves up or even would want to be lifted up.
And to make us his very own children, fellow citizens of the Saints of the household of God.
Oh, we marvel in such grace, but you know that this matter of sovereignty, it's something I believe that we're a good deal of our life learning and coming to appreciate.
I'd like to look turn back to job again because I believe that that's something that.
God wanted Job to learn, even if he wants us to learn it. It's just that with Job.
He started with a man that, uh.
He was God himself says he was perfect. You know, he wasn't absolutely perfect, only the Lord Jesus.
Is, but he was perfect.
As as good as any man has ever been, and God takes that man.
And let's look in, uh, Chapter 4 of Job.
And verse 6 and I, I don't have I meant to bring my new translation up, but it reads something like this. Is this? Is not this by piety like confidence and the perfection of thy ways, thy hope?
You know, our life has said many things that weren't right, but I think he touched something that was absolutely right here with Joel, Joel Goodman that he was. He was counting on God to recompense him accordingly as how he had conducted himself.
And when God allowed to happen to him, what did?
He couldn't understand that that's what he was resting on. That was his hope. That was his confidence. And suddenly we know what happened to him. Our brother said that yesterday, untold sorrow when he spoke of Job. How could we imagine what Job went through? And let's look at chapter 23, because I think it's this matter of the sovereignty of God that he was struggling with.
And we can too, and often do, perhaps.
Verse 10. But he knoweth the way that I take. When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. That was Joel's confidence. My foot happy, held in his steps. His way have I kept and not declined, Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips. I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. Now God is obligated. I have done this.
Now he's obligated to.
Respond to me in kind. But in verse 13 he says, But He is in one mind, and who can turn Him, and what his sole desire even that He doeth, For He performeth the thing that is appointed for me in many such things are with him. Therefore I am troubled at His presence, when I consider I am afraid of Him.
For God maketh my heart soft.
And the almighty trouble with me.
He's of one mind. Yes, he is. He has a divine purpose, and we heard about that yesterday. He is predestined, predestinated us to be conformed to the image of his son. Isn't that wonderful? He's of one mind and he's going to accomplish what that mind is.
And Job was afraid of that, he said. I was afraid of that. I believe that that's really the thing that he feared.
00:50:02
Is it somehow God would not have to be?
Umm, treat Job in kind, but that he was sovereign, that he could do his own will. And you know, we fear the same thing, and we fear it because we don't know his heart. As our brother said, God exercises His sovereignty.
For our blessing.
But you know, and, and Job said, God maketh my heart soft. Why does he allow in our lives as our as our brother has brought before us, these things that sow, test and try us, these things that seem like they could have no connection with eternal blessing in his divine purpose.
He knows the way that he takes.
Jill said. And he does. And it's for you and I to rest our will and that perfect will of his. And you know, if we really believe, if we really believe that all his working with us is even amidst our failures, is that he's conforming us to the blessed image of his son.
Then why would we be afraid of him?
Why would we doubt him?
Why wouldn't we rather in any way we could be in sympathy with His sovereignty and say, as we had so beautifully in the Lord Jesus already, not my will, perfect will that it was, but thine be done?
You know God came in in spite of Job. Another thing Elias said to him was acquaint now thyself with him and be at peace.
And it really is only resting in the sovereign purpose and work of God that we will have peace.
He mentioned her brother mentioned, uh, Jacob.
You know, it's interesting that if you turn to Romans 9, where, where the Spirit of God is bringing before us the sovereignty of God and he shows us how that before, uh, Jacob and Esau were even born, God really says what he's going to do, that the elder is going to serve the younger, that that younger one is going to have his blessing.
Well, you say, well no doubt his mother told him that because as as Jacob comes along, he wants the blessing of God.
And through his conniving he he gets the birthright. He already had the blessing coming. God had purposed that.
But you know, in spite of the fact that that Jacob, God brings him out as a as a wonderful example of his sovereignty, you say, well, he would have a firm grasp of that. Instead, it seems like God gives us a picture of that dear man as he's because he's learning the sovereignty of God. I believe much.
The same way that that you and I learn it. It's really not much time, but let's let's go to chapter 37 of of Genesis.
Excuse me is umm.
Chapter 31 of Genesis.
We know how Jacob continued to, even though God said I will, I will, I will. He tried to get that blessing himself. He felt that it depended upon him. And we know how he did such foolish things even as to, to make those rods, thinking that through those rods he was going to come out ahead in regard to the cattle, uh.
In verse eight of chapter 31, he's, uh, umm.
Sorry, verse 10 I came to pass at that time that the cattle conceived. I lifted up my eyes, and I saw in a dream, Behold, the Rams which leaped upon the cattle were rings straight, and speckled, and gristled. And the Angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see all the Rams which leap upon the cattle, that a ring strike speckled and gristled. For I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee I am.
The God of Bethel, where thou anointest the pillar, and where thou St. avow unto me thou arise. Get thee out of his land. Return of the land, O thy kindred, and so on.
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You know, Jacob, if you would have asked him, well, how is that working? You're all that energy you put forth to come out ahead, he would say it's working just like it's supposed to. It's quite a thing that came to me. But you know, in spite of his weariness, one day God allowed him to see Jacob. That isn't you. I'm fulfilling my promise to you. I'm fulfilling what is appointed for you, what I had for you before you were ever born. It's not you.
How many times do we struggle?
We want the Lord's blessing. And so how many times we think it's in our, it's, it's, uh, will be, uh, uh, acquired by our, maybe our faithfulness, maybe our diligence, maybe our striving. And we find the Lord is faithful and he says, that was me. How much energy and time we can spend before we realize the Lord is sovereign and he is going to carry out his purpose.
Uh, we come to, let's skip over a few, but to one our brother mentioned, umm, there's just a matter of meeting Esau and, uh, Jacob's planning and then all of a sudden there's a man that's wrestling with him and all how he wrestles all night.
You know you may wrestle.
With God in regard to His sovereignty.
And I hope you win.
You know, in Jose it says that that Jacob wrestled with God and he won. But if you would have come away from that match and you've seen Jacob hobbling off into the sunset, you would have said, uh, I think I know who won that match.
And the Lord said, yeah, Jacob can because he got a hold of him. And he said, I want, I want the blessing. And now he's crippled. He can't get it through his own strength.
But you know, maybe if he doesn't have strength, he at least could take care of his family and do things right for his family and provide for his family and God allows.
His sons meet up with Joseph and they don't know that Simeon's taken and put in jail and now Benjamin is required and all Jacob says all these things are against me.
Everything that I fought to, to win and get ahead of this famine has taken me down. And what about this blessing? What about this blessing? And now my family, all these things are against me. Well, we know the story. They weren't against him. It was the way God was working in spite of what Jacob was doing because he had already told Jacob he was going to bless him.
You know when when Jacob learns.
The God is sovereign and the beyond his wildest imaginations. His Son is ruler down in Egypt and he has all the provisions and he just needs to come.
I think it was such a tremendous thing that, that Joseph, uh, Jacob went through as he's this matter of the sovereignty of God is coming home to his soul and realizing that yes, God is working.
And he is. It's in view of my blessing. Well, you know, we would have thought he would just run down into Joseph's arms, but he didn't. He comes and he stops.
And God, who is working.
He's waiting on him, you know he's going to go down in a place where now he doesn't have any control at all. He's just, he's not even in the land.
He's just the subject of a king and foreign land. God says go, I'm God, I'm the one that appeared to you in Bethel. And he goes.
And you know, it's so wonderful. We spoke about From Glory to Glory.
When, when Moses says to God, show me now thy glory, God says, I'll show you my glory. I'm going to be gracious to whom I'm going to be gracious, and I'm going to be merciful to whom I'm going to be merciful. That's the sovereignty of God.
I can struggle with that, like Jacob and say, well, what about this? What does it mean for these people? And if that's so and that isn't fair and so on and you know.
I won't win then because God is God in order to be that. That's part of his glory. He will show mercy to who he is. So mercy he'll be gracious to whom he will be gracious. Well, he's his sovereignty is exercised for blessing and and Joseph or Jacob goes down into his to Egypt and you know, you just see him now. He's not striving now.
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He's blessing and he goes into that mighty monarch of Egypt.
That man is very interested. What kind of a father does does Joseph have? And he sees this old man hobbling in to his court. He must have looked at his face.
He saw a happy old man, I'm sure of it.
So he he tries to well, how long, how old are you? Maybe touch on the pride of life or something like that. And and you know, that's all aside. Now he realizes that God is blessing him and he doesn't have to be anything in fact, anything but truthful. He says few and evil have been the year days of the years of my life. But you know, Pharaoh, I want you to know the blessing that I have. I know that God a blessing.
And he blesses Pharaoh, and he goes on, he blesses.
His grandsons, it says in Hebrew City, he rested on the top of his staff. Is that really Jacob? Yes, yes. He's come to lean on the sovereignty of God and he worshipped.
The sovereignty of God.
So what's going to produce the highest notes of worship? I believe in that coming glory. As our brother Bruce said, we'll keep right on saying, why me? Not in questioning God's wisdom or his ways, but in adoring worship.
We're going to say, As for God, his way is perfect.
And if, like Job, I was saying, well, I thought he was going to bless me, according to how faithful I was, I had been, oh, you'd say how, how poorly I would have been blessed. He had much more for me than that. He knows the way that he takes. He's made everything beautiful in his time. Nothing can be added to it and nothing taken away from it. And when we see it all.
In all, it's perfection. We'll just launch forth.
And wonder and praise that He's sovereign. And then that sovereignty was exercised for our richest blessing.
Our God and Father.
Our hearts are vowed.
Do we have such a God?
My heart, Sir.
And deep gratitude are gods that goddess reached down wretches that we were, wilful as we were.
And how to say I want to bless that one?
I wanna blossom eternally.
And our God and Father, how richly thou has blessed us.
And what lies before us?
Is only going to be the wonderful display of Thy loving heart. We thank Thee that we could come on it this very day. We do thank Thee for Thy ways with us along our Pilgrim pathway. Lord, we own our unbelief and my goodness, we own how we resist Thee. We own how we on subject we are and how willful we are, but we thank You that Thou are sovereign.
And thou will fulfill thy purpose of my counsel.
For thy own glory, for thy joy, for our blessing, we thank Thee, worthy and precious name of our Lord Jesus. Amen. Amen.