Des Moines Conference: 1989
Table of Contents
Open Mtg.
John 17
Type of the Church
John 13:3-17
Reading
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Betray him Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and he was come from God and went to God. He rises from supper and laid aside his garment and took a towel and girded himself.
After 94th water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with a towel, wherewith he was girded.
When comma Peter, Simon, Peter, and Peter sat unto him, Lord, dost thou wash spy feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do, thou knowest not thou, but thou shalt know hereafter.
Peter said unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I washed thee not.
Thou hast no part with me.
I'm Peter saath unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but all from my hands and my head. Jesus back to him he that is war. He is not faith to wash his feet, but it's fleeing every whip. And ye are clean, but not all. For in you who should betray him there for said he, hear not all clean.
So after he had washed their feet.
Taking his garment, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done done to you? You call me master and Lord, and you say, well, for so I am. If I, then your Lord and master have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.
Verily.
I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that is sent, greater than he that sent him. If he knows these things, happy are ye if you do them? I speak not of you all I know whom I have chosen, but that the Scripture may be fulfilled. He that he is bread with me, has lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before come.
That when this come to pass, you may believe that I am he.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send, receiveth me.
And he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me Jesus, when Jesus had said, had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall be training. Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he speak. Now there was leaning on Jesus bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.
Simon Peter, therefore back into him that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake, he then lying on Jesus breath.
Said unto him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, he it is.
To whom I shall give us off, when I have dipped it? And when do you dip the saw? He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the thought Satan entered into him, Then said Jesus unto him, that thou doest do quickly Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him, For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag.
That Jesus had said unto him by those things that we have need of against the peace.
Or that he should give something to the poor, he then having received the saw.
Went immediately out and it was night therefore.
When he was going out, Jesus said Now is the Son of Man glorified.
And God is glorified in him, if God be glorified in him.
God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall streak we glorify him.
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Little children.
Yet a little while I am with you, ye shall seek me. And as I said unto the Jews, whither I go, ye cannot come. So now I say to you, and your commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another.
As I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have loved one to another. Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go? Thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards.
Peter said unto him, Lord, why counter thy fault of thee now?
I will lay down my life for thy sake, Jesus answered him. Wilt thou lay down my life for my sake? Verily, verily, I said to thee, The **** shall not crow, because thou hast denied me thrice.
Brother Judd, we would all consider the kindness to us.
If you might share with us.
Of what particular thoughts came to your heart that led you to the reading of this chapter?
We would all like to hear the particular things that may have motivated you to.
Suggest this chapter.
Well, our brother mentioned his prayer, except the corn of wheat, all under the ground, and died, it abideth alone.
And here in the opening of this capture.
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.
What I thought much recently.
Of that Marxist love that was in the heart of God toward us in a past eternity, their improvisation, we find the Lord personified His wisdom.
Say my delight, we're with the sons of man.
In first Peter one and 20 we find that.
The Lord was born in as the Lamb of God, before the foundation of the world, and here because of that obedience to the Father's will. For I believe.
Christ's primary object and coming into this scene was to glorify the Father concerning the question of sin.
At the same time, here he was now on his way to the cross.
Father given everything into his hands on his way to the cross.
That he might accomplish that work of salvation. That he might die.
That you and I could be with him in the glory.
Yes, except that corner. We fall into the ground and die and a bit of hello. But he would not go back to the glory alone. He would not go out free. No, he would go to that cross of Calvary. And here with the cross before we find that it is old that he is thinking of not himself, but his old. Oh, how he desired to have his own around himself.
Result of that work, here we are, a little company gathered to look into his present, word gathered around himself.
What, of course, is ours, beloved in Christ?
Chemistry given in John 131415 and 16.
Culminating in the Lord's Prayer to the Father in John 17. All have to do with the present day of grace. That is what we get in these chapters, often called the upper room. Ministry is Christian truth.
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It's the Lord having departed for the Father. Notice verse one, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that he should be part out of this world unto the Father and.
A very significant thing he does here, the feet washing, which we'll discuss, but the important thing is.
He is all that he teaches. All that he does in these chapters flows from his being back with the Father, being in the present place of glory with the Father. So it has to do with this present period of time, the cross. John 12.
If I be lifted up, will draw men unto me, Now is the judgment of this world. Thou shall the Prince of this world be cast out, and the corn of wheat falling into the ground had to die, or divide alone. That's John 12. And now we have the hour of his glorification, not the hour of the cross, but the hour that he should depart out of this world to the Father, and all the ministry that's given what he does the feed washing.
And the teaching that he gives us in these chapters.
Characterizes the day in which we're living with Christ on high in the presence of the Father.
And we're left down here in this world. This chapter that we've read is so suitable for what is needed today for the truths that are unfolded here. We might call them dispensational truths. That is the character of the time in which we're living, where Christ is back with the Father and we are left here to be His representatives. This is what we have unfolded, the Spirit of God, sent down in the 14th chapter.
To indwell us, He's not leaving us alone, and we're set here to be the expression and the representatives of himself during his absence. So he's not reigning here. And what he teaches in these chapters was altogether new truth to the ears of these Jewish disciples. They had never heard these things before. He was now about to depart this scene and return to the Father.
And now he unfolds the truths that we would need during the time of his absence here.
And his glorification on high, that's what we have unfolded in these chapters.
And there are those that see in the feet washing nothing more than an example of humiliation on the part of the Lord Jesus.
Well, it certainly is that, but it goes far beyond that. It's what he is presently doing from the glory, washing our feet by the water of the word in the power of the Spirit of God is what he's presently doing. Now that we might have part with him, not with him as he was down here, but with him as he is now, in the glory, we might have part with a glorified Christ. This is the point of the ministry here.
And it culminates in his prayer in John 17.
Just before I close, just turn to John 17 a moment.
In verse one these words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said Father, the hour is come.
Glorify thy Son. It was the hour of his glorification.
Verse 5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was He asks to be instated into that glory that he had with the Father before he became a man, but now as a man.
And then?
Verse 11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee.
He uttered these words when he was in the world, But the spirit of what he's saying, and the truth of what he's saying in all these chapters applies now, after he's gone back to the Father, verse 13. And now come I to thee, and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. So here we have. Truth, though uttered on earth, applies. After the cross. I have finished the work which thou gave us me to do.
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And after he's been glorified and now we have the ministry that's given in these chapters characterizes the Christian day in which we live. And if we miss that, we've missed the teaching of the chapters. And that's the most important aspect of what we're going to be, considering that the hour of his returning to the Father had now come. And the character of the day in which we live is unfolded the presence we're living in the day of the Spirit.
A man in the glory, the spirit of God on earth, a finished work that's Christianity and the Father's house prepared on high with the promise that he'll come to take us to be with himself there very soon. This is all Christian truth. This is being denied. We're talking about that, that last night, or the Tim and I. This is being denied in many circles, and it's even coming in amongst us in certain ones.
And it's very important to be clear as to these truths and really it has to do with dispensational truth that we don't mix up the truth to Israel and the truth to the to the church, the truth to the heavenly people. And we are heavenly people. We we are, we are associated with a heavenly man rejected on earth. And that's that's why the character of the ministry here, for instance, in John 15.
He says if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love his own. But because you're not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hated you. And in John 17, the Lord says they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. That couldn't have been said of Israel. Israel was a people of this world. They had their establishment here. They were God's earthly people.
We're heavenly people. We're associated with Him during the time of His rejection here.
The time of his glorification back with the Father, and that's the character now of the Ministry that we'll be looking at.
God, always.
Shows us the extreme.
And here we see in this chapter.
That this blessed man, He declares that in that second verse that the Father.
Verse 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands.
Well, what an immense statement that is that God had given everything and it specifies it into the hands of a man, his beloved Son.
Now that's lofty. That's wonderful. Truth and love and power combined there in the Father's having been glorified by what his Son has done. And now we go to the other extreme. Our eyes turn to his hands.
All powers given into his hands. What does he do with his hands?
And here we see that he washes the disciples feet with his hands.
What? What backoffs, what extremes? And we never beloved ones, can go too high in the contemplation of the glory that the Lord Jesus has received from His Father. And on the other hand, we never can get down low enough down to the feet to seek the blessing of one another, as we find the Lord giving us an example in the use of His hands.
In verse two you have the expression and supper being ended.
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And then in verse four he arises from supper. What supper is that? That's mentioned here?
Brother Ron, I always think of it this way, that this was the closing now of his earthly days, and the supper is the last meal of the day, and so.
The the evening glow is coming on now, and here is this Last Supper.
Before he goes in the 12Th chapter.
Mary, she has put the ointment on his feet. And here now in these last moments, supper being ended, last few, last acts, now laying before us the emphasis of what he is going to do during this day of grace to be washing our feet, and that we should learn.
To take from that example, and should be the desire beloved ones of everyone of us.
To be doing this, the tendency these days is to be patting each other on the back instead of washing our feet. And sometimes there's just a bit of resentment when when I'm told something that maybe I don't like to hear well, I must take it from the Lord and be sensitive to these things. And we need all of us to be sensitive these days.
That the tendency to recognize that the tendency is to compromise and to let everything slide and justice to say, well, these are the days but beloved ones, we need to realize that to wash each others feet is a a a service for the Lord's glory and the blessing of his people. And we need to be concerned about one another, not to be resentful, but to thank God that we.
Have those that will get down South low at our feet, as to Washington, our feet desiring that we would be preserved and the soiling that is just rampant in the world we'll be preserved from.
I enjoyed it, Brother Chuck, your remarks about.
The keynote of this chapter and the subsequent chapters is very helpful. Pardon little hard to hear. Speak a little louder. I'll try it. Thank you very much, Chuck, for the very helpful keynote that you've given to us in verse one.
And I assume that verse two, it talks about the supper being ended. That's the last Passover supper.
And verse four it arises from supper. I assume that's the Passover supper.
But I'd like to ask you, Brother Hendrix, if you have any thoughts as to why the.
The remembrance of the Lord is not brought in here.
That would certainly be part of the present day, wouldn't it? But there must be some wonderful reason why the remembrance of the Lord is not mentioned here in John, in this Ministry, the upper administrator. Do you have any thoughts about that? I really don't. Maybe you can pass them. No, I I don't have any. That's why I asked the question.
Brother, brother, Hendricks given to us, the cross is looked at as accomplished.
And Christ in glory? Are we going to remember the Lord in glory as we do down here?
So it's still in common. Would that be why it's not mentioned here?
John's ministry.
Isn't a long church line.
It's a family relationship, children with the father, so we don't find that this connection that the other disciple.
Peter intimates it and then.
Paul was revealed this wonderful truth of the church.
But we hardly have ministry on earth in John's writing.
So I believe it's more of the individual relationship now.
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Therefore, supper is prevention.
Thing of those words two and verse one, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
Not so much to comment on them as just think of that log which led him to that cross of Calvary that he might have us with himself.
Throughout those endless ages of eternity, we'll never know what it cost him to be made sin that holy, smartless, sinless one. But He went to that cross to glorify the Father, and that He might have us with himself.
Having loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. Nothing would turn aside from going to that cross.
Instead of a key to this whole chapter, isn't it brother Judge that the love of the Lord Jesus Christ is what motivated them to get down to the level of disciples feet. It was what motivated him to love his disciples all the way through to the cross. Sometimes in industry we have when we build a product we have some extremes that we some specification limits that we put on that product.
And then we test it within those specifications. There's other times when we will take the test beyond the the the spec limits, and we will take it to the point of destruction where it actually fails. Well, here we see the the love of our Lord Jesus Christ tested beyond the limits of man, tested all the way to the depths of the cross, all the way to that terrible judgment that fell. And what happened? There was no failure, No failure.
At all. He was faithful all the way his disciples forsook him and fled. Peter denied him one of the apostles.
Turned against him and turned him in to the to the Jews and so on. But the love of Christ never failed. And I think that's that's what's behind this whole chapter, brother. Here we have a Savior whose love will never fail. It's beyond the limits of man.
Amen question about the mention of breaking of bread for supper and John that in John 28 and verse 31 we get the purpose of the writing of the whole gospel. And he says these things are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that you might that believing you might have life through his name. So we see that John is the eternal life gospel.
Only do we see it as the Son of God and the deity of Christ brought out, but it's the eternal life gospel. And so there's two things that are never mentioned in the Gospel of John, and one is Christian baptism.
Never have any Commission for them to go out and baptize and also the breaking of bread because neither of those have anything to do with the salvation of the believer. The Catholics today would say, well you can be saved by taking the sacraments. Well, if that brought us eternal life, it would be mentioned here in the Gospel of John. There's other groups that say you have to be baptized to be saved, but there's no mention of Christian baptism in the Gospel of John.
Like give this thought.
Comes before me.
Verse four he rises from supper.
Verse 2 ought to read, I believe, enduring supper instead of the supper being ended. And then he rises from supper.
If we can take the Supper to represent the remembrance of him and his death, and we know that he instituted it, although John doesn't bring it out specifically.
Rises from supper.
And lays aside his garments, and he girds himself.
Takes a towel, a linen towel, and girds himself. Well, that's what he is now. He is the risen Christ. He is risen from suppers. It were from death.
That which speaks of his death. And he is now a raised, a risen man, and having entered the glory, he lays aside his garments.
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And Gerdes himself for another work.
A work on high in which he serves us. He was a perfect servant on earth. Behold my servant, my neglect, in whom my soul delighted.
There was number servant as he when he was down here, but now he's serving us as our advocate with the Father.
He girds himself, and that presents him to us as a servant. And he takes water, pours it into a basin and washes their feet, Gets down at their feet. Well, that's what he's doing right now, from the glory. Right now in these meetings, he's washing our feet by the water of the word. Whenever we have the word over our souls before our souls, he washes our feet with it, whether collectively as we are this morning or individually.
But the laying aside of his garments, I always used to apply that to his coming into the world. He laid aside his glory.
But this is his going back to the Father now, and having got there, there's another work for him to do. He finished the work on the cross, but now he lays aside his garments and he takes water and girds himself for another work, the work that he's presently doing as our advocate and as our High Priest.
And that's most precious, that he's serving us right now from the glory. And in Luke 12, when we get home, he's going to come forth and he's going to serve us again.
Even in eternity He will serve us, He will minister to us of his own thoughts.
And his own delights. And it will be that for us to feed on for all eternity. So in every position that the Lord has been in down here is a man now in the glory is a man, and in that coming day he'll serve us most precious.
Back to the 21. You have the account of the Hebrew servant? Yes. Please don't say I love my master.
My wife, I told her. I will not go out for you.
We brought to the door.
God and the door.
Would be more through them all, you would serve him forever.
Well, we see Christ here serving. We just went for a moment to 1St Corinthians 15.
1St Corinthians 15 and verse 28.
And when all things shall be subdued under him.
Then shall the Son also himself be subject.
Unto him and put all things under him, that God may be All in all all That lack of one is bringing everything back.
Into that condition in which God can again take pleasure in it, man lost it all. But now Christ is man bringing everything back, so that God can again take pleasure in it. And then he hands all back to God, and he is a he shall serve him forever.
A servant forever, a man in the glory, that he might have us with himself, that we might enjoy him throughout the endless ages of eternity.
May I suggest chapter 5 for a moment?
I.
Just a few little toads.
In the middle of verse 24.
25 rather verse 25 the middle of the verse.
Right also.
Love the Church, the Assembly.
He gave himself for it yesterday.
Now, today.
That he might sanctify it and cleans it with the washing of the water by the Word, the word of God. That's the wake that the Lord Jesus, that precious Savior, is doing in the Gospel of John. The Lord Jesus is the Good Shepherd that gave his life for the ship in Hebrew chapter 13 is the great shepherd of the sheep that is caring for us.
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That's the second work that he's doing.
And so it says here that with the washing of the water by the word, that's what we have in 13 chapter, don't we, Of the gospel of a job. And then the final week when he retains, oh what a wonderful save your behalf 3 fold work that he might sanctify, that he might present it to himself.
A glorious church.
Not having.
What? Nor wrinkles, nor any such a thing, but it should be holy and without length. Wonderful Savior. But I'll tell you about our people of God, the mark of the cross that is suffering, that the Lord Jesus, when they're at the cross, will remain with him for all eternity. In the chapter five of the Book of Revelation, when John developed Apostle, he was looking for the tribal Judah. All of a sudden he saw a lamb as he had been slain.
The mark of the cross is going to remain with him forever.
And he's going to cause us to praise him, to worship him forever.
But we see a very lovely go ahead brother. We see a very lovely illustration of what just has been mentioned before about his garments and now in preparation for his ascension to glory in Genesis 41. Just a minute to look at that verse. Joseph, his work in the dungeon.
Has come to an abrupt end. And the call from Pharaoh and in verse 14 it says that's Genesis 4114. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon, and he shaved himself and changed his raiment and came in unto Pharaoh.
Well, Pharaoh, from that place being a picture of God the Father, and here now the Lord Jesus changed His garments and resurrection light. We're seeing in anticipation in our chapter the changes as garments. And now He is.
Ascending to the Father's presence where he is now in that work.
Foot, foot washing, Who, brethren, is something that we have an opportunity for and A and a privilege to do. And in verse 14 it says, if I then your Lord and master have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. And I think it's it's just important that we go down through the steps that our Lord Jesus took and just view them, because there are several steps that are very important in the washing of feet.
I believe that foot washing is something that is being neglected today, and foot washing is something that does not require gift to do. It is something that the sisters may also do and some sisters are very effective in doing, maybe more so than some of us brothers. But as we look at verse four, he rises from supper in. Some of the comments have already been made about the Lord Jesus getting up from the supper.
I was at had the privilege of being at a dinner.
With some other Christians who were not at the Lord's table. It was a wedding and some of these Christians at my table turned out were were from some high circles of religious opportunity in in Christendom and they were doing a real work for the Lord and and I was listening to what they were saying. Every once in a while I would say that reminds me of a verse in the Bible and finally this brother who was straight across from me, he said, well who are you anyway?
And I said, well, my name is Dan Spence. And he said, I don't mean that. He says, I mean, where are you from? What? What church do you go to? And I said, well, I'm with a group of Christians who meet in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he, he thought for a moment, and he said, brethren, and I said with a small B, if you put a small B on it, it's OK And he said, I know the brethren. He said, what a wonderful group of Christians. I was so delighted to hear that at the table.
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And he said, I was just over in India and I met some of the brethren over there. And he said these brethren, the one thing about the brethren, he said they get up from the Lord's table where they remember the Lord on Sunday morning and they don't go home and go to bed, he said they go out and preach the gospel.
I'm so thankful for this comment. So they kind of exercised my own heart quite a bit. But here he riseth from supper and he did not go home and go to bed. He had a job to do.
And the next step is that he laid aside aside his garments, that is that which surrounded him. And it takes some spiritual energy to lay aside those things that surround us. And as you brought out just to to put on that new garment, to be to make sure that the garments that we are wearing are clean. And he took a towel third step, and girded himself.
That is, there was some preparation on his own part. Before he was going to to wash his disciples feet, he had to have a towel. He had to gird himself.
We we might think of that verse about having our loins girded about with truth. That is our own life has to be in order before we're going to do this. And then verse 5. And he poured water into a basin that is there was a portion of there was a portion of water that he was going to use to.
Cleanse his disciples, feet and brethren, I just say, the more I go along in life, the more I am amazed at how.
This book, the Bible has within it a portion for our needs today we're running into difficult problems. Today when we're talking about washing others feet, we're running into problems defilement that we haven't seen before. But there is a portion of the word of God that is able to cleanse away that defilement. And then we notice that He began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them.
With the Tau wherewithy was girded, I think sometimes people mention the temperature of the water and they mentioned that feet washing is something very gentle, something that should be very delightful in a sense. But we come to this point where the Lord Jesus came down to the level of his disciples feet. And this is something so absolutely amazing to think of the Lord Jesus Christ taking the place of a servant and coming to the point where he would unstrap.
The the the sandal that a person was wearing take off this shoe and come into contact with this defilement and put it in the water and cleanse it. And this is where we have problems, brethren. We have problems coming down to that level. We have problems knowing where the defilement is. We have problems and strapping the shoe. Or sometimes we have problems letting someone do this to us. This is something that should be so delightful.
So so should have such a soothing cleansing effect that we would say I want it to happen again. So the Lord Jesus did that, but he did not leave that that foot drenching wet. He took a towel and he wiped the foot until it was dry and that person could now be normal state again. I just say that these are some steps that our Lord Jesus Christ went through so that we might also carry on this cleansing process with one another.
It has been said that the foot washing is illustrated in the first Epistle to Corinthians, where we find 10 different soilings that were true of that assembly and corn.
So the first chapter is like the foot washing. But then when you come to the second chapter, second epistle, I should say did I say chapter? The first epistle of Corinthians is the foot washing the 2nd epistle. If you read it slowly, you'll find the nice warm towel that the apostle used. And that is an essential part, isn't it? Not only to do the foot washing, but to see that there is comfort with a nice warm child towel to encourage.
I understand that.
The one that was to do this service.
Was a slave.
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And hear the Lord of glory.
Lays aside his garments that he was wearing at supper.
And girds himself and does the service of a slave.
That they might have part with him.
I want to say too that if we just get the idea from John 13 that the foot washing is to remove that which is gross.
Immorality.
All the evils that gross things that you find in First Corinthians, for instance.
I think we're going to miss something.
It's the removing of that which connects us with Earth.
As we walk through this world, we pick up the dust of this world. Our feet get dirty. We pick up its ways. We pick up its speech. We pick up its thinking. We pick up its habits. We pick up its talk.
We pick up its way of doing business. We pick up this religion.
All of these things we have to have our feet in his hands, and we have to have these things which would rob us of fellowship with a glorified Christ. That's the point of the chapter. He's in glory. He's not here.
Take take the issue of religion I've mentioned if you lower, if you listen to the character of the Ministry.
That is given today by the leading Christian teachers in Christendom.
It's on this level that the Church is here as a viable force to correct the ills of society.
That Christians ought to get involved in politics, social reform, correcting the various wrongs that are here. Get rid of abortion. That awful evil, and it is.
Get rid of ***********. That awful evil. And it is. But is that what we're called to? Is that why we're left here? We're left here to represent a heavenly Christ.
Where those that are passing through but not to get involved with this world, we are strangers and pilgrims here.
And we leave the world where it is.
Now what I'm saying now is strange to many an ear.
I hope not to our ears, for we should have heard these things over and over and over again through the years that we are a heavenly people.
And we're not of this world, and we can get so involved in things here, though they may not be grossly evil or immoral at all, just legitimate pursuits of this life, but so involved in them that we're robbed of our heavenly fellowship with the glorified Christ.
And I believe that's involved in the feet washing. We need more than just to have the gross things removed, but we need to have those things removed that would set our sights earthly earthward and to have our sights heavenward. Notice the key verse is.
Verse 8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet.
Jesus answered him. If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
He wants us to have fellowship with himself in the glory as a heavenly Christ.
Well, that's almost lost today in Christendom, and the truth of the rapture is being given up.
Quite rapidly today. How can I hold to the truth of the Rapture when I don't believe that I'm a heavenly man any longer, That I'm an earthly man and that I'm down here to get things right, Corrected down here. That Christianity is just another earthly religion? If that's the truth that is being preached over and over again in various ways that I've lost Christianity.
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Have lost it. I have lost my identification with a glorified Christ.
At last, the truth that I'm a heavenly man. Why are we here then? To correct the world? No. Why are we here? To manifest the character of Christ in a world that has turned him out, doesn't want him. We're privileged of manifesting that same life that was lived out in all its blessed fullness in him. That eternal life that was with the Father and was manifested to us, that was lived out in perfection, in a man now that's been given to us.
And he wants that continued in you and me. But that can only be continued if we're strangers and pilgrims on earth.
And identified with a heavenly man. So he washes our feet that we might have part with him. So it goes beyond the gross defilements of earth. It goes beyond those things. And it involves our not partaking in politics, the political arena, the social arena, the all of that that the world has to we have another world that we belong to.
And that's the world he's entered and soon we're going to be there.
Well, we know how miserably we fail in these things, the speaker.
Especially so I realized this, but still, it's the truth of God and it's what we need to have before our souls. And it involves, as I said earlier, dispensational truth. We're heavenly people and the Lord washes our feet that we might have part with him where in the glory.
Sometimes feel we know these things and we hold them. We value them. We enjoy them as a doctrine. But what effect have they in our practical daily life? Do they affect our practical life day by day? Now, I couldn't take part in the affairs of this country if I wanted to, for I'm not a citizen of this country.
And brethren, our citizenship is in heaven.
And I'd like to read a verse.
2nd Corinthians 5 and verse 20. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ that be reconciled to God, for he has made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
As our brother said, we represent one that has gone to the glory. Our citizenship is in glory.
And we have no part in the affairs of this world other than to pass through it on our way to the glory.
There's a verse in, I don't know whether it's numbers. I'm not sure If somebody could help me out. Children of Israel were going to pass through the land of Edom and they would go by the highway, they would pay for the water, they would pay for whatever they got.
But they would only pass through on their feet and brethren. This should be our attitude as we pass through this season. We go through it on our feet, going on to a heavenly country to be with Christ and glory that is our home and that should reflect in our daily walking ways.
I'll read the verse. It's in numbers 20. Verse 17. Let us pass. I pray thee through thy country. We will not pass through the fields nor through the vineyards. Neither will we drink of the water of the wells. We will go by the King's Hwy. We will not turn to the right hand or to the left until we have passed that borders.
Beautiful verse to set forth the Christian's path through this world, isn't it?
We've been enjoying the love and the loneliness of Christ in this chapter, and I wonder if John brings before us a thought. We've been talking about how the love of Christ should work in our hearts and all of these things, and it's a lovely thought. In the first chapter of John's Gospel, we find God through the Spirit declaring who the Lord is. He's the word of God.
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In the 13th chapter and in some of the other chapters of John's Gospel, indeed perhaps all of them, we find the Lord's showing us who he is.
And then if we go to the 21St chapter which our brother Dan referred to before.
The 25th verse, it says there are also many other things which Jesus did to which if they should be written and so forth. We find now that John has seen who he is and when John sees who the Lord Jesus is, he says there's nothing on this earth that can contain the things that Jesus is. And so we find revealed to John that heavenly scene where those will be gathered around the Lord Jesus in Revelation 5.
And they're going to see him as the slaying Lamb. And he has the privilege of foretelling, of foreseeing, as it were, the worship of the Lord in the sphere that could contain the things which Jesus is. And it brings out our worship and our worship to Him. Certainly the earth could not contain him, but the glory can and does, and that's what draws out John's John's worship in the Revelation.
But we find that John ends his ministry.
Yenza's ministry by saying.
Saying there Even so come Lord Jesus when the first of John's ministry, we find God proclaiming who the Lord Jesus is.
At his first coming. But in the end of John's ministry, we find John having seen who the Lord is with a view of what is to be his and to be ours in that eternal scene.
And now we find whereas in the beginning of John's ministry we find it, the Lords coming proclaimed, Now in the end of John's ministry we find that John is asking for his second return. That's the work of Christ in us, the work of the Spirit in US. Is it not to see His love, to see who he is, to see his loneliness, to give us guidance for the practical walk, and to see there the value of this person?
And as John leaned on his breast in this chapter, we find now he once he desires his return.
There are no instructions.
In the scriptures, for those who are kings in the forest, we're in authority. When Christians fit in those places, they're they're really giving the wrong image of Christianity.
I think that I'm putting something up in the in the kind of a paraphrase way, Darby.
I think we always need to remember that God is able to exalt the basis of persons and whoever is elected is God's man. I don't think it's God's mind at all that we should try to evaluate presidents and those that aren't authority or even act somewhat as cheerleaders for this one or that one. Because I know that the knowingness of our heart is such that if we were able to go to the polls we would probably be conservatives and middle class Republicans.
So foot foot washing brethren, just this too. And it sum up what has been said here. Foot washing is something that is for all those who are believers. It is not we are not to carry this job on with the world, to try to clean up the world because Jesus said later in verse 10 he that is washed or bathed needeth not saved to wash his feet. So what the world needs is salvation. They need it through the preaching of the gospel.
The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. But what other believers need is foot washing and this is something that is carried on within the church. And as our brother Hendrick said, not only does it is it effective in washing away the the grosser defilements, but all defilement and that is the amazing quality of the Word of God and it has a cleansing effect on one another.
Isn't there also an element of our fellowship with the Lord? If we pick up the filament along the way by then that destroys our fellowship with the Lord. And it's also John's ministry in his first epistle where we're told that if we.
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Confess our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and grant us from all unrighteousness. So the foot washing can be that which would.
Realigned us of our fellowship with the Lord or the loss of it, as we wash each others feet, we can encourage one another. And so the Lord in our portion here. Chapter 13. And Peter. When Peter said, Thou shall never wash my feet, Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Now I'm sure we can look at that in two ways. One is that we're not bathed. Why? We have no part with the Lord. That is, we have to be born again. We have to be washed with the water of the Word to be saved.
But then in the sense of the defilement and the washing of the feed, why that can destroy our fellowship with the Lord and have to take care of that defilement. And we can help one another by foot washing and restore that happy communion which is the portion that we should all enjoy. And so in that sense we can help one another. And the foot washing, I believe, is very important, particularly in the day in which we live, where there is so much defilement on every side.
Can hardly escape it. So we have to be kept pure and holy, and we have to help one another. And then we have our full part with the Lord Jesus. We sing number 88.
The Will of God
Address—T. Cedarland
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Like to speak.
This afternoon, with the Lord's help, on the subject of the will of God, the will of God.
Turn first of all to a verse in First Peter.
First Peter, chapter 4.
In verse one. For as much then as Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourself likewise with the same mind. For he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lust of men, but to the will of God. Now turn over please to Romans chapter 12, a well known verse in Romans chapter 12.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, verse one.
By the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable in the God which is your reasonable service, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Well, our brother in his prayer this morning prayed that we might be dead to our own wills and that we might have the Lord's will during our time here in this at this conference. And it made me think of this little subject, the will of God, as I was looking to the Lord as to what to speak about this afternoon.
And I feel, as I stand here, that we know that we're all very, very close to the coming of the Lord Jesus.
But if we're left here a very short time, there are young people, especially in this audience, who are making decisions that are going to affect them for the rest of their lives, decisions that will cause them to either have a happy life, a joyous life, or a life that could be a tragedy, a life of sorrow. So I'd like to speak a little bit with the Lord's help on this little subject of the will of God that is so important that we have the Lord's will in our lives.
We think of the purpose as was mentioned in the reading of the Lord Jesus.
Coming into this world and we know that He came here to glorify the Father and to do His will.
In John's Gospel chapter 6 and verse 38, he says, I came not down from heaven to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. In John four he says to his disciples, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish the work that he gave us me to do. In Hebrews chapter 10 and verse seven, and also in verse 10, he says, lo, I come in the volume of the book, it is written of me, but to do thy will, O God.
We see the Lord Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane as he poured out his cries there with tears, with his sweat, as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And he could say there, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. And so we see that blessed Savior is the perfect example as one who always sought the will of God in his life. And this afternoon there's none of us in this room that will ever in this life measure up to.
The perfection of the Lord Jesus. But what a blessed perfect object that we had to look at and see in the perfection of one who always did that which pleased the Father. And so we can look at that object and strive if it says in forms, mark the perfect man and consider him, and we can seek to have the Lord's will in our lives. It's His desire that each one of us would have His will when He taught his disciples to pray in Matthew 6.
Even before he said, give us this day Our Daily Bread, he said.
Thy will be done first of all and foremost. I wonder when you got up this morning, When I got up this morning.
And when we set our heard prayers, maybe some had spent more time than others. Did we pray first and foremost for the Lord's glory and for his will? Or did we pray for all the things that we wanted down here? Well, I hope as we look at these little examples in Scripture this afternoon that each one of us would be challenged to more and more desire that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The number of months ago I walked into the meeting room for an all day meeting back in the state of Washington. There was a young man that I grew up with.
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There and he and I were best of friends as we grew up together. He was in one assembly and I was in another, and we got together quite a lot. We lived close by, but he spent most of his adult life in prison. And he said to me as I saw him there, sitting in the seat in the meeting room for the first time in many, many years.
He said to me after we were visiting, he said, you know, I used to think about you and he said I used to say what a boring life Tim leads. But he said now I see that your life is the happy one and mine has been a waste. I don't say that to stand here and pretend that I have always sought to do the Lord's will in my life. But I can say this young people this afternoon that in the measure that I thought to please the Lord, he's brought happiness and joy into my life and I desire that for everyone in this this room this afternoon.
It's such a tragedy when we go our own will. Wasted lives. I got a call just a few days ago.
My wife and I and family just got back from a trip and there was a man about 45 on the phone. He'd come to gospel meetings that we had. He professed to know the Lord Jesus as his Savior. His wife also was saved several years ago, and she came out to some of the assembly meetings and she desired that her husband would be a spiritual leader in their home. But he never would come to the regular meetings. And so this man, he called me, He said, you know.
I knew all the time that God wanted me to be the spiritual leader in our home, but I refused to do it and my wife wanted to go on for the Lord and I didn't.
And he said, because I didn't allow the Lord to have His will in my life, now she wants to leave me. He was in tears. She gotten away from the Lord. She's gone out and made a mess out of her life and sinned. It's all because of not having the Lord's will in the light. And so it's so important that we would have the Lord's will. His will is perfect. It's good and acceptable. Satan would have us think that if we have the Lord's will in our life that we're going to miss out on something. But that's the happiest path that there is.
For a Christian, the happiness and being a Christian doesn't come in just receiving Christ, but oh the real joy comes in pleasing Christ and living for him. Often noticed and really been struck with the thought that in the in the New Testament we find the word Savior mentioned 24 times in the New Testament, but we find the word Lord mentioned 522 Times. Lord Lord would give out connotation of letting the Lord have everything.
And having his will in our lives, well, no one knows the product like the manufacturer. The Lord made us. He knows what's best for us. And so that the Lord's will is good and it's perfect and it's acceptable. It's the happy path. I'd like to look at a number of scriptures that would have to do with the will of God in various areas of our life. The first one I'd like to turn to is in second Peter chapter 3.
Second Peter chapter 3 and beginning with verse 9.
The Lord is not flat concerning His promises. Some men count slackness, but His long-suffering to us word.
Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Now, I know this afternoon that this is an address. It's not a gospel meeting.
But the very first step to having the Lord's will in our lives is knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. And so it says here that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. In our reading we read in John 13 about the Lord Jesus when he stooped down and washed the disciples feet. And afterwards he could say ye are clean but not all. And it tells us this. He's fake because Judas who was going to betray him was there.
My brother Dan pointed out that.
It says in verse 10, there are ye are washed by he that is washed need not only but to have his feet washed. There's two different words used there in the Greek. The one word washed means bathe, and the other word means comes from a word that means basin, which means a little cleansing or a little like feet washing. And so and there were those one pictures being washed in the blood of Jesus and the other pictures, the cleansing that we get in our daily life from the pollution of sin. The first one from the penalty of sin. The blood is for atonement. The water is for purification.
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And I wonder this afternoon if everybody in this room has come and had that the forgiveness of sin through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Is there somebody here who, as we look out in this audience, has sat here, as we might say, the Lord has washed our feet and as we've been encouraged, looking at the Word of God in these wonderful Scriptures? And yet you sit here unwashed. You sit here unsaved on the road to an eternal hell. I look out here and I can't see into your hearts. But God looks down and he knows the heart.
And I think of the answer that was given by the disciples.
Judith said, is it I? Is it I? And I ask you to ask that question this afternoon at the beginning of this talk on the will of God. Are you the one who's sitting here that's not saved? Are you the one that doesn't know the Lord? I want to tell you with joy that God is not willing that you perish. God is not willing that any should perish, as it says in this verse, but that all should come to repentance. It's His will that you be saved. He wants you to be saved this afternoon. It's a horrible life to live a life without Christ.
A couple months ago, my wife and I were coming home late from visiting some of the brethren.
In Gig Harbor visiting a family was about 11:00 at night pouring down rain and we turned into the dirt Rd. that leads up to our house and they're at the corner was a lady standing there was pouring down rain so I stopped the car and looked at her and her face was covered with mud. Her clothes were tattered and all muddy and and wet and I recognized her as my neighbor.
She's just about to graduate from college and I opened the door and gave her a ride up to her home.
She came home that night. She'd come home that night and she had spent too much time drinking at the bar and she tried to take a shortcut through the woods to her house.
And there she was, she'd fallen. I don't know how long, how many hours she'd laying there in the mud, but I thought to myself, what a horrible taskmaster Satan is, what a terrible thing when we we do our own will rather than submit to God. You know, I think this afternoon, if there's somebody here that's not saved, we just plead with you right now because God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. There's another side to this too. If it's God's will, that man be saved and those of us that know the Lord Jesus Christ have a responsibility.
And getting out the gospel as well, but encouraged recently looking at Mark chapter 2, we won't turn to it, but there we see some who had compassionate hearts in sympathy without of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus could look at the multitudes and it says he had compassion on the multitude. And those men, those four men, their names are not mentioned. They saw a man who couldn't get any help, a helpless man laying there could not walk.
And so they a man that we might pass by and not even give the time of day. And yet they had compassion on this man, and they picked him up.
They wanted to get him to the Lord Jesus Christ. And we see a little example of reaching out with the gospel. Not only did they have compassion, but they had persistence. They could have come and brought that man on the stretcher and seeing the people standing in the doorway and said, what's the use? There's too many people here. The scribes and the Pharisees were all on the front seats and the sick people couldn't get in the door. They say they could have said we'll have to come back another time, but no faith is persistent. They wanted to get that man to the Lord.
Not only did they have compassion and persistence, but these people were they all worked together. There were four of them and it took all four of them to get that man up on the roof and let him down. And so we see them working in harmony. I know gospel work is an individual work, but it's nice to see Saints working together to bring people to the Lord. It's God's will that people be saved and we should be exercised about doing our part in reaching the lost. Not only did they work together, but they dared to do something different.
I'm sure there were people standing there who said, well, you can't do that, Nobody's ever done that before.
But they didn't let that stop them. They tore up the tiles of the roof and let that man down to the Lord Jesus. And it says when he saw their fate.
Not just the faith of those that brought him, or the faith of the man who was sick, but also the faith of those who brought him until he healed them.
Those men don't have a name in Scripture, but I'd like to give them four names. One is compassionate, one is persistent, one is innovative, one is believing. Those are all different ways things that we need if we're going to reach out to the lost with the gospel, as is the Lords will in our lives. Well, we've seen that it's not God's will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. I'd like to look at another scripture and go a little step farther. Turn with me, please, to.
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First Timothy, chapter 2.
The end of verse 3.
God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
Well, I'd like to look at this in connection with, as we've already had, it's God's will that we be saved, but not that just that we be content to be saved, but also He wants us to come to the knowledge of the truth. He wants us to enter into the whole councils of Scripture and all of those blessings that He has for us. I know that we can never exhaust them in a lifetime study of the Word of God, but God would have us learn the truth of God. He would have all men to be saved.
And come to the knowledge of the truth. I know there's young people here this afternoon.
And you're at a point in your life where you're going to have to make a decision whether or not you're going to walk in the truth. You're going to look around and you're going to meet other Christians, some who seem very happy and joyous in their Christian life, some who seem to have a real knowledge of the Bible, some who just seem to have real life. Maybe look around in the assembly where you're at and you see deadness. Maybe you see dissension problems, lots of things to be discouraged, and you're going to have to make a decision.
What you're going to do, whether you're going to walk in all the truth of God or whether you're going to compromise and take.
A shortcut and take a broader path. In the Old Testament, in First Kings chapter 21, there's a man there. His name is Naboth Naboth. And if we read about Naboth, we read that he had a vineyard and one day King Ahab was looking over the wall and he saw Naboth vineyard and he wanted it.
And he went to Naboth and he asked him to sell it. And Naboth would not sell his vineyard. He said how could I sell the inheritance of my father's? You know, I think of the truth that we have here. We sat through a wonderful reading meeting this morning and we've had the truth of God brought before us, many of us handed to us on a silver platter, godly parents, some of them who it cost them something to have what they have. There's a tendency not to appreciate what we have.
But all the scripture says by the truth and sell it not. Am I willing to settle for nothing less or nothing more than to walk in all the truth of scripture?
I was visiting with a pastor and the town where I live of one of the so-called churches there.
Very dear Christian man, I love him very much. As we were discussing some of the scriptures together afterwards, he said to me, well I guess it comes down to this. He said, I guess your circle of essentials is bigger than my circle of essentials. And we had to say to him, I didn't know there were any non essentials in the Bible. Every word of God is pure. And so I just want to encourage you young people this afternoon not to settle for anything less or anything more than the whole truth of God, God would have.
All men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
Dig into the scriptures, dig it out for yourself. Find out what is. What does it mean?
To meet on the ground of the One Body. What is the truth concerning the One Body and the truth of the Church?
And have dispensationalism and all these things that have been mentioned that are being are being given up today by the truth and sell it not.
You know, when I think about the some of the fundamentals of the truth, I think of that wonderful Scripture in Acts 2 and verse 42, it says they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayers. Their hearts were so taken up with the one who had set his face steadfast to go to Jerusalem for them that they did not want to settle for anything less or anything more than continuing on for the Lord Jesus. They didn't say they just continued for a little while, but they continued steadfastly.
In those four things.
I wonder how those four things are in relation to your life and to mine. Are you sitting this afternoon on A4 legged stool? Or perhaps maybe you're sitting on a three legged stool. Maybe, maybe A2 legged stool. I've even seen A1 legged stool. Takes a lot of effort to sit on A1 legged stool. You know, it's hard when we leave some of these things out of our Christian life, but I wonder if every one of us here are grounded on that 4 legged stool.
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If we're continuing steadfastly in the apostles doctrine, if we know the word of God, if we're learning it, digging out these truths, being there at the meetings where we can learn them, are we continuing in the fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer? You know, that's another thing we can easily say is the will of God, that he would have believers remember him in his death, remember the Lord Jesus. He could say this, do in remembrance of me. I ask you this afternoon, is there any scripture plainer than that?
Is there any any doubt or question in what the Lord Jesus meant when he made that statement?
Recently, several months ago, back home, I was early in the morning still lying in bed. It was about 6:00 and my wife and I were there visiting, talking and all of a sudden I heard a little patter of feet and my 9 year old son came into the room and he said I want to talk to dad. I want to talk to Dad. Well.
I gave Karen one of those looks that maybe she should leave and.
She got up and left.
And he said, Dad, I want to remember the Lord in his death.
About a year before that, we were coming home from meeting and he burst into tears and he said those same words.
And I put him off. And so I said, OK, then I said, I'll mention it to the brethren. Well, a little bit later that day, I thought, well, how's his older brother going to take that? He's 11. He's not at the Lord's table, 11 years old. Maybe he'll resent his younger brother taking that step before him.
That evening, as we were going to bed, Joe comes into the room. He says, Dad, I want to remember the Lord too.
I said fine, why do you want to remember the Lord?
He said because I love him, because I love him. I thought to myself, is there any higher motive than that? He didn't give me any profound deep scriptural answer. He just said because I love him. You know, we, we went to meeting and shared that with the brethren. On the way home there was another young man. After he heard that, he said to his dad, Dad, I want to remember the Lord too. He'd been exercised about it for a long time. So all three of them were announced the following Lord's Day and after aid.
And a little girl sitting there in the back row with her parents burst into tears. And she said, I want to remember the Lord, too.
She was baptized the next week and received at the Lord's table. The oldest of those three is or those four are 11 years old. How old are you this afternoon, dear young person, do you love the Lord Jesus? He said this do in remembrance of me. Well, I just want to encourage you to go on in the truth of God by the truth and sell it not you're at that point where you're going to have to make a decision. Satan is going to do everything possible to get you away from what is.
On the ground of structure, you can get out with a group of believers that are way out in left field and Satan doesn't bother them, he leaves them alone.
But the closer you get to the truth, the harder Satan will attack you. Find a little group of believers that are seeking to go on and hold fast the truth of God.
And Satan will attack that group of believers like he will no other. Well, you want happiness in your life.
If you want joy, don't settle for anything less or anything more than the whole truth of God. Don't compromise the scriptures. I meet Christians, I want to talk about verses that have to do with the gospel. They're all for that or missions or all of those things. But if you mention some of Pauls doctrine, women keeping silent in the assembly head coverings, any of those things, they don't want those truths. They want to take a cow path through the word of God. They just want to encourage you to go on in the truth by the truth.
And sell it not?
Or we've had God's will for salvation. We've looked a little bit about God's will that we come to the knowledge of the truth.
Like to look at another one? It's in connection with another point in our life and that has to do with our work.
For our jobs, turn with me to Ephesians chapter 6.
Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 6.
Maybe verse 5 servants, so be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling in singleness of heart is under Christ, not with eye service as men pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, doing the will of God from the heart.
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This shows me that in our jobs and our occupations we should have the will of God. I know that there's a tendency today to look at people who have lots of material things. Brother mentioned in his prayer this morning that we've been robbed by materialism. And Paul wrote to Timothy in First Timothy chapter 6, and he says, Thou, O man of God, flee these things. He says godliness with.
Contentment is great gain and there's a real tendency among us to look at others and want to have what they have.
And I'm not saying that we shouldn't allow the Lord to use us to the full potential of abilities that He has for us. But the philosophy of the world is to strive and be to the top. Be the best that you can be in this world and get a high paying job and get lots more materialistic gain than the person next to you. And it can be a status thing in the world, and it can even be a status thing in the assembly. But I want to encourage you to seek the Lord's mind in the job that you have.
Some of the young people here I know this afternoon are at a point where, as we said, you're you're making a decision that's going to affect you the rest of your life. And you could get into a job that would take you away from fellowship, a job that might have you working hours and hours and unable to get to the meetings, unable to be encouraged by your brethren.
Maybe you're not a young person, but maybe you want that promotion or something that's going to give you a little more income, but it may be something that is going to rob your soul.
When a promotion comes, does it always come from the Lord?
I don't believe that it necessarily always does well. We should be exercised about having that job that the Lord wants us to have. I know a certain brother.
He he's got a brilliant mind. He could have gone to just about any university in the country.
And yet, as he prayed about what he should do, he decided that he'd be a mailman, a postman, because he felt as he walked along on his route, that he could meditate on the Scriptures, he could read along the way, he could listen to tapes. And so here's this man with a brilliant mind, and yet he spent his time learning the word of God. If I have a question, something I don't know back home, I can get on the phone and call this brother and he usually has an answer. He can help me. He's been a valuable asset to the assembly.
Where he's at, well, some might say, well, what a waste, he's just a postman.
No, I believe He chose the profession that the Lord wanted him to be. Well, may the Lord exercise us about these things, that we might have what He wants and then if we do, we can have that confidence and assurance no matter what happens. That is. Well, I can remember when my wife and I first.
Sought to serve the Lord. Remember getting down on my knees and praying and saying, Lord, whatever you want us to do, if you want me to go to Africa and live in a mud Hut, then that's what I want to do.
If you want me to continue to work this job that you have, that's what I want to do, whatever you want.
That's what we want, but in some way we want to be used to see souls come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, I believe every believer should be full time in the Lord's work, whether they're working in an office or going to school or raising their children. Everyone should be full time in the Lord's work. And then when the tests come and the difficulties come, then there'll be peace because we'll know that we're in the will of God. To be able to lay your head down on the pillow at night and say in some with that contentment, to be able to say I've spent the day.
In some measure, as the Lord would have me spend it godliness with contentment.
His great game. Remember recently my wife and I.
In sometimes in the, in serving the Lord, you don't always have a great abundance. And I can remember seeing some bills that needed to be paid. And I could see that the time for paying those bills was getting closer and closer, but it just seemed like the Lord wasn't sending the money. And so as the time came, we prayed more and more earnestly, and finally the day came to pay those bills.
And there was number money to pay the bills. I discovered something about the Lord, and that is that he's never late.
But he sold them early and we.
Were really exercised about it. I did something that I've often done before.
Took the money and wrote out the checks to pay the bills. Put them in envelopes, put stamps on them.
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Went down to the post office to mail them. Usually in a case like that I just open up the box.
And there's the money that is needed to pay those bills. Well, I went down to the post office, opened up the box, the money wasn't there.
I went home and told Karen. I said something's wrong. I said we need to pray. I said it seems like the Lord has let us down.
And she said, no, look, the Lord called us to this. See how faithful he's been in the past. There's no mistakes with God.
We got down on her knees and prayed about it. Got up from my knees, Karen says to me, dear, why don't you check the balance in the checkbook?
Well, I called the bank and got the balance, got the checks that hadn't come back and checked it out.
Found out that we've made a mistake. Our balance was off and the money was there all the time. Well, there was that peace and that assurance to know that we were in the will of God by His grace and that it was well. No matter how things looked outwardly, if we're in the will of God, we can know that we can trust the Lord. Well, I'm not here to just use a lot of personal illustrations, but I just hope that in some way these will be an encouragement to you to want the will of God for your life.
Well, I'd like to look at another subject in connection with the will of God. We've had salvation, we've had walking in the truth. We've looked at our occupation, having the Lord's will in that. And the next one I'd like to look at has to do with marriage. Probably not a greater decision that you make in your life other than receiving the Lord, then who that person is that you marry. But first of all, let's look at a scripture in First Corinthians or Second Corinthians.
Excuse me, First Corinthians chapter 6.
First Corinthians chapter 6 and verse.
Sorry, I think it's the second Corinthians chapter 6.
14.
Was right the first time. Second Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 14. Be not unequally yoked together.
With unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness With unrighteousness, And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? And what part hath he that believeth With an infidel?
So first and foremost, we can see that it's never the will of God for a believer to marry an unbeliever.
If there's somebody in this room who is dating somebody who's not a Christian, I would tell you to break it off. Break it off. You can never be wiser than the word of God. And here we see that that warning be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. It's a serious thing to see somebody who goes out and marries an unbeliever. It's better to be single than to wish you were. So it's possible that a person may marry.
In the Lord a believer, but not necessarily marry of the Lord. I think in Amos 33 we have that scripture. Can two walk together?
Except they'd be agreed. Remember when the servant in Genesis 24 went to seek a bride for his?
For Isaac he got down on his knees and he prayed these words. He said, Let her be the one that thou has chosen, let her be the one that thou has chosen. What a contrast from Sampson who said, get her for me, for she pleaseth me well.
It's I was at a wedding sometime back down in California, standing next to the bridegroom, and the judge came up and he said to the young man who had just gotten married. He said to him, to him, where did you ever find such a beautiful wife?
As Cindy and without a moment's hesitation, that young man made this reply. He said on my knees. On my knees. Well, I just would encourage you young brothers and young sisters here.
To look for a wife on your knees, don't look like Samson did on the outward appearance and say get her for me before she pleases me well, but let her be the one that God has chosen. Have the will of God in your life.
I can remember when my wife and I first began to visit together.
She grew up in an assembly South of where we live, not very far away, but we never talked.
One day I was on a pair of crutches and sprained my ankle and sometimes I like to tease her and say, well, I couldn't get away.
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And she came up and talked to me on the steps of the old Seattle meeting room.
And afterwards I remember that she just spoke about the things of the Lord, remember going away saying I've never met anybody who I could enjoy.
Speaking about the things of the Lord with like I could with Karen, I was refreshed. She gave me a drink of water. And, you know, our conversations went on like that every time we met. And it was sometime later, even after I'd already asked her to marry me, that one day I was thinking, you know, she's a really a beautiful girl, too. Lord, you've really given me a beautiful wife. But it wasn't the outward that attracted, but it was the inward. Remember Amos 33, Can two walk together?
Except they be agreed. May the Lord help us to have his will and the person that we marry.
In connection with this, before we get off the subject, I'd like to look at another verse in First Thessalonians 413.
That has to do with the will of God.
In connection with.
The marriage subject.
1St Thessalonians 4.
13.
Excuse me 4 verse 3.
It says, for this let's This is the will of God. Here it is again, for this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication.
That everyone of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor.
Well here we see that it's the will of God to abstain from fornication, something that is thrown out by the world today. Something is looked at as old fashioned, but yet I believe it's the path of happiness and joy in the Christian life. I was speaking to a group of young people some time ago and there was a couple sitting in the back who had fallen into moral sin before they were married. And in our conversation I was speaking on that scripture. Flee fornication.
To these young people, and afterwards I mentioned to this young brother and sister, I said, isn't it wonderful?
That in spite of our mistakes, the Lord can come in and bring blessing.
He said to me, yes, he said, that's true, but it's never as good as it could have been, never as good as it could have been. We can never be wiser than the word of God. We read that verse in Romans chapter 12. Present your body as a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable in the garden, which is your reasonable service. In my Bible, I have that word wholly underlying. You know, it's not just young people that have problems with these moral questions, moral problems.
Sad to say it comes into the older ones.
And travel around a little bit and find out that it's not just young people that have these difficulties. David was about 50 years old, as far as I can tell. And looking at that in the scriptures, when he looked over the roof of the palace, off the roof of the palace, and he saw Bathsheba and he coveted her and he took her and committed murder. I was talking to an older brother once, way up in his 70s, white hair. He said, you know, it never gets easier as time goes on.
Well, here's the will of God for our life to abstain from fornication. And I just want to encourage the young people, keep yourselves holy. The Word of God says it's good for a man not to touch a woman, to set standards in your relationship with other young people. And even if there's somebody here that's engaged right up until the very end, Satan is going to try to attack you in this area. But we have this scripture here that it's the will of God to abstain.
From fornication. Well, marriage can be, as someone has said, like heaven on earth.
Where it can be a tremendous tragedy. And so we just want to encourage you to seek the will of God.
In your marriage relationship, Well, another thing in connection with the will of God that I think of this afternoon is the assembly.
The assembly Maybe we could turn over to a verse in Mark's Gospel, chapter 10.
Mark chapter 10 and verse 45.
Says for even the Son of Man.
Not to be ministered undo, but to minister.
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And to give his life a ransom for many.
I'll explain why I read this verse in a moment.
But I just want to say that I believe it's important to have the will of God in the assembly where we're at. It's easy to maybe.
Look at the meeting where we're at and say, well, I wish that I was in a different meeting. I wish there were more young people here.
I wish the older brethren weren't so narrow. I wish there wasn't such legality.
Or whatever.
We can be discontent with the place that the Lord has put us.
My lifetime I've been in four assemblies and two of them have been very happy experiences and two of them I would go to the brothers meetings and leave. Sick at heart seemed like a chaos and disorder and I'd leave and say I'm never going back to another brother's meeting. But I thank the Lord for those experiences because the Lord taught me things then that had been a help and valuable to me even now. And so it's easy to wish that we were in a different meeting.
Or in different circumstances.
But you know, the Lord has a purpose for where we're at. He's placed us in the assembly where we're at, not to just have our needs met, not to be catered to. This first says, For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. I have the privilege of speaking to a lot of different Christians from different places. You know, they always want to tell me about their church. And most of all what they want to tell me is what they get out of it. They go to church. Some of them, most Christians that I've met go where they go for what they can get out of it. They say there's a great.
Preacher, they're very dynamic. He builds me up, he lifts me up. I go away feeling good. There's a super, there's a great choir, a wonderful orchestra which I like to play in. So that's why I go to this church or that church. But that's not the reason that we go to meeting. We don't go to have our needs met, but we we go to give rather than to get and we'll always come away with more than what we came with. Well, the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister the Lord Jesus could say.
That Paul spoke in Acts 20, it's more blessed to give.
Than to receive, when you look around the meeting where you're at, do you say, how can I be a help? How can I be an encouragement? Maybe we sit through the gospel meetings and say, boy, that was a boring gospel meeting. Well, did you go to prayer for the gospel? Did you pray about the meeting ahead of time?
Maybe we.
See some older brethren that we think are a little bit narrow and have some funny ideas. Do we ever pray for those older brethren? Do we seek to encourage them? Maybe we'll find out when we visit them that they're not as narrow as we think that they might be. Well.
We don't go to the assembly just to get, but we come to give. And so we should ask ourselves, how can I be a help in the assembly where I'm at? We could look at a number of other things in connection with the will of God. We could maybe look at what town we live in and.
Maybe the Lord would want us to move somewhere and see another assembly established. Or maybe he wants us to live where we're at. We could look at our neighborhoods. Maybe the Lord wants me to live in a neighborhood where I can be reach out to others.
One Christian said to somebody, he said, you know, we just moved into a neighborhood and we found the people next to us on both sides and across the street are Christians. And somebody said, well, how unfortunate could you ever thank the Lord? Might want you to be in a place where you could reach out and be a light and be a testimony.
Well, these things exercise my own heart. It's so important that we have the will of God.
In our lives, there's nothing happier than to be walking in the will of God. Doesn't mean that there won't be problems. There won't be difficulties. Jonah in the Old Testament, he got into a storm because of his disobedience to God. But the disciples in the New Testament, in mark four, got into a storm because of their obedience to the Lord. The Lord Jesus could say, let us go over to the other side and they obeyed him. They were in his perfect will, and he led him right through a storm.
And but in that storm, they learned more of the person of the Lord Jesus.
I'm sure if we were to go up to Matthew or to Peter and James and John after that storm a day or two later and say we heard about that storm you went through, must have been a terrible experience. I'm sure they would have said something like this. We wouldn't have missed it for anything. It was wonderful. It was wonderful.
John 13:10-17
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John 13.
Starting at verse 10 Jesus says to him he that is washed needeth not saved to wash his feet, but it's clean every week and you are clean but not all.
For he knew who should betray him, Therefore said he, Ye are not all see so after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was sat down again.
He said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me master and Lord?
And you say, well, for so I am. If I thank your Lord and master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one anothers feet. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that is sent, greater than he that sent him.
If you know these things, happy are ye If ye do them, I speak not of you all I know whom I have chosen, but that the Scripture may be fulfilled. He that he has bred with me hath lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before it come, that when this come to pass, ye may believe that I am he verily.
Verily I say unto you.
He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Then the disciples looked one or another, doubting of who we speak. Now there was leaning on Jesus bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter, therefore beckoned to him.
That he should ask who it should be, of whom he spake. He then lying on Jesus breast, said unto him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, He, It is to whom I shall give us off, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the saw, he gave it to Judas Ascari, the son of Simon.
And after the Saw, Satan entered into him.
Then said Jesus unto him, Wrath, thou dost do quickly.
Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him by those things we have need of against the peace, or that he should give something to the poor.
He then have received the thought when immediately out and it was night.
We could stop there.
On my tough day, I believe verse 10 really refers back to the consecration of the priest in the Old Testament. They were on the day of their consecration, they were brought to the door of the Tabernacle.
And were washed all over or bathed all over.
After that, that was never repeated, but after that each time they approached the altar.
Are we going to a Tabernacle? They have to wash their hands and their feet at the labor. Know how much we need then to be clean as we approach. Our Blessed Lord and Savior way is made open, going to the holiest of all by the precious blood of Christ. But we need to be cleansed.
A daily cleansing as we.
Shall we say?
To approach him.
To go on in communion with himself. Nothing can cause us to lose our salvation.
That washing all over is never repeated. When we know Him as savior, we're safe for all eternity. But the least little thing can break that communion. So how much we need that Washington?
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Brother Judge, why don't we have the hands washed here?
Hugh Thomas, brother. No, no, I've had a question.
Senator, you call it.
Well, the thought I had is that the hands speak of the work that we do, And in the Gospel of John, the Lord on the cross cried out. It is finished, the work is done, There's no more work to be done. It's all accomplished. And so all that is needed now is the washing of the feet, because it's our feet that pick up the defilement of the way as we walk through this world. But the work is done, so there's no washing of the hands.
It seems that we should have.
A word on verse 7.
I believe that verse seven has a significance that we don't want to miss. I don't think anything was said about it this morning.
So could we have a little ministry on the meaning of verse seven? It says what I do, thou knowest not now.
But thou shalt know hereafter.
That we have some remarks on that. I know there are people that read this chapter and they say that we should have feet washing, we should get together.
Once a month and wash one another's feet. Well, some people do that, and they always remark that they wash their feet before they go to those meetings, lest their brethren find their feet dirty. So the point is not for the actual washing of feet. And I think we see that in verse seven, don't we, That there's a spiritual significance here because.
Peter certainly knew that his feet were being washed, but the Lord Jesus said now, Peter, what I'm doing.
You don't really know now. Didn't he know his feet were being washed? Yes.
I believe the point is that there's a spiritual lesson to be learned, rather than just an example of how to wash one another's feet.
Physically. Now is that so?
Maybe more, innocent, less. But often we see dear ones going through trial, and they just don't know why. And I think of this verse, what I do thou knowest not. Thou may not be clear to us the way the Lord is leading us. It may be a rough way, but I like to go back to Deuteronomy 8.
Deuteronomy verse 2.
And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God LED thee these 40 years in the wilderness, to humbly, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether I would keep His commandments or no.
And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with mana, which found you as not. Neither did thy fathers know that he might make thee know that man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord thus manless.
Well, we may not know why the Lord is passing us through certain circumstances, but it might be well be to draw us closer to himself that we might learn more of Him, His wondrous love and grace and care over us as we go along the way. But I believe when we reach the glory, we'll be able to look back and see all the way the Lord has LED us.
No, a burst of praise as we see the wisdom and love.
That have been shown to us that we didn't realize. Now I believe every fresh sight will call forth a further burst of praise and Thanksgiving for all the way that he has let us.
That's a beautiful application of the verse that we can apply when we go through trials. I know a number of times that verse has been sent to me.
But the meaning of the verse in its context.
The Lord is saying to Peter what I do. You don't know. You don't understand the significance of what I'm doing to you right now. And the now was before the Spirit of God was given, before Christ entered the glory, before Christianity began. They did not understand the significance of the feet washing. But thou shalt know hereafter and the next chapter, the Spirit of God is given.
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And then they're brought into, typically anyway or figuratively, the communion that the Spirit of God gives us. And all these chapters are teaching 13141516 are teaching truth that applies today, Christ in glory.
So he's washing our feet right now by the water of the word our brother Peripato brought before us in Ephesians 5 the washing of water by the word. He's doing that right now from on high on the glory. It wasn't just a literal removing of earthly contamination, but that was figurative of a spiritual truth, Ron, that you're getting out, of course, And and that is that we need to have those things of earth.
Things that would tie us down here, things that would cause us to think and act just as mere men after the flesh. We need to have that. The washing of the Word and to be brought into the conscious sense of it. I need that every day, every one of us needs that every day to be reminded. I belong to heaven, I belong to another world where Christ is in glory and so he washes our feet.
To remove those earthly attachments. Call it what you will defilements, things that tie me down here. Gravity has such a strong pull. It always pulls down, doesn't it? It pulls us down, down, down. But we need the power of the Spirit of God to lift this up into that which is our real portion in fellowship with a glorified Christ. Philippians 3 answers practically to what we have here.
He was beholding in 2nd Corinthians 3 verse 18, beholding the glory of the Lord were changed into the same image by the Spirit of the Lord. So it's and it's the water of the word Christ in glory washing our feet that we might have part with him there. It's doing that right now, isn't he? Through the word.
I think we could say that.
The Lord Jesus gave these intimations of what was going to happen after and so on we read in Ephesians chapter three. We find that the mystery that was locked in the heart of God from the past eternity was made known personally from Christ to the to the Apostle Paul. But then it goes on to say.
And.
Have now and is now revealed.
Unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
And then in our book.
It chapter 14 of John and verse 26.
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you, so that.
Paul received directly from Christ the mystery of the Church and the heavenly calling, and so on. But then the Holy Spirit revealed these things that had been given to him, speaking reverently, and he taught those the apostles. And so how. Now in His word we have the all those secrets, the reason that lay behind some of these statements, and I believe that.
Now we have the full revelation via the Holy Spirit through the Apostles, and now we have their teachings. And now we can fully understand what the Lord meant when he said He shall know it later on.
As a verse we could add to that in chapter 16, verse 12 he says, I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them. Now in chapter 14 he says that he would bring all things that he had said to them to their remembrance. But in chapter 16 he says there are things that they couldn't bear. Then that they would be would be brought to them when the spirit of God came, my brother said to me between meetings a very.
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I thought it was an excellent statement, he said. The ministry of the Lord John 13 through 17 or 16.
Is preparatory to Paul's ministry.
That's very good statement preparatory to Paul's ministry. Paul's ministry is the full development of these things, which are in embryo here unfolded to us. I'd like to say this too, that we here in evangelical circles of new developments and new revelations, but.
Brethren, I don't believe that anything new was revealed after the apostles passed off the scene and after they had committed to paper the revealed word of God. There is nothing new since that time, nor till the rapture. And these thoughts that well, the Lord appeared to me and He revealed this.
Something new as Mr. Darby?
Said, if it's new, it's not true, and if it's true, it's not new. We have the full revelation of truth in our hands. All truth is here, and the Spirit of God is here to teach us what these things mean. As we walk in what we already know, so we will learn more of that truth.
At the point in time when the Lord spoke these words, there was still further revelation to be given. There was still that which was future and would be given through the medium of the apostles. But the Apostle Paul clearly tells us, as you've just told us, that he was given to complete the word of God. And the completion of all that God was to reveal to man was the revelation of the mystery Christ in the assembly.
And once that was given the full range of, it's like, it's like a pie chart if you're an engineering, a pie chart, but there's a little section of the pie chart missing. And then Paul comes in with the truth of the mystery, and he puts that in there. And now the pie is complete. All that God is going to reveal to man has been revealed. So this, this, this thought, this notion, fresh revelation, this absolute fallacy, isn't it? Word of God is complete today.
Some might ask, well, isn't the apostle apostle John in the Revelation go beyond?
All well, I believe, is that John fills in some of the details of the broad scope that has been revealed through the Apostle Paul. He fills in some details, but there isn't.
In Colossians, Paul said that he was raised up to fulfill or to complete the word of God. Nothing more to be revealed that is not in our hands.
Thing the.
Disciples passed after the resurrection they didn't have before. Maybe somebody could comment on them. John 20 we read. He breathed on them and said, Receive ye the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost.
Well, God breathed in the man's nostrils, the breath of life. Man became a living soul, so there it would appear to me he imparted.
In that sense divine life, resurrection life, and then in Luke 24 then opened he their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures.
In Acts One, he tells them that ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you. There are those three things I've noticed. Maybe somebody could comment on them. In regard to what Brother Barry said about the completion, you have that in Colossians.
Chapter One.
In verse 25, whereof I made a minister according to the dispensation of God, which has given to me for you to fulfill or fully to preach or complete the word of God.
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There we have scripture for saying that the Word of God is complete.
Fulfill is the thought of give the fullness of there was a part of the revelation that God was to give to man that had not been given, and it was given to fall, to give that missing part, to fill it up, to complete it. And that's the thought there and to fulfill it, fill it full.
Nothing more now to be revealed.
All said to Timothy in First Epistle, in chapter one and verse 3, see that they teach no other doctrine. It sounds awfully narrow and absolute, but if we're going to grow in our souls, we must have realized that you cannot bend the word of God, you must draw it in a straight line.
As he said further on to Timothy a Workman that needeth not to be ashamed.
Drawing in a straight line the word truth.
As to your question, brother Ron, I just noticing the discourse that now takes place between Peter and the Lord. In other words, the Lord is going to deepen his understanding of this truth. Obviously Peter didn't grasp it because he said in verse 8, thou shalt never wash my feet. There was something revolting to Peter about this. There was something that he didn't want to get involved and something maybe about having your feet uncovered or.
Has someone seeing the dirt on your feet or?
Maybe he thought that he should be down there. What is the Lord doing down there on the floor washing my feet? There was something that bothered Peter about this. And so he said, Lord, you are never going to wash my feet. And the Lord says, if in verse 8, if I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. And I think someone just mentioned this this morning the need of this cleansing that we've been talking about as far as communion with Christ goes and and brethren, if we're not willing to go through this cleansing process.
Then we can't have any part with him. One of the marks of a real true believer is that he will allow the cleansing effect of the word of God. He'll sit in a meeting like this and say that means me, There's some things in my life that need to go. There's some things that have been hindering communion. I've been out of communion with my Lord, and that's a mark of being a true believer. So the Lord says you can't have any part with me unless you allow this. And so we see then a an overreaction on the part of Peter.
Peter says, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. He's saying, if that's what it means, then I'm willing to go all. I mean let my whole body go into this basin and be cleaned because I need, I need that. I want that part with thee. And I I I know, brother, there's some, there's some fleshly enthusiasm involved here. And yet we see with Peter a real love for the Lord Jesus Christ.
He wants that part with him. He wants him. He wants communion. He wants to be a part of him. And so he says, just dip the dip, my whole body in this basin. And the Lord then begins to reveal a little deeper and, and this is just interesting how the Lord takes care of Peter. He doesn't say. Now, Peter, this is a very ignorant statement that you've just made. He doesn't put him down, but he keeps revealing truth. They get a little deeper into it. And so he says.
The Lord says he that is, I think as Tim mentioned, bathe needeth not saved to wash his feet. So here here we have the wonderful truth of eternal security. He's saying, Peter, if you've had a bath, if you have been cleansed and you have been washed, then you don't need to be washed all over again. All you need is a little cleansing from the defilement that you picked up in your pathway. And then he goes on and says.
But is clean every whit. And ye are clean, but not all. In other words, now he's going, He's revealing that there's someone among them who is not bathed. He hasn't had this bat. He has not had his sins forgiven. So we just we just see that the Lord just takes these opportunities to teach constantly. Teach his disciples, not put them down for an ignorant statement, not not close off the this, this.
00:25:09
Communion that's going on between them, but to use it to teach them, and I think that now Peter is getting a little, getting his eyes opened a little bit, at least maybe he'll be able to look back and say this is what the Lord really meant.
Don't you think rather Dan, that the Lord Jesus is showing himself?
In his words to Peter.
He's showing himself a very skillful Workman, doing the very thing and showing us the proper mechanism for doing this in the future. So he and himself, though he's washing their feet with water, yet with the precious word of truth, he is actually dealing with Peter's soul in the process and giving us an example too, to teach us. Is it not so?
After the resurrection, we find the Lord joining too as they walk to a mass.
And.
He expounds under them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Would you say that he washed their feet?
I think so. I love it, Yeah.
What an example it is for us.
Yes, he rebuked, and he said, old fools and slow of heart to believe all the prophecies spoken, but then he simply as a wayfaring man.
Ministered Christ to their soul.
Well, I think that's what we need. Just a warm heart. Not tell them they're wrong. They may well be wrong. They are wrong if they're getting away from the Lord, but we need to warm their hearts. They rose up the same hour and returned to Jerusalem, where the divine center was at that time.
Oh, so many are growing cold. May we have wisdom to know how to minister to them.
2 little words that may help us in understanding this passage in the and with me that the Lord had said, Thou hast no part in me that would have meant that he wasn't one of the Lords. In other words, in every believer in this audience today who knows the Lord a Savior, we're in Christ. And then there's this word that is used now with me.
Now that has to do with our daily walk and our communion. And this is what the Lord was trying to at least was was saying to them with me. But don't wash you. You're not going to be in that clean state of soul to understand to receive what I am saying to you or what you're going to hear later. So the with me has to do with us as a as believers in me would be.
For salvation.
When we look at a verse 2 verses in first John 4.
I I want to read 2 verses in First John chapter 4, which I think are very important in this connection with what we're looking at, verse 9.
And this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him.
The first necessity that we have is to have light. We are dead in our sins. We need light. We need to be born again. We need to be born of the water of the Word. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. And we're born of the water and of the spirit. John 3 That's what the bathing is that he's referring to in our chapter. It has nothing to do with the blood.
Now the bathing is symbolical of the new birth when we're born again. So when Peter says not my feet but my hands in my head, the Lord says he that is bathed only needs to wash his feet with the labor. Now that we need repeatedly, we need to go back and have our feet washed. That's the water of the word. Both of those are water, though have nothing to do with the blood there the first washing the bathing.
Which was the consecration of the priests, speak of the new birth, were brought into the family of God.
It's not necessary to be born again and again and again and again. We're only going to be born again once. So once that bathing is taking place where children of God we have life. That's first John 49 verse 10. We have the blood. Hearing is love. Not what that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Again the blood is only applied once to the soul.
00:30:29
There is the thought that when we fail, we have to have fresh recourse to the blood. That's a that's a false thought. It's really dishonoring to the eternal efficacy of the blood of Christ. That's not intended, but that's really what it amounts to. So there's a sense in which the washing by the water.
The bathing is only once. That's the new bird. And when we're sprinkled by the blood, that's only once we come under the value of the work of Christ.
We need these two things. We need life communicated by the new birth, and we need the propitiatory work of Christ by His blood applied to us. But that's only once. What we need reapplied over and over again, that we might have part with him, not in Him, but with him, as you just explained, is to have our feet washed. And the laborers. What answers to that?
And the priests, they wash their hands and their feet in the Old Testament because the work was not done, it was still future. But now the work is done, so the hands are not washed, just the feet. Because we do pick up defilement as we walk through this world. Well, I thought that would be important to explain because there's confusion as to sometimes. I've heard the blood brought into this chapter and it really isn't in this chapter. It's the water all the way through, isn't it?
I've enjoyed a thought and connection.
With the Day of Atonement.
And that is that area the high priest. On that day all the sins of the people for all the for the past year were all confessed. And in went Aaron into the holiest of all, not without blood. And there he presented the blood on behalf of those sins, and the people would be waiting expectantly.
For him to come out, it didn't come out. They would know that they hadn't been accepted, but on his appearance.
On his appearance they had the assurance that their sins were gone for the year now. It's beautiful to connect this, I believe, with the present.
The present were in the Lord Jesus has gone into heaven, that blood has been shed and he's gone into heaven, but he has never come out. So how do we know that we are accepted?
He hasn't come out yet. Well, we have had here in our chapter He has sent the Holy Spirit, and that Holy Spirit has come from the Father and from Him, and has come Himself, and has assured us now that we are accepted in the Beloved.
Brother Perry and Justin, what you just said. Chapter 14, verse 18. The Lord says I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you. Now that's true now by the spirit, isn't it?
So that's just what you just said. He has actually come to us by the Spirit to fulfill that verse, yes, just as if he had come back.
We have.
After 16 of Matthew.
Other illustration of.
That's Ron's first question there beginning. I've enjoyed that as very instructive. In the 16th chapter of Matthew we have where Peter was.
In Christ.
It says in verse.
14 there and they said.
Some other Jeremiah's, or one of the prophets. And he said, that with them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto thee, but my Father, which is in heaven.
00:35:07
And then the 18th verse. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. That was not Peter, but there Peter was only the stone. But upon this rock that is his confession will I build my church, And the gates of hell shall not reveal against it. Now here we find that Peter is in Christ. And now look.
4 verses on verse 21 The Lord Jesus tells his disciples that he must.
Suffer and be killed, and be raised again the 3rd day. And then then set Peter unto him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from the Lord, this shall not be unto thee. But he turned and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan, Thou art an offense unto me, that thou savor is not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Well, how far?
A believer can go even as Peter here, trying to be a mock piece of Satan. It was human good advice, but not of God.
Well, Peter was with him, but that was not of him, not of Christ. Then in the 18th chapter, Mount of Transfiguration.
Who is it there that makes a big blunder again? It was Peter. He wasn't with him in that and that he says let us build 3 Tabernacles, 3 tabernacles. So he made a big mistake there.
Then in the 18th chapter, and this has always been very comforting to my heart. After that wonderful scripture there in verse 20, verse 21, it says, Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me? And I forgive him? Till seven times Jesus said unto him, I say not unto thee until seven times, but until 70 * 7. In other words, there is no end to that.
Well, Peter wonders how far can grace go? Or that forgiveness.
Well, we may be in Christ, but how often are we not with Him? How often are we not like Peter? And Peter raises the question himself, and we get that wonderful answer from the Lord an infinite time. I think that's what it means, 70 * 7 and Peter, I believe, took that to heart.
You got that answer from the Lord and we do get the same answer. We can come back to him daily, hourly.
For failure, having not been with him.
We are in him, but with him all how often we fail. But it hasn't reached 70 * 7 yet and goes beyond where the Lord would say, well, no, no more now.
It's a comfort, isn't it?
And that coming to the Lord being restored, do we go to sleep at night without healing in our hearts, having owned to the Lord the day?
Whether.
Good or bad, we confess to the Lord, and we find him the same toward us and the feet. Washing is therefore to a daily thing, an hourly thing, perhaps, often.
We see John the.
God the Lord doing that very same thing.
Himself from on high.
Just take a moment. Israel's history from Solomon on the time when Judah was carried away for not having kept their Sabbath of years. Every seven years the land was to rest and they were told to keep that. Well, they didn't. How many of those Sabbaths did they miss? They missed 70 of them.
For at least 7 * 70 is 490 and you find in time that it was from Solomon right on to the days of Daniel 490 years when they were the Lord said, I'm going to take you away now for those 70 years that you didn't keep those Sabbath and they were carried captive in that day of captivity God revealed to to Daniel.
00:40:11
The sweep right on into the future. And how far is that? Another 490 years of God's care for Israel. And that 490 years took them from Daniel's days right into Christ, the coming of God's Messiah. So God in His grace and His mercy. 490 years He bore with them, and He did until the coming of the Savior.
Takes you right through the establishment of the Kingdom, doesn't it? Right on faster.
70 weeks, yeah.
Time is filling up my favorite.
We've seen 234.
Come With Me to a Foot Washing
Address—T. Priestap
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Courage to see the subject, And my heart was warmed as we read in John 13. And we looked at the washing of water by the word of our feet. And I would like to, if I could, this afternoon, invite you to come with me to a foot washing.
I hesitate to say that I would like to be the one to wash your feet because.
I feel that it would be perhaps something that I would not be worthy to do.
But I believe that we have in our hands this afternoon the water. We have the word of God.
And I would hope that your heart would be prepared to have your feet washed this afternoon along with me as we open the word of God together, and then, as we would perhaps have a little few minutes at the end to take a warm towel, as it was mentioned this morning, and to be encouraged.
And so I feel there is a real need. I have a burden on my heart this afternoon, dear brethren, not only for those who are young here, but for those of us who might be middle-aged, and for those that might be perhaps a little bit older. And I would hope that you would not be like Peter this afternoon and feel that you would not like to have your feet washed, because the Lord Jesus wants to wash each one of our feet this afternoon.
I will try to be gentle as I apply the water of the word, but I would ask you to remember that it is his precious word, his water, not mine.
You know, as I thought about this, I remember some words that Albert Ajos said many years ago. He said that the desire of the Lord for each Christian is to have a happy pathway, an abundant entrance, and a full reward. Our life has purpose as believers. If you would just turn with me first of all to the 15th chapter of John's Gospel, I'd like to look at one verse there having to do.
With God's Purpose for Your Life, John, Chapter 15.
And verse 8 says, Herein Is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples. The purpose of your being here and my being here is that we might glorify the Father by bearing fruit here in this world. Ephesians 110 tells us that it is the purpose of God.
That in the dispensation of the fullness of time.
That he might gather together in one all things in Christ. And so God the Father has a purpose, and that object, that purpose is his beloved Son. And if I could just put it this way, if we could take these two verses together, it is that God would like to replicate.
His beloved Son, in your life and mine here in this world, that is what fruit is all about. You know we are here to bear fruit for the Lord Jesus Christ, but there are hindrances that come in along the way.
You know, if I could just kneel down now by your feet and take a look at your your feet. I have to take your your shoes off and your socks because I have to inspect exactly what the need is. And if you have been out where there is a lot of dust and dirt as I look at your foot, I'd have to say, well, there is a lot of dirt on that foot. There is a lot that's going to have to come off, and it might even be a little bit painful.
If it hasn't come off for a long time, some of those things were mentioned this morning here in our meeting.
That there are sins of the flesh. There are things that are obvious, things that you could even see from a distance. Perhaps it talks about how some sins go before. That is, they're very obvious to people around. We're living in a day, brethren, when there are defilements that never came into the assembly before. We're living in a day when there is alcohol abuse. We're living in a day when there is drug abuse.
We're living in a day when there is sexual abuse, where there is homosexuality and all of these things. Are these things only outside of the assembly. I wish I could say that that were true, but I've had visits with too many young people that have told me otherwise. These are things that we might say are very obvious, the sins of the flesh.
00:05:20
Alcohol.
Drugs.
Had a young man that.
We were together in northern Michigan last December.
Put a question in the question box and said that he felt that he had absolutely no control over alcohol in his life.
There are some very difficult and serious problems.
And we need to take the word of God and apply it to those very, very serious situations and be aware that we're living in a world with much defilement. A brother commented to me just before this meeting that he hates to see his daughter walk out the door of his home because he knows what the world is like out there. There is defilement on every hand. It has come into the home. It is upon the street corner. It is in the drugstore where you.
Walk in. You almost cannot avoid the defilement that you run into.
But you know, if I could go down now to another little layer on your feet and mine, There are what are called, I heard, a believer, someone who had lived a life of the flesh and had been saved and come out of the very definite sin. And she made the comment that since she had become a Christian, she was now more aware of Christian sins. Christian sins What? What do we mean by that?
Those are some things we might cover up a little bit.
Maybe a little bit of gossip where we kind of allude to this is so that we might be able to pray intelligently.
About the person. Or we might have a little bit of pride that we look down upon people who look down on people.
Or we are very smug and feel that we have everything and we look down on other believers.
Or any type of pride would just do just fine for that kind of a sin. And that kind of hurts if we really want to be honest with ourselves and open the word of God and see that in my own heart that I have a a lot of pride. But you know, there is something that goes down even another layer. It gets down a little bit closer to the skin, and that is the sins of omission. You know, as believers, we have a purpose here in this world.
And we're living in a day, and I believe it's true among us.
Where there is a giving up of the study of the word of God.
Where we do not even know how to approach studying the word of God. I've got some conversations with some recently that have really astounded me, have made me realize that we have not done a good job of communicating the truth of the word of God in a practical way. There's a giving up of prayer.
Spending time in personal prayer, there is a giving up of reading the word of God in the home.
Of communicating these truths to our children.
There is a giving up of evangelical zeal of going out with the gospel.
To others there says in James that for he that knows to do good and does it not. To him it is sin to not show love, to have a lack of love in my heart for my brethren, or perhaps I have unforgiveness in my heart. You know one of the ways that we deal with this, I think very.
Kind of brush it over is that?
We might get up in a meeting and there's someone that is doing something we don't like.
Rather than going to that individual and love and seeking to be a help to them.
We will mention the thing in such a way in a group.
In a large group that everyone in the room knows who we're talking about.
And yet we have never gone to that individual.
And so there's a breach that comes in between brethren.
We can be so good about how we do that and that that hurts to get down to those kinds of things.
00:10:08
If you would turn with me please, to Ezekiel, chapter 34.
Because I believe that.
This is a conviction that I have, and I hope that I can say this gently, and I hope that I can say it with real humility, because I feel that it really speaks to my own heart. For those of us who have responsibility in an assembly for teaching and for pastoring and shepherding the Lord's people, I feel that these verses speak to us, and these verses come very close to the skin. In verse two, it's the Son of Man prophecy against the shepherds of Israel.
Prophecy and saying to them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherd's, Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves.
Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat, and you clothe you with the wool. You kill them that are fed, but you feed, not the flock, the disease to have you not strengthened, Neither have you healed that which was sick. Neither have you bound up that which was broken. Neither have you brought again that which was driven away.
Neither have you sought that which was lost, but with force and with cruelty have you ruled them.
Verse 18 Seemeth that a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture. But you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures, and to have drunk of the deep waters. But you must follow the residue with your feet. And As for my flock, they eat that which you have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which you have fouled with your feet. I have to confess to your brethren that I have not done a good job when it comes to communicating the truth of the word of God. I believe this is a fundamental problem.
And I have not walked in a way that would be encouraging to my brother, and I believe that we could apply here the fouling of the water with the feet.
That this water and we're speaking about today that we are to take and to wash one another with, to cleanse one another with. Have we by our walk followed the water, muddied the water, so to speak, made it not clear, made it harder to see the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and what he is really like if I fail as a Father. And I think, I think there are many here that could feel the same way that I do that in many respects.
Those of us who are fathers have failed in many ways with our children.
To the extent that I do that my children fail to see what God the Father is really like, you know that in the world today it is very difficult to talk to children.
In the Gospel that come in to the Sunday School about God the Father.
Because there are a lot of homes today that don't have fathers where the fathers that they have are cruel.
Or are just not a bad not a good example for the kind of father they should be, and it's very difficult to relate.
To a father that is that kind of a father. Very difficult.
And so have we, so to speak, followed the water with our feet.
Now there's a remedy to this. Turn over to Romans chapter 12.
Romans, chapter 12.
In connection with fruit bearing.
Just been interested. Recently we had a Bible study in her home and we went through the 15th chapter of John's Gospel.
The connection with bearing fruit and we know because we've heard it many times.
About that fruit bearing chapter that there's pruning that has to go on and in the Bible study that we had in our home, I asked one of the ladies. There was a lady there that came in and I asked her.
I just asked the group if anyone was there that had raised roses that grew roses and she raised her hand. She said that that she grew roses. I said what happens to roses? I'm not a very good one. I'm not a very good horticulturist and I don't do a very good job of raising roses. But but and So what happens to rose is that you don't prune. While she said they go wild after a while and pretty soon after they grow wild then usually the Rose after a while it will die.
00:15:02
They will die. Well, what an excellent picture for the Christian that doesn't get pruned. You know it's painful to be pruned. If you could talk to a plant, if a plant could talk, if a rose could tell you how it feels when it's getting pruned, it would it would share with you how painful that pruning process really is. But here in Romans chapter 12 and verse one, Paul says, I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God.
That you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Present your bodies a living sacrifice. If I could just draw a little word picture for you, it would be that you would lay yourself upon an altar, and you would allow the Lord Jesus to come along with his pruning shears, and He would come along, and He would identify.
All of the things in your life where my life that he wants to get rid of. And if we really were willing to make our bodies a living sacrifice, we would say trim it all off. I want to get rid of everything that's a hindrance. Anything that keeps me back from following the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to have it trimmed off. And the Lord would come along, perhaps. And there might be some things of the flesh that would have to go, perhaps.
Your heart is one that you really have trouble with. The flesh. You have to have that taken care of. Or maybe it's the cares of this life that have to go. Maybe it's pride that must go. Maybe it's just being too taken up with something here in this world. And so the Lord goes down through each one of these things on this list, and they're painful as they come off. It's not easy to give these things up.
But the Lord takes his expert pruning shears and He trims them off. Why? Why does He do that? Oh, that there would be real fruit, real fruit in your life. And in my life, you know, there were some that that came to the Lord, and the Lord wanted to apply the pruning.
Knife to them wanted to brought before them the fact that there was some real some things that had to go in their life. I think of the rich young ruler in Mark Chapter 9 that came to the Lord Jesus and he came and he knelt before him and he came and called him good master and all of those things. And the Lord Jesus identified one thing in his life. He said one thing thou lackest go and sell all that thou hast and come take up the cross.
And follow me. And it says he went away, said because he had great possessions he was very wealthy. He couldn't give up that one thing that kept him back from the Lord Jesus Christ. Or are you willing this afternoon to let the Lord focus the word of God?
Upon that need in your life to bring the water to that point, that defilement that has to come off, It might not be so apparent as the real deep down dirt that we talked about, but there's a need in your life. You know, it's very easy for us sometimes to go down. Some of us go to the some. Some of the brothers in Toledo have gone down to the rescue mission and preached the gospel. And when you go down there you see some people who really have lived in the dregs of society.
Very easy to see the dirt, you know. In fact, the physical dirt is even very obvious. But you know there is a there's a defilement that is very subtle that comes into our life. Are we willing to let the Lord really come in with the light of his word and on it Before him? Paul had some things that had to go. Paul had a lot of religion. Paul had covetousness, it tells us in Romans Chapter 7 and had to go with Paul. He was willing to let the Lord.
Get down to those areas in his life and and cut them off.
Peter had self-confidence. It had to go. In John 21 we see the Lord Jesus very carefully taking Peter right down to the point where he could get rid of that problem that Peter had. Thank God that Paul allowed the Lord to do that. That Peter got to the point in his life where he was willing to let the Lord take those things away. But you know there was another one that I can think of in the Old Testament, Samson.
Had a problem with his eyes, What he saw, the lust of the flesh. He looked upon women and he enjoyed what he saw. You know, that is a serious problem today. A serious problem We may be thinking that as long as we haven't actually committed a sin of.
00:20:12
Of immorality that everything is fine, but you know it starts in the heart. That's why the Lord Jesus said.
He's a look at the final woman to lust have committed adultery already with her in his heart. We need to be faithful to the Lord in our heart. Turn to mark Chapter 9.
Mark, Chapter 9.
And verse 24.
We won't take time to read this entire account, but here we have a father.
Bringing a child to the Lord.
This child was possessed of demons. This child was one that was completely out of control. He was one that fell on the ground, wallowing. And the man came. The father came, and he confessed to the Lord that he could not do anything with this child.
You know, brethren, would be refreshing if we would just realize that we need to bring our children to the Lord and own our failure. This man came to the Lord, and he owned his unbelief. What was the result? The Lord cast out this deaf and dumb spirit. He took this child and he healed this child. And then the disciples came, and they said.
We can't understand why we weren't able to do this, the Lord said. This kind only comes out by prayer and fasting.
We have to realize there are some things today we really do not have an answer for. We don't have an answer for them. But if we come to the Lord and we own our failure, we own the fact we don't have an answer. The Lord will bring healing in this situation. You know that is really the answer for us is to come humbly before the Lord and honest confession like this man did and own at the foot of the cross.
That we have sinned. We have failed. We have not done what we were supposed to do. We have omitted to do many things. We have committed many things. There's to be healing. If there's to be a real work of the spirit of God, then we need to be honest. We need to see the need. And like Nehemiah, we need to build.
In Ezekiel chapter 36, you just turn back there.
Please for a moment because.
Were a little short of time, we might want to get the towel out now.
We've applied the word of God to some of these things.
And I'd like to look at Ezekiel chapter 36.
Ezekiel 36 verse 33 Thus saith the Lord God in the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities, I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, And the waste shall be builded, and the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. You know this picture here is of a desolate land, one that has no fruit at all. You may be in that condition this afternoon.
You may have in your life done some things that you feel that you just have no value anymore to the Lord. There is. If you look back upon your life and if you look back upon the recent past in your life, you feel that is basically desolate, that you haven't done the things that the Lord wanted you to do. You haven't glorified the Lord here in this world. And perhaps you feel that it's your opportunity is lost. You're like Peter. That said, I go a fishing. I might as well give up.
Because I have failed the Lord. Well, it says here that there is a desolate land shall be tilled. A plow, a sharp blade first has to be applied to that desolate land. I was in a photography studio yesterday and I saw a box with some looked like some dirt in it. It was all dried and it looked very desolate. And I asked him what they were doing and they said they had to create a scene of a desert.
And so they brought all of this dirt in the sand and clay and they they put water on it, but then they dried it very quickly so that it would crack. And I'll tell you that probably from a cameras perspective at least, it looked like a desolate desert.
00:25:03
With nothing growing in it at all, that can be like many of our lives.
But you know there is.
There is hope. There is a promise here that says that it will be tilled. That is, we have to apply the knife. There has to be that self judgment. God does not want to leave you in that condition, but you have to be willing to let him apply the knife. There has to be the painful aspect of the plow that has to come in. First the word of God honestly confronted in your life and then it says that they shall say verse 35 This land that was desolate is become.
Like the Garden of Eden, this land that was desolate the.
Blooming fruitful, you know. I just say this by way of application.
But it's to me as if the reason why God uses the expression Garden of Eden here.
Is that the Garden of Eden as it's pictured, is as it was before sin came in? That is, the Lord can restore you. He can bring you to a place of blessing again.
He can take you back in your life if you have failed the Lord. I would urge you here.
This afternoon, if there is a young person that has allowed sin to come into your life.
If there are those of us who are middle-aged, who have allowed the sins of omission, apathy, to come into our lives, we have not done what the Lord asked us to do. If we have responsibility and we realize that there are real needs in our assembly that are not being addressed and we haven't done the right work of a shepherd, that we would be willing to allow the Lord to take us back, to restore us back to this position. And it says.
The waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced and are inhabited. Then the then the heathens that are left round about you shall shall know that I, the Lord, build the ruined places. If he doesn't do it, it won't be done.
The Lord is the one who builds the ruined places. He can take a ruined life and he can rebuild it. I have a younger brother.
That all of his life was involved in narcotics and various things, and just recently.
He accepted Christ as a savior. What a change in that life. I can't believe it. I went down and spent a few days with him.
I can't believe it's the same person we knew. We see that happen. We know what happens for those who are born again.
But for those of us, perhaps that have left our first love a little bit that have grown cold in our soul.
That have allowed the world to come in, that have by sins of omission the cares of this life, whatever it may be.
We have allowed the defilement of this world to come into our hearts.
God can build the ruined places.
He can make you fruitful. He can make your assembly fruitful, your family fruitful. You may feel as a parent that you have blown it completely as a father or a mother, because your children have not gone on with the Lord, and we need to acknowledge that. We need to be honest before the Lord if we have seen failure in our families or failure in our lives. God does not despise.
An honest heart.
That's willing to own exactly where they are. And, brethren, if there is one thing that I feel in my own heart that we need to do, it is to own exactly where we are.
And to be honest before the Lord about our real state, because that is the only way that God can bless us, and then he will build the ruined places. Turn over now to.
Philippians chapter 3.
And verse 13.
It is good when we get to this point.
Of honesty, of self judgment, of allowing the word of God to penetrate, of allowing the knife to come into my life. That we now.
Have before us.
The object for the Christian heart.
00:30:01
Philippians 313 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth onto those things which are before I press toward the mark. For the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, we need an object before our hearts, the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
We need that first love that will motivate us as believers to want to please him, to want to have that fruit in our life. You know, it does no good to just attack the conscience and leave the heart ungained because the conscience attacked and reached even without the heart. As Brother Darby said, I can paraphrase him. We'll do what it did to the very first man that will leave him cowering behind the trees of the garden.
We can become very exercised about the lack of attendance at permitting and at reading meetings in a gospel meetings. But if we don't reach the heart, if the heart is not attracted by Christ, it will not be attracted by anything else. It is the love of Christ that constrains us. That is what constrains us. We need in our ministry to hear. I would say this to those who.
Teach the Word of God. We need to have the truth expounded topically.
We need subjective ministry that explains the truth of the word of God. I am amazed when I see some of the younger ones coming along.
With the lack of knowledge of the truth, we can say that they should be reading it, and that is true.
But God holds the teachers and the shepherds accountable for the lambs.
We need to do a better job of communicating the truth of the word of God.
We need an object before it hurts the result we find in verse 17.
Paul could say, Brethren, be followers together of me.
And mark them which walk so as you have us for an example. Paul was not one who muddied the waters with his feet. He could, say, be followers together of me, not only by what he said, but by his life. He was an example. We need examples. We need to see those who are happy in the Lord.
Who have joy in their hearts that have a desire to be an encouragement? The younger brother. And you know, there's one thing I heard the leadership wants to define as someone who says come, not someone who says go.
The Lord Jesus said, come take up the cross and follow me, Paul said. Follow me, follow me and follow those who have followed us as examples. We need that.
And one final verse, 2 Corinthians chapter 5.
In verse 10.
I would like to close with what all of this should be in view of for each one of us. I've heard a brother here that is here recently comment about how these verses have really been before his own heart recently in connection with his life.
Verse 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
That everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done.
Whether it be good or bad, brethren.
Each one of us that are believers here this afternoon is going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Paul is looking forward to that date. He was looking forward to that moment when all was going to be revealed. He loved the appearing. He was looking forward to that as one who had been faithful.
Oh, I wonder, do we look forward to that moment? I believe this is something we should have before our hearts.
In all the responsibility that the Lord would have us to.
Assume here in this world, how clearly do I reflect? Do you reflect the Lord Jesus Christ to those around us, To our neighbors? To those who are poor?
To the poor, the gospel is preached.
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To those who we come in contact with at work, do they know that we love them?
Do we show by our actions that we care about them? Are we reaching out to them?
These are all things that the Lord Jesus did when he was here in this world. Or do they just look at us and say that's a very religious person? They go to a lot of meetings, but they've never taken the time to stop and talk to me.
I thank God that there was one.
That stopped and talked with me one day because I was not raised in a Christian home.
And had they not taken the time to stop and talk with me about the Lord Jesus Christ? In fact, they set aside an evening.
To talk to me and I know that they prayed for my soul and as a result I was saved.
Oh, I hope that just these few remarks this afternoon might stir us up.
To first of all take the word of God and let the Lord wash our feet. Let him take the word, the the plow, and bring it into all the aspects of our life, whether we are young this afternoon here or whether we are old. I think every one of us has some defilement that we could let the Lord wash off and then let us just confess to Him very openly.
Where we have failed, and then let us have before us the object before it hurts the precious.
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, the one for whom we wait, brethren, at any moment we're going to be in His presence, perhaps today, and we will stand before Him as those who must give account.
May we have it always before our hearts we sing #46.
The Edge of Death
Gospel—D. Macnab
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October 24th, 1988 is probably nothing too many in this room.
Statistically, there's probably a number of people in here that probably have that as a birthday.
It was a rather eventful day in our life last year.
There's a road in our town that's just like any other Rd. I took a little walk a little bit ago and walk through some of the streets around the university. They're just average streets.
We have an average St. in our town called Eber Rd.
That day of October 24th.
There was a truck going down that road.
And there was a train coming across a railroad crossing, and the two came.
Approaching each other.
And they.
Now I don't remember the name of the engineer, although I saw it. I don't remember the name of the brakeman.
And they were the two that were on the train.
I don't remember his name, although I saw it the name of the driver of the truck.
As Daniel McNabb, my son.
They came crashing together.
Now.
As I came to the reality of that situation, one of the things.
What I'd like to open with is a series of verses. Take some examples from that day and perhaps God.
Perhaps the Holy Spirit tonight will work in your soul to let you see the realities.
Of what it is to be on the edge of death.
Like to read Proverbs 27 verse one the.
Proverbs 27 One boasts not thyself of tomorrow.
For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Luke 12.
Luke 12 and verse 39 and this know that if the good men of the house had known, what hour the thief would come.
He would have watched and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also.
For the son of man cometh at an hour, when ye think not.
Acts 17.
Verse 31.
He hath appointed a day in the witch, He will judge the world in righteousness.
By that man whom he hath ordained in two Corinthians, 6.
2nd Corinthians 6 and verse 2.
Now is the accepted time.
Behold, now is the day of salvation.
The truck that was being used that day had a cellular telephone in it.
And as you all know, when there's an accident, there is a police report.
The day following this accident.
I was told by the police officer who came to the hospital that I could stop by the Highway Patrol and pick up a copy of the accident report. And so I did. The next day I went there. I was kind of interested in what the observations were of some of the people that were there.
And one of the things I was interested in was the time.
And the time of the call was 3:55 PM.
And the time on the scene was 4:00 PM.
Through the cellar you're found. About a month later we get a detailed billing.
And I had observed those Billings and the time which comes across on the cellular phones.
That the clocks were off somewhat, and I had a mental number in my mind how much they were off. They were ahead about 7 minutes.
I don't remember the exact time, but the last report of that cell to your phone before it was burned up was a certain time. I believe it was about 347 and it said cleared messages.
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The last record I had of my son was that he cleared his messages.
Now the reason I bring this up and read these verses is I can look back and I can pinpoint within about 3 minutes.
When that accident occurred.
But dear boy or girl, dear a young person here tonight.
If you're outside of Christ, I can only tell you there is a minute, a second coming.
When that clock and many other clocks will hit a predetermined time.
When the Son of Man will come.
You will not have any time to clear your messages.
You will not have any moments to stop and think at that point in time.
You who have heard the gospel will know.
For your life that the hour has come, the point in time has come, and I trust and pray.
As you do many fathers and mothers in this room tonight.
For their dear sons and their dear daughters, and many of you here are here tonight. Some of you are here tonight by invitation of a friend.
Who are praying for you right now?
That when that moment comes, you would be called out of this scene.
You would be called out of this scene.
To meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the air.
Not to await the Day of judgment.
At the beginning of this meeting, let me plead with you.
Now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.
Dan and I had reservations for that night in a Hampton Inn in Pittsburgh near the Pittsburgh airport.
I had made plans to meet with some people the following morning at 8:00.
Both not thyself of tomorrow.
For thou knowest not, for a day may bring forth.
I had the truck I was driving scheduled for service. It never got in the next day for service.
The whole time, the whole event came to a standstill in our lives.
With your friend.
Where would you be?
Tonight if the Lord Jesus came 5 minutes ago.
If we could have pinpointed in time that at 3:47 this afternoon the Lord of Glory had come to take his own out.
Of this scene. Where would your soul be right now? I look out in the faces I came into this room about.
620 and there was 2 little girls. I don't know whether they're still over here or not, but there was some nice music on and they were singing some hymns.
And they had a smile on their face. I'm pretty sure I know where they would be right now, but I asked you, dear friend, dear boy or girl.
If the clock stopped in your life, where would you be?
Now is the accepted time. NOW God doesn't speak in big words. He doesn't speak in words that we can't understand. His message is very clear now. Right now. Not at the end of meeting. Not tonight. Not at the hymn. Sing not. Maybe not. I'm a little stirred up. I've been thinking about it. Now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. You know, that's a message.
For God's word here.
That's a message for you that now is the accepted time. There is a time, There is a moment for you. There was a moment years ago when the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, suffered and died for my sins.
Dear friend, will you accept him tonight?
As the one who has offered redemption, offered salvation.
For your sin.
I was not at the scene.
I was at a car dealer waiting.
Time went by.
And it went by and it went by. It was 4:10. It was 4:15. I also have a cellular phone in my truck and I dialed his phone three or four or five times and.
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The first time I didn't think anything of it. The second time I didn't think anything of it. The third time I started to think the 4th time. The fifth time. Then I started to wonder. I called his home and spoke to his dear wife and she said no. He left 20 minutes ago or more.
I went into the dealership and I said I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave.
And I backtrack.
And off in the distance, about a mile from the dealership, I could start seeing some flashing lights.
And I could see smoke.
And I approached the scene, and I had a thought.
Well, Dan knows me well enough that if there was an accident, I would want him to stop and help.
But as I got closer, and as I parked my truck, I forgot to turn the engine off. I found out later.
Then I walked out, ran up. I didn't even recognize the circumstances.
But a few minutes later.
After I asked for the opportunity.
To ride in the helicopter. I was refused because of safety reasons, which is understandable.
And I was told what I the best thing I could do is proceed to the hospital.
So having made it a couple of arrangements with some friends that were there to take care of a few things like junk scattered all over the place.
I got in my truck and as I crossed the railroad track.
They were lifting Dan out of the ambulance and setting on the road right on the center strip.
And in a moment of time I had to go up the wrong side of the road and veer off to the side with my son that far away of that first check.
Alone.
He was alone.
His shirt was off. He had a neck brace on.
But you know, I thought later of a hymn and I'd like to read it to you.
It's #80 in the little flock.
The second verse alone he bare the cross.
Alone, it's grief sustained his was the shame and loss.
And he, the victory game, the mighty work was all his own.
Though we shall share his glorious strength.
Psalm 69 says. I'd like to read it to you.
Verse 20.
Reproach.
Hath broken my heart.
And I am full of heaviness.
And I looked for some to take pity, but there was none.
And for comforters, but I found none.
Dan had medics.
He had a nurse. He had a doctor.
He had those who bore the stretcher board.
And I thought he was alone in a certain respect. But let me tell you, dear friend.
As I caught a glimpse of him there.
I thought of a.
The suffering of my savior.
There was never a man who suffered alone, as did the Lord Jesus Christ.
There was 3 hours of darkness where he suffered for sin.
We saw a suffering that we had never seen before in our lives. If you want to see suffering tonight, dear friend, let's go to the trauma center in Des Moines.
It's going to emergency room. You want to see suffering? Go to the intensive care units.
Or perhaps go to the nursing home.
My dear friend, that suffering that's going on there cannot in any way, shape or form be compared to the suffering of the Son of God.
When he was forsaken of God.
I had to leave my son because of a number of reasons.
But, dear friend, God had to forsake his son for you and for me.
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You know, the outpouring of the wrath of God was such that there was #1.
It says there was none. To take pity. We're told elsewhere that the sun was darkened.
Oh dear friend, when the outpouring of the results of sin were poured out on God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that was for you.
I'm sure some of you have seen suffering. I'm sure some of you have gone through.
Difficulties.
I'm sure you've seen someone linger.
But there has never been suffering like the Lord Jesus Christ went through.
And why did he do it?
He did it.
To gain.
You and me, Oh dear friend, can you get a picture of that? That someone thinks enough of you. You are such an important person.
You are so important that God would pour out suffering like this world has never and will never see.
On his own, dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ for you.
And it was suffering that was poured out because of love for souls. Oh, dear friend, that's the message that we have for you tonight. God loves you. And He poured out suffering. He caused his own son to be so alone.
That no one, no man, no person could see it could take pity on it.
Dan was lying there on that board.
They were preparing him.
For their life plate.
Now I can't tell you why when we found out later that the Life Flight helicopter wasn't in the hangar that night.
It was all ready to take off.
They told us later.
I can't tell you why the person who came there.
Which I'll speak about in a few moments, and the confidence of the Highway patrolman.
To not go through a transfer from a hospital to the trauma center, but I can't tell you why. But what I'd like to ask you is Dan was lying there.
On that stretcher.
Four's and other things we found out later. What would you advise me to do at that moment?
Perhaps there's a teenager here. I'd like you to be real serious for a moment and think what would you advise me to have done at that moment?
Turn back with me to Psalm 118.
Those that are good with counting backwards and forwards tell us that the eighth verse is the middle verse in all of Scripture. Psalm 118, eight. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in me.
Would you be one that would advise me to say don't worry?
He's going to be reincarnated.
But yet that's a message going out around this world and in this country today.
Trusting and reincarnation.
Is that what your mind is dabbling with dear young person tonight?
Is that what you're saying? That kind of is the philosophy that I want to think about?
What would you have said? Maybe I should stop and pull over to the side and go over and meditate for a while and have some meditation so that I would receive some spiritual blessing.
In that set of circumstances.
Let me tell you, dear friend.
When it's your son flying there.
Those kinds of thoughts?
Don't have a whole lot of validity.
Or perhaps you would say to me, as a third part of the so-called New Age movement, is everybody's their own God. Just think about it and gain strength for yourself. You can handle it. I'll tell you what, I couldn't handle it and maybe I'm a wimp, but I couldn't handle it.
It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence.
And man.
Perhaps you would say, well, maybe you needed a little something to help relieve the tension.
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What good would that have done?
We sat in the intensive care unit waiting room.
For hours and days.
And I never saw anything stronger than a Coca-Cola. I'll tell you that. There wasn't a soul in there that was trusting in the bottle.
For help as their loved ones were going through similar set of circumstances like ours.
There's no hope IN that. That's a crutch that will drive a soul into hell.
There was #1.
Saying why don't you try these things? It's just a little bit, just try it. It'll make you feel good.
Not a bit of it. Oh dear young person.
Face the reality of being on the edge of death tonight. Answer me.
What would you advise me to do? As I looked out the side window of my pickup truck and all I could see was my son lying on a stretcher, What would you come to me with? How would you come to me?
Oh dear friend.
Hundreds of people came to us in the next few days.
And they didn't come to us with any of the philosophies that we've talked about at the last minute or two.
They came to us with assurances of prayer and concern.
Now I'd like to turn the question around and ask you if you were lying on that stretcher.
If that had been you, that had smacked into that train that day.
What would your mother or father have had confidence in?
Perhaps you're sitting here tonight?
Trying not to listen.
We ran into a doctor at the hospital that night and we were with him for about 37 days.
Two or three and four times a day.
Three weeks ago we had to go to an emergency room at a different hospital.
And the same doctor was there.
Attending physician for the day.
And we commented to each other.
And he said, I'll never forget the events of those days, but I ask you again.
If you were the one lying on that stretcher.
Would your parents have known from your lips?
That you have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
Oh dear boy or girl, if you have not, don't wait any longer.
There may not be another moment, both not yourself of tomorrow. You don't know what's going to come tomorrow.
I certainly did not expect the events to take the turn of events they did for the next three months in our life.
Then you may be faced tonight with a set of circumstances like that. Or, as we said, a few moments. You may be faced with a total separation from God and your loved ones forever.
You don't know the day or the hour in which the Son of Man coming. You don't know the day or the hour in which you may be.
Lying there, Oh dear boy or girl, let me ask you tonight, have you accepted?
Every boy and girl, I would ask you to give me one moment of attention right now. Have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? Dear young person? Have you accepted the gift of God, eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord?
So that if you were the one on the stretcher.
Your family would have the confidence in the Lord.
I drove up the road, not 100 yards.
Not 100 yards.
And I knew I had to make a couple of phone calls.
I had to call Dan's wife.
And I had to call my wife.
And I'll tell you, I swallowed hard for those 100 yards.
But before I got to the end of the 100 yards.
A verse came to me which I'm sure my dear mother, who's in this room tonight, gave me.
And the little boy turned with me to Deuteronomy 33.
Deuteronomy 33 and verse 27 The Eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting.
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I saw those structure bears the doctor, the nurse.
The Rescue Squad, the medics, I could look back and I saw them bending down to lift up the stretcher.
And that thought came to me and it wasn't. And he thought of my own. It was only from what I had received as a result of trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ that they weren't the only ones lifting up that stretcher that day, because underneath were the everlasting arms.
Dear boy or girl, dear young person, dear friend tonight who's been brought here by one of your neighbors or relatives.
If you were lying on that stretcher.
With the everlasting arms be lifting you.
We had that confidence.
And we have that confidence tonight, But dear boy or girl, dear friend, dear young person.
Have you confessed the Lord Jesus Christ, Romans 10 and 9 if thou shalt confess with thy mouth?
Jesus as the Lord.
And believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead. Thou shalt be saved. That's not my word. That's not your mom and dad's word. That's not anybody in this room's word. That's God's word. Thou shalt be saved. Do you want relief from the frustration or the uncomfortableness of what tomorrow's going to bring if you don't wake up tomorrow?
Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Turn with me now to Isaiah 43.
Verse two Isaiah 43.
Verse 2.
When thou passes through the waters.
I will be with thee.
And through the rivers.
They shall not.
Overflow, thee will now walk us through the fire.
Thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle.
Upon.
Thee turn over to mark Chapter 9.
Verse 43.
End of the verse.
To go into hell.
Into the fire that never shall be quenched.
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
And Daniel chapter 3.
Verse 23 And these three men Shadrach.
Meshach and Abednego fell down, bound into the midst.
Of the burning fiery furnace.
That Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counselors, did not recast three men bound into the midst of the fire.
They answered and said unto the King, True, OK.
He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire.
And they have no hurt in the form of the 4th is like the Son of God.
In Revelation.
21.
Verse 8.
But the fearful and unbelieving.
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And the abominable and murderers, ************ sorcerers, and idolaters.
And all liars shall have their part in the lake, which burneth with fire and brimstone.
Which is the 2nd.
In the 15th verse of the previous chapter, verse chapter 21. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Earlier this week.
We were.
Eating lunch together?
Dan and Ern and I.
And we, as we often do, started talking about the events of the last seven months and three days.
And we started talking about what Dan remembers.
He doesn't remember driving down the road.
He doesn't remember picking up his clothes before he left home. He doesn't remember that we parted and he was. We were working that day together.
He does remember slamming on the brakes.
He does remember hitting the train.
You guys remember hitting the train with his forehead, which I thought for a while. I told him he was a little, you know, it had a pretty rough time until I went back and re examined the whole set of circumstances and saw how he actually hit the catwalk of the train with his head with his arm.
He remembers spinning in the truck. He remembers the railroad sign that was stuck up through the right front tire and broke off a piece about 6 feet long and jammed up through the engine compartment.
And then he remembers.
Fire.
He remembers the engine compartment being on fire.
He remembers breaking the glass with his head backwards. He remembers a propane torch coming out of the back of the truck and lying on the seat beside him.
And he remembers seeing the fire and seeing the torch and saying, I got to get out of here.
And he remembers trying to get the door open.
And that's all he remembered.
2018 days later, he remembers some scattering pieces as he woke up.
But he remembers the fire and saying to himself, I got to get out of here.
Oh dear boy or girl.
You know, we're supposed to preach the love of Christ, but in that prayer meeting tonight, there's a couple of brothers pray that we preach the realities of life and death and eternity.
And God's Word is faithful and tells us about the fire of eternity.
And let me warn you tonight so you will have a vision of the judgment ahead, so you will seek to try to get out.
Now while you can.
I tell you what every ounce of energy that was left in that battered body was trying to get out because of the fire.
My dear friend, you have a sense of the reality of hell and the lake of fire and judgment.
Where your conscience the worm will not die.
A kid with my dad, he says he's losing. He can't remember things. I said, Well, that's nothing new. I can't eat it.
But you know, I'm convinced from the word of God that you'll remember this night if you're in hell.
You'll remember on your mother's knee when she read stories to you. You'll remember the Sunday school you were in. You'll remember opportunity after opportunity of the presentation of the love of Christ.
And you will not have an opportunity to escape.
Now is the time to escape their friend. Now is the time to get out. See that vision of as a result of the sin that you and I have that we need to get out.
And reach for everything you can based that is solid the word of God to get relief eternal relief from the fire and the judgment to come. Oh dear friend you know if we could stop in our tracks you know it says Satan had blinded the eyes of them that seen on take your blinders off tonight take them off and see the reality of judgment to come. It's real.
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This may be the last time you ever hear the gospel.
You may tonight accept or reject and live with that decision forever.
Where will you be?
What picture do you see? Do you see the Son of Man in his glory or do you see the fire coming?
Oh dear friend.
Do you want to get out?
Or don't you care?
Procrastination might walk you right into the gates of hell.
Of fire and it burns down. Oh dear friends, see the devastation.
Coming and flee from the wrath to come, God presents to you tonight the offer of salvation through the finished work of Jesus Christ, you know, at that scene of that accident.
Flying on the grass, a doctor came with the helicopter.
And Dan has a scar in his side where they opened up his side and did a surgery to insert tubes. That was the worst flailed chest the doctor said they'd ever seen in the emergency room. And he carries A scar, which he'll carry forever in his side.
But you know my savior carries this car in His side for you.
And for me will you accept that scar? Will you accept that blood that was shed from his side? Man's wicked hands, My hands, my heart was there at Calvary when he hung there, and I was perhaps the Polish polisher of the sword, or I was the one that made the boots of the soldier that went there.
Well, I was one in the crowd of the throne that said crucify him.
That's your heart, my friend, if you only realize it.
But when they saw him, that he was dead already, they thrust his spear up into his side, and that scar will be seen for all eternity by those who will say, what are these wounds in thy hand.
Oh, dear friend, do you want to see for all eternity the work of Calvary and know that the blood that was shed was for you? Or will you be in the blackness of darkness forever? Christ Jesus shed his blood. His blood was shed so that you and I could be brought back. Were Rex. We're Rex. We still got that truck. And I'm going to have to pay somebody someday to haul it away. It's got absolutely no value. That's what we're like. We're just crunched up wrecks.
Except Jesus Christ sees something salvageable in US.
And he wants to save you tonight. He wants to salvage. That's where saved comes from. From the word salvage, you pick up some piece of hunk of cruddy, rusty metal and see if you can make anything out of it. Well, Christ Jesus likes to pick up cruddy, messed up souls and make something valuable out of him. And he's the one that can do it for eternity.
All their friends.
Earmark in his side was at the hands of man, but it was for you were you accept the blood of Christ tonight is that which saves from sin.
Turn with me now to Matthew.
26.
Verse 47.
And while he yet spake hello, Judas, one of the 12 came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he holding fast.
And forthwith he came to Jesus and said, Hail master and kiss him.
And Jesus said unto him.
Friend.
And Jesus said unto him.
Friend.
Turn it over to John 15.
Verse 13 John 1513 Greater Love.
00:40:00
No man in this, and a man lay down his life for his friends.
Over in Romans.
Chapter 5.
Verse 6.
For when we were yet without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly.
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die. Yet peradventure for a Goodman some would even dare to die.
But God commendeth his love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners Christ.
Die for us.
There's a lady.
About 32 years old.
Her name is Becky Glacier.
Becky is a nurse in a hospital in Toledo. She's also a mother. She has two children by the name of Chad and Kristen.
She was riding along the road that is perpendicular to Eber Rd. that afternoon.
It's called Mon Clover Rd.
And Chad like there, any 11 year old boys here today?
Chad said Mom beat the train.
So mom was going faster than the train anyhow. Came to the corner, turned left, went down across the railroad tracks, Second driveway, pulled in the driveway, stopped to get out and get the mail.
And then she heard a terrible crash.
She ordered Chad, who was 11, to go and call.
For emergency help.
And she came to the scene, ran back.
And saw Dan hanging out of the truck.
Other people start.
Many of them who we've come to know.
And a crowd gathered.
And the truck's on fire.
And Becky goes over and someone says to her lady, get away from there. That truck's going to blow up.
And she said we'll worry about that later.
Chad, at 11 years old, went in and got the message.
To set the wheels in motion.
Of those who could help.
Becky went over and with the help of some others somehow.
And I'm sure there were many angels extricated damned from this mess.
She had the wisdom when the Highway Patrol came to say.
You better call for lifeline.
We've gotten to know Becky. We've gotten to know Chad. We've gotten to know Kristen. And they are dear.
Friends.
Very, very dear friends, I'll tell you what mothers or fathers you have. Somebody pull one of your children.
Out of a wreck, or out of a swimming pool, or out of a tree, or out of a ditch, or out of anywhere, and they become real friends. It doesn't matter what they wear, what they look like, what color they are, whether they're washed or not. You don't really care.
What you care about is someone that is a friend.
Up in Iowa Falls yesterday, we were told the story. I may get this a little change, but your governor of this fine state was up at the college within the last couple of weeks, invited up to give the, I believe, the commencement address.
And a young lady, about 20 years old, has chosen to give a speech.
And after the governor gave his time.
The young lady stood up.
And she said, I want to introduce you to a good friend of mine, and she proceeded to give the gospel.
Dear friend.
You know, my friend, the Lord Jesus, could I introduce you to him?
The friend who could go to Judas. Now can you get a picture? The whole world. I don't have to.
Describe to anybody here who Judas was. You could go out in the streets of Des Moines and talk about Judas and people would know who he is.
No doubt, although some in our little assembly are they as they are reaching out to.
Some of the students from foreign countries are finding that.
00:45:02
Have to start with some of the basics.
Like what was a Lamb all about?
But the Lord Jesus?
If he could reach out to Judas and say friend.
Let me assure you tonight that he wants to reach out to you, those who know the Bible far better than I ever will, that know the translations and know the meanings of words, say that that word there in Matthew is one of the most endearing words that there is in all of the language of the day, friend.
Could you reach out to someone like that who you knew was about to betray you?
The Lord Jesus came.
Then let me introduce you to that friend. Dear friend. He wants to reach out to you tonight. He wants to wrap his endearing words of love around you for eternity.
So that you are his, he died to save you. Becky Glazer told us that she came into the hospital day after day, she said. I think I got another member of my family.
We really appreciated that thought occurred.
But, you know, wouldn't you like to be a member of the family of God tonight, as God reaches out to you through his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he wants to wrap his arm? If you're frustrated, if you're scared, if you don't know what life is all about, perhaps you're even thinking of suicide.
Heard a story of a 16. I think it was a 16 year old girl in a broken family who was living with one parent and the one parent called, the other divorced parents said come get this child, we don't want them.
And the child only wanted to commit suicide.
16 years old.
Do you feel left out? Do you feel that no one loves you? Let me tell you, the Lord Jesus is saying to you tonight, friend, friend.
Oh dear friend, won't you accept him the work of Christ the Lord Jesus, the one who gave all?
He suffered at the hands of God. We saw suffering that I had never seen before in my life. And at one point in time I said to someone, I said, let's multiply suffering in the city of Toledo tonight. We could take Saint Vincent's Hospital, Toledo Hospital, Mercy Hospital, Saint Luke's Hospital, Saint Charles Hospital in the nursing homes and the people at our home. And this is only at this hour in time. And now let's take it to Des Moines and let's do the same. And then let's go back 100 years in Des Moines and you take all the suffering that's gone on in this world.
It doesn't come anywhere near to the suffering for sin. That's the suffering as the result of sin, but when Jesus Christ suffered poor sin.
He could say friend, friend, Can I introduce you tonight to my friend?
The Lord Jesus Christ.
All we ask you tonight.
Get a picture of the edge of death.
And get a picture of real life.
Through our friend, the Lord Jesus Christ, could we sing the first hymn on the shoe?
Open Mtg. 7
Open—D. Jaeger, T. Priestap, C. Hendricks
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Brethren, the him we.
Speaks of that lovely word grace.
And surely it is one of the most beautiful words in our language. We use it commonly by saying someone is graceful or someone is gracious.
But when we think of it in connection with the scriptures and we think of our Lord Jesus who came.
The one who brought to us grace and truth.
It really warms our hearts as believers, and I'd like to share with you some thoughts that I've had on Grace recently. I don't think that these are necessarily exhaustive thoughts or definitive thoughts. On such a wonderful subject is Grace, but there are things that I enjoyed and I like to share them with you. The first scripture I like to look at is the last verse of Second Peter's Epistle or the Epistle by Second Peter.
Well known to us.
And it's the one that really caused me to reflect more deeply on this word, grace.
We know we have some definitions which were a little trite.
That grace is unmerited favor. But I think when you all of us feel that something like that is much too simple. Grace is much deeper than that, and we can observe 2 without looking that every epistle practically brings in the salutation 2 Things grace and peace.
Now if we have it that often in God's word.
By those who wrote those epistles, as moved by the Holy Spirit. Grace is an important attribute of our faith. Now here in this 18th first of Second Peter 3.
It says, But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Him be glory both now and ever, forever. Amen.
And what started me thinking is I can understand easily how I can grow.
And the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I can have God's Word before me. I can be diligent in the reading of it. I can be diligent in the meditation of it. I can look for those things that can expand my understanding and knowledge of our precious Savior. You might say in some sense that's an intellectual thing, but nevertheless, that's knowledge when we know things.
But how do I grow in grace?
What do I do to grow in grace? And that's what started me thinking about what is the real character of grace as I might find it in the Scriptures. So now let's turn to the first chapter of John's Gospel or John's the Gospel of John, because there we have the very highest expression of grace, our Lord Jesus Christ.
In verse 14 of John one.
It tells us the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory.
As of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
So in one sense we might say if we are to grow in race, we are to become more Christ like.
We should know more of his character. We should walk in his steps.
We should be a reflection of that blessed one, full of grace and truth.
Then if we look on a few more verses in verse 17.
It makes an interesting contrast. It says, for the law was given by Moses.
But grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, so we know the character of the law.
It's God's perfect standard law made sin exceedingly sinful.
It's the law that's our schoolmaster to bring us to the Lord Jesus because it shows us clearly how failing we are and how needy we are.
But then grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. And so we have grace related to truth twice here. And we know the truth is very hard to define. And perhaps the best way to define truth is it's the nature of God. It is God. It is the Lord Jesus. That's truth, and it's grace and truth that we have here in this wonderful.
Almost the loftiest of thoughts that we have here in this first chapter of John's Gospel.
00:05:07
Well, in reading of some examples of grace.
In the first Epistle to Timothy, we have an interesting thing that relates to the Apostle Paul.
And his experience, if we turn to the first chapter of First Timothy.
And this is Speaking of Paul's conversion and his background.
As he's writing to these.
To the young man, Timothy, and that we can start.
With verse 11.
Of chapter one, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me for that. He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.
Who was before a blasphemer, and the persecutor and injurious. But I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly, and unbelief.
And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and the love which is in Christ Jesus.
Now we have mercy mentioned here, and mercy is often contrasted with grace in the sense mercy.
Is not getting what I deserve and that the other definition I gave earlier in grace.
Is getting what I didn't deserve, but.
Here we see when Paul was.
Acting in ignorance, he said. I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. We find that God, in dealing with an individual, uses mercy, mercy when there is unbelief.
Mercy is God's sovereign.
Act in dealing.
With a soul to deliver them, you might say from judgment, But it has nothing to do with whether or not they believe.
God says in the Old Testament, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.
It's his hibernate.
And so here the apostle Paul. He wasn't happy with what he had done.
But he was, you might say, a realist. And he knew that before he was saved, Before he was converted.
When he was a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious, he did it ignorantly in unbelief. In other words, he wasn't a believer in the Lord Jesus, and he thought at that time that he was acting properly. And so God in mercy struck him down, as we know on the road to Damascus. And a bright light shone, and he recognized because of God's sovereign act to him, because he did nothing to warrant that.
That then he believed and he said Lord, he owned the one Lord Jesus who revealed himself to fall at that episode. But notice verse 14 how it follows on now it says and the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and the love which is in Christ Jesus. And this was what was helpful to me, because what I started to discover is that where mercy is God's sovereign act.
To whomsoever he will, whether it's a blasphemer, whether it's an enemy. But God can show mercy. To whom he will show mercy, that when it's grace, it's connected with faith.
And I think we'll see some other illustrations of that which are lovely.
So let's turn to one that's exceedingly well known in Ephesians chapter 2.
Used so often in the gospel, but very meaningful that two verse 8.
And by the way, there are a number of lovely verses which.
Help illustrate this aspect of grace, that grace is connected with faith.
Now we can, I believe almost everyone of us, quote this from memory. For by grace are ye saved?
But it doesn't stop there, Tom.
By faith.
Through faith and that not the of yourselves, it is a gift of God.
Not a works lest any mansion bus we need to go on. But it's grace. By grace are ye saved through faith. They're tied together.
00:10:00
Now.
Let's look at another verse that emphasizes that in Romans chapter 4.
This is speaking in Chapter 4 of Justification by Faith.
And if we look at verse 15, it shows that in contrast to law, and it says because the law worketh wrath or where no law is there is no transgression. And then it says therefore it is of faith that it might be by grace.
So grace is operative where there is faith.
And this is what spoke to my own heart.
And to relate it to the end of second Peter if I want to grow in grace.
I must grow in faith, walking in all the promises of God.
And this is the thought I'd like to share with you, that if we want to have all the blessings of God's grace for us, it's the walk in faith. It's to trust him completely and to put it in words that I might use.
Grace is the power of God for us that we can utilize by faith.
It's the power of God for us all, His power, all His blessing, everything that he wants us to enjoy as His children.
Is grace. But how do we use that? It's by faith. It's by walking.
In full confidence with every promise that he has given us.
So grace is connected with faith.
And this is the Path of Blessing Forest.
And for myself, I really that verse that I gave you in two Peter was given to me early in my Christian past, my brother, he said now as a believer, your event of the school from which you'll never graduate. And he quoted that verse that could grow in grace and the knowledge of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I covered for myself to walk by faith.
For 12.
Hebrews, chapter 12.
His brother Barry was speaking this afternoon about the end.
Of the path getting down to the days of darkness that we are living in. The thinking of this portion in Hebrews chapter 12, because I suppose the most difficult time in our pathway is when it gets toward the end. The most difficult time in a race is toward the end of the path.
And in Hebrews chapter 12, I believe that the inspired writer here.
In this chapter was looking to encourage the Saints because of the difficulty of the pathway. And if we were to read the entire 11Th chapter of Hebrews, we would find account after account of forerunners, Those who had gone before that had completed the pathway, that had gone all the way to the end. They had completed the pathway in faith and dear brother and I believe that we need encouragement today.
Because there is a perhaps a danger that we might give up just before the end. The Lord Jesus has given us many indications that we are getting toward the end. The days are getting darker. There is giving up. There is compromise. Perhaps we are seeing difficulties come in that we have never seen before. These things would tell us that the.
Race that we have been running is getting to the last most difficult stage of all. And so when we look at the beginning of this chapter, we see a word Wherefore someone says that when you see the word wherefore, you should see what it's there for. And the word wherefore says that we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses. You see there are those who are looking on that have gone before.
00:15:02
At the time that this was written, no doubt it referred back to those in the 11Th chapter. But think for a moment, too, of all of those that have gone before you and I, Those of us that are here this afternoon, that have gone all the way down to the end, that have kept the faith. All those that came down through the Dark Ages, that laid down their lives for the gospel. There are those even today in China and Russia and places like that, that have laid down their lives for the gospel.
They have gone down to the end. They are witnesses. They are part of those that are looking on as you and I are going on this pathway, this, this race. I know that some of the young men here this afternoon could relate to this as an athletic event. And I believe that the one who wrote this, and it was probably the Apostle Paul, meant that you would understand this as a race because the Christian pathway is one of endurance. That's what's brought out here. It is a marathon.
It is not a.
100 meter dash, that's something that is over with quickly, but it is one of endurance. And so we find some hindrances here in this chapter, some things that that the writer wants to make sure that we're aware of. So that when these things come along that we would not get discouraged to go ahead and complete this race. You notice that the very first thing that's mentioned here in this first verse.
Our weights.
And sin, which it says death so easily beset us. You know, I remember going to a track meet when I was in high school and a friend of mine went out to run the half mile and everyone was getting their their sweat suits off and they were getting down to the very light garments that they wore to be able to run this race. And I noticed that he didn't take off his sweat suit. In fact, he still had a towel around his neck and so forth. And the race was just about to start.
And they got down on the starting blocks and he still had these weights on him and the the starter gun went off and they took off around the track. And this friend of mine was he was leading in the race, he was out ahead of everyone else and we were all very surprised.
Because we don't. We didn't think you'd ever run this particular race before. And here he was, with all of his sweat, clothes on and so forth and a towel around his neck, and he was leading the the pack, the runners, as they went around the track.
But it was actually 2 laps that you had to complete around this track. And after he completed the first lap and when he got to the point where he was the furthest distance from the track coach, he ran off the track and he headed off toward the woods that afternoon with the track coach in hot pursuit. But he did not complete the race and he didn't take the garments off that he had been wearing these weights that.
Hear them down. And you know, we may look at that as being a little bit on the humerus side, but how many of us this afternoon have brought on weights into our lives? We've added little things, imperceptible perhaps over time, But when you're running a race, you see you can't have weights. Anything that's of any weight at all will cause you to go slower. And so you want the lightest things that you can possibly find in order to run the race effectively.
And sin is something that.
Would just stop you altogether in your tracks because you cannot run the race if you're allowing sin in your life.
I hope that that there's someone here this afternoon that is knowingly allowing sin in your life. I want you to pause and consider this afternoon, do you have a desire to run the race? I want you to notice now that there's an object that is set before all of those who run the race. We're invited to look to the end of this race in verse two. We're not at the end of the race yet, but we're getting a little preview, We could put it that way of what is awaiting us at the end.
Of the race. His brother Barry was speaking at the end of the address this afternoon. It warmed my heart.
I'm sure it warmed many of your hearts to consider the fact that at the end there is going to be the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is going to have His arms extended wide to welcome us into His presence for all eternity. You know, if you were a runner and you could look down to the end of the race, you might find there someone waiting with a medal or someone waiting with a trophy, perhaps for the winner.
00:20:07
Of the race. But in this particular race, everyone who completes the race is going to win the prize because the prize it says in verse two is looking unto Jesus. Looking onto Jesus. I believe that word looking there is more than a glance. It is to contemplate the Lord Jesus. Have you ever just sat down in the presence of the Lord Jesus and contemplated that?
Man the man Christ Jesus.
There was a brother, I don't recall. I may not remember his name, but that lived many years. One of our writers and.
And he at the end of his his life as he was lying on his bed.
Looked off into the glory and said, oh yon lovely.
Man, young, lovely man.
That is what our hearts need. You see the racer or the one who runs in a race, he has to have motivation. He has to have the desire because the race is going to be difficult. This is a marathon. I remember a few years ago in the Olympics, some of you may remember this. I saw a picture of a woman who was a marathon runner. Marathon is about 26 miles and as she came into the Olympic Stadium.
She was staggering. She was ready to collapse and everyone in the stadium.
Stood and they began to applaud. For this woman, she was staggering from side to side fairly could make it to the end of the race, but she had gotten some encouragement. Those who were looking on encouraged her, and that's what we need to do for each other, brethren. We need to encourage one another in this race, but oh, what is that? The end is the Lord Jesus Christ and it says the author and finisher or.
In other words, as it says in the margin in my Bible, the beginner and completer.
You see, we not only have the encouragement of those who are looking on, but God gives us His beloved Son.
And he says he has already run this race. He is the beginner and he is the completer. He has finished the race and this one, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame.
And it's set down on the right hand of the throne of God. He has gone all the way to the end. This is all given to us so that we might be encouraged that he is set down on the right hand of the throne of God. There is nothing that can ever come in and affect the fact that he has finished the work that God gave him to do. He has set down. He has completed it. There was a danger of these Hebrews giving up as part of what is brought out here in the book of Hebrews. They were in danger of going back.
Some of the beggarly things going back to some of those things they've been brought out of and you and I need to be encouraged by looking on to the one who completed that race.
It says in verse three, consider him that endured. Consider him. This is another invitation to.
Look at who it is that we're speaking about this afternoon. Consider him who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be worried and faint in your minds.
One of the hindrances, in addition to weights and sin, is that there are those around us that are going to try to discourage us on this pathway, on this race. Yet there are those who would like to discourage you, the contradiction of sinners against himself. In John 15, the Lord warned His disciples that if they have hated me, they will hate you. He didn't want them to be taken by surprise. He didn't want them to become discouraged when they went out with the gospel and to live in this world.
That they would come across something that would take them by surprise. We should be.
Recognizing the fact that we live in a world where wrong is right and right is wrong. A world that has cast out the Lord Jesus Christ, a world that hated him. And if we're going to run this pathway, we have to look straight on to the end. We can't look around us and we can't look at those who might try to discourage us, Whether it's a believer that has maybe been running along the side for a while and then has given up. You know, there are those that I know I thought of sometimes a shooting star.
00:25:06
A shooting star is something that flames brightly for a while.
And then after a while, it fizzles out. And we've seen those who have flamed brightly for a little while, perhaps, but they haven't continued on. Well, may the Lord encourage us to be those that would go on not be discouraged. If someone's running along beside you and suddenly they get discouraged, that's something that happens maybe in the assembly, something in their life, perhaps, but they they give up the race.
They pull off to the side. They stop running. They're discouraged. And he says, you have not yet resisted unto blood striving against sin. You know, the truth is that sometimes a frown in this world can cause us to give up, to become discouraged. Oh, how lightly we are willing to compromise, how lightly sometimes we're willing to to give up the truth of the word of God.
Maybe it's because we're going to miss a promotion. Maybe it's because we don't want our friends at school to look down on us, or to think that we're not with it, or that we're we're just a little bit different because we belong to Christ. And so we camouflage our words. We don't want them to know in any way that we're associated with that little assembly there in that little town or with the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we we adopt A way of getting by without really perhaps going out into positive evil. But we don't want the we don't want our friends around us or the people we associate with to realize that we're in a race.
That we are going along this pathway, we try to camouflage the fact we're in a race. We can't run a race like that. We have to have our eye upon the goal at the end. Well then we come to another little change here in verse 5, because it talks about something else. It says, you have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him for whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourges every son whom he receive it.
Heard someone say the other day, You know I can't understand the Lord.
I would think that with all, with as few of people there are that really follow him that that he would want to just encourage everyone and he wouldn't allow anything bad to come into the life if someone is trying to please them. Well, you see this is an imperfect look at the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the discipline. You know, if you're going to run a race or if you're going to be involved in any kind of athletic, there's a lot of discipline. The people who watch sporting events only see that one hour or two hours.
Where the athletes have to perform, they don't see the hundreds of hours that have to go into preparation for that event. And so you see, even here we are looking at discipline because of love.
The Lord has to prepare us to go through this world. He has to allow certain things to happen in our lives so that we will be able to go through and to finish the pathway. And he wants to use us in a way so that those around us can see that there is something different about that way that person goes through that trial. I know that this afternoon there are some here that are going through a lot of trials.
I know there are those.
Young sisters here that are single, that have gone on for the Lord. During your life you kept yourself pure, you have tried to follow the Lord and you reach an age where you just don't understand why it is that the Lord hasn't brought someone along in your life. And I know that that is a trial and my heart goes out to each and everyone of you. I know there are some here that have lost a loved one and as a trial it is part of the discipline.
That we go through there was recently we just heard the fact that this conference of a Downs baby, a baby being born with Down syndrome and we can't understand why it happens to one and not to another.
And we don't understand sometimes why God allows this in certain ones lives, but it is part of his love. It's part of his perfect plan for our life.
Some, I know, suffer through misunderstandings from their brethren. Perhaps they're doing something that they feel before the Lord is right and their brethren misunderstand them. They feel very rejected.
00:30:06
And this is hard for us to take. Maybe you've lost a job. That's part of God's perfect plan for your life.
It's hard to know why sometimes. Maybe you're living in a home.
You're a young person and you don't feel that your parents love you. You don't feel that they understand you or that you can communicate well with them. You don't feel that your parents really can.
Enter into all of the circumstances of your life and it's very difficult for you.
Maybe there are some that are older here that are discouraged because of those of us who are a little younger.
Because they see the declension that has come in. I've been gathered to the Lord's name for 29 years this month and in my short time I have seen much that would discourage me. But you know, we cannot judge our circumstances. We cannot judge God by our circumstances. We need to judge our circumstances by God.
You know, I was, I really was not. Didn't feel that I was going to be able to come to this conference. I felt there were so many things that I had to get done.
And I looked at this list of things I had to do and I thought, there's no way that I'm going to be able to go.
And I was looking at the circumstances and then finally got a loan into the presence of the Lord. Finally. I hate to admit that that was the last thing that I did, but.
Felt at that point that the Lord wanted me to come anyway. And I think sometimes we we look at our circumstances and we judge God by the circumstances. Let's not do that. Let's judge our circumstances by God. Well.
Look on a little bit further in this chapter. And it says, If you endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if you be without chastisement, where of all our partakers, then are ye ********? And that sons? You see, this is really the proof of love.
The proof of love. You can never go through a trial.
If you never have anything happen to you in your life, no discipline, then this might be an indication of a lack of relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, because He only chastens those that belong to Him. This is a proof of His love. This is because he loves us. And so it says here in verse nine that we have had fathers of our flesh, which corrected us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits and live? This is the same one.
That.
Our brother was Speaking of Our brother Judge was Speaking of this morning that took the children in his arms and blessed them and loved them. The tender touch of the Lord Jesus. When David had a choice of discipline between falling into the hand of man or falling into the hand of God, what did he choose? He chose to fall into the hand of the Lord because he knows that the Lord has mercy and he knows the tender hand of God and so.
Don't chasten or chafe under the discipline. The first thing that we want to do, and we're going through discipline, is we want to get out of the trial. That that's what it means to despise it, as it says in verse five of earlier in the chapter. To despise it is to want to get away from it, to have it over with, to be done with.
You know, none of us like to go through a trial. We don't ask to go through trials. If we had a choice, we would never want to go through a trial. I'm convinced that the longer I live, that one of the main objectives in our lives is to continuously, in every way do everything we can to insulate ourselves from problems and to make our life easy, whether it's with.
The nice, the nice homes we have, the jobs we have, whatever it might be. We try to insulate ourselves from problems. We don't want to go through discipline. We don't like that the flesh shrinks back from it. It says not to despise it because God has a purpose of blessing, and that is in verse 10 versus verily for a few days chastened us. They verily, for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but he for our prophet that we might be partakers of His Holiness.
Partakers of His Holiness, I want to encourage you this afternoon if you're going through any of these things.
That you understand and enter into the fact that God has purpose in your life.
00:35:00
We, my wife and I, in the last year and a half or so, I've gotten to know a young sister that grew up in a home where she experienced a lot of physical abuse, extreme physical abuse and mental abuse.
She would do things like hit her head against the wall.
Until it bless.
She called US1 night when my wife and I were on vacation and she had been hitting herself with a hammer.
Until her head was bleeding.
Because of the treatment that she had gotten when she was growing up, she didn't feel loved.
She didn't understand that God loved her unconditionally and that God had a purpose for her life and even for the sufferings that she had gone through recently. We just got a letter from her. She was rejoicing in the truth that God loves her unconditionally and that there is a purpose in her life. God has a purpose for her life. That is what will keep us going on and we're going through a trial. That is the the fate.
She not only the.
The object before our hearts of the Lord Jesus, as it has in verse 2, but fate.
State You have to have faith. What is faith? It is believing God. Abraham came to a point in his life where he was told to do something that seemed absolutely illogical. He was told to take his son who had waited for who he had trusted God for.
And he had gotten the sun in his old age, and God told him to take that Son and take him up to a mountain and put him to death.
And it didn't seem logical. It didn't seem like this could be possibly right.
But it says Abraham believed God. He had faith. That is what we need when the going gets tough. Faith in a person, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the one who loves us because it says.
Here.
That in verse 11 and 12 no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous nevertheless afterward.
Yet yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby. You know it is one thing to endure. It talks about enduring chastening And verse 7. If you're going through a trial, there's two ways you can There's probably three ways at least you can go through a trial. You can chasten, you can chafe under the trial. You can reject it and feel put upon. And you can you can develop a little pity party for yourself and feel sorry for yourself. That's one way you can handle a trial. Another way is you can endure the trial. You can say.
I'm going to go through this trial. I'm not going to give up. I'm going to accept it from the Lord and I'm going to get through this trial. And that is something that is very good. If you can do that, you see there's something even better than that, and that is to learn the purpose of love that God has for you. Now, I said to Dave McNabb many times, and I said to him again last night after that tremendous gospel that we got here in this room that I have enjoyed.
Every time that Dave has talked about that, because I believe that it has been a real blessing to our whole assembly in Toledo. The trial that that Dan McNabb had to go through, the trial that the McNabb family went through, it was for every one of us. It was for our blessing. It was part of the discipline and the love that God has for us unto them which are exercised thereby. Because if we can begin to enter into His love for us and we can see why.
He is allowing us to go through this discipline in our life. Then there's going to be joy. That is why it says here, wherefore when you see it, wherefore you should see what it's there for. Wherefore Lift up the hang the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees. Can you get the actual physical picture here of someone who is with their hands hanging down and their knees bent? That is a picture of discouragement.
A picture of discouragement. There are many that are discouraged today.
You know this, the first part of the chapter says look up.
We have an object before. It hurts now. It says look down, take a look at your knees, take a look at your hands that are hanging down and make straight or level. As for your feet, how do we make level pads? You know what a level path is? It's one that is not up and down. Many of us are up and down in our life. I believe that part of the reason why is we haven't become established on the fact that God is always for us.
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No matter what circumstance we go through, God is for us.
That I remember Brother Gordon Hayhoe saying. He's said several times, the secret of happiness is to see God's hand and everything.
The secret of happiness is to see God's hand and everything. Are you going through a trial?
If you see God's hand in it, you can make a level path for your feet. You can go through it with the Lord without going down, under and not necessarily having an uneven path. Up today, down tomorrow. Go to a conference, get encouraged, get up, go home. Confronted with the same problems that were there when you left, you get down.
You get a hold of the Lord Jesus Christ being always for you and that even the trials that you're going through are part of the discipline for this, this race that we are in. Because he wants to bring you down to the end why and how that you may might be partakers of His Holiness. He wants us to not only to get there, not just to finish, but He wants us to finish with our sales full. He wants us to be like the Lord Jesus Christ.
He wants us to walk through this life and go through this race as those who.
Our like his own beloved son.
In Hebrews 13 and verse nine it says it is a good thing for the heart to be established with grace. Our brother spoke on grace. What does it mean to have our heart established with grace? I believe for my own heart. I I couldn't begin to give a good or a full explanation of this verse, but I have just been encouraged with this thought.
That for my heart to be established with grace, is to realize that God is always forming, and that everything that he brings into my life is on the basis of love and grace. Nothing is because of myself. It is all from Him. Every good gift and every perfect gift cometh down from above, from the Father of Lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. He is the one who is always there, and always for us. And if you're discouraged this afternoon.
I urge you to let your heart be established with grace. Let you let your heart know.
Open your heart and let that warm grace pour in through your heart. This afternoon, the love of God.
Because he loves you unconditionally, and he proved it at the cross of Calvary. Well, maybe we just seek each one to keep our eyes upon him. May we pursue, May we go down to the end. As the Apostle Paul said in Philippians chapter 3, as our brother Willis translates in his book on Philippians, Down to the goal, I press down to the goal. I press like to read a verse from Romans 15.
I read 3 verses verse 5.
Now the God of patience.
And consolation.
Grant you to be like minded.
One toward another according to Christ Jesus.
That you may with one mind and one mouth, glorify God, even the Father.
Of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Wherefore receive ye one another?
As Christ also received us.
To the glory of God.
Wherefore receive you one another.
As Christ also received us to the glory of God.
And then turn to Ephesians.
Chapter 4.
Verse one.
I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you.
That you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.
With all lowliness and meekness.
With long-suffering.
Forbearing one another in love.
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
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There is one body.
And one spirit.
Even as you are called in one hope of your calling.
One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism.
One God and Father of all, who is above all and through all.
And in you all.
There is one body.
He exhorts the Saints here at Ephesus.
To walk worthy of the vocation that calling Orwith they had been called.
And what is that vocation?
These first 16 verses of Chapter 4.
Are the beginning of the practical.
Exhortations in this epistle.
Connected with our walk.
I exhort you to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called.
And what is that vocation? It's a collective 1.
I might just mention before proceeding.
At verse 17 of chapter 4 down through verse.
21 of Chapter 5.
We have another sphere that.
The Apostle brings before us the sphere of the world. We walk in that sphere. We also walk in the sphere of the assembly, which is the first.
16 verses of chapter 4. Then from 417 to 521 we have the sphere of the world.
And then in chapter 522 down through chapter 69.
We have the domestic circle, the domestic sphere. We have wives and husbands and children and parents and servants and masters all connected with the family.
So as we walk through this world, we walk in one of those 3 spheres.
The sphere of the assembly.
The sphere of the world and our business and our relationships.
With other Christians and also with the unbelievers.
And then the third sphere is the family circle.
We walk in that sphere.
And I suppose we need we need grace, probably more.
In that last sphere, the sphere of the family and anywhere else.
What I wanted to speak on just a little bit we had grace brought before us, and then the prophets that.
Come to those that are exercised about the trials through which the Lord passes us.
And the thought of reception?
How do we receive one another?
Well, that verse in Romans 15 brings before us that we're to receive one another as Christ has received us.
We are we are the subjects of God's grace.
We owe everything to the grace of God.
And we're exhorted here in Ephesians connection with this assembly circle.
Well, we rub shoulders with fellow members of the one body.
To walk worthy of the calling wherewith we have been called.
And what is that calling? Well, I believe it involves 2 truths, and you get those in the second chapter. And I'll just.
Recall them to us, the 1St is that we've been called to be members.
Of the body of Christ.
We've been called into a membership, the only membership known in the New Testament. Not membership of a local church, no such thought in the New Testament, but membership of the one body of which Christ is the head in heaven. We've been called to that membership, the members of the one body. Now every believer and the Lord Jesus Christ is a member of that one body.
The other thing we've been called to is to be the habitation of God by the Spirit.
The Saints corporately composing the habitation, the dwelling of God by the Spirit, we've been called to that.
And in our assembly relationships, we are to walk worthy of that calling.
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We cannot be merely individuals any longer. As Christians, we are not simply individuals, so that's a wonderful truth.
That we are each one individually saved and justified by faith. But we've been called into a unity which was formed on the day of Pentecost by the baptism of the Holy Spirit, called into a oneness that is the body of Christ. And every one of us is no longer just an individual, but we are members one of another, and of Christ, the risen glorified head in heaven, now to walk worthy of that calling.
Is to walk in such a way as to give expression to that truth.
That there is one body, there is one body, And to walk worthy of the second part of that collective calling, that we are the habitation of God by the Spirit, is to give expression in our comings together to the truth. That the Spirit of God is sovereign and president and leader in the assembly, to use whomsoever he will in prayer, in praise, in worship.
In ministry, in the administrative affairs of the assembly, the Spirit of God is to be looked to and to be relied upon, and it's not a man's thoughts that have any place in the sphere of the assembly. We have the Spirit of Truth who inhabits the house, and the Saints become the habitation of God by the Spirit now as we look round about us.
In these last days.
Of ruin and departure from the order that God has given us in His word. Where do we find a true expression of the one body? Sometimes we say we're gathered on the ground of the one body. What do we mean by that? There's two ways in which we can.
Falsify that we can make as the ground of reception to the Lord's table.
A circle which is broader than the one body that is. Take for instance, the Church of England.
It's a religious body that admits to its fellowship, those who are not members of the one body.
Englishmen, but not members of the one body. They have a fellowship which is broader than the truth, than the one body. That's one way in which that truth can be denied. Another and far more common way is what we call sectarianism.
Where we make the conditions of reception to the Lord's table narrower than membership in the body of Christ.
Every believer on the Lord Jesus Christ who is a member of the one body, has a place at his table.
If we make the conditions of reception to the table.
Narrower, more restricted than that truth.
We are a sect and the Christian.
World is filled with sectarianism.
Sectarianism is getting interested in a little circle around ourselves, to the exclusion of others who are equally members of the Body of Christ and dear and precious to Him.
If one has to become practically of us in order to be received to the table, we have become a set.
In principle.
Now I'm dealing with principles here because I believe we have, we are in danger in many quarters of being.
Sectarian.
Legal.
Hard. Let me recite a case.
00:55:00
Happened not too long ago.
A young sister.
Who love the Lord.
I believe she was with the.
Baptist Church at the time.
Very simple.
Did not know church truth.
But you love the Lord.
And she came to the breaking of bread, was visiting some friends.
And no one had talked to her, as we so often do, and say, you won't be able to remember the Lord with us this morning. And as the emblems were passed, it went right by her, and she reached out her hand, and the person passing the emblem shook her head, shook her head no.
And she sat back and said no.
Why not?
I love the Lord. I'm his.
Why can't I?
And she left the meeting in tears.
We were talking about Grace.
And as I read the writings of the early Brethren.
I am impressed.
With how exceedingly gracious.
They were in connection with this matter of receiving.
Al Gracias they were.
The truth of the one body.
Had been discovered afresh.
From the precious book.
And it's so captivated the heart of those early Saints.
That they just met as fellow members of the Body of Christ.
Beloved if we exclude.
Those who are walking godly.
And in obedience to the light that they have from the Word of God.
In contrast to those who are walking disorderly and in disobedience and self will, if we exclude those that are walking godly and scripturally, insofar as their understanding the light that they have is concerned.
We great the Earth.
Because the principle upon which we are gathered is there is one body.
Now in order to.
To guard what I'm saying.
I know the day in which we're living is far more.
Grievous.
With error.
And those roundaboutists among the early Brethren One came from System.
From some denomination of religious body round about, you could be pretty certain.
That they were sound in the faith.
They did not hold anything which was fundamentally in error as to the person or work of Christ. So if one was a member of a certain group, you could be pretty certain that. They could be pretty certain then that they were not guilty of having imbibed anything or being in fellowship with anything which was dishonouring to the person and work of Christ.
Today, that isn't so.
So we have to be more guarded.
I like to say that when it comes to the question of reception to the table.
It's not an open communion.
Where anyone has a place, there no someone walking in disorder, someone harboring evil doctrine, someone in immoral.
A ways does not have a place there, not in their present state at any rate.
Every true believer member of the body of Christ has titled to that.
To a place at the table. Not everyone that has title to that place can occupy it at any point in time because of the way they're going on. That's the question of discipline.
That's another matter. So not everyone who is a true member of the body of Christ.
01:00:02
Could be received to the table a man in First Corinthians 5 who was guilty of immorality. He had to be put away.
From among them. But then he was restored by grace.
And brought back.
And the object of all Discipline, The object of all Discipline is always, always, always Restoration. Never To keep the disciplined 1 outside. Never.
Keep them outside, but that they be brought back and occupy their place.
At his table, I think the mistake that we have made, and I'm very guilty of it.
Is that we have acted as though it is our table.
Now if it was my table, I would have the right to lay down the conditions of reception to it because it's my table.
But it's not my table, and it's not your table. It's the Lord's table. And because of that, he has laid down the conditions of reception to his table. And the grand fundamental principle to have a place at his table is to be a member of the body of Christ.
And not be excluded because of the principles of the House of God, which is the habitation of God by the Spirit.
Excluded because of a disorderly walk, immorality or bad doctrine or evil associations.
Now I'm talking about fundamental error when I say that.
We know that there are many, many errors in Christendom.
I'm not faulting anyone, but seeking to set before us for our own exercise.
That we keep the truth in proper balance, I believe.
In pressing sometimes the claims of that side of truth, which has to do with the godly order that belongs to the House of God, where he is holiness, becometh thy house, O Lord, forever absolutely essential truth. And that's why discipline is necessary in order to maintain that an assembly without any discipline is an assembly which is open to every kind of wickedness possible.
That would be the greatest dishonor to the name of the Lord we could conceive of. Discipline is absolutely essential.
But have we not?
Are we not in danger of?
Falling in error on the side of requiring something of a simple soul.
That is an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile but not intelligent.
As to the assembly, are we not in danger of imposing conditions upon such?
That.
Come very close to being sectarian.
On our part.
Every individual case is just that, an individual case. You cannot lay down one rule that will apply to all cases. So we have these principles. The ground upon which we're gathered is the truth of the one body.
And the fact that the Spirit of God has the Saints have become the habitation of God by the Spirit that he is there, and he's the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of truth. And we're gathered to the Holy One and the true, the name of the Lord Jesus.
We have sought to maintain his honor and glory properly in an evil day.
And we have to be very careful. Sometimes it's questioned some of the young people. They'll read the writings of the early brethren and they'll see how gracious and.
Loving they were in the way of reception to the Lord's table.
And it puzzles many of us, many of the younger especially, that we don't seem to be that way anymore, that we seem to.
Have imposed conditions and requirements of knowledge and understanding on a part of a simple soul that they didn't do in the early days, and I believe that that's a great danger. And so these comments are made in connection with the thought of grace.
01:05:02
Grace.
I will say this, if I'm going to air, I'd rather air on the side of Grace.
Then on the side of being hard and legal.
Not proposing that we air either way.
But every case has to be examined on its own merits.
Yude says of some. Have compassion, making a difference, and I believe that's a principle that ought to characterize us.
As we.
Go through this scene.
I believe we have done damage. I believe I'm guilty.
The simple souls.
By sectarianism, legality.
And a harshness that I'll becomes us.
Paul said to Timothy. Be strong in the grace.
That is in Christ Jesus.
Grow in grace.
And in the knowledge.
Of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
What is the most stupendous fact about the Blessed Lord as we trace his pathway in the Gospels?
He was the holiest man.
And yet he was the most accessible man.
The most gracious man, the most available man.
Do those roundabouts A bruised Reed? Would he not break in the smoking flax? Would he not quench?
Oh, to be more like him.
Sometimes one gets in his presence in just weeks and shakes one's head and says oh how unlike him.
I am.
Feel that way, beloved.
How unlike him.
We are sometimes.
In our in our ways.
May God give us that grace.
That.
We have discernment to take forth the precious from the vile.
We've just recently had before us in Matthew 18.
Those solemn, solemn words of the Lord Jesus.
To stumble, to offend a little. One that believes in me, that we're better for him, That a millstone were hanged about his neck and he can be cast into the depths of the sea.
Turn aside.
A little.
Who has faith in the Lord Jesus?
Very serious.
May God give us that grace.
Which will maintain holiness.
Will maintain holiness.
But it will, It will exalt and magnify the cardinal virtue of God, who is, we've come to know, as the God of all grace.
God of all grace.
Well, just these few thoughts, beloved.
That we might be kept.
From looseness.
On the one hand.
From legality and sectarianism, on the other, this requires real exercise of soul in the application of the principles of the one body and the principles of the holiness of the House of God.
God give us grace.
Keep these things in proper balance.
Till the Lord comes.
An Example of Grace
Gospel—Dn. Spence
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.
All kinds of difficulties and problems, and sometimes I just barely make it out to the plane.
And this past week was a marked difference. The week was going exceedingly well.
And I woke up Friday morning and I to a telephone call. It was kind of a normal, normal Friday morning.
Early morning call somebody.
That I love was having a difficult time.
Wanted to take her life.
Felt that it wasn't worth living any longer. We talked for about 1/2 hour 45 minutes.
I went down to the meeting room in Buena Park then and I got out the power vacuum and vacuumed the lot. It's about 1/2 acre in size. It's a dirty job. Went home and got a shower.
Fed the dogs and the cat.
And.
Gene was up and we had a little oat bran for breakfast.
We're trying to reduce the cholesterol count a little bit and it was just everything was just sailing along. So well went through the bank, went to do some xeroxing, fix the sprinkler system, fixed the electrical circuit that had gone out.
Packed things in the car and by then it was about 1:00. My plane left at 2:40.
Inside, I was going through this tremendous struggle. What's wrong with this trip? Why? Why haven't I been hit with all of these trials and troubles that normally come and block my way?
And we got out on the freeway. It's normally about 1/2 hour to the Ontario airport. And when we got up to the Pomona Freeway, we hit a solid wall of traffic that was stopped.
Any of you who are familiar with Southern California know that the freeway system is inadequate, but it is especially inadequate on three day weekends and.
This three day weekend started early.
So I said to Jean, I said, well, we'll just hop off here on the 57 and go to the 10 and we'll try that one. And we hit a solid wall on that one. We had about 17 miles to go and we were averaging about 1.7 mph.
So we knew that it would take approximately 10 hours to get there.
And I said to Gene, I said, I don't think that we're going to make it now. I had one of those tickets that you buy that they have no refund on. You get a special deal on them, but there's no refund if you don't make the flight.
So I said to Gene, I said, honey, take out that map there and look at the surface streets. We better try that. So we got off on the surface St. and we were going along and we hit every single stoplight and everybody else had decided to do the same thing.
So I have a tendency to get frustrated at times and I kind of bang my hand on the dash or the steering wheel. I'm trying to suppress this frustration. I said to Jeanne, I said, honey, I am not going to make this flight. I'm not going to make it.
And she said, well, honey, why didn't we leave a little earlier? I mean, my wives always have such easy solutions to the problem.
I said. Honey, I figured an hour and 45 minutes was enough for this fight. I didn't realize that it was going to be this bad.
And we fought the traffic and fought the traffic. And finally I said, honey, close your eyes. I'm going to do some unorthodox things from here on. So we did.
And we got to the airport and the plane left at 2:40. It was 236.
And I grabbed the bags and I ran inside of the airport and immediately I looked up at the television monitor to see if perchance the flight was late. And I couldn't even. I didn't even look to. I couldn't even find my flight. All of them said on time, on time, on time, on time.
So I ran up to the counter, had all these bags, and I said, Sir, my plane leaves at 2:40, what should I do? And he ignored me.
He just looked away from me, continued to do his business with this other lady he was working with.
So I said to Jean, I said, honey, he's not going to listen to me. She said maybe you'll listen to me. So she went up to him and she said we've got to get on this plane. It leaves at 2:40. He said, I'm sorry, the gate is closed.
00:05:00
So I said to Gene, I said I've got about one minute here. I said you take my bag and get it to Des Moines somehow. I'm going to the to the gate. So I ran and crammed those bags through the X-ray machine, ran over somebody on the other side of the X-ray machine. I don't even know who it was.
And I ran out there. I was desperate. I ran out there. I had these bags and I ran out there to the gate. And he had given me the wrong gate. So I looked around, there was one, There was one more gate down the way. So I went down there and I said, Sir, is your plane going to Denver? And he said, yes, it is. The gate was locked. It was shut. And I said, can I get on that flight? And he said, yes you can.
He opened the gate and he let me in. I ran over to the stairway. It was outside. He went up the stairway, went in the plane. They closed the door, pulled the the stairway out, and the plane was moving before I sat down. I sat down in this seat. I didn't. I hardly knew where. I didn't even know if I was in the right seat. My heart was beating at about three times the rate, and I was hoping I was not. This was not going to be the end.
You know, I thought a lot about that.
Since then, and I thought about this little hymn that we were singing #20 Admit him air or the hours at hand when at his door the night you'll stand.
And I was so thankful that I made that flight, even though I did some unorthodox things to get there.
I made it within 5 seconds.
And I say to you, my friend, tonight, that we do not know how much time is left.
But one thing that we do know is that God's schedule is always on time.
Just like that monitor on time, on time. When Jesus Christ came to this world, he came on time. When the Holy Spirit came down, he came on time. When Christ is coming back through this world, he is going to come on time. You have a measured amount of life, and when your life is over, your time is up, it is gone, and it will be too late.
I was so thankful that I made that flight.
I didn't want to go home. I wanted to be here. It's been a great blessing to be here.
But heaven is even going to be more wonderful still.
And I want to encourage you because the time is running out and there will be roadblocks in your way of coming to Christ tonight. I want you to expect that that there are going to be things that will come in your mind. It could be someone that will distract you during the meeting. It could be a person next to you that wants to talk.
I assure you that the devil will make sure that you have a hard time coming tonight if you're going to be saved.
You know.
There is a verse, I'll just read it with. You don't need to turn to it. It's from the Gospel of Matthew. It says that from the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force. The margin says the Kingdom of heaven is gotten by violent violence or the thought is that it is advancing, but if you're going to get it, if you're going to come into the Kingdom of heaven.
You're going to have to overcome some struggles, some roadblocks, some difficulties that are set in your way because it's not going to be easy. It's simple to be saved and we're going to talk about that tonight, but there are going to be roadblocks.
Gene was telling me I called her Saturday morning about 1:00 in the morning and I said, honey, I made it. She said yes. I noticed you weren't at the gate when I came there. But she said, you know, as they were pulling your plane out, there was a lady that came running around the corner with this bag in her hand and she ran down to the gate where you had gotten on and the gate was locked. The plane was being pulled out and she said.
This lady asked if they could stop the plane, she said. I got to get on that plane. I must go.
I have to be in Denver within about 3 hours. I've got to be there and they said I'm sorry, it is too late, too late.
Tonight I'd like to continue the subject that we had this afternoon of Grace.
00:10:08
We're going to look at an example of grace. You know, when some of you young people go to school and you learn a little theory?
Then the instructor will say. Now let's have an example to see how this works. So I'd like you to turn to the Gospel of John.
John, Chapter 8 and we're going to read this story.
It's a story that is not often used in the gospel, but it's a tremendous example of grace.
And it is a tremendous gospel story. John chapter 8 and verse one.
Jesus went unto the mount of Olives, and early in the morning, and he came again into the temple. And all the people came unto him, and he sat down and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery in the very act.
Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned.
But what saith thou this they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him.
But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down and rode on the ground.
And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even under the last. And Jesus was left left alone, and the woman standing in the midst, when Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, Where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She said. No man.
Lord and Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee, Go and sin no more. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Now we notice here that the day starts out to be a somewhat normal day.
Jesus comes from the Mount of Olives, where he had been praying, no doubt.
And he comes into the temple area and there are people that gather around him.
To listen to him teach.
My friends, this is the purpose of our Gospel meeting tonight, to introduce you to the Lord Jesus Christ.
He was the most wonderful person that ever graced the face of this earth. And when he came here, he taught. He taught people the Kingdom of God. He taught people moral righteousness. He taught people how to live. He taught people how to walk. He taught people spiritual principles. He taught people about God. In the morning he taught, and in the afternoon he touched. He went out and he touched.
The generation of people that were around him, he talked to them and he came in contact with them. He talked with them and he touched them. He touched the man who was blind. He put clay on his eyes, the leopard. He touched him. He was that kind of person. And here he is in the morning and he's teaching and right in the midst of this, this little meeting where they're teaching and enjoying the word of God.
Comes this group of people.
And Justice Barges right in.
And they've got this woman who was taken in adultery.
Now.
I don't know exactly how to illustrate this. I'm going to try to.
To let you know how this woman felt.
Now down here in the front row is a friend of mine by the name of Cleo Reynolds.
And Cleo is one of the dearest friends that I have in life. It's been like a father to me, a great encouragement to me. And I'm. I'm just going. We're just going to pretend here a little bit. Something about Cleo. I hope he won't mind. I meant to talk this over with him before the meeting, but I know Cleo well enough to know that he will. I think he will allow this, Let's suppose.
00:15:12
Let's suppose that Cleo Reynolds is an FBI agent, OK?
And I say I'd like to introduce you to my friend from the FBI, Cleo Reynolds.
How would you feel about that? I'd say I want you to come up after the meeting and meet him. He is one of the most highly regarded agents in the United States of America. I want you to meet him.
How would you feel about that?
What if I told you that that Cleo was a man who was well acquainted with your life and he knew what was on your income tax statement last year?
Let's suppose that I said that also that Cleo had the latest electronic surveillance equipment and that he had been had a record of how fast you had been driving over the past week.
Let's suppose that, I said. Also, Cleo knows almost every detail of your school life. He has the ability to find out school records. He knows things about you that your folks don't know.
How many of you would how many of you young people would like to come up and say, well, Cleo, it's nice to meet you. I've always wanted to meet an FBI agent.
I have a feeling that there would be a number in this room that would say I think I would just as well not meet your friend.
Let's go a little bit further in this illustration, and let's suppose that.
You, 20 years ago, had robbed a bank.
And in this bank robbery, there was someone who was killed.
You did the killing and you were apprehended and you were put into prison and you were given a life sentence.
And let's suppose that after spending a year in prison, you broke out of prison. You broke out of prison, and you killed the guards.
And you were you've been on the run for the last 20 years.
Let's suppose that you were on the FBI's list of 10 most wanted people in the United States.
And let's suppose that I said, you know, Cleo is here because he's looking for the someone on the 10 most wanted people's list in the United States. How would you feel?
I think that you would probably be thinking right now, I wonder whether I ought to go get a drink real quick and go out that door and never come back, or whether I ought to just kind of silently blend into the crowd. Because I know that you would feel uncomfortable in the presence of a man who knew your record and who was here to apprehend you and to convict you for your record of sin.
And crime, You know, here is a woman in this chapter who it says is taken in adultery.
And I think that we can recognize that this is the most embarrassing kind of thing to get caught in in in.
Now I want to talk a little bit about this situation, because this sin of adultery is something that is sleeping this land. It's been brought up several times in the meetings.
About the problems that we're facing in this country, and it is not only sweeping across this land in the adult population, but through the schools of the United States.
Young people.
Young people are taken in immorality.
The figures say something like 90 to 95% of them before they graduate from high school.
Some of you have gone to high school graduations this year.
And you know that about 90% of those who are graduating.
Our people.
Who have gotten involved in this very kind of sin.
Now this woman is a woman who you might say has an unhappy marriage.
And this woman.
If you were to ask her why did you do it, she would probably say because I have an unhappy marriage. Now it is possible that this woman was married to one of the Pharisees. That is possible.
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And this woman may have been married to this man who was a law keeper. And any of you who are wise can imagine what that would be like to get up every morning and have a list of rules and regulations by which you must guide your life. And when you didn't keep the law, you can imagine that there wasn't any grace at all.
There may have even been some physical abuse involved, as this man must have exploded in rage at this woman.
And for some reason, at some point in her life here, she decides that she's going to bail out of this situation. She's going to go somewhere else. She could not find in this man that she was married to. She could not find happiness.
Kind of like that woman in John Four who sought happiness in five husbands and then tried outside of marriage.
But you see, there's always a tendency on our part to blame the problem on someone else.
You see, the reason that this woman committed adultery was because of a deeper problem.
The deeper problem was that she was a Sinner and the fault was hers.
The infidelity was hers. And so here is this woman who has taken in the very act of adultery and now she becomes a a political football that's thrown into the public arena of controversy.
She becomes she makes the headlines, like making the headlines of the Des Moines Register. Can you imagine that here in the city, right out in public, this woman is taken and she is brought to the Lord Jesus Christ. She is brought to him and she is accused.
How would you like something like that?
How would you like that to happen?
I remember some years ago I got a call. It was one of the strangest calls that I've ever gotten from someone who was a Christian. And they said I've got someone who's renting a house that I have here in Southern California, and they're having serious marital problems. They're not saved, They're not Christians. They don't even want to be Christians, but they need help. Could you go and help them?
I always have a tendency to say yes and then regret it later sometimes. So I said yes, I'll go. And I went over to this house was about 9:00 at night. I I knocked on the door and I said, my name is Dan Spence. Have you been expecting me? And she said, oh, yes, we have come right in. There was a young girl, about 2122 years of age and she brought me into the living room. And so I sat down there and her husband came in.
And so I said, well, folks, I'm here to help you. I said tell me what the problem is.
And so the wife sat up in her chair a little bit, and she said the problem is him.
And she began to tell me all the things he was doing, terrible things that he was doing. They were just literally blow any marriage completely apart. And after she got going about a minute or two, he said wait a minute, the problem is not me, the problem is her.
And he began to go and and finally it got so loud and so.
Boisterous. I felt like there was going to be some violence, so I thought I better step in.
So I said, Folks, do you recognize this book that I'm holding in my hand?
And they said.
No. Well, well, is it a Bible? Yes, it's a Bible. I said in this book it has the secret to your marital problems. Do you believe that? And they said, I don't know.
But what is it? And I said, well, first of all I want to talk to you, the wife.
It says in this book that a wife should be subject to her husband.
And I said to the husband, how does that sound? He said it sounds wonderful.
And I said, now I want to talk to you. It says that you should love your wife infinitely.
And that you should sacrifice yourself for her in every way, even if it means your life. I said how does that sound to you, the wife? And she said wonderful, but there's one problem. They both said in unison, we can't do that.
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We cannot do that. We don't have the ability to do that. And I said that's right.
That's what this book is about. This book is about the fact that men could not do what God asked him to do. And that's why Jesus Christ came into the world. That's why he went to a cross. That's why he died, that you might be born again. That's why the Bible says you must be born again. Without that, you cannot do that.
And justice. Then there was a knock on the door. And this is what I always fear. There's a knock on the door. And somebody came in. This person was he looked like a tramp off of the street. I guess he was one of their friends. And he propped himself right up against the wall right next to me. And he kept interrupting the discussion. So I said, folks, I'll have to come back later and we'll continue this discussion. We never continued it. And I think I made a mistake that night because I should have asked him to step outside of the door for a while. We had a matter to talk about.
And that's the way I feel about this meeting. I know.
That there are those in this room right now that are under conviction about their sins.
And the devil is going to step in and unless you take some action.
And get him outside the door. You may never have another night like this.
This woman was taken in the very act of adultery. I just something makes me shudder about this. I feel so sorry for this woman.
And she's taken, and she is brought out in public, out of her home, out of the home that she was in, wherever she was. She's brought out in public with these accusing fingers all pointing at her, saying there is the center right there.
Now, there's something that is strangely missing in this story. The thing that is missing in this story is the man.
The man that committed adultery, where is he? Because when we read in the law.
In Leviticus chapter 20 and verse 10 if you want to look it up, it says that a couple that has taken in adultery both should be stoned.
Both of them, and somehow the man is missing.
And it makes me wonder sometimes, because the Pharisees are so much this way if they didn't have, if this wasn't one of their friends.
And they're pointing the finger of blame at this woman.
Here is this woman She's brought to the Lord, and the question is now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned. But what says thou?
You see there, they know that Jesus is a man of love if there's one point that got a cross in his life.
That it was that they knew he was a man of grace, they knew he was a man of forgiveness. And these men wanted to put him on the spot and say what about the law?
And so they bring this question before him, and it says in verse six that Jesus stooped down and with his finger wrote on the ground.
As though I heard them, not. Is he ignoring them? No, I don't think so. That's why. As though he heard them not. As in italics, he wrote a message on the ground. And if you turn over to Acts chapter 31, I mean, I'm sorry, Exodus chapter 31.
We'll find in Exodus 31 and verse 18.
Moses had been up in the mountain getting the 10 commandments, and it says, And he gave unto Moses when he had made an end of communing with him.
Upon Mount Sinai, 2 Tables of Testimony, Tables of Stone. Notice this written with the finger of God.
I know there's a lot of speculation about what Jesus wrote, and I'll speculate here a little bit tonight, that he wrote the law, the law that is recorded in Exodus 20 and elsewhere in Scripture. I believe that he just began writing at least one of those tables of stone.
I would guess that if he wrote one of them and he started with those that dealt with man's relationship with other men, and so he probably wrote things like honor thy father and thy mother.
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Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not lie, Thou shalt not.
Covet.
He's writing these all down on the ground, I believe, And and these men no doubt are are watching, watching what he writes as he writes. And if that's what he wrote, why these men are looking at it and what he what he is telling them is you have picked one of those laws to convict this woman of death. But what about you? What about the sins that you committed? What about the lies you told?
What about the covet team times that you coveted somebody elses wife or somebody elses property or what? What about the times that you disobeyed your parents?
And those men are there, and they look at this.
And it's.
It says that in verse 7. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
Think of this.
He's written those down, perhaps, And then he says.
Whoever is without sin.
You cast the first stone, and those men turn around 1 by 1, starting with the oldest.
Because they had the longest record, starting with the oldest, and they slowly, silently, coweringly creep out of that of the door.
Isn't that something? You know, my friends. I know. I know how we think.
We look down on those who are down in the gutter, those who are the drug users, those who are living in sin, and we say those are the people Jesus came to save. That's true. But he came to save you. He came to save you. And in James chapter 2 and verse 10, we read whosoever keeps the whole law and offends in one point, he is guilty of all.
It's like a chain. I suppose that I had a chain made out of paper with 10 links in it, and I have a little man hanging on the end of it and I dangle it over a box called the Lake of Fire. And you know that if I go and clip anyone of those chain links, that man is going to fall into the fire. And that's the thought I believe in a simple way in James Two and verse 10, whosoever keeps the whole law and just breaks one of them.
Is guilty of all. The effect is the same.
And so these men are convicted.
Notice they're convicted, but not pardoned. They're convicted. It's possible to be in this room tonight and know that you are a Sinner but never receive the pardon. It's possible.
How would you like your record of guilt to be displayed on this wall? I would not like that. I would not want that. How would you like that?
Was a man who knew everything about this woman. He knew her record of guilt and he was now found himself face to face with her.
And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
Just two people.
Jesus and this woman.
Remember the message that we had this afternoon? The law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
And now here is our two people.
The Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect man, the Son of God come down to save, and a woman who was taken in the act of adultery, a woman who feels her sinfulness. She did not leave with the rest of those people, and she's standing there with Jesus alone.
Somehow, my friend, I would like to bring you tonight face to face with Jesus.
I would like to bring you into close proximity to him.
Because Jesus stood with this woman and bridged the gulf with the cross with the grace based on faith that was talked about this afternoon, but based on the work of Calvary's Christ.
Because Jesus was going to give this woman a pardon, had a pardon to offer her.
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But it was all based on a work that he had not yet done.
He was going to have to go to a cross. He was going to have his hands and feet nailed to a cross.
He was going to be ridiculed, he was going to be beaten, He was going to hang there in the shame of that hour.
He was going to bear her shame.
He was going to go into the darkness and suffer for this woman. He was going to shed his blood. Why? Why should this woman become so important to Jesus? Because he loved her and he loves you. And you know, my friend, that between you and and the Lord Jesus Christ is a goal that has been caused by your sin. You know, when people talk about communion, you know when people talk about contact.
With Christ, you feel uncomfortable. You know when when you get your Bible out and you try to read it, it's nothing prayer. You are not able to pray.
Because you are not saved.
You know, there's a gulf there. There is one thing and one thing alone that can bridge that gulf.
And that is the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. He died for you.
And tonight, you know, though you're sitting out there in the audience somewhere, the Lord Jesus is standing now in close contact with you. He's facing you, and he's asking you a question, something like this. Do you want to receive the pardon for your sins? Let's talk about my friend Cleo a minute here again. Let's suppose that I said to you now, before you leave the room, whoever you are that has done this great crime.
Of killing a couple of people and robbing a bank and escaping from a jail. I want you to tell. I want to tell you that Cleo has authority from the president of the United States of America that once he finds you, that he has in his hand a pardon, that is, that he's going to offer you, that is signed by President Bush.
How would you feel? You know, the clouds of guilt that have hung over your life?
You would know that times that you have gone to bed and you don't know whether you're going to wake up in some other place like a prison, or whether somebody's going to get back at you. And I think there would be a wonderful wave of relief as you suddenly realize that this man that held your record of guilt also held in his other hand, a pardon for your crimes. And that's what Jesus offered this woman a pardon.
That pardon And she says, he says to her, Where are your accusers?
Hath no man condemned thee, And she says no man, Notice this. I'm going to underline it, capitalize it, embolden it. No man, Lord.
No man, Lord.
I don't. I believe that this woman accepted that pardon because she called Jesus Lord. I believe that she turned from darkness to light. I believe that she was born again in that very moment.
I I don't know how to get this point across that you must make that decision, that you must accept Jesus as Lord, as your savior. You must recognize that He's died on the cross and risen again for you, that He's seated in the glory that he is Lord.
I remember last summer a young lady.
Who was related to me? We were planning a little get together down at the beach.
For the Wright family, it was their 50th anniversary and we decided to have a little, well, we decided for their 50th anniversary we would give them a present of a week at the beach with all of the family.
Now may they may have been thinking of something a little quieter than that, but that's what they got. And we were we were praying. There's one person in this family that has never been saved.
She does not mind if I tell you this story. One person her name is Sue.
And Gene and I have been praying for her all summer that during this week at the beach, we would have the opportunity of sharing with her the gospel.
And Gene was supposed to join me for that week, but my daughter decided that she was going to have her baby a couple of weeks later than she was supposed to. And so I was left at the week, at the week, at the beach, alone, with no wife to cook the meals and all of that.
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And so we talked it over and we decided we should go ahead with our plans and we should seek an opportunity to talk to Sue at the beach.
And I remember the night that we find that I finally had the opportunity. She was sitting alone. I went over and I sat down beside her. And she's got some serious trials that she's going through. She and her husband, her husband has a serious illness. And I said to her, so how's Dan doing? And she told me not so good. And I said, how is his relationship with God? And she said it's not very good either. And I said, Sue, let me ask you a real personal question.
How is yours? And She said. I don't think I have one.
I said, Sue, you have been raised as a Catholic, is that correct? And she said, yes, that is. And I said, I want to ask you some real important questions. I said, do you believe that Jesus was born of a virgin? And she said, yes, I do. I said, do you believe that he lived a perfect, spotless, sinless life? And she said yes. Do you believe that he died on the cross for your sins?
And she said.
Yes, I do. And I said so let me ask you do you believe that he died for you there personally or do you believe it as a historical fact?
She said. I do not know what you mean, I said So it is possible that to believe that Jesus died in history.
That he died there, but never make it personal.
You see that Romans 10 and verse 9 says, If thou shalt confess with thy mouth, Jesus says Lord, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. That's personal. This woman confessed him as Lord. And I said, sue, until you come to that moment.
Where you make it personal and say he died for me. My sins were placed on him at Calvary and I'm willing to bow my knee and confess him as my Lord. You are not saved. And she said something really interesting, she said. Do you mean to say that the only difference between me and you people in the meeting?
Is accepting Christ as my Savior, and I said that's right.
That's right.
She said, for all of my life, since I have met you all of my life, I thought that you were up here on some high spiritual plateau. I tried to climb it, but she said I could not reach it and she said I kept falling down. And you're telling me that there's only one step of faith involved?
And I said, that's right, one step. If you are willing now to confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will be saved, she said. It is so overwhelming, I cannot. I have to think about it. She thought about it and she got saved.
You know, that's what I want to say to you tonight, and we're getting toward the end of this meeting. I'm going to put a little emphasis on a couple of other things here, but I don't want to. I don't want to back off from this point that you must make a very personal decision for Christ tonight. You must make it. You must make it alone in the quietness and solitude of your heart. You must bow down and on Jesus Christ as your Lord and accept what he has done at Calvary is the pardon for your sins.
And you will walk out of this room tonight, a person who is new, a new creation, a new creature in Christ Jesus. You will be born again into the family of God.
Now you notice.
In verse 12 That Jesus says, Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Now here we have the pathway for every believer.
It is a pathway of obedience. It is a pathway of following Christ through this world. And as you do that you will walk in steps of light.
My concern is this, that there are some in this room tonight who are following in the shadows in the darkness, who are walking along in in those creeping shadows of sin.
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With one foot in the testimony of being a Christian and one foot in the world.
I'm going to turn over and this will be the last verses that we talk about tonight to Ephesians chapter.
5.
And verse 5.
Because this is my great concern, that there is someone in this room tonight who has made some kind of a profession of being saved, but it's not real. Now notice in verse 5, Ephesians 5 and verse 5. But this ye know that no *********** nor unclean person, nor covetous man who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God. What is he saying? He's saying that if you're out there in this adulterous world.
If you're out there going after the immorality, immoral things, and I won't name the long list of things that are available.
To everybody today, I won't name them. You know what they are.
If you're going after those things and there is no struggle that is taking place in your life and you're going after them, a *********** is someone who has no bridle to hold them back, someone who has unbridled lust. He's going after it. There's nothing to hold him back if you're going after the drugs of this world.
If you are going after the unclean things of this world, whatever they may be.
If you're going after the material things of this world, if that is your goal.
If you have given up and you're going down that pathway in your heart, nobody knows about it. You know about it.
I believe that this verse tells us you might well question that profession that you make of being a Christian.
I've heard of several people just today, just today who have.
Made a confession of being saved after they were at the Lord's table, after they were married, after they had children.
They were going through life with struggles, not able to cope with them, with sin, not able to battle it.
They were losing on every front. They were not saved. I fear that. I fear that if Jesus were to come this very moment, and the door to heaven, the gate to heaven were to close, that there would be those sitting in this audience saying why am I left here? I remember a time when I went through the procedure, I went through the motions and I'm still here.
Scripture tells us that there will be those who knock on the door, and they will say, Lord, Lord, open unto us.
I believe that will be the worst day of their lives when they hear the response. I never knew you.
You know this woman who didn't make the plane. It was a probably one of the worst days of her life. Nothing in comparison to those who will someday have the door to heaven shut, and it will shut suddenly in a moment of time like that, and it will be too late.
I want to encourage you tonight to come to Christ. It's simple. It is a matter that you can take care of there in your seat.
I want to encourage you to simply look up by faith. We're going to pray together. I want to encourage you, as we pray, to make that decision in your heart. To bow your knee, to bow in your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ on him as your Lord and personal Savior. To tell him that I know that you died for my sins personally on Calvary's cross.
I'll be here after the meeting and I have time. If you have any questions, please feel free to come up. Please feel free to look me up after the meeting. I have some plans, but they can easily be cancelled. They can easily be cancelled because the matter of your salvation is so important to me and it's so important to you and it's so important to God.
We have a room where we can go talk things over. We have a room where we can go and pray together. And I'll be waiting for you. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to come. Let's bow our heads in.
John 13:13-17
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John Chapter 13, verse 13.
He called me Master and Lord.
And ye say, well, for so I am. If I then your Lord and master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that has sent greater than he that sent him.
If he knows these things.
Happy are ye if you do them.
I speak not of you all. I know whom I have chosen.
But that the Scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth his bread with he that eateth bread with me, hath lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before come, that when it has come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send, receiveth me.
And he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
Then the disciples looked one or another, doubting of whom he speak.
Now there was leaning on Jesus bosom.
One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, Simon Peter, therefore beckoned to him.
That he should ask who it should be, of whom he speak. He then, lying on Jesus breath, saith unto him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, He It is to whom I shall give us off, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the saw, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
After the soft, Satan entered into him, Then said Jesus unto him.
That thou doest do quickly now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.
For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag that Jesus had said unto him.
By those things that we have need of against the peace or that he should give something to the poor.
He then, having received the soft, went immediately out and it was night.
Therefore when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified.
And God is glorified in him, if God be glorified in him.
God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall strictly glorify him.
Little children.
Yet a little while I am with you.
Ye shall seek me. And as I said unto the Jews, whither I go, ye cannot come. So now I say to you.
A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if you have love one to another.
Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go? Thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards.
Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.
Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down my life for my sake?
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The **** shall not crow till thou hast denied me thrice.
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Sometimes think that we understand the force of this chapter better and what it is saying to us.
If we read the last two verses again and keep on reading the next verse, let me do it.
37th verse Peter said unto him, Lord.
Why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. Jesus answered him. Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The **** shall not crow till thou hast denied me thrice. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in me.
The chapters are artificial.
But we see that the Lord was above it. No matter how far we get down, how far we get away from the Lord, we cast ourselves upon him. And he says, let not your heart be troubled.
Because this is the work of Restoration that is read of in our chapter and I always like to mention that because it's an encouragement. I think when some get down and kind of sad about things, I'll just think of Peter, how low he went and the Lord says let not your heart be troubled.
Not to brush the things under the carpet, as they say, but.
To have the restoration that he alone can provide.
He called me master and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.
I often see simply the name of Jesus.
Maybe a little praise Jesus is the answer.
Various things like that. And it is a precious name, the name of Jesus, the name for which every knee shall bow.
And yet why do we not give unto him the glory that is due unto his name, the Lord Jesus or the Lord Jesus Christ? It is his Jew. And in Speaking of that blessed one, I believe we should give him his title, the Lord Jesus Christ.
We see we see an interesting reversal here, don't we, Brother Judd? In verse 13 it says you call me master and Lord, and you say, well for so I am. And then he says if I then your Lord and master.
Now that's interesting because the disciples did give him his rightful title of master or teacher or instructor, Teacher and Lord, but they had it in reverse. And he and the Lord very gently reverses that and says, if I, then your Lord and Master isn't that important, brethren, that we understand the difference there and where the emphasis should be, because it is possible that the disciples had been.
Taken up with the doctrine or the teaching to the extent that it overshadowed the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And I say that that I I believe that there's there's there's a danger of that in our lives that we can get so taken up with the doctrine that the person and the Lordship of Jesus has been excluded a little bit from our lives. And he goes on to say, now I've given you an example.
That you have to wash one another's feet, and he shows them that that lordship will cause them to bow down and take the lowest kinds of jobs.
Very specifically of washing somebody elses feet. Now, it is possible that we can get taken up with the doctrine to the extent that we might be critical of someone else. We might see someone walk in who has dirty feet, and we might be critical of them.
But you see, when the Lordship of Jesus has taken over in our lives, then we will want to wash that person's feet, we will want to help them out, we will want to bathe them with the word of God. And we're dealing with some real difficult problems today because there's a lot of.
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Laxness In that area, there's a lot of us who are not doing our jobs and there's a lot of dirty feet around. Also, there's some people who have had their feet burned.
Or scrub too hard. And then there's some people who have never had their feet washed, and it's a very kind of a shocking thing the first time you've had your feet washed. But the Lord is really He. He is. He's dealing very gently with a problem of the heart in which they've gotten taken up with the teachings more than with the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Wondering what you say driving your Lord and master. The Lord, the one who has every right over us, would, master indicate the one who has the right to direct us.
We take our direction from him too. I just suggest that he's our Lord, the one that directs us. And do we bring this thing into our daily life as a practical thing we hold this is a doctrine, or do we put it into practice day by day?
Between the Lord and each individual, that which he would have them to do. But does it become a daily force, a daily practical living out?
Of these truths.
Lordship is is always individual.
The Lord has never spoken of as the Lord of the assembly. He's the head of the assembly. But individually we have the lordship before us, the person that's been brought out, the Lord Master.
And one to whom we bow Lord. It's one thing to know Him as savior, but it's another thing to know him as the Lord of our life individually. But if each one of us here in this audience.
Had that desire in our heart to acknowledge him as the Lord of my life, there would be absolute harmony amongst us. We would all be occupied with the exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Certainly some do show carelessness or even disrespect in terms of using the word master and one of our hymns. It bothered me and some of these hymn riders because they were they were really moved and good poets. But I understand, it's been told me that in the original language that at least in some places where the word master occurs, it really means Lord Master, but it's translated Master.
And I I take that to mean like that.
That sort of rendering of the word when I read a poem such as 282 where it says Master, we would no longer be at home in that which hated thee.
That's kind of interesting to me, though.
Think a little bit about this chapter and the.
The actual physical setting of it, I think we haven't talked about it yet, but when you and I think about sitting down at a table.
We we imagine a table.
And chairs all around the table.
But brethren, I don't think that that's the setting we have here.
I don't believe we had any chairs at this table. There's no mention of any chairs in this chapter.
And where it speaks about sitting down in verse 12.
After he had washed their feet and had taken his garments and was sat down again, they the better translation is he he took his place again.
So if we kind of get in our minds, what this?
Setting really was like.
It would be good for us to imagine a table about the about the height of this platform up in front of our room. And the disciples were not sitting around the table, but they were reclining at the table. They were reclining at the table. I think that's the thought. They weren't sitting on chairs, but they were reclining on the at the table. Perhaps they even had their elbows on the table. But the point that I want to make is that their feet were behind them.
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So let's just imagine, take a look at this platform up here and let's just imagine that that was the table and there were 12.
Disciples reclining at that table.
And their their feet were behind them.
As they reclined at the table.
Well, the Lord Jesus, during the many courses of this meal, he got up during the courses of this meal and he just went around. After pouring water in a basin, he went around and washed the feet of his disciples. But you see, one couldn't see the feet of the other.
Because their feet were behind them. And our Lord Jesus just quietly walked around the circle with the towel and the basin and he would just wash the feet of the disciples which were behind them. So when he washed Peters feet, why Thomas couldn't see what Peters feet looked like? Because all their feet were sticking out to behind and they're just facing each other at the table as they reclined there. And so the point I make is that.
The washing of feet is a private matter.
And if we were wise and learned the lesson of this chapter well, we would not try to do this wash job.
In the presence of others so that we make a display of the of the needs of our brethren. And you and I know that we don't like to have our own faults made a display of. So I believe we see that in this portion too that the washing of the feet was done individually and privately as much as could be done at this point. But I think it's nice just to see the setting here there the Lord Jesus and.
His 12 disciples were reclining at the table.
During the many courses of this Passover meal he interrupts these. The meal didn't cause any commotion than doing it, but he just got up during the many courses and went around and washed their disciples feet. And then in verse 12 he took his place again but it was all part of the Passover meal. And so you you get that setting all the way through this chapter they they recline at the table.
He gets up, he washes their feet and then he takes his place again and and reclines at the table with them. And then you go on the as we come down in the chapter we see that they're still at the table. And the Passover meal was along many course meal but a lot happened during that meal. One of the most wonderful things was that he washed the disciples feet but then he takes his place again.
And then he.
Keeps on giving them good ministry and finally it comes to a point where they have a A.
A dish, a bowl of wine, and they would dip the bread in the wine that was part of it too. And so.
At the close of this meal, and he dips this salt, he moistens the he moistens the bread in this bowl.
And hands it to Judas. Well, it's all part of this long, many course meal, so I thought I would just give that little setting and help us to understand It's it's not like my mother's house where she invites us all over and we sit down at the table on chairs and our feet are under us. That's not the thought here.
But just get in our minds that there were these people reclining at the table and all of these things happen during that experience. And so many lessons are to be learned from this precious chapter. Ron I I wonder if I could just carry that thought a little further. I know that many of us have home Bible readings and we we've just put out a tape in the family series called Family Nutrition because.
There's a need of help in that family Bible reading, and I have a real difficult problem in my home where I have two very active teenagers and when the meal is over, they want to go. They don't want to sit around and wait for a Bible reading to take place. So I have gone to I've gotten to the place in life where I eat about half as much as they eat, so I'm done with my meal about 10 or 15 minutes ahead of when they are.
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And I've just taken the Bible off the shelf there and started reading and it's been a time of of foot washing right while the meal is going on. They're continuing to eat their meal and they some a lot of times they finish up eating their meal and they don't even know we're having a Bible reading. It's still going on. And they they they don't run into that difficulty of the meal is over. I've got to go. And so I think here's a special need or a special opportunity I say to you parents.
To get that little basin out during the meal and go around and wash your children's or young people's feet and it's a time when they don't really object to it a lot, they kind of enjoy it.
Find here the Lord giving them an example.
I thank your Lord and master, have washed your feet. Ye also ought to wash one another's feet, for I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. We'll go over to first Peter, chapter 2 and verse 21.
Or even here unto where he called, because Christ also suffered for us.
Leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps.
Who did no sin, neither was God found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again.
When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him.
That judge of righteously.
Well, the Lord is our example.
God could set no less a standard before us, beloved. There it is.
There is the measure that, by His Grace, we should seek to follow.
And everything.
Oh, we have to stop short of those suffering in those hours of darkness.
He and he alone could go through that.
But he would have us to follow in his steps.
I have a question.
Regards the portion that we've enjoyed.
As to the feet washing.
Where we've read just now as to the example the Lord is giving us.
And he says, as has been quoted here just now, that you should do as I have done unto you.
And we've certainly seen the spiritual application of this literal.
Act that was done on the part of the Lord Jesus to his own there.
And the spiritual application of it being that we should as well do as he did to those, we should do as well to our to our brethren.
But over in First Timothy chapter 5.
In the Apostle Paul's instruction to.
Timothy he mentions in regards to widows.
Verse 9.
Let not a widow be taken into the number under 3 score years old, having been the wife of one man. Now these are the qualifications.
Well reported up for good works. I assume that's literal works if she had brought up children, actually done so if she has lodged strangers.
An actual act.
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Or service, if she hath washed the Saints feet.
If she has relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work, my question is in regard to this.
Is this an instruction from the Apostle Paul?
To Timothy.
In receiving such that this was a work that was actually done.
Or is Paul speaking in terms of a spiritual application?
Of what was done by the Lord to his disciples? And I asked that for this reason.
We literally remember the Lord Jesus in death with emblems on a table.
There are those around us who do this in a kind of an abstract way. We literally do this in this simple, blessed way of remembering the Lord Jesus as he instructed.
Could we have a thought in regards to perhaps?
The.
The value of literally doing this or do we do this and if we don't, why don't we do this literally? I'm speaking now in the thought of as the Lord took that low place and would wash he being the Lord of glory, the Son of God coming down and washing his creatures feet. Literally we've mentioned something of that the humility of the Lord Jesus.
Would there be any benefit to us spiritually to do something like this, literally to one another?
We've mentioned it, doing it to one another in a spiritual way, as a health encouragement and as a humbling. Would there be a purpose? Would there be a value to doing this literally?
I happen to be a Shoemaker and the shoes that we wear today covers us up pretty well, but at the time of the Lord Jesus, the other time, 2000 years ago, they had sandals.
And they were often, and there were lots of a street and way that was full of a dust. And when they came home, believe me, they had need to be washed their feet, they had need to be washed defeat. I think there was a very courtesy of a woolly widow to do that in the sense that it's naturally. But there is the application again over that which is spiritual, but actually the sand that they were up and the feet they were open and believe me, they got a lot of those when they went home and they need to be washed.
I would take it to Brother Bob.
This first epistle is laying out.
In specific terms, that which was in order, The church was in order, and reading down through the chapter, I would take it that there these were all literal things. This widow not only brought up our children well, but she thought of the Saints and literally washed their feet. Literally. But I was just thinking of that when you were speaking.
Satan is so clever and so deceitful that he has taken these two Christian services. Maybe I shouldn't say services, the foot washing and the remembrance of the Lord. I know groups that just have reversed these.
One brother insisted that the remembrance of the Lord was only a spiritual application, just destroying the very foundation of that which Paul lays out before us in in the in Corinthians. And also there are those Christians who literally wash each other's feet. Well, I believe that the latter one is not as serious as the first, but I believe that both of them are.
Missing the discernment from the Lord.
And I would take it that it is a spiritual application for us now.
And whereas the remembrance of the Lord remains literal.
He says the Nicodemus, he must be born again, and Nicodemus answered the Lord Jesus says.
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Man entered, mother born again. He couldn't understand Lord.
Lord Jesus said, except you eat of my body and drink of my **** He said Out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water. All those can't be literal. The question also came up, why don't we have the Lord's supper and John's gospel? This is connected with the Passover and we see Judas period immediately going out, so we recognize suffer too. So also see a lot of things.
This, this board is gone, beyond that God has given us.
And I believe, you know it's been brought out there was in that day and age of literally.
I think there's also a spiritual application. First of all this.
Middle she watched.
It felt fresh.
There's something else that took place here that we haven't talked about. My brother Chuck Hendricks mentioned that it was usually the duty of a slave to wash the feet of those that came in, but when there was not a slave, it was the host. Or as the one, the scripture that was read about, the woman that washed the feet, they would wash the feet of the guests that came in. But it was also the custom that if friends went to a hired house or some other place.
That was not where there was not a host. The first ones that went in washed the other's feet. Now think about this. All of these disciples had dirty feet. Whoever went in first didn't do that. Nor the second, nor the third. No one had gotten down and washed the other disciples feet. It hadn't taken place. So they were all there with dirty feet. And we remember that about this time and shortly before.
In other portions that they were arguing about who might sit on his left and right hand.
Their thoughts were very lofty about who should be upward, and I was thinking that they probably thought as they were there, while you should have been Bartholomew, you should have been doing that. You're one of the lesser ones. You should have done that, or somebody else should have cleansed the feet. And like us, we are likely to see dirty feet and say your feet are dirty, clean them. But we've had brought before us that when we see that, like the one that was remembered, the woman who was honored in the scripture, they have done this. They've just gotten down and done this.
Well, the disciples probably didn't realize it until later, but they had this spiritual application we've been talking about. They had it take place right there because he didn't tell them, Look, you should have washed each others feet. How come you didn't do that? Why didn't one of you get down and do that earlier? He didn't say anything like that. But in front of them, their Lord and master got down and washed their feet. And I know that they were thinking about it. We should have done this. Somebody should have done this.
And later on, by the benefit of the Spirit of God who came, as he mentioned, they would know later, I am very sure that that moment came home to them after the Lord was gone, we how we felt in our hearts. And in other portions we have them describe how they burned in their hearts when they realized the truth of things. I'm sure that they felt that and they realized that they had not done this towards one another. So they really and truly, not only physically, literally had their feet washed.
They also had its their feet spiritually washed, it took.
Avoid alienating a person. It really takes a great deal of discernment because there is kind of a confrontation. When the Prophet spoke to David and told him the parable about the lamb and then.
Then he had to tell David, He says, thou art the man, and of course the Lord Jesus Christ. When he taught there was no one that taught the way that he did and.
When he presented certain things in the House of Simon.
Why? Simon was convicted and he had to speak out of his own mouth in connection with this, and I'd like to look at that portion just briefly.
And Jesus, this is Luke 7 verse 40. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he said, master, saying he got his permission to speak. There there was a certain creditor which had two debtors and so on. And he's asked him tell me, wherefore which of them will love most? So Simon gives the answer, and this is kind of a a real foot washing. And the answer is of course.
00:35:14
I suppose that he to whom?
He forgave most, and then the Lord tells him that he had judged rightly.
I Am I right in thinking that that's kind of a foot washing thing? I believe so.
The fair fun thing about first person five, I think is significant, this matter of the widows.
10 It says that she have four children, that she has large strangers. Does she have washed the Saints feet? Not washed feet, but the Saints feet? If she had relieved the afflicted, not the afflicted Saints? I I don't know that I fully understand, but I do realize that Scripture every word is important. So the feet washing was for the Saints.
And I think that tells us something.
I was thinking in connection with this widow.
Things are done differently today as far as that goes. You don't find the literal washing of the feet, but the Lord said to Mary, or said of Mary she hath done what she could.
And that should hit each one of us my own conscience. She hath done what she could. Has there been that quiet going on with the Lord, seeking to do whatever the Hand found to do for his glory?
Just one more comment on that tenth verse. In First Timothy 5, Bob the Jew brought before us everything in that verse.
Well reported of for good works, if she had brought up children, if she obliged strangers, if she had watched the Saints feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have followed diligently. Every good work, every one of those is literal. It's not spiritual and it's not to be applied in a spiritual sense. She actually did those things. She actually got down and washed the feet of the Saints. There are countries our brother Peripatos brought before us. There are still countries.
When I was down in Mexico they don't have paved streets. It's all dirt roads and and if you wore a sandal type shoe and you entered a house there of a Saints entered a house there would be very appropriate to literally wash their feet make them comfortable. That's what the feet washing was for. So what do we do in this country where we have concrete sidewalks and so on we someone comes into the.
Home of a sister and she says be seated, take off your shoes, I'll get you a cup of coffee. She makes them comfortable. That's what answers to washing the Saints feet in our modern country. But there is something that answers to it. We shouldn't give the idea that though we don't do it literally, there isn't anything that answers to it today. It's making them feel comfortable and at home in our surroundings. And she did that, didn't she?
It's applied through the whole body of Christ. I'd like to share with you how the body of Christ washed our feet last seven months.
We had numerous people in this place who are dear Christian people.
Wash our feet with prayer. We have the place where Elaine goes shopping. They told her that they were praying for us in their little church. A man who cleaned our sewer plant in one of our places. I had to call him one night and I told him the circumstances. He said my wife's going to occur. Meeting at 10:00 tomorrow morning.
People in Colorado put us on a prayer list. The point of this is when I go by the Waterville Baptist Church, I have a tremendously warm feeling for the people inside there because I knew they were praying for us. And I, as we commented the other day, how do we reach out and wash the feet of others around us? I would just encourage you that there are many, many ways to do it, but we had a tremendous outpouring.
In our kind of discouragement of people that worshipped our people prayer. And I just wondered if our prayer meetings and our little assemblies and in our phones that people knew they could call up our Know the national Prayer if they wouldn't want to come and ask them more about what goes on. If we had a retail from a peak Washington word and I don't say this is an accusation. I don't say this encouragement. It wasn't the minister, so to speak. It was just the the common ordinary people who assured us they were praying for us.
00:40:18
And carrying himself before the throne of guard, he would be sustained a tough and I just offered this as a suggestion that the way that we can reach out and washing the feet of those about us and maybe go have a desire to come if it hasn't personally too, to know more about the knowledge of the truth.
I think there are ways that it should be done in ways that it shouldn't be done.
I had an experience one time, a brother at the Lord's table, a young brother.
Not instructed in the truth very well, but had an ardent heart for the Lord.
One Lords day he got up before thanks had been given at the table, and he prayed in the assembly, little assembly and for the gospel before.
The the thanks was given at the table. An elder older brother well instructed in the scriptures.
After the meeting he made a straight line for that brother and took him to task for the unseemly subject, as he said to bring up before the Lord's table.
The bread was given thanks for the brother immediately took offense and he left the Lord's table.
Now by God's grace, a couple of years later he was restored, But that to me, I never forgot that if we are going to wash the Saints feet, that brother would have been far better advised not to have spoken.
To that brother at that time at all, but to have gotten into the presence of the Lord himself and got down, down, down. He was obviously taking a superior attitude toward the the poor brother. But we have to get like literally, as has been pointed out, down at the feet, just the same as as Mary. When she dried the Lord's feet with her hair, well, her head was right down at his feet.
And we have to always, whether we're speaking to the unsaved or to.
The believer who may not know the truth is going to seek to wash his feet. First of all, before I even approach that person, I have to get down before the Lord get down and down and down get lower than that man is, and then I'm going to be in a spiritual state to wash his feet. Sometimes we think we're valiant for the truth, and perhaps we're Mary showing some of her own defects and hostility.
It's it's sad, some of these situations where people have a kind of a dominating spirit, and when mistakes are made, they're too often willing to find a side room where they want to make some kind of confrontation with you. We've already had that chapter in Ezekiel before us. I'd like to look at one of the verses there, and I think it relates to what we have before us.
I hope it does or I wouldn't read it.
The disease, and this is Ezekiel 34, verse four. The disease. Have you not strengthened? Neither have you healed that which was sick. Neither have you bound up that which was broken. Neither have you brought again that which was driven away. Neither have you sought that which was lost. And this is the reason why it's it wasn't done graciously.
It takes a lot of meekness and humility, but with force.
And this is pretty harsh, but with force and with cruelty, have you ruled that it was something more than roiling up the waters?
As one was once gathered out of the systems of men, you come amongst together Saints, many of you have been raised in this past. We don't understand the social structure. Sometimes when we've been gathered without a young man don't know how to date, well, we basically probably don't. We don't know how to meet the young sisters and we don't know about these things. That's why we need the counseling of our brothers.
I was thinking we talked about the Master and the large shape of the Master 11.
00:45:05
Versus 11 and 28 in there.
Matthew Chapter 11.
I was thinking I was thinking of verse 2829 and Michael verse 22.
Someone can hear all you.
Heavy rains, I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn.
He can have a smoke on it.
That's that the verse of brother says learn from me, I understand. Learn not of me, but learn from me.
Beautiful, Not connection. Psalm 32 and verse eight, it says.
I will instruct the first thing, secondly, and lead the the way in which thou shalt go. Thirdly, I will guide thee with mine eye upon thee. There is the example, isn't it? We need the the introduce introduction of the presence of the Lord to that person, the sweetness of Christ, and then that person is going to be receptive. But if I act in the flesh, this is going to stir up the flesh in that.
And immediately they react against that foot washing. So it's essential that for us.
First of all, to get into the presence of the Lord myself.
And that's what we don't like to do.
Salt and water hurts.
Connection with what the history is saying about weakness. In our chapter the word refers to us as servants. He says as the servant greater than his Lord. So we see an example of how a servant is to wash feet in Second Timothy chapter 2, where he gives the character of the servant and he says the servant of the Lord must not strive but be gentle, patient, and have to teach and so on. In meekness there's that word again instructing those that oppose themselves.
If God for adventure will bring them to repentance. And so the work is really the Lord's. The servant has the privilege of taking the word and meekly instructing, but the work is really God. And so when we think it's up to us to do it, that that's when it's in the flesh. I think we see a beautiful example of that humility in connection with Eudicus. When he fell down from the third loft, there was a brother who we might say had a real fall and fell all the way down to the third lot from the third loft right down to the level of the world.
You might say, but Paul didn't come and stick his head out the window and say, well, Uticus down there, why don't you come up to where we're at. But no, even though the arrest of the brethren had given him up for dead, Paul went down to where he was at and he got down to that level and embraced him and he showed him that love and Eudicus was restored. And so in our chapter here we had somebody mentioning the other day about the warm towel after the feet washing.
But I believe it goes even farther than that. And that is, as we go a little farther, we'll find that John is on the bosom of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the whole object of feet washing isn't just to warm with a warm towel afterwards, but it's to bring that person all the way to the point where they're on the bosom of the Lord Jesus Christ brought into complete fellowship with him.
You're at this is a lovely example.
There, that young man was sitting in the window.
All sudden, somebody said, Don't you think you're in a dangerous place?
Tom's sitting down with sleep here to this.
Don't you think when you're getting sleepy or in danger of falling out? No, it went on and on and on. And finally that young man fell from what would speak to us of the Heavenlies right down to the level of the world.
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Oh dear one, we need to start the peak washing.
Before the fall from then.
Maybe Paul was speaking a little bit too long to.
All all followed down. Follow them down.
While the.
Following call.
This could put a little cap on our Brother Bobby question about foot washing. There are two rituals in the Bible that we are introduced to in the Gospels. One is the ritual of baptism.
And the other is the ritual of the breaking of the bread. The ritual is an outward act that has spiritual significance. And both of those rituals are carried on in the Epistles. We find direction for them, we find instruction about them, so we know that they were carried on on into the church. However, the ritual and both of those, neither of those rituals are mentioned in the Gospel of John. I think someone already mentioned that.
But the ritual of baptism is and we never find any instruction for the assembly to carry this on in an outward way. But we do. I think as our brother Ron mentioned, we do find that is carried on as a as an individual act. And I just say brethren I I feel a real deep need of the individual ministries being emphasized. There are many of our older brethren that are today.
Tucked away in a convalescent home somewhere.
They're being taken care of their their food and their shelter is all being provided for, but they need a little foot washing once in a while too. And there's families and there's there are young people and there are people who are having problems and difficulties of all kinds that need this individual ministry. And I believe that the Lord is really encouraging us.
In that kind of thing.
Notice verse 17. It says if you know these things.
Happier ye if you do them. And that's where the real joy comes in. Actually practicing what we know. There's a tendency often to build more spiritual knowledge. I know I've had that problem myself, to feel that I've got to know more truth before I can actually put it into practice. Well, brethren, I think that if we have a little portion of God's Word, we may be a young person here today.
I know that young people have come up and they said someone has told me that they're getting, they're drifting into moral difficulties or someone has told me.
That they want to commit suicide. They don't know how to handle that. And I just want to encourage you that if you have a little portion of God's word, a little soothing portion of God's word or a little correctional instruction for that person, you can you can, as a young person carry out that active foot washing. It may save a person from some real disasters in their life. And I want to encourage that there there are, there are widows among us that are kind of being neglected. I know they have their, they have their own, maybe Social Security.
And the government is doing their job and so on. But are we doing our jobs and taking care of those who are in need of help among us in an individual way? It's something that doesn't get a lot of outward. Could we say reward? But it's something that the Lord notices, and it is something that he has told us to do if we want to really serve him. And he says there's a special joy associated with that kind of thing.
Verse 17 is the practical application in our lives of what we've been reading about.
If we know these things, it could read, Blessed are ye.
If you do that, there's a blessing attached to soul seeking.
Before the Lord, for we need wisdom from Him to put this to a practical application in our daily lives. But we must do it in His strength, drawing wisdom from Him. For without me you can do nothing.
The instant picture are very important, aren't they? They if.
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I don't know whether it's oversimplified to say it, but the if is the wilderness of our life.
This is as you say, Brother John put the.
These teachings into practice in our own life and that's the if not if we know them, doesn't say happy are you if you know them, but it's if if we do them. And I was thinking of John's Gospel Chapter 7, it says, and this is in connection with what everyone of us can be as a foot washer doesn't need to we don't need to know a great deal of truth.
But that verse says he that believeth. That's the imperfect tense. It's going on and on. It's not believing for salvation, either. Believeth on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water, one hand on The Fountainhead I must have to be drawing from the person of the Lord that comes into my life, into my belly as it says there I walk in it, I live it. And then my left hand is going to be always out to seek to help others.
But it must come from The Fountainhead through our life to live it. And it comes out as present true. Not somewhat not something but what brother has said. But it comes out of our practical living of this truth that we learn personally from the Lord through the Holy Spirit. And then the Holy Spirit takes that and out it goes as a river. Not need to worry if I have any work to do. He'll give me the right work, he'll send me to the right person that for whom the Spirit is working. I don't need to give out 1000 tracks.
I need to give out a few tracks, but with prayer. But if I hand us on The Fountainhead and living it, then I'm going to be directed to those with whom the Spirit is working.
Some years ago I I asked the brother who traveled around the country quite a bit, if he would visit in such and such a place, and I was kind of surprised when he replied to me. He says. Well, I'm a coward.
Well, I just accepted that, but I think a little bit in connection with that, that we do need courage, that it takes not only discernment but courage. And I think of that little hymn in the verse. It says he makes the cowards spirit brave.
Oh brother, I think the distinction comes just a little bit later in in the question of time. He was one of those that had their feet washed. But when the Lord took some bread and dipped it into the wine, the bread and the wine were joined together. That is a picture of life, life, blood in the body. He handed it to to Judas and then Judas went out.
The others had the bread separate from the wine. They were knowing, learning a truth that wasn't for Judas Ears, but that foot washing outward could have been. And so that was before he went out, I believe.
This is the chest of this part you want to do.
This.
Very well. Someone in here.
Saying I am I performed for that or not, so they received in the house all the blessings learned from the house.
There's an exercise in the 14th 1St.
Also.
That means that sometimes my feet have to be washed too, and I believe in Galatians 6. We get an exhortation there.
01:00:07
The first verse.
Says brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such in one. Well, that's what we all would like to do, isn't it? We would like to see people restored. But the rest of the verse, I think is important.
Because it brings before us that it should be done in the spirit of meekness, and we've said that before. But the last part of the verse is an exercise to me. It says, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
I believe that if we look at the history of Peter and the history of Paul, we find that Paul had to withstand Peter because of matters which he was going on with as far as the Jewish system is concerned. I think if you look later on, you will find that what happened was the immediate earthly circumstances that put Paul in prison was exactly the same thing. He sought to be about the purifying the Jews. And so we find that in a sense.
There was the error in fall waves, exactly the same type of thing as he was seeking to guide Peter in. If Paul can do it, I can do it.
What time is up?
Our Walk and Our Object
Address—A. Maurer
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Brother Ron Reeves this morning in his prayer reminded us that when we started these meetings, we asked the Lord through the Spirit to guide us into that which would be our portion. And a brother, Chuck Hendricks this afternoon gave us some very lovely and very precious things about the Holy Spirit, things which are helpful and good to take home with us.
It seems to me that as we come to near the close of the meetings that we can reflect back.
And see how indeed the Holy Spirit has been good to us. And it seems to me as if he has woven a very lovely thread through these meetings. A thread perhaps which has.
Two parts to it, but which seemed to have gone parallel through the meetings from start to finish.
And that is the theme of our walk.
And our object.
Reflect with me on the number of times in these meetings you have heard the term Our walk.
And our object.
Our walk and our object. I'd like to go then to the chapter that we had in our reading meetings.
John, Chapter 13.
It seems as if so many times we had the reference in our scriptures and in our thoughts about.
Our walk and our object.
If we go to John 13.
We find in the sixth verse it says then he that is the Lord cometh to Simon Peter.
And if we go on to the 25th verse we find he then lying on Jesus breast.
Now, there are three people mentioned in particular in this chapter. I believe two of those are real.
Judas Iscariot, as we have said, is had a devil, but there are two in this chapter.
Two in this chapter which are real, and that is Dear Peter.
And dear John.
We had some lovely readings about the feet washing.
And the conversation that the Lord had with his, with his own really was especially to Peter. And I believe that we said that our that the feet washing had to do with our walk, with our walk.
And it was to Peter that he had this conversation so much with regard to the feet washing.
And if we go over to.
John isn't specifically mentioned, but I believe that we are very sure that.
That in the 25th verse this is the apostle John.
We find here that.
It says that he then lying on Jesus breast, saith unto him.
Who is it I believe, that John would bring before him with the closeness he had?
To the Lord Jesus as the one who had the Lord Jesus as his.
Object and so in these two real ones of God.
Here in this chapter, we are brought early on to recognize that one would tell us.
Of our walk and the other of our object.
Now I think it's instructive, at least it's been instructive to me, to meditate when we find things in the the Gospels.
That apply to a person or a disciple. I believe that it's very.
Spiritually profitable to look later on in the epistles.
And see how God develops the things that he brings up in the in the Gospels and brings them out in the ministry of those who wrote the books later on and those that come later on in the in the scriptural order. And so I would like to do that this afternoon, to take this chapter as perhaps the starting point and to look at some scriptures which apply to the apostle Peter and the Apostle John.
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Which speak to us of the walk and the object.
And then to go again into the 12Th chapter of Hebrews.
We had that before us before, but I'd like to look at it again with a perhaps a little different emphasis.
We have introduced to us, then, in the 13th chapter, the fact that.
Here we have Peter being introduced to the feet, washing the walk, and John being here given to us as the one who had the Lord Jesus as his object. Now let's go over to the 20.
Chapter 21St Chapter.
Notice in the 21St chapter that there is a paragraph at the 15th verse, and after that paragraph, after that division, we find again the Lord speaking to these two same disciples, Peter and John.
And he speaks to Peter 1St and there's something that he has to speak to Peter about. And we know that this is Peter's restoration publicly.
And as we read this, we find that Peter is told to feed my sheep. I believe here this would tell us, among other things, that.
Peter here is being made.
A vessel for his ministry down here.
His walk.
And if we go over to a little further, we find in the 20.
Second verse.
We find there that it says, Jesus saith unto him, if I will, that he that is John Terry.
Till I come, What is that to thee? Follow or walk behind me, follow me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die. Yet Jesus said not unto him He shall not die, but if I will, that he tarry till.
I come Peter here in the last part of John's Gospel.
Being prepared for the ministry, whereas the Spirit occupies us here.
With the truth of the return of Christ.
Till I come.
Again, we find that it is the object to John, the path of ministry to Peter.
The object to John.
Now it's also interesting to note that in the scriptural order we find that the the epistles by John come immediately after the epistles by Peter.
And as we Passover the book of Acts, we see Peter and John there in the third of Acts.
And we find Peter and John that was mentioned by our brother Chuck this afternoon. There in later on in the book of Acts working together and in the especially in connection with the giving of the Holy Spirit, we find Peter and John again. And then if we go to the writings of Peter and John, we find something that I think carries out the groundwork that has been laid.
Again, I say that I think it's instructive if we if we read the Gospels and then we go to the Epistles to see how God worked, how God through the Spirit worked in the hearts of those whom he, the Lord Jesus, spoke to in the Gospels, to see what kind of writings he gives to us through the Holy Spirit.
Let's look, then, at the very last writings of the Apostle Peter.
The very last writings of the Apostle Peter.
Second Peter, chapter 3.
Verse 17.
Peter closes his writings with a warning, A warning as to our walk. He says, Ye therefore, beloved.
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Seeing that ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being LED away from the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.
And we had before us yesterday, did we not? The growing in grace.
The growing and grace.
In the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to Him be glory.
Both now and forever.
So here we have, I believe, again, the Apostle Peter telling us now.
As he learned from the from the mouth of the Lord Jesus about our walk.
That we should be beware lest we be turned and LED away.
With the error of the wicked. And so Peter ends his epistles.
With ends his writings with an exhortation as to the walk.
Now let's go to the end of John's writings, which is Revelation.
Chapter 22.
Verse 17.
And the Spirit and the Bride say come.
The 20th verse he which testifieth.
These things.
Say, surely I come quickly. Amen.
Even so, come.
Lord Jesus, we find here that as John closes his writings.
We find him looking up and he's looking for the time.
When his object is going to return.
John looking for the Lord Jesus. What a lovely thing it is.
And we find, I believe in the Scriptures, how that that early, that early thing that we find in John's Gospel now is carries through.
Through even through the epistles and through the Revelation.
Let's go back to Peter's epistle and see some more exhortations there that he gives us with regard to our our walk.
First Peter chapter one.
First Peter chapter one and verse 13.
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts and your ignorance, but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.
Because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy.
What lesson did the Apostle Peter learn with the foot washing? I believe he learned learned the lesson, and perhaps as he grew older, the lesson of the importance of holiness.
In the Christian pathway that as the Lord Jesus is holy.
So must we be holy?
He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy. We get some more with regard to the path in the second chapter of first Peter.
Verse 21 which was also read to us.
For even hereunto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us.
Leaving us an example that we should.
Follow in his steps.
That we should follow in his steps.
So Peter gives to us. I'm sure that if we look in the epistles of Peter, there are things which speak to us of the ascended Christ. We know that.
But there is instruction for the holiness of the path and that as it says here in first Peter two that we should follow in his that is Christ steps. What an example. So Peters instructions here as to the pathway are very clear.
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What about John? Well, we find that John's writings bring before us the revelation.
And they bring to us, they give to us the vision of an ascended Christ.
Of an ascended Christ who someday is going to come back as king.
But I don't believe that that's what the apostle John was looking for, because he says the Spirit and the Bride.
Say come the Spirit and the Bride. Say come, and we know that the Lord Jesus is going to come back for his bride.
Before he comes back as King. So I believe the apostle John brings before us.
The vision of an ascended Christ, the vision of the Lamb is there in the 5th chapter of Revelation, an occupation with Christ the slain Lamb.
Yet with the hope of the Lord's return.
And also we read how in in Revelation how that the Lord is going to come back as King of Kings.
Yes, he is the object John looking up in the vision.
And seeing these things and presenting to us these lovely truths about his object.
Well, with that in mind, I'd like to look then at the 12Th chapter of Hebrews that we looked at yesterday.
I won't read the whole chapter because I don't want to take the chapter in the order that it's written.
I do believe the chapter brings before us two things.
In the first part of the chapter it brings before us the looking unto Jesus.
Looking unto Jesus, that's our object, isn't it?
If we go down then to the 13th verse, we find the making straight paths for your feet.
Making straight paths for your feet.
Well, these are nice things, aren't they? But a lovely thing it is, to be able to look unto the Lord, unto Jesus.
And what a lovely thing it is to contemplate a straight path for our feet.
But I believe that in connection with each one of these things.
Our object in looking unto Jesus, and our path in making straight paths for our feet.
We have something in the Hebrews 12 which is searching.
That comes before that, which I believe perhaps everyone in this room would want to do.
To have Christ as our object and to walk in a pathway.
As the 14th verse says.
A pathway of holiness of holiness, but there are some things that come before.
The chapter just does not just tell us that we should look unto Jesus.
And that we should walk make straight paths for our feet. I'm going to look at the second example first purposely and that is the making the straight paths for your feet.
What is it?
What is it that comes before that readies one for making the straight paths for his feet, the pathway and the holiness that should characterize that pathway?
Well, I believe that it's clear that we have the chastening brought before us.
The Chastening.
Perhaps starting at the sixth verse. For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth.
And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
If he endured chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons.
For what son is he of whom the Father chasteneth not? But if he be without chastisement were of all our partakers, then are ye ******** and not sons. Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh, which corrected us, and we gave them reverence.
Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live, For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure?
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But he for our prophet, that we might be partakers of His Holiness.
Now no chastening, for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous.
Nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. I read this whole thing.
Because I believe that it's important to recognize that.
The wherefore in the 12Th verse is based on the chastening and the verses that go before.
And I believe that it reminds us.
Very clearly that the flesh has to be put in the place of death.
There must be the chastening. There are those things of the flesh which come in and which hinder.
The pathway they make the pathway not straight and God has to through the Spirit brings before us.
The fact that those things of the flesh, the chastening, must come in.
I believe this brings before us the idea of discipline.
Discipline. And there must be that discipline. How we don't like that discipline. How many? We would much rather that discipline not come into our lives.
But I believe that according to Hebrews 12, it's necessary because the flesh must be dealt with.
Dealt with according to God's principles. Dealt with in obedience to God's Word.
And then it is after that that we find the wherefore, wherefore lift up the hands which hang down. Oh, you see, now we're finding, we're finding the result.
Lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees. The feeble knees would speak to us of our walk, wouldn't it?
And the hands would speak to us of our works, but it doesn't speak about about lifting up our hands and the feeble knees in the first verse of this chapter.
It speaks of it only after there has been through the chastening of the Lord.
And so that pathway.
That pathway is characterized.
Has in the 14th verse with.
Holiness.
Lifting up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees.
Sometimes afterward chastened of the Lord.
It seems like our hands.
Hang way down.
And our knees become very feeble.
Isn't that wonderful?
Because it's then that.
We have the privilege of doing something, perhaps for Christ.
The hands were chained down, and the feeble knees. Now what does it say? It says make straight paths for your feet.
Make straight paths for your feet.
The 14th verse follow peace with all men and holiness.
Holiness. The path characterized by holiness. Isn't that what Peter exhorted us to do? Be holy? For I am holy. The pathway must be holy.
There's no compromise in this chapter.
I feel how far short sometimes I come from walking in the holiness that you characterize my life.
There's no compromise in this chapter.
The standard is God's holiness.
And so it is that we have have the encouragement to.
Lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees after there has been the dealing.
With the flesh. Now let's go to the first part of the chapter and see what comes before we get the lovely truth of looking unto Jesus.
We find there that we are to lay aside the weights.
Not the chastening here, but it's the laying aside of the weights.
And if we go to Matthew's Gospel, perhaps we can get.
Perhaps we can get a little idea of what some of those weights are and what they do.
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Matthew's Gospel.
The 13th chapter.
And the 22nd verse.
Matthew's Gospel, the 20, the 13th chapter and the 22nd verse.
He also that received seed among the thorns is he that careth heareth the word, and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches.
Choke the word.
Choke the word.
And then if we go holding this place, or at least remembering these things and turning over.
To Proverbs.
The 29th chapter I believe it is.
Proverbs 29.
Verse 25.
Verse 25.
The fear of man bringeth a snare.
I believe these things speak to us of the weights.
How many times my occupation with Christ is hindered by.
The fear of man, How many times my occupation with Christ is hindered.
By the care of this world.
How many times is my vision of Christ, my occupation with Christ, hindered by the deceitfulness of riches? How many times do these things choke?
My vision of Christ.
They choke.
We need to lay aside every weight, it says.
We need to lay aside every weight. How many times in my life? How many times in our lives? There are things that perhaps we want to do because we see Christ and we see a vision of Him and we look for Him and we have Him as our object. But these weights come along and they weigh us down and they choke.
And they cloud the vision of our object.
We need to lay aside those weights. We need to get rid of those weights.
Because they choke our vision, our object, they they cloud our sight.
Of the one whom we really want to see.
And the sin which doth so easily beset us.
Now I.
Submit this thought here with regard to the sin that death so easily beset us.
I'm not sure that it says we commit the sin here. Perhaps there's that meaning and perhaps some would see that in there. But I think what it's what we might get from this is sometimes in our lives there are things that we are afraid that we might do if we go according to a certain course.
We may not commit a sin, but there may be something that we would like to do that we say no. If I do that, I might be tempted to do something else. And in so doing, it may beset us, it may take us off, it may alter our course.
It may alter our vision.
So I think these two things are very clearly expressed here, that we must lay aside every weight.
And the sin which does so easily beset us so.
That it doesn't.
Hinder our object doesn't hinder.
The vision or object.
So we have, I believe, those two things. We have the object.
We have the pathway.
We're told that we need to lay aside the weights so that we can see clearly. And we're told to. And we're we're told that we may pass through chastisement and discipline, that we may walk a path pleasing to the Lord Jesus. What happens if we fail?
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With regard to our object in the third verse.
Consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest she be wearied and faint in your minds.
We spoke another time of the race of the race and we've spoken so many times of the race and indeed we are in a race.
And the end of the race is the goal, and the goal, of course, is Christ the end of the race.
But you know.
We can become wearied and faint in our minds.
We have a girl in our town who is a fairly good runner.
And last year, she was a freshman in high school.
And she ran against a girl who was a senior in high school.
And both of them were excellent runners, and the senior in high school I think came in perhaps second or third in the state in her competition.
And the second girl was asked, how can you as a freshman? How can you as a freshman?
Be so good and run so close.
And be so fast. And she said. Well, she said.
Tara gave me competition, I had something to run for.
She gave me something to run for. She gave me something to keep going.
And I believe that Sheila came in perhaps 10th, even though she was a freshman.
But this year she is a sophomore.
And Sheila didn't do so well this year.
He went to the state meet, but she didn't place at all.
She didn't place at all.
And I said to her, Sheila, what happened?
And she said well.
She said Tara wasn't there for me to run after this year and I just didn't have the strength.
It just didn't give me the impetus to reach the goal as fast as I did last year.
Please don't mistake me. I'm not saying that terror was her object. I'm simply saying that we can become worried and faint and not put out the effort.
That's the result.
If we do not consider him, that's the result of not laying aside the weights.
The result is that we become wearied and faint in our minds.
And we don't pursue, we don't strive for the object, we don't strive for the goal.
So if we lose track if we let those weights come in.
And choke our vision. We can become wearied and faint in our minds.
Well, we've noted already.
That in connection with the pathway.
If the flesh comes in.
If the flesh comes in.
It can hinder the pathway.
And what happens in the pathway if we fail the 13th verse?
And make straight paths for your feet. Bless that which is lame be turned out of the way.
It's been a solemn thing to me to realize that everything I do that fails.
Before God.
Is potentially something that someone else by it can be turned out of the way.
Every failure in my life potentially could be that which turns somebody.
Out of the way.
It's a sound fact.
It's not a matter simply here of being wearied and faint in our minds.
As with looking at the object, it's the fact that when we fail in our pathway.
It's that those that are lame can be turned out of the way.
Well, these were solemn truths, I think.
But I believe that for the full grown Christian, the mature Christian.
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One of the things that we desire.
As we grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus is that we have that unclouded object.
And that we walk in holiness that pathway.
The straight paths.
The object.
And the wall.
And perhaps we might say that we might think that with those things satisfied.
That.
A happy Christian life.
Is ours, and I believe in a measure that's true.
But I believe that there's something else in this chapter.
Something else in this chapter that is also very sum and that is the 15th verse.
Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God.
Lest any root of bitterness.
Any roof of bitterness?
Have we seen, have we read of faithful men of God?
Where the roots have sprung up.
And have caused difficulty in their lives.
So that the end of their life.
Is not characterized by a clear vision of Christ.
And straight paths for their feet.
I believe.
Very clearly for myself.
And I trust that you'll pray with me.
That till the Lord come.
That I may diligently seek that there may not be some root.
Of my past spring up.
That would trouble.
That would probably.
Bitterness. Yes.
But I believe there are other things, and we find those I believe in first, John, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life.
Roots which we have to deal with and which can spring up at any time.
And mar the Christian testimony, mar the vision of our object.
And mar the Christian pathway.
What a lovely thing it is. What a lovely thing through these meetings that the Spirit has brought before us, I fully believe.
Our object.
And our walk.
And what a lovely thing it is to strive that we do those things with the help.
Of the Spirit.
And in the knowledge of grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There are warnings.
There are warnings, we need to be aware.
Lest roots spring up.
And in the 25th verse of the same chapter, we'll close.
See that ye refuse not.
Him. That speaker.
See that you refuse not.
Him. That speaker.
Sometimes we hear, Oh well, it's just a phrase in Scripture, it's not that important.
If God speaks it, it is vitally important.
It is vitally important. There is no part of Scripture that we can ignore. There is no part of Scripture that we can ignore.
And so as we go through this pathway, as we have our object before us and seek to walk in the path, the straight paths for our feet.
I think we need to read to watch for the roots.
And to see that we that we indeed refuse not.
Hymn that speaketh the word of God, that we may make it good.
To our souls to recommend ourselves.
John 13:18-38
Reading
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I speak not of you all. I know who might have chosen.
But that the Scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me, has lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before come, that when this come to pass, you may believe that I am He, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He the receivers, whomsoever I send receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit.
And testified and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you.
He I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Then the disciples looked one or another, doubting of whom he spake. Now there is leaning on Jesus bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter, therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. He then lying on Jesus breast, saith unto him.
Lord, who is it? Jesus answered He. It is to whom I shall give us all, when I have dipped it. When he dipped us off, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
Now after the saw Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest do quickly. Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.
For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag that Jesus had said unto him by those things that we have need of against the peace, or that he should give something to the poor.
He then having received the soft when immediately out and it was.
Night therefore when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him, if God be glorified in him.
God's also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.
Little children get a little while. I am with you. You shall seek me.
And as I said, under the Jews, whither I go, ye cannot come. So now I say to you.
And you commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if you have love one to another.
Simon Peter says unto him, Lord.
Whither goeth style? Jesus answered him. Whither I go, Thou canst not follow me now.
But thou shalt follow me afterwards, Peter said unto him, Lord, why counter life all of thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake, Jesus answered him.
Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake?
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The **** shall not crow, kill. Thou hast denied me thrice one more verse.
Let not your heart be troubled you. believe in God, Believe also in me.
The Lord didn't make any mistakes. He knew who he had chosen you from the start.
But with all accomplishing the eternal counsels of God.
And we see this worked out before us here. God's eternal purposes cannot be turned aside. All worked out.
Purposes we find in Scripture concerning the exaltation of Christ overall.
And purposes of two of maximus love and grace, and blessing toward us.
Interesting. First an interesting verse in chapter 6 of John.
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Might read it.
John Chapter 6.
Verse 70.
Jesus answered them.
Have not I chosen you? 12 and one of you is a devil?
That's quite interesting, isn't it? Have not I chosen you 12 and one of you is a devil?
He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he that should betray him, being one of the 12.
That has often impressed my soul that the Lord Jesus chose.
Judas.
And he chose him, knowing his character when I was a kid.
I like to play baseball very much.
And sometimes I get into a group and.
They would line us up to choose sides.
I being always overweight and little.
Was usually the last one chosen because they didn't really want me on their team.
And.
Finally, when we got down to the end of everybody, why they would accept me, but I wasn't often chosen on a team.
But I admire the Lord Jesus Christ for so many things he has.
Admirable in all his ways and all his words, and brother and I have often admired.
The Lord Jesus in this very concept that he.
He willingly or he knowingly and willingly chose Judas.
To be one of his disciples, knowing full well that Judas was a counterfeit. But what impresses my soul is this.
That the Lord Jesus did so to fulfill the word of God, and that impresses me greatly, that although Judas was a constant problem to him, he stole the money and he was a constant problem to the Lord, I'm sure in many other ways yet the Lord Jesus in his submission to the will of his Father.
Would even have on his team and among his disciples of this counterfeit disciple. But he did so in loving obedience to His Father's will, so that the scriptures should be fulfilled, because it says so in the word of God that such should be the case. Well, that has often really impressed my soul that the Lord Jesus often did things to please his Father and fulfill the Scriptures that.
Became a problem to him and made his work more difficult. Isn't that another admirable trait of our Blessed Lord?
Look at here next chapter of Luke.
Answer what you said there, I believe rather on Luke 6.
And verse 12 and 13.
And it came to pass in those days that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day he called unto him his disciples, and of whom he chose 12 whom also we named apostles.
Well, without reading all the names now the end of the 16th verse and Judas Iscariot was also was the traitor. I've always.
Admired that wonderful scripture of the Lord Jesus. It took me all night.
And we read in our chapter here that in verse 20.
Verse 21 When Jesus had thus said he was troubled in spirit, I'm sure he thought back of that night and remember that he received these orders from his Father to choose the 12 of which was Judas carrier.
It was not a light matter for the Lord at all, was it?
But I suggest to the troubling in spirit.
Might have been that there was a lost soul going down to a lost eternity.
He was not the death of a Sinner. He could see Judas going down to that lost eternity, and he did everything to warn him and turn him aside, even to giving him a sock, that mark of affection.
00:10:13
No, he went on.
Like to think too in connection with all the disciples were there.
One disciple was laying on the Lord's bosom, now anyone of them.
But perfectly free to ask the Lord who was it?
But no Peter Beckinson, John's asked that question.
He seemed to sense that John was in the current of the Lord's thoughts.
He was leaning on his bosom, He was close to him. And John very simply says Lord who is it? No question in his own heart that he was the one. But they wanted to know Lord who is oh that we might know something of what it is to lean on. Jesus wasn't it wasn't that the Lord loved John any more than any of the other disciples, but John was conscious of that love.
No. May we be conscious?
Of the love that he has toward us, that the world may know as the Father has loved me, I'm sorry, Turn to John, 17.
Verse 23 The middle of the verse that the world may know that thou has sent me.
And hath loved them as thou hast loved me.
Again in John 15 as the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you.
Oh, of something of that love could be grasped, a love that the Father has toward us.
John was leaning on his bosom, conscious of the love the Savior had toward him.
You think, Brother judge, that that's why Peter didn't run as fast as John at the end of the book, when the message came that the sepulchre was opened and Jesus had been risen, the two of them run.
That says.
That the other disciple that outrun Peter I was had a little bit of a feeling that no scripture to confirm it, but when we're close to the Lord, we have spiritual energy.
I wonder if Peter might have run a little quicker.
Had another scene taken place first, the two on the way to Emmaus when they returned to Jerusalem following them, saying the Lord is risen indeed.
And have appeared unto Simon.
Ohio Everything there was out between the Lord and Peter.
Well, it's good to have everything out between ourselves and the Lord. Nothing hidden, nothing. Tomorrow, the communion.
But maybe that made Peter's feet lag a little. But when Peter got to the suffer curve.
I don't know whether he felt he was defiled already, but regardless, he went into the sepulchre and then John called him.
To the Jew that was depiling, although that was a sepulchre that was not depiled.
I was asked a question a while back. How do we know that this is John.
That is being referred to constantly the disciples whom Jesus loved.
Modestly. John doesn't mention his name, but I think the key.
They want to take time, but look at the end of the gospel.
And I think it's there.
John 21.
Peter and John, apparently. John.
Is being referred to.
Verse 20 Then Peter turning about seeing the disciple whom Jesus loved following five times, it mentions that which also leaned on his breast at supper and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter, seeing him, saith to Jesus, Lord. And what shall this man do? So it still doesn't identify this disciple. And then verse 24.
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This is the disciple which testifies of these.
Things. That makes it plain that John was the writer of the book and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. So I believe that that indicates that it was junk.
I think it's very beautiful in verse chapter 13.
John who's not, who doesn't name himself, just as the disciple whom Jesus loved, He says Lord, who is it? The others? If you read it in the other gospels, they say it is a. Is it I? John never said, is it I?
He was close enough to the Lord to know it, wasn't he? He just says, Lord, who is it?
We want to be that close, don't we?
But don't you think throughout, for instance, in Luke 18, the Lord spelled out in great detail what was going to happen, but we go to Jerusalem and that he was going to be spitefully and treated and spitted upon and he would die and the third day rose again. And then it says neither understood the disciples. The words that He spoke. They didn't have that discernment, but we have a little bit of a tendency to.
Think. Oh my, isn't that very?
Bad for those disciples, but what about us? With the indwelling Holy Spirit that we've been hearing about today and the scriptures and the teachings that we have, are we walking up to the truth that we know we're going to have discernment if we do. We're going to lose our discernment if we don't. Luke 818 says take heed how ye hear.
To him that hath shall more be given than he that hath not. From him shall be taken even at which he seemeth to have. They might seem to have the truth, and we're going from these meetings with hearts filled with Thanksgiving, But we need beloved ones to walk in the truth that we have heard, And then we're going to learn more. But if we don't, if we drift back into the world again, we're going to be as undiscerning as these disciples were.
Like to make a comment on verse 19.
As I tell you before it comes, but when it has come to pass, you may believe that I am noticed that the he is in italics. So what he's really saying he knew that they would be discouraged seeing him being betrayed that danger would be there. And so he says I'm going to tell you ahead of time what's going to happen so that you'll know that I'm the I am, it's the great I am in Old Testament and the very betrayal of the Lord was a proof of who he was.
You know almost every subject that the Lord Jesus is speaking in the Gospel of John. He's the AMI and the bread of life.
I am the light of this world. I am the Good Shepherd. I am the Way. I the truth. I am the way, the truth and the life. I am the resurrection and the life. Seven time at least mentions that verse, and this one here too, marvelous. And in the gospel of Ajana and the ministry of the apostle John, we have a continuing birth before us, the love of the Father and the love of the Lord. Jesus. Marvelous. Wonderful.
You could say, if you believe not that I am, he shall die in your sins.
John's Gospel.
All hinges. That's why I often talking to unsaved people. I don't ask them. They believe the Bible you get, oh percentage or so on and you ask partly and so on. But it's kind of a nebulous point. It doesn't prove anything. But if you say, do you believe that Jesus Christ is the divine Son of God? Yes, no, Yes or no? There's no degree we either believe.
Or we don't believe.
Interesting to see too that this sock was given to Judas. This shop was kind of like a little special gift that was given to the honored guests at the table at the Passover. And the Lord very clearly wanted to mark out who this was in front of the other disciples and also to the disciple himself. And so he takes this piece of bread and dips it in the vinegar and he hands it to Judas.
00:20:11
Iscariot and notice it, says Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
Many other places it just says Judas Iscariot and it's just like this is an emboldened type. He uses his full complete name. In other words it's like a conviction almost. This is the man Judas Iscariot son of Simon and this special gift was given to him. And then notice in verse 27 it says after the sot Satan entered into him. I believe that the Lord spoke to Judas Iscariot in a very marked and loving way.
And I believe that the devil was very closely associated with this, watching over engineering, this betrayal. But it's just like the devil knew that that the Lord was speaking to him, knew that there was a heart within Judas that could respond to that. And so the devil moves in and says, I'm going to take over this job personally. We don't find that in scripture very often, do we, brethren? Maybe the the man of sin in the end that is going to rule the world.
That man is possessed by the devil. But normally when we read about possession in the Bible, the King James uses the word devil, but it's really demon possession. That is, it's Satan. It's those fallen angels under Satan. But this time Satan takes over the job. He doesn't want to trust it to anyone else, and it is hatred for the person of the Lord Jesus Christ comes out in a marked way here, as if to say I am going to make sure that he goes through with this. You see the last thing.
That Jesus gave to Judas Iscariot was a special, honored present, and the last thing that Judas was going to give to Jesus was a kiss of betrayal that would mark his death on a cross.
These are the very all morning here for any that do not know the Lord.
Judas.
He then, having received the soft when immediately out, and it was night, he went out from the presence of the Lord.
Was night. Now I wonder if there is one here.
That still does not accepted Christ as Saviors. You're going to go out into the night. I want to read 2 verses from Isaiah, Isaiah 21.
And verse 11, the burden of humor he called to me out of Seer.
Watchmen, one of the night Watchmen, War of the night, the watchman said. The morning cometh, and also the night.
And the Lord you and I that know Christ as Savior are going to pass out of this night into the morning, but for those that do not know Christ the Savior.
You're going out into the night to pass into eternal night.
Another verse in Isaiah, better in the Mr. Darby's translation, Isaiah 8 and verse 20.
To the law and to the testimony. If they speak not according to this word, it is for them. There is no Daybreak.
They speak out according to this word. For them, there is no Daybreak all. We're in this world's night.
And if you do not know Christ as your Savior, there's no Daybreak for you. You pass into eternal night.
They think we could say brother judge, all the believers are facing.
The East and all the unbelievers are facing the West.
Because this is man's day, and they're looking toward the sunset, and the sun will never rise again for them. But on the other hand, this is our night and this is the day. At least this is the time when we are in daily expectation of that morning star. He has already risen in our hearts, But we're looking for the morning star. And then seven years later, the Son of Righteousness shall rise.
In the day of his affair.
00:25:02
Just one little thing I want to say, especially to the young people, is the fact that you're going to meet people that they say to you that there is no such a thing as eternal security. They say that is not true and they take Judas Iscariot as an example. He said that he was a believer and he was lost, but it's not so because the Bible was very plain as they brought us. Already read that he said I have chosen.
12 of you And one of you is a devil. That means that you will never save, never save. Thank God that when we do really believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be our eternally secure, blessed be His name, not because of what we do, but they are merit, but because the infinite value of the precious blood of the Lord Jesus as Savior says sometimes, many times you have said in this confidence, and we are saved forever, We belong to Him forever.
Just one bus will be enough to convince everybody here this afternoon. John, Chapter 6 and verse 47. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me.
Oh, I lay hold of that tense. And that verse here had everlasting life. Praise the Lord, that is forever.
It is especially solemn note because we look back at Judas's history. He no doubt was one who went out and preached the gospel. They went out two by two.
He perhaps cast out demons in the name of the Lord Jesus.
He was the treasure. He kept the bag. And even when the Lord says it's the one I give a stop to, when that soft is handed to Judas, the disciples refused to believe.
The Judas could possibly be the one who was going to enjoy. His reputation was such that they thought that he went out to to give money to the poor. And we see those pious words when the woman came in with the alabaster box of ointment and anointed the Lord Jesus. He could say, well this could have been given to the poor. It sounded very spiritual and religious. And so it is a solemn warning when we think about it, that there could be someone here even this afternoon in our midst who could be involved in in all of these things and.
Be at all the meetings. Maybe preach the gospel. And yet.
Really be like Judas and apostate. I'll just say that to exercise our hearts, that brother. And are we real? Do we really know the person of the Lord Jesus Christ? It's an interesting thing about the alabaster box and the first is quoted here that is fulfilled in the 41St Psalm. It starts out blessed is he that considereth the poor. And of course this was a place where the man was stealing from the rocks did have hypocrisy.
And there are steps in a failure of a person leading to apostasy is hardening of the heart, getting into moral difficulties such as cheating of one kind or another, and then finally departure from the living God and I I'm just struck by how much there is about Judas in the scriptures.
Well, you get in Zechariah 11 in connection with They Priced me First already has been mentioned about how Satan entered into it. You get that in 109th Psalm.
Said a wicked man over him. I'm not just exactly sure what that means, but Satan, I suppose it was to be Satan. Then Satan was to be at his right hand, and it goes on and on to express what a heinous thing it was for for a person to be this close to the Lord.
And to reject the, the one who was going to usher in blessing, he wanted to bring in in blessing and had brought in blessing and he wanted to continue to, to bless his people. So you get that and of course you get some remarkable things in the 69th Psalm about Judas, the 56 Psalm. There's quite a bit about Judas in that as well as I previously mentioned the 41St and then there's a little bit also in the 35th Psalm.
And there may be many others, There may be many others. And of course he's quite prominent in all the gods. This man that acted as a betrayal and as has already been suggested, is is a type of the coming man of sin.
I thought we might look at that portion in John's Gospel that was the first to charge his gala past him as John's Gospel, chapter 12, because of the hands of the Lord Jesus to do the Spirit.
00:30:05
And I just want to face again that God and first step.
Then, said Jesus, let her alone.
Against the day of my career.
That is reviewed.
How to learn scriptures about preciousness of fever?
And in that very chapter ASA I was thinking of verses 4:00 and 5:00. Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him. Why was not this ointment sold for 300 pence and given to the poor? This he said not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, had the bag and Berwick was put there in. But here this woman had poured out this precious ointment because she valued the Lord Jesus here was one of his disciples didn't value him at all, did he? I mean, that's indicative that that precedes his betrayal in the 13th chapter.
Here was one that that didn't put the value on the Blessed Lord that he is worthy of, and he promptly betrays him for 110th of that.
Just one more word I want to say about Judas Iscariot and the people. Sometimes they answer me, they say, well then you can go out and do as you please. You can sin because you save forever. Well, the answer that I give to them is I make the difference. A real Christian is a God forbid that I should do that.
Is he so, brother?
Wonder if there's a special significance here. After the thought Satan entered into it.
Going back?
To when Cain Through Abel.
I believe that Satan energized pain to slay Abel to destroy the Promised Seed.
There ordered all the baby boys to be cast into the river to destroy the promised seed.
And we find Alpha Lion destroying all the seed royal. But God preserved the promised speed. We find Haman seeking to destroy all the Jews who destroyed our promised seed. We find Herod.
Destroying all the babies in Bethlehem from 2 years old and under to destroy that promised seed. And now here is the promised seed. There must be no mistake. Satan himself entered into Judas to see that everything is carried out and that promised seed is nailed to that cross of Calvary and there in the counsels of God.
Satan Matthew's greatest defeat.
God brought in resurrection, brought in salvation through the death of Christ, and brought in resurrect.
In verse thirty of our chapter verse 30, it says about Judas he having received the SOP.
Went immediately out. I think we ought to notice carefully it says He went immediately out and it was night.
My understanding is that this is the close of the Passover supper and happened just prior to the Lord Jesus instituting the.
Remembrance of the Lord that we know. So it appears to me to be quite clear that.
Judas was not present but when the Lord Jesus established what we call the Lord's Supper and which we participate in on the Lord's Day. But now, because our time is almost over, I would like to encourage our brethren to help us understand verses 31 and 32. It appears to me that there are some very precious thoughts that we should get out of verses 31 and 32.
I'll read them therefore when he was gone out. That's Judas Jesus said Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself.
00:35:07
And shall straightway glorify him. It seems to me that those verses are rich with.
Precious truth for us and I would like to encourage our brethren to help us understand these two verses.
I would just like to make one point.
And that is this that these two verses seem to indicate a contrast with 17 and four where the Lord Jesus is talking to his Father, Father, and he's speaking there about his life. Here it is God and it is his death.
And I think it's Mr. Darby that points out that in the life of the Lord Jesus he glorified his Father 17 and four to live for the glory of the Father, his perfect life, the end of it. He laid himself on the altar, but in his death he glorifies God, that is giving himself spirit, soul, and body to God.
In a footnote, Mr. Darby gives he has this in the past tense.
When therefore, he was gone out, Jesus says now has the Son of Man been glorified?
God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God also shall glorify him in himself, and shall glorify him immediately.
John's Gospel is timeless, isn't it? It's all there's not. It's not sequential, It's not in sequence, but it is there as an accomplished fact. For instance, we've been reading in the 13th chapter.
But the 4th, at least the 12Th chapter speaks of.
That which is going to be accomplished in the 13th chapter, and it has been written yet or taken place, so that it's all now I finished the work which thou gave us me to do the work, and he's speaking and it says.
Is that. It's just as if John has no beginning, no ending. It's all forsaken and he's glorified. So I take it that I was 13.
13 and 14 are referring to that.
Which the Father, or at least God, has received from the death of his Son.
The Son of man glorified.
That brings before us the perfection of His obedience.
You might say his obedience was crowned at the cross, because there he accomplished the will of God.
In the face of divine wrath against sin.
Something that was never true of him during his life. He was always under the unclouded joy of God his Father, but at the cross.
The Son of Man completed that obedience by continuing as the obedient, 1 even in the face of divine wrath. So he accomplished the will of God when everything was against him.
Even God himself as to nature judging sin.
We can't fathom what that meant to him when we think of God. It's his nature, God and his nature, God in his essential being.
Has been glorified as to the question of sin. The Son of man is glorified in God, God, and all that he is, and his essential being in his nature.
Not just the Father now, but God in His very nature has been glorified as to the question of sin.
But man's glory is obedience. Man's glory is obedience. The Son of Man was glorified in perfect obedience, and obedient unto death, even the death of the problems. Obedience, when when it was nothing but wrath and darkness and judgment.
00:40:01
He accomplished the will of God in the face of divine wrath.
That wasn't true of his life. This was something new, something unique, something that culminated and perfected his obedience. Now as the Son of man glorified. And during that time, those three hours of darkness, God was glorified in him. The whole question of good and evil was gone into and settled for the glory of God, and that immediately he says, And if God be glorified in him?
God shall also glorify him and himself. That's the answer.
God glorified him, gave him the highest place in heaven, because he was so infinitely glorified by the perfection of the obedience of the Son man on the cross.
Go back to Leviticus 16, we find the Day of Atonement.
And in that chapter, error and error alone carries out everything. There should be no man in the Tabernacle when he goes in to make atonement. And so here we find the Lord Jesus Christ must now go through this alone.
Alone he bare the cross. Alone his grief sustained his was the shame and loss, and he the victory game. The mighty work was all his own, though we shall share his glorious throat. This was something that no one could have.
Anything to do with accepting Christ himself, He and Hilo.
Could accomplish the work of redemption.
We.
We share in the spoils David Single Handed Slugger Life, The Children of Israel, Reap the spoil.
I was just thinking of the four coverings of the Tabernacle.
One of them only is never seen.
The other three, the outside one, could be seen from the outside badger skins.
The next one was the.
Goat's hair. The next one, or at least the inside one, was the linen with the blue, purple, and scarlet, which could be seen from the inside when the priest looked up. But there were and it gives dimensions for the first two, and it was in strips. And it takes 7 verses to describe the first one, that which brings before us the glories of Christ.
It wasn't long enough to be soiled. It was 1 cubit short on either side as it came down the side so it wasn't soiled. The glories of Christ were never soiled by contact with the earth, but the third one only takes a half a verse to describe and that is the ram skins dyed red. No measurement, no strips.
Never seen.
By the people or the priests only seen by the eye of God, his eternal glory, indivisible, and never in all eternity will we be able to see in all its, in all its fullness, what the Father sees in the glory that the sun has rendered to His Father. This is divine. It's beyond us, but we.
Revel in it to a degree today.
Should we sing hymn #80?
O Teach Us so the Power to Know
Address—C. Hendricks
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Look at a number of scriptures this afternoon. We'll begin with John Chapter 7.
John Chapter 7.
As the Lord enables, I'd like to trace.
And through the New Testament.
The Spirit of God.
Wonderful subject, an immense subject, far too vast to cover in one little meeting. But we'll see how the Lord enables John. 737 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink he that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
But this spake, he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive for the Holy Ghost, was not yet given because that Jesus was not yet glorified. I think it's important to remark that the Spirit of God was not down here in the in the way that the Lord refers to in this passage could not be until.
He was a man in the glory till he was a man in the glory. The Spirit of God was not yet given.
Because that Jesus was not yet glorified. The grand truth of Christianity is the presence of the Spirit of God down here in this world, to inhabit the house, to dwell within the individual believer, and to unite us to a glorified man, a heavenly man, One who is not here, one who is out of this scene, and who is in the glory now. John 14.
John 14.
Verse 15 If you love me, keep my commandments.
The proof of love is obedience if you love me.
Keep my commandments. What are His commandments we heard yesterday about the will of God?
His commandments are the expression of that will.
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever. The Lord was about to depart this scene and return to the Father. He was going to leave them. He would not remain with them. So now he speaks of another comforter. He had been their comforter when he was here on earth. He had provided for all their needs. And now he was about to leave and return to the Father. And he says that he may abide with you forever. Wonderful.
Tremendous truth. First time they'd ever heard this. This ministry given in John 13 through 16 is ministry that had never been unfolded before. He waited to give it until he was about to depart, until he was going to return, leave this world and return to the father. And then he gave what they needed in his absence. In his absence. And here he brings before us. We've had in the feet washing chapter of John 13.
Very wondrous truths. And now he brings thee for us in his absence. He would not leave them comfortless, but he would send the Spirit, and he would abide with them forever, never to leave us. The Spirit of God will be with us forever. When we're in the glory, He'll be there with us as the power of communion and worship. He will abide with us forever, even the Spirit of Truth.
Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him. The world does not receive the spirit of truth. It does not have the truth. It is a very poor place to go to get truth, because it has rejected him. Who is the truth? The Lord Jesus himself. Earlier in this chapter he says in verse six, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.
And so he was the truth, objectively the Spirit.
Is the truth. Subjectively he dwells within us. He makes good in my soul what is true of Christ outside of me. All our blessings are in Christ, and the Spirit of God has been given to bring us into the enjoyment of Christ where he now is in the glory.
00:05:08
The great fault of Christians nowadays is trying to make of Christianity and earthly religion.
Don't do that. Don't allow your mind to settle down.
With thoughts of earth if you make an object.
An earthly object. You will never be delivered from this scene and all its attractions. But God has given us a heavenly object, Christ in glory. This is not theoretical truth that I'm speaking. It's the most practical and soul transforming truth that we have in the word of God. How do we get delivered from all the evils We've been talked, we've been speaking about? Do we address the problems that are amongst us?
The proper way, as I understand the Word of God, to address these problems and to deliver us from the evils which beset us because of the flesh and because of the world, and because of the devil, our tripartite enemies as as it were.
The way to get deliverance from that is by occupation with an object that is in heaven. If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Set your affection, your heart, your mind, on things about not on things on the earth, for ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Oh teaches so the power to know of risen life with thee.
We belong to another world. Death has closed our history in this world, and the resurrection has introduced us into another world, and we have part in that world where he has gone. The Spirit of God has been sent down here to bring us into the enjoyment of that world, to bring us into the enjoyment of heavenly things, and of the man that Yonder lovely man in glory.
You get a glimpse of him. You get your soul filled with Christ in glory.
The tinsel of this world will no longer have any appeal to you.
That's what we need, Beloved is occupation with a heavenly object.
And this Comforter who has been given to us, will abide with us forever, even the Spirit of truth, verse 17, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. When the Lord was here on earth, He did not dwell in the disciples, He was in their midst.
But here is Here is 1 and this coming into the world of the Holy Ghost is as marvelous and event as the coming into the world of the Son of God.
A divine person has come from heaven to take up his dwelling.
In our bodies and in the assembly, viewed collectively as the House of God.
Tremendous truths. We don't have that aspect of things in John's epistle. But, as was remarked yesterday, the ministry the Lord gives in John 13 through 16 prepares us for the truth to be developed in their fullness in the epistles.
The mystery. The mystery. God's hidden secret thoughts never revealed before. We are the only people that have ever lived on earth that those Saints of the present Church period that have been brought into that secret, that wonderful mystery, Christ in His Church.
Says I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. And then in verse 19 I believe that's true. Now by the Spirit I will come to you. Verse 19 Yet a little while and the world seeth me no more, but ye see me. Where do we see him? Not on earth any longer. He was here, but now he's gone. We see Jesus crowned with glory and honor.
Who by the grace of God tasted death for everyone? Where do we see him? In the glory on high? A heavenly object for our souls? A transforming object for our souls. It is a never failing principle of God that if we are occupied with Christ in glory, we will not fall into sin on earth. We will be sanctified.
00:10:08
While I'm on the point, I'll quote the verse John 17. The Lord says let's just read it in John 17.
Verse 17 He says, Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, Even so have I sent them into the world.
And for their sakes, I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified through the truth.
He sets himself apart on high to be the object of his people's affections while they're passing through this wilderness, because the world has become a wilderness to us.
This world is a wilderness wide. We have nothing to seek, no to choose. We've no thought in the ways to abide. We've not to regret nor to lose. We're on the way to the glory where our object is, where the one who has run the race ahead ahead of us is our forerunner. He's there at the right hand of God in the glory. And as we're occupied with that heavenly object, he sets himself apart on high to be the object of his people in glory.
That we might be sanctified, That we might be practically separated.
From the evils of this world and from all its attractions.
And the only thing that is going to effectively separate us from the ills in this world is occupation with that glorified Christ in heaven.
And that's why the Spirit of God has been given to us. One of His primary functions is to occupy us not with earthly things, but with heavenly things, with that Yonder lovely man in the glory, and as we're occupied with Him there, the old corn of the land. As we feed upon Him there, we can also look back and feed upon him as the manna, as he was when he was down here, realizing that He is no longer here.
But he's in the glory, and the spirit of God is the link between our souls.
And that man in the glory marvelous, tremendous, wonderful Truth, verse 19 Yet a little while in the world seeth me no more. But ye see me, because I live, ye shall live also, he said earlier in this gospel I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it abundantly.
Abundant life is life in the power of the Holy Spirit.
That links us with a glorified Christ. He lives now and the power of an endless life.
The risen life of Christ has been communicated to us. You get that in John 20. Turn to it while we're on that point, John 20.
Verse 21 Then said Jesus to them again.
Peace be unto you. Here he is the risen Christ appearing to his disciples. He proclaims peace to them in verse 19. And now he shows them his hands on his side. And the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. And now he proclaims peace to them a second time. And he says, as my father had sent me, Even so send I you. So he sends us out now to be the the bearers of this wonderful peace.
Which he has brought us into. Not only has he brought us into it, but now we are to bring it to others. And when he had said this verse 22 He breathed on them, or into them, and saith unto them, Receive you the Holy Ghost. So here now we have the power of the Spirit.
Characterizing the risen life of Christ which has been breathed into them by the life giving Spirit, the risen Christ himself. Adam was made a living soul, Christ a life giving a quickening spirit, and he breathes into them as Jehovah God did to that.
To the clay that the earth that he had formed into a man, and he became a living soul. Now he breathes into his disciples to breath.
Of his resurrection life receive you, the Holy Spirit. Now John 7 told us that the Holy Ghost was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.
So this is not the coming of the Holy Ghost as a person yet, but.
As a characterizing power of the new risen life that we have in Christ.
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He came as a person to indwell us in Acts Chapter 2, and we'll look at that just in a moment, but turn back before we do to John 16.
In John 16, verse five he says, And now I go my way to him that sent me. That's the Father. And none of you asketh me whether goest thou. But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. They were saddened. They were very saddened, because the Lord said, I'm leaving, I'm going to leave you. They did not like that idea. They did not like that thought. They wanted him to stay with them.
And it was absolutely necessary that he depart, says, Because I've said these things unto you, sorrow have filled your heart.
He had provided for their every need. They did not want him to leave, he says. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away absolutely necessary that I depart. The new order of things that we call Christianity could not be introduced until he had departed and returned to the Father, until he was glorified, till there was a man in heaven.
Glory then, he says. It is expedient for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter will not depart unto you, will not come unto you. Excuse me, but if I depart, I will send him.
Unto you.
Absolutely necessary. He tells them that I leave, that I go back to the Father, and then I'm going to send the Holy Spirit. And when he has come, he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment.
The new translation reads that when he has come he will bring demonstration to the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. Three things. The presence in this world of the Holy Spirit from an ascended glorified Christ demonstrates 3 facts 3 facts. The first fact is sin because he says of sin because they believe not on me.
The presence in this world of the Spirit of God is the demonstration of the fact that the world has rejected Christ.
The sin of the world is stamped upon it. It has rejected the Lord Jesus Christ. That is its sin of righteousness. Because I go to my Father and You see me no more.
The world's sin was to reject him. The righteousness of God has exalted him.
To the very highest place in heaven, fire above all principality and power, and every name that is named not only in this world, but in that which is to come, Put everything under his feet. The righteousness of God has exalted him. Because I go to my father, you see me no more of judgment because of the Prince of this world is judged, young people, We're going through a judged world.
A world which has had the sentence of judgment pronounced upon it, John 12 gives us that now is the judgment of this world.
Now shall the Prince of this world be cast out? And here we find that the Prince has been judged. He met his judgment at the cross.
And the presence in the world of the Spirit of God demonstrates these three facts.
The sin of the world in rejecting Christ, they don't believe in me. The righteousness of God and exalting him to the highest place in heaven.
And judgment, because the Prince of this world is judged, this world is under judgment.
We're not here to improve it. We're not here to mend it. We're not here to correct its ills. We're here to pass through it as a heavenly people, united to a heavenly man in the power of the Holy Spirit. That's Christianity. We're here to manifest his character, his life, his ways, his pathway.
A little while that he's gone.
That little while.
A little while, a little while. It's repeated over and over again in John 16 as God has lasted nearly 2000 years. Now this little while and then he's going to come and he's going to complete the story. Church will be completed. All the heavenly Saints will be gathered home to the heavenly barn on high.
Well, let us go on to to Acts Chapter One much to be covered.
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Verse 4 Again He is the risen Christ, and being assembled together with them, he commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem.
But wait for the promise of the father, which saith he have heard of Maine.
For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
Not many days hence.
When they were therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel?
They asked this question after he had given all that ministry in John 131415 and 16, where he told them over and over and over again, I'm going to leave this world. I'm going to return to the Father, and in my absence I'm going to send down that other comforter, the Spirit of Truth. He will abide with you forever. He'll dwell with you and be in you, and he'll be the demonstration of.
The terrible sin of the world.
In rejecting him the righteousness of God and exalting him.
And the judgment of the World's Prince.
And of all that is under his authority, we're going through an enemy's.
They were therefore were come together. They asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel? They asked this question after he had given all that ministry in John 131415 and 16, where he told them over and over and over again, I'm going to leave this world, I'm going to return to the Father, and in my absence I'm going to send down that other Comforter, the Spirit of Truth. He will abide with you forever.
He'll dwell with you and be in you, and he'll be the demonstration of the terrible sin of the world in rejecting him, the righteousness of God and exalting him, and the judgment of the World's Prince and of all that is under his authority. We're going through an enemy's land. Don't forget it. Don't make this your home.
If you do that, if I do that, I'm not true to him.
I'm saying that I can enjoy the scene where he's been turned out.
The scene which is under the judgment of God, The scene where he is not.
And God says no, you can't. You're a heavenly people. And if you don't like heavenly truth, it's still true that you're a heavenly person.
You belong to a heavenly man, and God is working in our lives to deliver us from our earthly mindedness.
Not only from our gross sins.
He works to deliver us from all of those things.
But there's The Dirty side of the road and there's the clean side of the road, but it's all.
Under the power of Satan.
God wants us to be in the enjoyment not of anything that's here, but of himself there.
So they wanted to know if he would restore again the Kingdom to Israel. They didn't understand.
They didn't have the spirits yet. He told them in John 14 that when the Spirit would come, he would bring all things to their remembrance, whatsoever he had spoken to them. And in John 1616 he tells them, I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will lead you into all the truth, And that we have unfolded to us in the epistles, the wonderful truth of the assembly, the truth of the one body. We are looking at that a little yesterday.
And now he goes on to say verse 8. But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you.
And ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem.
And in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth, that's the.
That's the progression of the message that was to characterize Christianity. We are his witnesses. We are his witnesses. We are left here for that purpose, to be witnesses for him.
We're not here to settle down in this world. We're not here to make a name for ourselves in this world, which is cast him out. We're here to be his witnesses. We're here to remind this world over and over again. You have rejected Christ.
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And when the world with its overtures, asks us to join us, to join them in their plans for improvements of this.
Judged scene, We say no, we don't belong here. We belong to another world, and we belong to one whom you will not have.
And so we want to be true to him.
To be true to him.
Chapter 2 of Acts verse one.
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. Here we have the fulfillment of what the Lord had said, that not many days hence he shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. The Spirit of God would come with power. And the first evidence of the Spirit of God coming is it filled the house where they were sitting, I believe a picture of the assembly.
Where the Spirit of God dwells and he fills the house, and then what does it say? There appeared unto them clothing tongues like as a fire, and it sat upon each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. What's the significance of that? I believe the significance of that is that Christianity was not to be limited to 1 nation.
Jews, the Jews, Israel, one nation, but it was for all peoples and tongues and languages and nations on the face of the earth.
And so the Spirit of God, the first manifestation of His presence here, when he filled the house, and then he filled the mall, and they spoke with other tongues, was this new message, this new thing, this new order of things, which would, which was flowing from a glorified Christ, would be for all people.
For the whole world, not limited to any.
Now at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 2, verse.
32.
Jesus, Peter is speaking. He's explaining to them what had taken place.
This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses, therefore being by the right hand of God exalted.
Now we have what the Lord told us in John 7. The Holy Ghost was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified. Now we have a man in the glory.
He's exalted.
Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted.
And having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost when he was here on earth, the Spirit of God came down upon him at the River Jordan.
As a dog, and the father's voice was heard saying, This is my beloved son.
Whom I am well pleased. He was anointed the Holy Spirit at the Jordan. He received the Spirit for himself without blood, because of the perfection of his person. Now he receives the Spirit a second time because of the perfection of his work, and he sheds him forth upon all those who were under the value of that work down here in this world. 120 Disciples and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
In its initial stage takes place because the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Embraces Jews and Gentiles. I'll quote the verse. Time is running out.
So many verses to look at. First Corinthians 12. By 1 Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether we be bond or free, Jews or Gentiles, and have all been given to drink of 1 Spirit. So the baptism of the Holy Spirit embraces two groups of peoples, the Jews and the Gentiles. The Jews in Acts 2, The Gentiles in Acts 10. We haven't come to that yet, but we'll cut to it in a moment.
In Leviticus 23, the feast of Pentecost says in verse one of chapter 2 of Acts, when the feast of Pentecost was fully come, there were two wave loads representing the Jews and the Gentiles, the two companies that would make up that heavenly assembly united to Christ in glory.
It says in one Corinthians 12 in our King James Bible by 1 spirit are.
We all baptized into one body that should be were.
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We all baptized. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not taking place today. It's a completed thing.
It began on the day of Pentecost to bring in the Jews. That's the first wave loaf it was completed on in Acts 10 when the Gentiles were brought in the second wave loaf. And then in Acts 11, Peter explains what had taken place. Let's just read it. Let's just read it before we go back to Chapter 2, Acts 11.
Acts 11.
He's telling these Jews why he had gone into the Cornelius and eaten with the Gentiles, he says in verse 15 of Acts 11 as I began to speak.
The Holy Ghost fell on them on these Gentiles as on us Jews at the beginning. Then remembered I the Word of the Lord. How that he said, John indeed baptized with water.
But ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, for as much then as God gave them the light gift, as he did unto us.
Who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ? What was I that I could withstand God. When they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God, saying. Then it got also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. Here we have now the Gentiles brought in the second part of the baptism of the Spirit, if you will, because it embraces both companies, Jews and Gentiles, and now that they've been brought in, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is finished, completed.
Not to It's not going on today, as we hear so often in Christian circles.
Have you been baptized with the Holy Ghost?
Baptism of the Holy Ghost brought the Jews into the one Body and the Gentiles in and once that was accomplished.
The baptism was finished, and now we are brought. When we receive the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God. We're sealed by the Spirit and brought into that baptized body, and we are one with Him. Marvelous, wonderful truth.
Acts 2 again verse 33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted.
And having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this which he now see and hear.
A man in the glory gets the spirit of God a second time, if I can put it that way.
And by virtue of his perfect work of atonement, he sheds him forth.
To baptize, unite those individual believers into one body. Best illustration I've ever read of the baptism of the Spirit is a bowl with 120 beads in it. And then there's a string and a needle and a thread, and someone takes those 120 beads and threads the the string through them and makes it into a necklace. They're now united together into something new that never existed before, a necklace.
And that's a little picture of the baptism of the Spirit of God.
Uniting us into one body, not just individuals any longer.
But members of the body of Christ and of the living glorified head in heaven, verse 36 Therefore let all the House of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. God has made him Lord and Christ of righteousness. Because I go to my Father, God has made him Lord in Christ. The righteousness of God has set him there in that place of glory, and the Spirit of God has been sent down from Yonder glory to earth to unite us.
Threw himself on high.
A heavenly people.
Verse 38 Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ.
For the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost then in chapter 8.
Quickly.
Chapter 8. Samaria, verse 14. Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John, who, when they were come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost while his Yeti was fallen upon. None of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord. Jesus then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. So here you have the Samaritans brought in. They were a mixture of Jews and Gentiles.
And then in Acts 10 just quickly acts 10 Peter now gives testimony verse 43 To him Christ give all the prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins as soon as there's the testimony to the forgiveness of sins upon believing in him.
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What happens while Peter yet spake these words? The Holy Ghost fell.
On all them which heard the word, and they of the circumcision which believed, were astonished. These Jews were astonished that the Spirit of God came upon these Gentiles.
As many as came with Peter, because that I'm the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Marvelous. And we've already read Peter's explanation of it.
There are so many other scriptures, I don't think we're going to have time to turn to them. I just want to refer to a few.
Let's turn to Romans 8 quickly.
Romans 8.
The New Testament is just filled with references to the Spirit of God.
Because he is the power.
Of Christianity, verse 2, The Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
Hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Remember John 20, Where the Lord is, the risen Christ breathes into their nostrils the breath of his resurrection life.
Saying Receive you the Holy Ghost.
Here he is as the power of that new life, The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
We have a power now to deliver us from the flesh. Man in Romans 7 doesn't have the Spirit. He has divine life, but he's not sealed and he's in *******. He's under law. The soul that has the Spirit is not under law. He's set free where the Spirit of the Lord is. There is liberty, and He's delivered from that power that held a man in Romans 7 in such ******* so that he could say, O wretched man, that I am, who shall deliver me.
Here you have a delivered soul, now in the power of the risen life of Christ by the Spirit.
Notice verse 4, verse 5 for they that are after the flesh.
Do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. There's two kinds of people in the world today.
Those who are after the flesh and those who are after the Spirit. And if you're saved according to Romans 8 verse five, you are after the Spirit. What do you mind? What does the one who is after the Spirit minds? He minds the things of the Spirit.
Not the things of the flesh. Those that are after the flesh bind the things of the flesh. Now I want to just bring this home.
Before we close, especially for any young person here.
If you're contemplating.
Marriage.
With an unsaved person, remember this. They that are after the flesh, mind the things of the flesh. That's all they can mind. They have no other nature, only the flesh, but they that are after the spirit. If you're the Lords, you mind the things of the spirit. How can two walk together? Except they be agreed and it's impossible for one who is after the flesh to be in agreement with one who's after the spirit.
That's a moral, spiritual impossibility.
He makes it stronger in verse 6 for to be carnally minded. Or is my margin, reads it. The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace. Again, the Christian has the mind of the Spirit and all that is is life and peace. But what is the mind of the flesh? It's death, young people, they'll say to you, come with us.
We're going to see life. We're going to.
Go out and enjoy ourselves. In this world, the mind of the flesh is death. They're not looking at life at all. He that believeth on the Son hath life. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life. But the wrath of God abideth on him. They're not looking at life, They're looking at death, moral death, spiritual death. Because this world has the stamp of death upon it everywhere. And then we're packed. We're passing through a defiling world. We've been looking at that in John 13. A world which is.
Defiled by the the effects of sin, which is death. The wages of sin is death.
And the mind of the flesh is death.
How can you contemplate? How can you consider for one moment linking yourself up for all the rest of your earthly life?
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With someone who has only the mind of the flesh, which is death, and it goes on and even makes it stronger.
In verse 7, because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God, would you like to be married to someone?
Whose mind is enmity against God.
But the mind of the Spirit while verse 7 because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God, for it is not subject.
To the law of God, neither indeed can be think of raising children.
Under such circumstances, it's hard enough for us, when both are saved, husband and wife, the difficulties of the way.
But here we have a situation where the one is saved and the other is lost.
The one who has the mind of the Spirit, the other who has the mind of the flesh.
The mind of the flesh is death. It's not subject to the law of God. It cannot be so. Then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. How would you like to be married to someone that can't please God?
Whose very nature is at enmity with God.
Awful.
If you're involved in any kind of a thing like that, get out of it. Cut it off, Stop it immediately.
Ninth Verse But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If so be the Spirit of God. Dwell in you. If you are a Christian, you have the Spirit of God dwelling within you.
How can you link up with someone, whether it be in business or in marriage, or in any common pursuit where you have to work together in fellowship, one with another, when they are nothing but the flesh and you have the Spirit of God totally opposing powers and principles?
The Spirit of God is the one.
That occupies us and I want to close.
With one more verse and then I have to close because time is up. Second Corinthians 3.
Verse 18.
This is the same principle from Paul's writings that we have in John 17, where the Lord says he sanctifies himself on high, that we might be sanctified by the truth having a heavenly object. Verse 18, but we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, changed, transformed. Metamorphosis is the Greek word. It's the word describing the process by which the.
The larvae in the cocoon becomes that beautiful butterfly.
The Man at the Gate in Acts 3&4
Gospel—R. Reeves
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 ask each one of you here tonight.
For your attention.
I don't plan to.
Talk very long.
I realize that many of you have been sitting in these chairs for.
A long while.
And I have no intention of taking a whole hour of your valuable time.
But I do ask you each one of you.
If you will, please listen for justice a few minutes.
To the message that.
I feel God has laid upon my heart for you.
And for me?
This is the Bible.
This is God's precious word.
And we're going to open it tonight to.
A passage.
And we're going to read it.
I'm going to try to make a few remarks upon it that will be helpful.
For all of us to understand what God has to say.
Please listen.
To what God has tonight for you.
Those of you who have a Bible on your lap, would you open it please?
Through the book of Acts chapter 3.
You'll only have to open your Bible to one place tonight.
I don't have any intention of turning from one place to another.
The message which I want to share and enjoy.
And communicate to you.
Is found.
Partially in the third chapter of Acts and partially in the 4th chapter.
Of acts.
So I won't need to turn any pages in my Bible, and perhaps your Bible is the same.
You won't need to change. You won't need to turn any pages. Just relax.
And open that precious book, God's Word, and let the light of it.
Flood your heart with its message.
Acts Chapter 3.
Peter and John went up to gather into the temple at the Hour of Prayer.
Being the 9th hour and a certain man lame from his mother's womb.
Was carried.
Whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple.
Which is called beautiful.
To ask alms of them that entered into the temple.
Who's seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple?
Espanol.
Now you know in arms is a gift. This man was a beggar.
He was not able to work.
It couldn't work.
And so he must sit there and ask for people to give him money. Perhaps he had a little tin cup.
Perhaps he had a plate, Perhaps he had a basket. Perhaps all he had was just his bare hand.
I don't know.
One thing I do know.
That this man was outside.
Of a beautiful.
Gate of a temple.
He was outside.
And I've always felt sorry for this person.
I felt sorry for this man because he was he was outside.
And I suppose that every day he would look at that beautiful gate.
That led to this temple.
And he would have to sit there and look at that beautiful gate.
And he would say, I would like to go on the inside.
00:05:02
It must be wonderful inside.
But you see, this poor man wasn't able to go inside.
He couldn't walk.
And the gate was so beautiful.
But he was outside the gate.
I've always felt sorry for him.
And day after day, he sat waiting.
Outside of that beautiful gate.
I wonder if someone is sitting here tonight who has attended these meetings.
Which we have enjoyed.
And you have recognized that your friends or your parents?
Have really enjoyed something beautiful.
During these days.
And they seem to really be entering into something that was making them feel good.
And something that.
They liked.
But.
You were not inside.
And you didn't know how to get inside.
And I wonder if anybody here said oh.
I would like to get inside.
Where my daddy is.
I would like to go inside and enjoy those things that my momma enjoys. I wish I could go inside.
Where my friend seems to see so many wonderful things.
I would like to go inside, but you didn't know how to get inside and so you sat.
For three days.
Outside.
Well then you would be like this man.
Who was right close to a very beautiful thing.
But you see, the problem was that he was outside.
And he didn't know how to get inside.
Oh, I got good news for you.
We're going to read on in this story, and I'm going to tell you how this man got inside.
This beautiful gate.
And he got right into the temple itself.
It says in verse three, who is seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple? Ask in alms.
And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, look on us.
And he gave them, gave heed unto them. That means he listened. And that's really what I'd like to ask you to do. Listen, please.
To this very short message tonight he gave heed unto them.
Expecting to receive something of them.
Then Peter said, silver and gold have I none but such as I have.
Give Isaiah.
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Rise up and walk.
Now notice what happens.
And he took him by the right hand.
And lifted him up.
And immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength, and he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered with them into the temple. He got in. Oh, isn't that wonderful? He got in. He got in.
Entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God.
He got in.
All the people saw him walking and praising God, and they knew that it was he which sat for arms at the beautiful gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder.
And amazement at that which had happened unto him.
And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John. Oh I can just see him now He I don't know which one it was. It looks like Peter. Yeah it was Peter that's put out his hand he says put her there partner. And he says in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. You know it looks like that man never let go of Peters hand. It says when he held Peter and John oh he got close to them.
You see, it was Peter and John that helped him get in. They helped him get in.
And he always wanted to get in, and it wasn't until Peter and John came.
00:10:04
And Peter put out his hand that he was able to get in.
He held Peter and John and all the people ran together unto them in the porch. That's called Solomon's greatly wondering or something wonderful happened here today.
This man got in.
He got inside the beautiful gate that he wanted to get in so long.
But you see, he couldn't before.
Now, do you know how he got in?
What was it that got him in?
Ah, he got in because of Jesus.
He got in because of Jesus.
And if it had not been for Jesus, he wouldn't have got in.
Peter stuck out his hand. He says in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. I say rise.
Up and walk. This man got inside because of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Now if there's someone here tonight that has been sitting outside.
During these three days of meetings.
And you know that there has been wonderful teaching here.
And you've seen some people smile and enjoy the beautiful things that we've had. And you've said I would like to get in, but I don't know how.
You see, I've come here tonight to tell you how to get in.
You can get in through this same man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now in this case, this man got in because he was able to walk.
After a long life of sitting down by the beautiful gate in the name and the power.
Of the Lord Jesus Christ he was able to go in.
And I want to tell you that you can go in, you can go in and enjoy.
What God has for you.
Through the same person, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He had a wonderful story. This man got in.
Would you like to get in? You see, I'd like to have you come in.
I'd like to have you come in with me and enjoy what God has done for my soul.
I want to take you in with me.
What you see, it requires you making contact with Jesus to get in.
Now let's go to Chapter 4. Your book, I'm sure, will not have to.
You won't have to turn more than one page, if even that.
And must read a little bit more about this man who got in.
Verse 10 of chapter 4.
Bit known unto you all and to all the people of Israel.
That by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified.
Whom God raised from the dead.
Even by him.
Doth this man stand before you whole?
Now isn't that wonderful?
Here Peter is talking again and he said to these folks that were wondering and some of them critical and couldn't understand how this man got in Hall. Peter said, let me tell you how it happened. It's through the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth that this man stands before you well.
Yes, friends, it was because of Jesus that he was made well.
Well, I would like to apply this to myself.
I'd like to tell you tonight.
That it's because of Jesus.
That Ronald Reeves, the speaker, and some people call me Red.
Some people call me Mr. Reeves, some call me Ron, but it's all the same person.
It's because of Jesus that I stand before you Well, and.
Whole and saved from my sins.
00:15:00
If it worked for Jesus, I could not stand here in this room.
Before you.
And talk to you tonight. So I'm going to take the place of this man.
And I'm going to say this applies to me, and I'm going to tell you that it's because of the name of Jesus Christ.
The Lord of Nazareth, that I stand before you.
To bring this message.
It's only because of him.
You see, if God gave me what I deserve, He would have had to send me.
To hell a long time ago.
But it's because of the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth that I stand before you.
Whole. No other reason.
None whatever.
Only because of the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
He is my savior.
He is my Lord. He is the one who made me well.
And my soul.
In verse 12, we have a very powerful message for our hearts.
And verse 12 will be the verse that we will talk about.
A few more minutes.
Neither is there salvation.
In any other.
For there is none other name under heaven.
Given among men, whereby we must be saved.
This is our verse, folks.
This is our verse.
Neither is their salvation in any other.
For there is none other name under heaven.
Given among men.
Whereby we must be.
Saved.
People talk about salvation.
They talk about being saved, and I think you've heard people talk about being saved.
Let's talk about it a little bit.
Why? Why do people talk about being saved?
Why do they talk about it?
Why do people talk about salvation?
Why?
Well, the reason that we talk about salvation is this.
That you and I need to be saved. We need to be saved, and that's why we talk about salvation.
You know, it's a it's a sad thing, that.
Some people don't feel that they need to be saved.
And I feel very sorry for those people.
But if they don't think they need to be saved, that doesn't mean that they don't.
Why do we talk about salvation?
Because we're all sinners against God.
Everyone in this room has done something wrong.
That has displeased God.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You've told lies.
You have had naughty thoughts. You have been disobedient and worst of all, worst of all.
You have not believed what God has said, and that's the worst sin of all.
Why do we talk about salvation? Because we need to be saved.
We were born in sin. We're part of the human race.
And the blood that's in your arm is red. And it's the same blood that was in Adam's arm. It was red too. It's the same blood. And Adam fell into sin, and so did his wife and plunged the entire human race into sin and misery. And you're part of a sin cursed race of people.
00:20:00
You were born lost. You heard that in Sunday school. You were born lost away from God. You were born without the life of God. You were born with no love in your heart, with for Jesus. And that's why you need to be saved.
And that's why I came here tonight. I want to tell you, the reason we talk about salvation is that.
We all need to be saved.
When I was in the army, I was given the job of collecting specimens from the patients in the hospital where I worked.
It was not a very glamorous job. I had to go into the bathroom to get these specimens, and the people that I got the specimens from, they didn't like to do that.
But I kept at it because the boss told me to do that. And you know what? One day the nurse came to me and she said, Ron, I want to thank you for getting the specimen from that man because we found out he had worms.
And now we're going to treat his worms and we're going to cure him from the worms. But you see, he had worms and he didn't know it, she said. Thank you for being sure that we could test him for worms, because he didn't know it.
You know, there are people that are not saved, but they don't know it.
I talked to a man once and he said don't talk to me about being saved because I've never been lost. And I said yes you are, God says so.
We are all lost before we're saved. We're born lost. How can you be anything else when you're born of lost parents?
In a lost human race, and we're totally born in sin, we're.
We are lost when we are born. And you know what? We stay lost until we accept Christ as our Savior.
Maybe there's a boy or girl tonight that says to me, Mr. Reeves, you know what? I was baptized, and I said, So what? So what? Being baptized can't save you. Being baptized make you wet, but it won't save your soul.
No, Just because you have been baptized, that doesn't mean you are saved.
Because you don't get saved by being baptized.
Somebody say, Mr. Reeves, I go to Sunday school, I said that's wonderful, but that won't save your soul.
You can't be saved by going to Sunday school. You can only be saved when you put your trust in the Lord Jesus.
And all how badly you need to be saved.
You know, people go to doctors when they get sick.
But some people are sick and they don't know it.
But when they find out about it, they go to the doctor. They say now I found out I need the doctor.
On Wednesday at 2:00.
I got to go to the doctor.
Because I got a spot on my arm right there and I think it's skin cancer.
Again, I've had it before.
And I want to go to the doctor and I say, doctor, look at that, it doesn't look good to me.
And look good to me. And I don't think it's going to look good to him either.
And that's not the first time I had to go to the doctor about that.
But I felt I had the need to go to the doctor.
Or if I could somehow convince your heart in some way that you need to be saved.
Well, how badly you need to be safe. Are you happy? Come on now, tell me, are you really happy?
You've been sitting outside that beautiful gate. Are you happy to be outside or you say mystery? I'd like to be on the inside.
I want to get inside. I need to get inside. Well, see, that's why I came here tonight. I want to help you get inside. And I would just like to be like Peter and I stick my hand out and I hope somebody will come to me after meeting, say, Mr. Reeves.
Here's my hand. I won't accept the Lord Jesus as my savior.
And you can get in, you can get in, and we'll both go in together.
That's why we're having this meeting tonight and you need to be saved.
You see, if you're not saved, you don't have any happiness in your heart, you don't have any peace, and you don't know where you're going. If you'd leave this world and suppose you died tonight, where would you go? You'd say, I don't know, Mr. Reeves. I don't know where I would go. Well, if you don't know where you're going, that shows you're lost. People that don't know where they're going and don't know where they are, these are the people that are lost. And if you don't know where you're going, you're lost. You need to be saved.
00:25:05
Why do we talk about salvation? Or because you need to be saved, that's why. But neither is our salvation in any other. It's only in the Lord Jesus.
You know, we talk about salvation and then we say how can there be a salvation?
How can there be a salvation?
How can you be saved? How can God save us? Oh, let me tell you, let me tell you.
Let me tell you how you can be saved.
You can be saved because God.
Sent his only beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into this world.
He allowed him to live as a man born in a very humble little place.
In Palestine, he allowed him to live as a man and prove by every possible.
Demonstration that he was sent of God.
Was said of God. He healed the sick, He made people well.
He gave sight to the blind. He raised the dead. What more could he do than what he did do?
But let me tell you how God can save sinners like we are. How can He do it?
It's because that same Jesus went to Calvary's cross and he stretched out those precious hands that had always done good.
And he stretched them out on the cross, and there he took the judgment of God.
Against the sins of mankind.
And he suffered the terrible, terrible, unspeakable judgment of God.
That you and I deserved. He suffered, He took it and.
God has accepted his sacrifice.
And after he died, he bowed his head and died. A Roman soldier put a spear in his side, and out come the Precious Blood, the blood that proved that he had died, the blood to cleanse from sin, and the water to wash lives clean.
Jesus died. How can salvation come? It can come because somebody else.
Died in our place, that's how.
On the basis of the Precious Blood of Christ.
And on the basis of the shed of the sufferings of Jesus on the cross on those terms.
God can save you and me who are sinners, that's how.
And there's no other way. Neither is there salvation in any other. There is no other way.
For there is none other name. There is nobody else in the whole universe that has ever done such a thing as that.
As to die on the cross and take the judgment of God that sinners deserve, nobody ever did that.
But Jesus.
None other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Listen to these words, please. We must be saved.
Now the question about salvation is when.
When should a Person be saved?
Well.
That's a good question.
Well, if you weren't saved before tonight, then this is the night.
This is the night.
When right now?
You know, what's what's the matter with right now? What's the matter with, right for you to be saved?
I wonder if there's a boy in this room, he says. You know, Mr. Reeves, everything you said is right, everything you said is right, but.
I think someday I'll be saved, but I don't think tonight. Let me tell you, my friend, that if you're ever going to be saved.
It'll have to be some night that you call now.
Nobody ever got saved yesterday or nobody ever got saved tomorrow. Because when tomorrow comes, well, then tomorrow is still is still that way nobody can be saved tomorrow.
And the only way to be saved is to be saved right now.
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When?
You get salvation.
Well, you could be saved right now.
Let me tell you.
That if there's somebody listening and you did promise to listen, didn't you? Because I told you my message would be short.
You know what would happen?
If you felt on the outside of this beautiful.
Gate.
And if you have seen the truth, that Jesus died on the cross and rose again.
And shed his blood.
Do you know what would happen?
If you would say in your heart right now.
Quietly you'd say Jesus.
Save me.
You know what happened, You do it.
He'd do it.
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
And you see that happens right now. It happens just like that. It's fast.
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
And if someone in this room would like to be saved tonight, I ask you in your heart quietly. You don't even have to close your eyes. You can say Lord Jesus.
Save me.
You know what happened. He'd do it. He'd do it.
Do it now. Suppose you don't accept salvation. What next? How long are you going to live?
Going to live 100 years.
Going to live 150? Oh no, you say. Not that long. Nobody lives that long. We live 80. Don't know, 6050 Don't know.
Let me tell you this, if you do not accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior before you leave this world.
You can never go inside the beautiful gate of heaven.
But instead, you'll be outside forever, and you'll have to go where the devil goes.
And that's the hell.
And you'll think about your sins forever. And if you go to hell, you'll have to think about this gospel meeting. And you'll have to say, Mr. Reeves told me to believe on the Lord Jesus that night, and I wouldn't do it. And here I am. That'd be awful. That would be awful. I don't want that to happen.
Oh, please, please, in your heart.
Talk to the Lord Jesus and say to him quietly in your heart.
Lord Jesus, I don't want to be outside anymore.
Lord Jesus, save me tonight.
You know what will happen. He'd do it.
He drew it. That's what he did for me, and that's what he did for everybody in this room who's a Christian. He saved them just like that the moment they put their trust in him.
And then you say oh.
I never was able to tell anybody I believed in Jesus, but.
Because of tonight when I said I trust him. Now I can tell somebody I have confessing Christ comes after you trust Him.
And He gives you the power to confess Him as your personal savior.
It says in the Bible if you confess with your mouth.
That Jesus is the Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Would you like to be saved?
I'd like to get inside.
Well, I've told you how.
In the best way I know.
And I'll be around here this evening.
Cleaning up, I've got to put some tracks in boxes. My wife and I have got some toys to put away in our car. I'll be around and I'd like to ask anybody here that.
As just tonight said to the Lord, I'm going to believe Lord Jesus tonight.
Why don't you come up and shake my hand and say, Mr. Reeves, I want you to know.
I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
You'll be the happiest person in this room.
You will. It's a fact.
Let's pray our Father.
The Power to Know
Those That Are Present