Des Moines Conference: 1992
Table of Contents
2 Peter 1:1-3
Reading
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264.
I'm going to.
Simon Peter, servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ.
Design that have obtained like precious space with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be multiplied under you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord according His His divine power is given unto us, all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that has called us under glory and virtue whereby are given unto us.
Exceeding great and precious promises.
And by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through us, and beside this giving all diligence back to your face virtue and the virtue of knowledge, and the knowledge templates, and the temperance and the patient's godliness.
And a godliness brotherly kindness and a brotherly kindness charity, where these things, the annual they make you that you should neither be barren nor unfruitful to the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But he that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see it far off. And that's forgotten that he would heard from those things. Wherefore the rather brothers give diligence to make their calling and election sure.
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For if you do these things, you shall never fall. Pursue an entrance, shall be ministered under you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though you know them, and establish the truth.
I think it means as long as I am in this Tabernacle, let's throw you up with putting you in remembrance, knowing that shortly I must put off this my Tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed me. Moreover, I will endeavor that He may be able, after my deceit, to have these things always in remembrance.
We have not followed cunningly divide fables, when we made known unto youth power, and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, however eyewitnesses of His Majesty, for he received from God and Father honor and glory, and there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved Son, from whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the holy mountain. We have also a more sure word of prophecy.
Burn, Cody, you do well. You take eat another light that shining in a dark face until the day dawn and the day start the rise in your hearts. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation where prophecy came not in old times by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
There's a lovely caption to the second Epistle of Peter. That one is enjoyed in the 71St song. You might just notice that Psalm 71.
Psalm 71 and verse 17.
Oh God, thou hast taught me from my youth.
And hitherto have I declared thy wondrous words now also, when I am old and Gray headed, Oh, God forsake me, not until I have showed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to everyone that is to come.
Now we know the setting of this book is that Peter is anticipating martyrdom.
Just perhaps a few days.
And to see his desire as an old man desiring to show the power of God to this to the generation that was coming.
Now it's one thing to tell of God's power, but it's another thing to show it.
And we look at our elder brethren among us, and we realize that their physical limitations are closing in on them.
And they need daily grace from the Lord to be able to go on and to be strong in faith. And so when I see an old brother going on with the Lord, he's showing to me the power of God and his strength. So the apostle Paul could say that when I am weak, then am I strong in the Lord. And so the Lord is carefully chosen weakness as he not.
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To display his power, that it might be of God and not of us.
I just enjoyed that as a caption. The second Peter.
And brother Ron.
We are.
Quite willing to listen.
To men like you have described, and I enjoy it very much, you're calling our attention to that verse in Psalm, but we're quite willing to listen to these.
Dear children of God that have learned to know the Lord.
My experience over a period of time and experience his grace and love.
And then they speak to us as those that know what they're talking about.
And I just enjoyed the.
The Thought of Peter. Simon Peter.
He uses his natural name.
But he connects it with his name the Lord Jesus gave him.
And he said I'm a servant.
But I was given a responsibility of.
The Lord Jesus Christ.
And now I want to talk to you about that precious faith that we have received that's common to us.
And just as you have said, he wants to strengthen them.
In their Christian lives. And we do thank God for a book like this, The Second Peter.
And frankly, I had no thought of this after being suggested at all today. It's it's a surprise to me, but a pleasant one.
We're thankful that the Lord used a man like Peter to write to us this pastoral epistle.
Now that we might have the benefit of.
God's word through him.
With the background.
Of his long life of acquaintance with the Lord. We need this ministry, don't we?
It's helpful to get the scope first Peter and second Peter. I found it helpful to.
See that the first epistle really deals more with the government of God in the House of God. And a key verse in First Peter is probably First Peter 4/17. Time has come that judgment must begin at the House of God. And if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
In second Peter, we get more the government of God in the world and how it's going to affect even that part of the world that professes the name of Christ. And it's kind of interesting just to get the scope in that way because in the first chapter of this epistle that we're starting to get into, it really is dealing more directly with believers in connection with this.
View of things, how they're going in the world around us today, and the awful judgments that will follow. In the second chapter more on those that profess the name of Christ, and in the third chapter the whole creation that will come under the judgment of God.
Florida Kingdom side of things, isn't it in Peter's epistles?
Could you give us some more thoughts on that?
We know that.
Peter.
Had not been given the ministry that we find in Paul.
Writings and towards the end of this chapter you know when he refers to that scene on the mountain.
And that is clearly referring to that millennial day and the glory that was coming and in view of the condition in the world.
What encouragement it gives to the soul.
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Especially those Jewish believers who before they came to the Lord Jesus.
All their hopes were centered on that glorious range, and it seemed to all come to an end with the rejection of the Lord Jesus.
Yet there is going to come a day when.
These things will be realized. The promises made to the Fathers will be fulfilled, although they will, as Christians, now have part in that from the heavenly side of things.
They will not be part of the 12 tribes who will be on earth, and will be brought into the blessings on earth yet.
What a encouragement it is that we are.
Assured that the promises given to the fathers will be realized.
If God would not fulfill these unconditional promises that He had made to the fathers.
How can we as Christians, be sure that he's going to fulfill that which he has promised to us? You know, when the covenant theologians are undermining this, they deny that there's going to be.
That millennial glory. And so we as Christians are not disinterested in these things. And Peter, who was writing especially.
The Jews, you know, he was the apostle of the circumcision.
Is led to refer to these things and give assurance that God is going to fulfill that, and that scene on the Mount of Transfiguration gave them a preview.
Of that which is yet to come.
But in view of the condition in the world, the believer, the Christian today, is to live acknowledging.
The authority of the Lord Jesus and the Christian is to live in the life of what the Lord is, not only as the head of the body, but also.
As living in the Kingdom, you know, and all these things that are developed here, what we should have in our faith, it's all very practical, connected with that. It's not going to be just for us as Christians, it's also going to.
Be that which will exercise souls who live in their coming day of glory.
You have pointed out Brother Heinz.
But to us, something that we have heard often.
And it's correct.
That Peter does speak more particularly to the Jewish believers.
And I believe we want to keep that in mind because.
He uses their.
Understanding of God's ways with that people of old, he uses that as a basis.
To tell them that they've got something higher and better now as believers in the Lord Jesus.
And I believe that we want to keep that in mind, but.
I'd like to share with my brethren something that has been a joy for me to believe, and that is that.
Though we acknowledge that Jewish thoughts here, let's realize that.
Jewish believer does not have anything better than you and I Gentile believers possess.
Now we may not come at it from the same direction, because take myself for example, I I don't even know what race I belong to exactly, but certainly a Gentile and.
No connection with those old promises or anything.
So I approached the truth of God from a different direction than a Jew would.
So what a blessing to realize that all the blessings in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Are common to us all and that a Jewish believer.
Has no advantage over a gentile believer.
Do they have a high priest in heaven? So do I.
Do they have an eternal inheritance?
And so do I. And so Jews and Gentiles all have the same spiritual blessings in our Lord Jesus Christ and I I found that very helpful for me to understand that if you have no advantage over me as a Gentile in our Lord Jesus Christ, we all have the same spiritual benefits and blessings. So Peter does approach it from the Jewish angle to help them to understand it.
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Now this verse one says.
Like Precious Faith.
Well, we all believe that.
The faith that we possess.
Is a gift of God.
We all believe that we wouldn't have faith at all if God had not given it to us.
But I personally believe that the thought in this verse when it says.
Have a pain. Like precious faith. It doesn't approach that thought so much as.
The personal faith that we have, but rather the deposit of faith that was given to God's people, its precious faith.
They had it in common.
And you get this thought. I believe in Jude. Let's turn to Jude, Chapter One, chapter.
Jude.
The third verse.
Jude, the third verse, Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation.
You see, they had a common salvation. It was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith.
That's the common faith which was once delivered to the same soul, it seems to me, and I'd like to be corrected by my brethren if my thought is not right. But in our verse it talks about attaining like precious faith. It's that deposit of food given to believe it.
To my brethren, see it that way.
One of the particular advantages to us now in recognizing the approach of the word of God-given us here, as has been pointed out from a particular Jewish point of view, is this. It gives us to see and gives them believers, Jewish believers, to see, that all of the promises of God and Him are yay, and in him Amen.
Now, in Paul's ministry, it's very clear that there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But to the Jewish mind there was a difference. And so God very graciously gives the ministry of this beloved man in whom the Jewish people all had Jewish believers, all had respect to bring out the particular aspect of the truth to them to show.
That there is no difference, that God has now moved away from that particularly mind particular mindset of an earthly hope of an earthly Tabernacle to transfer their hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven as a glorified man. So to see that the Apostle is giving us this from that particular Jewish aspect enables us to appreciate the difficulty that they would have in moving away from the old Jewish order of things to the new order of things that the Apostle refers to in our chapter as a present truth, that body of truth given to them in the Lord Jesus Christ and death and resurrection.
And the reason that we can apply to ourselves with such profit, beloved, is because the promises confirmed to the fathers in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ are based on the same unmitigated grace of God that apply to all of the Saints in the present time. So it's good to see the grace of God and giving us ministry that would enable them to give up.
The old earthly hopes of an earthly religion and transfer their thoughts to the risen, glorified man in Christ.
So the random truth.
Points out their portion in the Lord Jesus connected with the heavenly side of things and that we have in common with them and.
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This is also connected with the knowledge of God.
Paul speaks of it in Colossians as to true knowledge of God. And we do not know God the way the Old Testament Saints knew him. We know Him fuller. You know we have the full revelation of God as we have in Hebrews one that in times past.
God was pleased to reveal himself and gave two men partial revelations of himself.
But in Christianity we have the full knowledge of God, the true knowledge of God.
And this is what we have to come to by faith, appreciate and lay hold of. And that's Christianity, and it is not connected with this earth.
And even in Christendom today, people are trying to again and again associate the Lord Jesus with earthly causes and in principle really try to.
Bring down Christianity to a Jewish level.
Christianity is not in the world.
To make the world a better place in which to live, Christianity is here.
To win souls for Christ and to unite them.
To the one who is in the glory, that's Christianity. In that coming day when he will come back in power and glory, he will deal with all of those things that are wrong in the world. Christians are not supposed to deal with these things. They're not called to do that because God himself is not doing it at the present time. And so the present truth, how important it is.
And we see that in Hebrews 2 very clearly point out that they were partakers of the heavenly calling, and all was directing their attention to the one that is above that blessed one. But how important to know God the way we know Him? You know, it's really a painful thing to hear when people on the radio address God, and by the way they address them, they clearly indicated they don't know Him.
And what a pleasure it is when you hear somebody pray and say.
A loving God, a gracious Father, and so on to address him the way we in Christianity have the right and privilege to address it.
It dropping down the middle wall. Of particular between us and the feet is that between the Jew and the Gentile made us all into one body.
So we don't.
Look back to the law. We don't look.
Anything else. But if Paul said in First Corinthians I determined not to know anything among you, among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified, unless the main object of our our, our confession of faith, is to know him. How many times in this chapter did it mention the knowledge of God, the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ? Several times. I don't know how many is mentioned with this. Several times it says the knowledge of God, the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That's what we look to. That's what we need to be edified by the knowledge of Him who redeemed us with his own precious blood.
Look at what you said rather on about Peter introducing himself as a servant and an apostle, and that really beautiful that he speaks of a servant first of all.
He was an apostle, and very evidently that was probably a more important.
A function. But he loves to put the servant first, because that is the character that we should carry in our relationships one to another. Peter was the apostle of the circumcision, but here he says a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ. To them that have obtained like precious faith, it's an important thing, isn't it To?
Seek to keep.
That character in our relationships, one with another, never get above when it's not necessary, That position of simply being a servant. The Lord Jesus himself, amongst his apostles, laid aside his garments, garments, would speak of the position we would occupy in this life. And he took a towel and girded himself. He says, I am among you.
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As one that serveth. It's interesting going through the epistles of Paul too. In some places he.
Doesn't use the title. Apostle uses servants when he doesn't have to address an important issue, like is the case in Philippians.
He joins himself with others of the Lord's servants and just uses that term. Servants the Lord keep us. We're living in a day and we need to respect authority where God has given it but.
And that's what we would see in the word apostle. But if we, those that are occupying that place would take that position as servants, I really believe.
That would give more weight in our testimony.
How often we need to be reminded, beloved, that he that thinketh himself to be something, when he is nothing deceived with himself.
And we don't have apostles anyway. And but what about was saying was the principle that there are those in.
Leadership amongst the Saints of God.
And there is no official authority conveyed on anyone today. If there is authority today, that is more of a moral character.
Moral authority and that can only be enjoyed by a life of godliness.
And true service to the Lord and God's people.
Some have the idea you know that.
Among the people of God in each generation, there's a.
One particular brother that has a special anointing from God and the mantle has fallen on him.
I don't believe any such thing.
And Bob, thanks for your words that Peter was a servant.
And he came to bring Christ to his brethren.
And we need to keep that concept fresh in our mind.
And I would like my brethren to tell us what is meant through the righteousness of God.
Why is that brought in?
In this verse.
Both his recognition suited to us through the yes of her direction, the Lord Jesus Christ you see in Romans.
Chapter 4 I think it is.
Chapter 4.
Verse 20 talking about Abraham.
He staggered not as the promise of God through unbelief.
Strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded what he had promised, he was able to perform. Therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
Not written for his sake alone, that was included to him, but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on him. We raised up Jesus, our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our fences, and raised again for our justification.
But you have just shown us, brother.
Is imputed righteousness, which I think is a little different than we have in our verse.
I would think and I would like more comments to be made on it.
But when it says have obtained like precious faith.
Through the righteousness of God, it would bring before us that God always does right.
In what he does and that the blessings of his people are on a righteous basis.
And how wonderful, rather than that God will never have to excuse himself for what He has given to us in His grace.
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It has a righteous basis.
And if you want to see a righteous basis.
For God's blessings, take a good strong look at Calvary Cross. And so all of God's blessings to his people are given to us on a righteous basis.
Is that right? Yeah, I don't believe it. It's a question that he counts us righteous through our personal faith. But when you think that it appears as if they lost everything, but now God in righteousness gives them that faith that they have now and that the Lord Jesus is included then in that too, you know?
That says.
Through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. It's not that because he was righteous and it is imputed unto us. There is a lot of confusion about.
Righteousness, as if God bestows of His righteousness upon us. But what you're bringing out is really the point that God has a righteous basis for bestowing this Christian faith to the Jews who seem to have lost everything as Jews.
Based upon the work of the Lord Jesus.
There is also the aspect of connecting the Jewish mind with a glorified priest. When the Lord Jesus referred to himself sending the Spirit of God, said he shall testify to the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment of righteousness. Because I go to my Father, so the gospel now is preached by the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven.
Pointing out the righteous basis that God has for blessing his people. But it also connects us with a glorified grace of righteousness. God receiving him back into the glory him heaven must receive until we get in the book of Acts. The pouring out of the blessings that these Jews anticipated, the refresh, all of the pure mercies of David being made good. So we have the righteousness of God as the basis for our blessing, but we have it connecting us with the risen glorified Christ as well.
If not was free verse 25 we have whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness, that is the righteousness of God.
For the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God to declare, I say at this time, is righteousness. That he that guide himself might be just and the justifier of him that believes in Jesus. And I think this is a fundamental aspect of our Christian faith. When we talk to people in the world, their idea of salvation is that God is going to debase his standards a little bit. God is not going to demand all his righteousness.
A man is going to do a little bit better and somewhere in the middle there will be a meeting. That's not what we get in Scripture. What we get in scripture is God's righteousness was maintained by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary cross. God has not defaced his standards in any way, but because the Lord Jesus Christ paid the price of our sins on powerful cross, God can say you are righteous.
If you believe in Jesus, And that's the fundamental aspect of our Christian faith.
So the righteousness of God was manifested in dealing in judgment with His Son.
The righteousness of God demanded payment and punishment for sin. But the same God who righteously punished his Son for my sin is also manifesting His righteousness. Now in declaring me righteous, if I accept the Lord Jesus, he doesn't bestow any righteousness of himself or of his Son upon me, but He manifests His righteousness. The righteousness of God is manifested in both ways in dealing with his Son.
A sin deserves to be dealt and in dealing with me because I by faith accept his Son. That's the righteousness of God. And there is no such a thing as any amount of righteousness transferred over to us of God or of Christ's righteousness. But he considers us righteous. And here, as Ron has pointed out, it is God's righteous way of giving us what we have now in Christianity.
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God in righteousness says to me, you're a Sinner and there is a debt to be paid. But God in righteousness says that that debt was paid when the Lord Jesus Christ died on Calvary's cross.
And God in righteousness has said that same man at the highest pinnacle of glory.
And I think it's important, brethren, to keep that and before us in view of this epistle where it is dealing in the second and third chapters with the question of the judgment of God on what professes the name of Christ, and on the world itself. Because in view of these terrible times, that we are living right on the edge of the judgment of this world.
We see everything where around things ripening were made to feel that God will be righteous in taking the matters in hand. But how can we stand in view of that? We must know that that like precious faith we have obtained is on that same ground of his righteousness. When God acts in whatever way he acts, he always acts.
Consistent with his own.
Nature and he is righteous.
Through the righteousness of God it takes us back, as it has already been remarked, to the cross. And the hymn writer could say, God cannot pass the Sinner by. His sin demands that he must die. But in the cross Christ proceeds. How God can save yet righteously and again in Hebrews.
10 and 14 for my one offering.
Have perfected forever them that are sanctified a brother. We stand in all the perfection of Christ. Through that finished work and thought, mercy and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. How could that be possible without the cross of Christ?
That.
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you.
Through the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ our Lord.
I asked one brother.
As I came into this building, I said, Why are you going in there?
Well, he indicated that he came.
That something good may be added to him about the Lord Jesus.
This is the heart of the dear servant that's speaking to us in this chapter. He wants the grace and peace of God to be multiplied unto God's people. And brethren, I came for that purpose. I certainly did. I can say it with an honest heart. I came to these meetings because I wanted to see more of Jesus, and I wanted to learn more of His word and His ways.
I liked God's mathematics.
And God speaks of multiplying and adding.
But you and I have seen enough of Satan's work. He's always subtracting and dividing.
But when it comes to God, he likes to multiply and add, so I'm so thankful for God's mathematics. They're they're much more profitable.
And here this this heart of the servant says, Oh, I want you to enjoy more.
Of the grace and peace that comes through the knowledge of our God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
The last word to the Hebrews by the Apostle in Hebrews 13 is.
It is good that our hearts be established in grace and not meet the natural tendency of my heart, and theirs is to go back to those things which we could see and hear and taste and feel.
But God would have us grace multiplied, coming into the sense of what he has done, coming into the midst of evil, out of the goodness of his heart working.
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For blessing and then have peace as a result. Not just peace as to my guilt and sins, but peace of God. That enables me to go on with my brethren in peace and to have peace about the circumstances through which we are passing.
So it's by the grace of God that we enjoy this peace being multiplied to us.
But it's so important that we see the connection there, isn't it? That it's through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord that grace and peace is multiplied? We have to admit, brethren, that oftentimes we feel the lack of grace.
And the lack of peace.
And I really believe there's a message here for us.
How much do we know God?
We profess to know him. The Apostle Paul knew the Lord, but is burning ardent. Continual desire was to know him more, and if we would spend more time meditating on the glories and the perfections, the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, brethren.
Individually and collectively to in our relationships one with another, the automatic result would be that grace and peace would be multiplied.
I really believe there's a message to exercise our hearts here, brethren, What is the occupation of my heart? What have I been contemplating this morning before I came to these meetings? Has it been the person of Christ?
We need to get into the Word. God is the only standard, the only thing. It reveals the Lord Jesus Christ through us.
When we neglect the word and neglect the assembly and neglect the reading meeting.
We're not gaining knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Bring into captivity every thought.
What we need is to keep into the word.
I just read the verse or two in the morning and forget about it during the day.
We studied. Meditate on it.
I'm sure that what our brother has just brought before us as to feeling the lack of these things is not because there's a deficiency on God's part. He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. If there is weakness of it, it's because I fail to appropriate that which God has given. He's given all he needs to go on with him in these difficult days.
It's a good thing to pray.
For one another, that our love might increase more and more knowledge my people perish, it says in the Scriptures for lack of knowledge. As you get around in the Christian world and see what other Christians have in the way of personal fellowship or family devotions or assembly functions, you see that.
The Church is suffering. Individuals are suffering because of the lack of knowledge. Say Paul prayed through the Saints that live by and colossa he says, I pray that your love may abound yet more and more in all knowledge. So we need to open the word of God. We need to present the word of God not only to ourselves but to others too, as in Philippians 19. And this I pray.
That your love may abound yet more and more, in all knowledge and in judgment, that you may approve the things that are excellent.
We may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, and Paul brought that up with the Colossians too.
I believe that's really important what's been said, that if I want to know about Christ, I need to read the word of God, especially the Gospels. If I want to know about the person of the Lord Jesus and meditate on who he is and what he's done, what he's like, and I need to read those Gospels and see what Jesus was like as a man. The reason I don't know more about the Lord myself is because I haven't taken out a devotional study.
Of the person of Christ and the Gospels.
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What our brother has just said as to the life of our Lord Jesus Christ in the gospel, is absolutely true.
And he does indeed.
Form a perfect pattern for the life of godliness in this sea.
But we need to constantly keep before our souls that he is no longer as he was there.
He is there for our daily food, as a pattern for our life, but we know him as the man and the glory now. And the Apostle Paul teaches us in fourth chapter of the second Thistle, the Corinthians, that even if we knew Christ as he was here below, we do not now know him that way any longer. We do not know any man after the flesh. We know us.
As Saints of God in the new creation, connected.
Risen Christ. So we do feed upon him and we pattern our life after. He was as a man here, because he was a godly man in this scene, a man amongst men, but we know him as a glorified man at God's right hand. Paul says in Corinthians, if we have known Christ as after the flesh, we don't know him in that way any longer, so clearly showing that.
We have to be careful when we read the Gospels, especially when they present the Lord Jesus as the king.
That is not our relationship. And he realized that we are linked with a living Christ in glory. Our hope are not. Our hopes are not connected with Him coming here as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
We are identified with him that was rejected but is now glorified.
That's what we have to come to realize. And in Colossians one verse 9.
Verse might help us what is conveyed here in verse three through the knowledge of him that has taught us to glory and virtue. Verse 9 says for this cause in Colossians 1.
We also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, and that can only be gained.
If we walk in communion with the Lord and of course.
Having the light of the Word of God, having the Scriptures open to us, you know, I find, Beloved, that it is not always the most difficult thing for us to get a hold of scriptural principles.
What I find much more difficult is what scriptural principles apply to a particular situation, and that is where wisdom comes in and spiritual understanding, and we need that. And if you do not walk in communion with the Lord.
And keeping short accounts about any slips in our own lives, we cannot expect that we have the Lord's mind.
You would say though, Brother Heinz, that in the Gospels we do get the men. I don't. We and we need to feed on that continually or not. We're not setting that aside. It's just the what you're bringing out is that today we have Christ and glory, which is the old corner of the land. And so there are times when we do need the manna. It's passing through this world as a wilderness, as we experience in our experience, and sometimes the fleshly reactions that take place. That were the case amongst the people of God in the Old Testament.
We do need mana to sustain us, and there we get it in the Gospels. But we know Christ as well as the old corn of the land in his exaltation and glory, and that also is food for our souls. So we have to discern, as you say, what is the present need.
We might just say it in this way to clarify it, beloved, and that is that we pattern our lives after His life here below, but we are in relationship to him as a glorified man.
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The knowledge that was pointed up in First Corinthians Second Corinthians 4 is a knowledge of relationship. We are not in relation to him as he was here, but we are related to him joined to him by 1 Spirit as arisen glorified grace.
I believe that one of the burdens that the Apostle Peter had on his heart was the destruction of Jerusalem, which was coming very shortly.
And you can imagine the Jewish mind, whether they were Christian or not, to think of that beloved city being sacked by Titus. Should they stay and defend it with their lives?
Or they would ask the question, what would the Lord have done if He were here at this time? And to see the grace that was given to those that when Titus gave him opportunity to leave, that they left, Grace was given to submit that the government of God was going to come in and destroy that which was once very dear to their heart, where the feast of Jehovah had been kept.
And to crossover into hella and to be able to do it in peace. So there are those prices that we have seen, prices that we feel and things that we count dear and brethren that we count dear.
Where? What is going to sustain us and bring us safely through? Is it not to meditate upon that light and to ask ourselves what would the Lord do in these circumstances?
Oh, he's our guide and he's our leader. And if we don't follow him, we're sure to miss our way.
This is an important verse for the Jewish Saints in days gone by, and I suppose as a left Jerusalem, that they look like turncoats. They look like those that were afraid and cowards. I believe that many of them went out in the joy of their heavenly calling and knew that God was righteous.
And sacking Jerusalem to the ground.
Called us, Mr. Darby says, by glory and virtue. And it brings to mind that the God of glory appeared unto Abraham, You know, and I think this is a very important statement here, called us by glory and virtue. So our position is connected with that calling that we have received, and it is by glory.
And virtue.
And our destiny is glory. There might also be the thought included as it is in the King James to glory.
I'm glad. I'm glad, Brother Heinz, that you?
Caught our attention to that change.
And called us by glory and virtue.
Is an important thing to see and I'm glad you spoke of it because it's important.
You see, I I very seldom make any notations on this particular copy of the.
King James Version of the Bible, which I enjoy so much I very seldom make any.
Any changes? But I'll have to tell you that I have written in on verse 3 the word by.
Where it says He's called us by glory and virtue, I've written that in because that's the right thought. Now I carry with me three other translations, always as reference, and they all sustain that change.
The original language has it He called us by or through glory and virtue. And that's the right thought. Well, I would like to reinforce that in this in this train of thought.
That the glory of God has been displayed.
By what he has called us to.
Is not so much what waits for us like it would be in the translation like we're called to it. No, that's not the point. The point is that it's the glory and virtue of God that has been the basis of what we've had. And we have already seen that in verse one where it's we enjoyed so much what we've already meditated about that.
01:00:14
Everything is based upon God's righteousness, but in verse three we find that that the whole basis is his glory and his virtue. So the calling that we possess in the Lord Jesus is based upon the virtue and glory of God that lies at the root of it. And rather that's a most precious concept because God is glorified.
He is distinctly glorified.
By giving us this blessing.
Were called by.
His glory and his virtue. And it's for God's glory to do this for us. You would allow to his glorious displayed in it. Would you not allow that to? That's right, yes.
Absolutely. How wonderful in view of the world that we live in to.
Really. Let the words of verse three sink into our souls. Brethren. He is according to his divine power. He has given us all things that pertain into life. And Goddess all things every.
That.
We could need in our pathway through this world, he has fully supplied. There is not a need, as some are saying today, of the word of God. Then you need a little extra helps here and there. No, we have in the revelation of the Word of God that we have in our hands all things that pertain into life and godliness.
Is it your home life? How you live with your wife? Your children? Is it your business life? How you do business? Every situation of life? He and His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. We need to search it out. We need to get into the Word, as we've been encouraged to do, because there is sufficiency in this book and we need to hold it, Brethren, We need to.
Exercise our faith. Sometimes people say I don't have very much faith. It's not a question of how much faith you have. Maybe it's just a small amount of faith you have. But exercise that faith that you do have and get into the Word and you'll find that your faith will grow. And you'll find that there are principles, if not direct verses that apply to every situation that you will ever find yourself in.
Why don't you take home?
Life and Godliness.
Like a commit on that? Like what is life? What godliness?
Pertain to life and godliness.
What was your thought? Well, I thought maybe life is our eternal life that we have and our salvation, but godliness is the way we walk down here in this life amongst other people.
Watch the world.
Life is what we obtained by faith in Christ.
Eternal life can't be destroyed.
The life that we live out in, the common, ordinary, day by day circumstances of life down here, isn't it? So we meet up with situations that are extremely difficult at times.
Is this book enough? Is the revelation that God has given us enough? It is, rather than this verse says it is.
That's why I mentioned about the life of the Lord when he's here on earth. And I had to mind the moral side of things. I realized Christ has risen and seated in glory and He's our object. But as I go through this life down here, what kind of character should I show?
What's been given to me to give me an idea of life and godliness in this world is how the Lord Jesus went through this world. So there is a Kingdom still on this world today. It's a moral thing and we're all in it. If we're saved and I'm just show the moral characteristics of Christ, he's not here, but we are. And that's been given to me. Everything that I need to go through this world with life and godliness has been given to me. I have the spirit of God.
Christ in heaven to look at in Christ life to meditate on down here when he was here. I have the Holy Ghost. I have the assembly. All these things are necessary for the Christians experience to go through this life and we have that there's many gifts of God in the scripture and and here's another of the gifts of God, these things that have been freely given to us.
01:05:23
There again, it is through the knowledge of him, isn't it?
I just like to connect that with Colossians, which has been such a comfort to my own soul at times. Pass it on, especially to young believers here.
Colossians Chapter 2.
And verse 9 and 10 speaks of Christ the last word of verse 8 says, For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in him tremendous to lay hold of that truth, Brethren ye.
Are complete in him.
May we sing #67 in the appendix?
Hymn #67 in the offending.
The perfect righteousness of God.
Is witnessed in the Savior's blood.
The perfect.
2 Peter 1:4-
Reading
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Gym #60. Our thanks to God Most High, the Father of our Lord Savior. God is he, and be his name. And Lord, oh God, thy mercy shall endure Thy word abide forever. Sure #16.
I will endeavor that ye may be able, after my decease, to have these things always in remembrance. For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His Majesty, for He received from God the Father honor and glory.
When there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven, we heard, and we were with him in the holy Mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy, where until you do well, you take heed that under a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn, and the day star the rise in your hearts, knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.
00:05:30
Where the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, the holy men of God spake, as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
As our meeting closed this morning.
It has been brought before us that we have been called by glory and virtue and I was wondering if there are others like myself who had wondered as to this word virtue, Another word I think that might help us understand what is the Lords mind is integrity and that means simply that we have been called by the glory of God and by the consistency with which God acts.
According to his own nature and holiness. So being called by glory and by virtue is God calling us.
By the consistency of his action as to what he himself is within the essence of his own being.
This virtue, the same virtue as it says in the 5th chapter, is that is that a different meaning?
Word.
Abraham was mentioned as the God of glory appearing to him.
And if we could go and have sat with Abraham, we would have realized that he lived in the then modern world. He lived in a metropolis where everything was conducive to the comforts of man. And here there's talk now that he's going to leave disable. The man must be out of his mind. He can't go anywhere in this world to find better circumstances than he's in. But the very fact that the God of glory appeared to him, emancipated him.
From that place.
An idolatry became nauseous to him, and he lived in the shadow of the Tower of Babel, and so he was called a God out of that land. And what emancipated him was that he saw something infinitely better than what he had, though it was the best of this world. And I've been impressed about how he came into the land of Canaan in the 12Th chapter of Genesis.
It you kind of wonder about whether the translators got mixed up, but I feel the spirit of God gives a wonderful import.
In the 12Th chapter of Genesis in verse 5 and Abraham took Sarah his wife, and bought his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered and the souls that they had gotten inherent. And they went forth to go into the land of Canaan and into the land of Canaan they came.
Is just like when Abraham was emancipated that he didn't look back.
And when he came into that land that God promised him, he just came in with an abundant entrance.
To desire to enjoy all that God would give him there in that land, so I speak of it just as a figure of that which is emancipated us from this world, been called by glory and virtue of something that is more infinitely wonderful than we could ever have in this world.
Congratulate work, for this virtue is tugant, and that is also the word used in the first epistle where the royal priest was presented to show forth the excellencies of him that has called us out of darkness into his marvellous life. So I believe that seems to indicate that it has to do with the display of his character.
You know, and that is also our privilege and responsibility if this is the one that has called us, and the next verse tells us that we have been partakers of His nature, divine nature, that means that we too can in measure at least show what is perfectly displayed in God, and it was even displayed in when He called us.
00:10:34
Word virtue, and it's a difficult one to define. I think I heard it said in the conference that virtue is the power to say no to that which is wrong and yes to that which is right. And I think.
The brother gave us a synonym, integrity. But I have another suggestion, and that is moral excellence.
And if you think of the nature of our God and our Savior, moral excellence is a wonderful way to describe His nature. And so if we think of virtue in that sense.
Why? We're going to come across, and of course in verse 5, to add that to ourselves as part of our war here is one of seven characteristics that should mark us as believers going through this life. So I like the thought of virtue being moral excellence.
You might say the very highest calling, which we have as believers. Unless we think it's something that we have to do, we just remember we're reading it right in this portion, that beginning of verse three, according as His divine power has given unto us. So this calling that we have, you might say, is only in the measure that we walk in the good of what God has for us as believers.
That thought is born out and Crawler, 31 and 10, who can find a virtuous woman for her place is far love. Movies. Well, one of your sisters here this afternoon. There are mothers. This is so true love.
That was the heart of her husband, a safety trust of her because she thought she shall have no need of father. Her place is required of hoodie mystery.
Virtue seems to have something of the thought of power connected with it too. It's moral excellence or or power I think is included there. It goes on in the next verse to say whereby.
It's by these things are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises.
And this wonderful brethren to know that he has given us.
Not merely precious promises, not merely great and precious promises, but exceeding great and precious promises. These are things to be laid hold of, and it is faith that lays hold of God's Word.
Faith is a really an intensely individual thing, and I just want to say this to each one here, that you for yourself must lay hold of these promises. It's not enough to say, well, the older brothers say that this is what it means. No, you have to get the word open for yourself. Read it for yourself.
Lay hold of it in your own soul for yourself. This book is full of the promises of God, and there to be applied the word of God is living and operative. Oh brethren, we're living in the last days, and there is a lot of discouragement. But here's the book full of promises. Are we willing to individually take God at his word to lay hold of these?
Exceeding.
Great and precious promises. Or we're going to sit here this afternoon and hear about it, enjoy it a little bit while we're hearing about it, and then just go home the same way. God forbid that we do that. Brethren, young people, let's lay hold of the word of God, those exceeding great and precious promises. I just like to.
00:15:10
Give you a couple that I have enjoyed.
Especially in scripture.
One that has been a special comfort to my own soul many times.
As the promise of his personal presence.
With every believer in Matthew 28 he says, Lo, I am with you always unto the end of the world.
In Hebrews chapter 13, it says I will never leave you nor forsake you. We can count on His presence with His brethren. Individually, this is we're speaking individually. This is a exceeding great and precious promise you ever feel alone?
You ever feel that nobody understands you? Here's a promise. It's there.
For you to lay hold of that, you've got to do it yourself. You cannot just hear somebody else talk about it and think that it's true for you without laying hold of it yourself. Faith is an individual matter, and it's interesting as you go through.
Hebrews Chapter 11 to see the individuals Abraham has been mentioned as to how he came out, but in every one of those situations there were people.
Did things that were not understood by their peers. They were all alone. In a certain way, they were alone.
Because they acted in faith. And it's awful easy to be amongst a bunch of nice Christians like we are today and to enjoy the Word to a certain extent. But faith is manifested by our own selves with God. That's where it comes to the testing board. Are you willing to put your finger on God's word and simply say here it says it?
God has said it. It's got to be true. I rest right here, he's told me. It's so There's one of the exceeding great and precious promises.
This book is full of them and we need to search the book for them. Every situation of life you can find something that applies directly for that situation in your life. I'd really like to encourage the young people to get into the scriptures. Generally speaking, we find those that are really discouraged. Haven't been reading the Bible, haven't been reading the word, haven't been laying hold of the principles.
The precious promises that we are speaking about here and oh, we need to.
Be exercised. Exercise takes two things. It takes some time and it takes some energy, whether it's physical or spiritual. You're going to have to take some time to take these promises out. It's going to take you some energy too. You can't do it while you're sleeping. It's going to take some energy. So I say we need to be stirred up.
To lay hold of these exceeding great and precious promises. Remember when I was still single, And you'll excuse me, brother. And I want to speak to those who are younger. And I remember how that I longed to have companionship like her brother was speaking in the last meeting.
Of a companion in life, and I searched the word of something that might give me an encouragement.
Whether I could count on the Lord to provide that for me in His will. And I came up with a verse that says in Psalm 84, no good thing will he withhold from them that walk upright.
Scripture says he that finds the wife has found a good thing. Well, maybe I can count on the Lord.
Then I started thinking, can I say that I walk uprightly? I'm not sure that I can say that. I'm not sure that I'm the judge of such a matter. I kept searching. I found another verse. It said, it says in Psalm 34 and verse 10. The Young Lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Oh brethren, it was a consolation to my soul.
Or didn't provide it right away, but he did in his time. But the Word of God was a real bolster to my soul.
And for these situations of life, dear young people, dear older ones too, for we all need to lay hold of these exceeding great and precious promises.
00:20:03
Lord, give us the energy, the spiritual energy, to lay hold of them.
The book is full of them, brethren.
Follow the characteristics of Peter, to use the word precious, isn't it? It comes in the first epistle unto you that believe he is precious or is the preciousness. Now he thought that Brother Bob has brought before us a very encouraging when it comes to our Christian pathway. And there are other promises that can be added, but I think what is important to see.
Here the truth of God is referred to as death, which communicates divine life.
And that which gives us the divine nature. And that is so important we can refer to all the other promises that we after we are saved, that will be an encouragement to us in the pathway. But if you read this.
Verse in its entirety. By these we might be partakers of the divine nature, so the truth of God.
Received by faith.
That the Spirit of God brings before us communicates that nature.
And that gives me then also the ability to walk apart from sin. Of course, I need more than just a nature. I need the power of the Spirit of God.
To enable me to go against the stream that someone has illustrated that and I found that in Mr. Kelly's book on Leviticus where he referred to the clean and unclean fish.
And the scales he likened to what is said in this verse.
That that answers to the divine nature by which we have escaped to corruption that is in the world through lust. And it's very beautiful to see that. But we need more than the scales. We have pins, you know, that speaks of the energy of the divine nature.
That enables us to go against the stream.
Against the current If our lives are characterized by going along with anything that comes up, with every fashion that comes up and everything that's popular in the world today, people might well be justified to question the reality of our faith. Because the word of God seems to clearly indicate that if we indeed by faith lay hold of the word of God, we have that which.
Enables us to escape the corruption that is in the world through life, and that is what should characterize our lives, and it will characterize our lives. That does not mean, beloved, that we cannot make mistakes and that we cannot allow the old nature at times to get the upper hand. But what characterizes the life of a believer is that he will not indulge into that which is spoken of here, the corruption.
That is in the world through us.
I mentioned to us earlier and it's worth reading what 11Th of Hebrews said about Abraham.
Eight verse by faith Abraham when he was called to go out into a place which he should ask would receive for inheritance a day, and he went out not knowing where we went.
And then if we go down to the 13th verse, all these died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embrace them, and confess that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. What characterized Abraham was he valued most precious promises of God, far more than anything he might have had in her of the coldings. And I think the.
That which?
We have to learn is that Satan cannot rob us of our salvation because it is founded on God's estimate of the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross.
That can Satan rob us of the enjoyment of our precious promises? Sure, he came, and that's what he will continue to do throughout the life of the Christian. And I think if we looked at the results of this, we see it in First Corinthians.
00:25:06
1St Corinthians 3 When Paul has to say, I'll read it rather than I misquote it.
For ye are yet carnal.
So we have here in the first, in the third chapter of First Corinthians, carnal Christians. And what's the characteristic of carnal Christians this? Are they saying? Sure they are, but why? There is among you ending and strife and divisions? Are you not carnal or Morpheus men? So those Christians in Corinth, they were saved, there was no doubt about that. But were they in the enjoyment? Were they walking in in the enjoyment their Christian promises? No, they were walking as men and Satan would ever, would ever be.
Active to rob the Christian of the enjoyment of his of his these precious promises, and get them to walk just like the men of the world.
In the next week, try to write down a dozen promises that you can get out of the word of God. I've had to do it myself. It's very Scripture provoked me to sit down with a pencil and a paper and write down 12 exceeding precious promises that I have with the Christian. All right, we need to understand there's no other group of people in creation that have more than the Christian has already.
Not the angels, not the Old Testament Saints, not all the children that are in heaven now, and not the nation of Israel on earth, and not the nations that will be blessed in the Millennium. Nobody has more it's been promised to them than the Christian has right now. So I would encourage all of us, because I've done it myself, to sit down and write out a dozen promises that you can get from the word of God that apply to you directly. I'd like to add to what Bob said. Christ has promised that he will come again.
And receive us unto himself. That's a promise. The Lord has promised that to me. When I was first saved, I used to lay awake all night thinking about that promise. And I used to be so disappointed when the Lord had not come. But he's promised to come. Another promise. He seated at God's right hand right now to help me when I feel my weakness. He seated at God's right hand now to restore me if I sinned. That's a promise. The Lord Jesus has promised that I'm going to reign with him for 1000 years over this earth and the Millennium. That is a promise.
From the Word of God and is precious to my own soul. Now there's thousands of other scriptures that you and I might apply to our personal life, our family life, or to church life, and we can get those from the word of God. But I I feel many Christians today are stumbling and fumbling and mumbling in their Christian experience because they simply do not know what these promises are. It's incumbent upon each one of us individually to learn what these are from the scriptures, to enjoy them, to live them, and then we can pass them on to somebody else.
Good for our souls to lay hold of the fact that promises, in the sense that we have had them brought before us here or not, something that we don't, do not yet possess. These are things given to us to be enjoyed and to be used in our lifetime. Now they're not something dangled in front of us as bait to keep us going on. They are that which enables us to go on in the present circumstances.
And a disband which communicated life and communicated to nature. We do not continuously get that nature over and over again by laying hold of certain promises that will help us in our pathway. This verse refers to that which communicated to us that nature. And that is A1 for all things. Once we have that nature, we have it for good. And I know that one time a public statement was made at a conference.
That we do not have a divine nature. We would have to be raised to be God in order to have a divine nature.
Well, this verse clearly shows that we have a divine nature and that it was communicated to us. And as our brother in his address was pointing out, if he wouldn't have that, we wouldn't be able to have communion with God. But God has given us a divine nature. He doesn't elevate us.
By doing this to Deity, but he gives us a capacity to enjoy.
The very thing that he enjoys, and this is a one time thing that we have been communicated a divine nature when we by faith accepted the word of God that God has for us.
00:30:04
In John chapter 5 it says the hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. And that's what our brothers been bringing before us. It is the word of God, the engrafted word by which we are born again and receive the divine nature. We are brought into the very nature of God himself in order that, as it had been very well pointed out, we might have.
Communion with him and that which touches his heart, which touches his interest.
But such is his people in this sea.
This is really practical, isn't it, brethren? And I think it's so important that we get a hold of the fact that these promises are given to us, that through these we might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. In other words, God has given us these promises. We have this divine nature, but it's not something that we have in a compartment over here.
That we manifest when we go to meeting only and our our individual lives and business and family is over here kind of separate and different.
No, these diversified, different promises that God has given us.
Manifest that light allow us to lay hold on the sufficiency that we have in our God and His promises, so that that life is manifested in every aspect of life. I think that's important to see. It's practical character. This is something that's to be lived and to be evident wherever we live our lives with.
When our brother has spent by leading 2nd Corinthians 7 verse one.
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Paul says to the Thessalonians, This is the will of God, even your sanctification or holiness. It's God's desire to bring us into His life and to let us be partakers of His Holiness, in order that we might display others that might see the your good works and glorify.
Your Father, which is in heaven, our brother, mentioned that one of the promises was the promise of his coming.
John tells us in chapter three of his first epistle he that hath his hope and himself.
Purifieth himself, even as he is pure. That is where the hope is.
In the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, it makes me Live Today as in the expectation of that return.
So these are practical things for our youth, for our daily display before the world, are they not?
And you already have their hours. What we need to do is lay hold on them and use them for the glory of God.
And we have this power within us to overcome all these things in the world that creeps in. We have the power in us to overcome, but we don't. We don't have an excuse. When we come before the judgment seat of Christ, we see the things done in our body.
We have these promises. All we need to do is lay hold on.
The third chapter of Philippians. Not that I've already attained, but I follow after.
We better look it up and.
3 to 330 Philippians 3 chapter I enjoyed.
Since the 13th verse, brethren, I count not myself who have apprehended this one thing I do for getting those things which are behind that pressure.
And reaching forth unto those things with traffic floor, I pressed toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, But as therefore his menace. Be perfect, be thus minded. If there's anything you'd be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
And the.
There is something else.
It's not as though it already came. You were already perfect, verse 12, verse 12. Not as though I had already attained either. We're already perfect. But I follow after that I may apprehend that for which I am apprehended in Christ Jesus rather than.
00:35:09
I read that when I get.
Not as though he'd already obtained it.
He didn't post himself, but he was above anybody else.
Did I follow after?
Keep pressing on.
He referred to Philippians refers to conformity to Christ, right? Which we will not reach full conformity until we will be with him and like him. And yet in that same passage he says as many as are perfect. Let us be just minded.
It seems to be like a contradiction, but that speaks there of full growth of spiritual maturity, and that is a possibility for a believer today.
But as far as holiness is concerned.
And diverse that brought a ton was reading and there are other verses in First Thessalonians and also in Hebrews chapter 12 That speaks of practical holiness. You know, most often I believe the word of God speaks of positional holiness and that which we are positionally.
But perfecting holiness in the fear of God speaks of practical holiness and justice. Think of this solemn statement in Hebrews 12 where it says pursue peace and holiness without which no man shall see God. That's quite a solemn verse, isn't it? That's classical holiness. And that beloved, is something that ought to exercise our consciences if positionally we have been brought in that standing before God, that we are holy in Him without blame.
Then we ought to be exercised that this be practically so. And you know, God sends us tribulations and chastises us in order that we might become partakers of this holiness. That's practical holiness. And we need that, Beloved, because in our society.
Those who are exercised about holiness tend to be classified as legal.
And holiness is absence from sin. And what Peter is referring to here is that we who are brought to the Lord Jesus and who have a divine nature. It is the normal thing to expect that holiness characterizes us and that ought to be permitted to be brought before us and touch our consciences. We will all be ready to admit that we fall short in these things.
But we must not ever seek to take off the edge.
Of any ministry that is presented that exercises our consciences about practical holiness.
We will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Live in an entirely different sphere.
Than the world has to offer and you have that contrasted in verses.
Three and four, you have that sphere contrasted.
The sphere of the world is corruption due to lust.
Now what is lust? Lust is uncontrolled.
Desire and the world is just saturated with it, uncontrolled.
Desire. That's all the world has to offer. But you and I live in an entirely different sphere.
By the grace of God and in such a Christian life.
Due to our blessings and opportunities, we become.
Participators in that which is of God in this world, and it's totally contrasted to what the world has to offer. Now I'd like to suggest we go to verse 5, where we're going to get some things that bear down upon our consciences and opportunities beside this giving all diligence.
The enjoyment of the things of God.
Is not for lazy people.
And so we're going to have to lay aside laziness.
00:40:02
If we're going to make progress.
In the things of God.
Giving all diligence.
Add to your faith goodness or moral excellence.
Well, we've got something to do. We've got lots of blessings, that's true. But there's something for us to be concerned about in a practical way.
In our Christian life isn't there. But we've got to lay aside this spirit of laziness.
And we need to.
Have a determination.
That the things of God are going to have first place.
In our lives, and I believe that's what's meant to give all diligence.
Let's make the things of God.
Those things that are valuable to us.
Just wanted to mention that word escaped.
Shows that it's a pretty desperate thing because the God of this world.
Is bent upon corrupting both our hearts and our lives.
Were appointed to that by Satan himself, and to drag our testimony to 0 if he can. But I was just enjoying the thought of escape in respect to Abraham and Sarah when Sarah was brought into the Royal Courts of of Himalec.
That she wasn't brought there for a good purpose was a time of weakness for Abraham and Sarah. But the Lord was there as a shield that she might escape. And I think it's in the Psalm, is it not where the Lord said to Abimelech? Do my servant my prophet no harm?
And so when I think of our individual lives and what it means to escape the corruption of this world.
Realize that as you were mentioning, there is energy to go forth in the pathway of faith, but in that pathway to find the Lord a shield to us, to keep from ruining our testimony and bruising our lives and giving us the feel that we've failed the Lord and can never rise again. This is a wonderful thing to escape.
Hebrew 4 The verse came to mind while Brother Ron was speaking.
That says labor.
To enter into the red that is not a laboring for salvation.
It could brought in in connection with our pathway through this scene and we are told just like he said, we cannot be lazy, we have to labor and in order that we do not fall in the wilderness like.
The example is given.
And that labor there is connected with our pathway and in that very chapter we have two things.
That help us in our wilderness journey and that is the word of God and the priesthood of Christ.
And the Word of God exposes anything that is not according to God.
In order to help us judge it so that we do not fall by the wayside and we labor, there is effort connected. The path of faith takes energy. And so Peter?
When he says add to your faith or in your faith have virtues. In other words, he is developing now how faith manifests itself in a practical way.
And it is not, as some have said, that you step by step climb up a ladder. First comes virtue, and then comes knowledge, and so on. That's not what Peter is trying to bring before us. It is like a flower that is opening up. And as a flower consists of many leaves, so that faith, it is expected that the faith manifests itself in all these points that he mentions here open up simultaneously.
All at the same time and we should be exercised and when we look in our lives.
We have to be honest and we have to say we lack many times in these things. And that's why Peter exercises our conscience, that if you have faith, all right, you say have faith. I believe you have faith. But this is how it manifests itself.
00:45:10
Since faith works, so we Add all these things.
We don't take them one by one. Well, I've got virtue and I've got knowledge and I've got something else.
When we Add all these things together, we have them all and it ends up with love.
That the brotherly kindness, that is kindness to people we meet in the world and other people.
They had the brotherly kind of love, love for one another.
There's real balance in these things too, isn't there? We tend to be unbalanced, brethren. We have to admit it, to think we can all honestly say that we're not sufficient in ourselves. We we get unbalanced, we go maybe manifest one of these things good and another thing where we don't. So he says add to your faith. It's easy to talk about faith and James, who wrote basically to some of the same people.
He had to say that the faith without works is dead. There should be some moral power to what we say. We say that we believe. Let it be manifest faith like you say works. It really is energetic. True God-given faith is energetic. Add to your faith virtue that moral power. And then he says add to the virtue knowledge because.
You can say you can speak a lot about power and what faith can do, but perhaps we go too far that way and we do not speak according to the knowledge of the word of God and speaking about power. And then he goes on to say to knowledge, temperance, we need to be tempered. Even in knowledge we need to be tempered in knowledge. Knowledge isn't everything, brethren. Knowledge is important in its place, but it's not everything.
So to add to temperance, to knowledge temperance, and then to temperance, patience, we need patience. And to patience godliness. We could be so patient that we forget about godliness. There's there's a need of balance there. And then perhaps we could be so godly that we do not manifest any brotherly love. We need to be balanced. And so each one of these things seems to bring out a beautiful balance.
We would add them all up together and we need to, as has been brought out, to be exercised about it, and then to brotherly love or to add charity, which is love, divine love. That is what it ends up with, the bond of perfectness, love.
Probably will understand this because kind of like a recipe. So when you're cooking you you have certain things you look in your cookbook and you find that it takes this and that and something else to make the recipes. But I can recall one time I couldn't tell this on my wife.
But I think she was making gingerbread and she left the sword out of the gingerbread and it was very poor piece of merchandise when I came out of the oven just because it lacked the one ingredient. Well, I think that's what the spirit of God is telling us here, that we need all these things in the recipe in our lives to make a happy result.
Worried we are given things such as we have here in these items that we've just been looking at. And I might point out there are seven of them which are constructive. Plus seven is God's complete number and we often find it in Scripture. So there are 7 characteristics here. But God never gives us something that cannot be achieved practically. In other words, He doesn't hold up some impossible ideal. So it is a challenge to every one of us.
And God expects us really to achieve these things, but He is fully for us if we go back to verse three, it says according as his divine power hath given unto us all things.
So we have, you might say that God has for us in these characteristics and then we have these great exceeding great impression promises. And so we have, you might say, the fact that God calls His characteristics out before us, but He expects us to walk in the good of it because He's given us the power the it's a wonderful encouragement. So each one and I think we have to remember this too, although it's not a portion part of this portion, but we are.
00:50:09
His emissaries in this world.
It's a Dark World. We are to be light shining in this world. What are the characteristics that should mark us that these very things that we've been reading. If it's our desire to do His will, then he'll give us the power. I think we eat lunch and be encouraged that this is what the Lord expects of us.
And abound make you that you neither be barren or unfruitful in the knowledge of the Lord of our Lord Jesus Christ.
They bound in us all these these things were not bearing in our Christian life.
And just go and say, well, I'm a Christian and then the world don't know nothing about it.
We walked, showed it to.
The world comes along and says, well, you do good, you're righteous, you're Christians. The world sees them. They that love God and they're known of him.
So we need to walk that way.
Could we sing 332 Three 3/2?
Just as I am.
Please do that We love wholeness of the death to prove here for a season, and above all, Lamb of God, I come.
Just as I.
Am aware of all the world.
Free all of our love.
2 Peter 1
Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
And it's.
24 in the appendix.
Nothing.
Much.
Crap till I hear my cry.
Of living heart.
Lands out there. Christ, I'll be well, soul.
All our way.
Yes, may not be.
Always.
Close.
All that I grow.
First chapter, second John.
Second Peter.
Begin with verse 10.
I think so.
Wherefore, the rather brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election, sure. Or if you do these things, you shall never fall.
Pursue an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Wherefore, I will not be negligent to put you all within remembrance of these things, though you know them, and be established in the present truth. Yeah, I think it meet as long as I'm in this Tabernacle to stir you up by putting you in remembrance, knowing that shortly I must put off this my Tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed me.
Moreover, I will endeavor that ye may be able, after my decease, to have these things always in remembrance. For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His Majesty, For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
And this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the holy mouth. We have also a more sure word of prophecy, where until you do well that you take heed is under a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake that they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
00:05:15
Something to return Too much brethren, but since he speaks of these things in verse 10.
In evident reference to those that we meditated on the other day.
In verses 5-6 and seven, I just like to mention a few that have been an exercise to my own soul, were exhorted that they should be in US and abound.
Just like to comment on.
Two or three of them.
One is the word patience, the importance of that we had something of that yesterday.
In Ephesians chapter 4 and the word long-suffering, I would think that that is something of the same thing as patience and how we need that in our relationships one with another if we are to go on together.
As members of Christ's body.
It is true that there are differences sometimes amongst us.
And I am reminded of that verse in Philippians chapter 3.
Where Paul says.
I'll have to read it.
Philippians 3 and verse.
15 Let us therefore as many as be perfect. The word is really full grown or mature. Be thus minded, and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. In other words, there are times when there are in our relationships one with another.
Otherwise we are otherwise minded one with another. What is it?
That we need to do in that case, it is a question of waiting with patients on one another.
That we might grow full growth isn't attained instantly.
And we need to wait on one another if there is a difference that there might be growth.
And in time, God can reveal even this unto you. It is not a question of agreeing to disagree.
That is not a right principle, but it is a question of having patience.
Waiting on one another until we are brought to like mindedness in the things of God. This doesn't come instantly. We have to admit that there are differences many times, so how important that matter of patience.
That it be in US and abound. And I just like to comment as well on those two last things that are mentioned. Brotherly love. And the last one is charity or love. Sure we're aware of the fact that brotherly love is Philadelphia. It is really an exchange of love. I love. I value my brother and it is he values me.
That is normal. That should be normal amongst God's people.
Hebrews 13 says Let brotherly love continue. It is what should be normal, that flow of love, and we need to cultivate it, brethren. But sometimes that love is not there, in which case divine love always is there. Brethren, if you and I are born into God's family and have therefore God's nature.
That nature is love. God is love.
And you and I have the capacity to love in that sense of the word.
That love is agape love. It is love that loves when there's nothing lovable.
Sometimes I have heard the comment there is no love in this gathering.
The person that complaints is the first guilty in the matter because the character of that love is loving when there's nothing lovable. So if there's no love there, you start loving. You cannot lay the finger anywhere else but on your own breast. In that case, oh, how important these things are, I have noticed in John's Gospel and his epistles.
00:10:20
Seven times we are definitely commanded, brethren, not told. Do it if you can. We are commanded to love one another with that love, Brethren, we need to abound in this.
For some of the young people's sake.
We quite often say, well, that brother, he's going, not going on with the Lord's way of doing things with the proper truths of the Lord. But we don't love.
The acts of that brother. But we still love that brother. We should love everyone that belongs to the Lord Jesus. But many we can't go along with. We can't go along with their acts because.
They don't uphold to this precious word of God.
Knowledge. I believe temperance in knowledge is such an important thing, especially for any who the Lord has raised up to teach the Word. And in our context with those who are babes in Christ, we tend to overwhelm them sometimes, and I certainly have to admit that I have to be on guard there. You know, you meet somebody, you meet a Christian that is a babe in Christ.
And you want to give them as much as you can, but you might overdo it. And I think this is where temperance comes in or self-control. And I think the Apostle Paul uses wisdom and has used wisdom in knowing and being close to the Lord so as to know just what to give a person and not to over feed them, to overstuff them that they can't digest it and realizing that it's really.
Is the law that has to make these things good in their souls. But you know what? It's really a painful thing. Beloved, I don't think it is the most difficult thing to.
Bear with the ignorance of a baby in Christ who has a sincere desire to learn and to grow. But when you see the reverse of those who have embraced truth and then give up truth, that's a very painful thing and it's very difficult to bear with.
And that's why this passage that Brother Bob referred to in Philippians follows with this statement.
Where to we have attained we should walk in these things, not give up. That's the principle of apostasy, of giving up beloved and.
The enemy would try to lead souls to give up, and what a painful thing that is to observe.
That people at one time seem to have really embraced the truth of God in certain areas.
And then give it up. It's a very painful thing but still we need to exercise self-control and better word for temperance is self-control.
In the way we communicate the truth that the Lord in His grace has given us to understand.
Even those brothers we should love. Even those brothers we should love.
That's the word as to patients, just to add to what has been said, that I believe that God is using patience, especially in preserving His people, but not only in preserving them, giving them character. And how many times we have been spent with the fact of how patient our brethren have been with us in our waywardness and making remarks that are out of character and it just breaks us down.
And so when James he seems to finalize the thing, when he says be patient unto the coming of the Lord, well, it is a good that that be brought out with love behind it. We can be patient and kind of sign about it, kind of impatient, wish things would get hurried up, the love behind it, that's a valuable character to exercise patience.
00:15:01
Bob is the is the last thing we have in this list, isn't it?
Seems to be something that should be infiltrated in this whole list of things that we add to our faith. I'll never forget a few years ago in Wyoming and visiting in a small town. In regards to what you brothers have said, especially Heinz, we were talking about some of the basics of Christianity and I could see well these folks have not been saved very long and I know some things that would probably help them. And the tendency is right away to come out and try to straighten your brethren out.
Well, Gary and Julie listened for a long time and we talked about things and I don't like the idea myself of forcing the truth on anybody because I don't like it forced on me.
But I'll never forget what this sister said at the end of our conversation. And she didn't say it exactly to me, but I got to him, she said. Tom said. I don't care how much you know until I know how much you care.
And I hope I never forget those words. And I believe that's the bottom line of this portion we're talking about. I don't care how much you know until I know how much you care. Another saying has come before me. Recently I heard from my brother and I think it reflects on this portion of scripture and what's been said. In the essentials we need unity. In the non essentials we need liberty, and in all things we need charity.
If there's any doubt in the mind of any as the difference in brother, the love and love, it is simply this.
Brotherly love has my brother in view, and love has God in view.
Love according to God, allows me to love my brother.
Without respect to His behavior, when we were lost and undone and enmity and enmity with God, He loved us. And so when we love according to the last word of this list, we love according to God, without respect to the behavior of those blessing we seek.
And that my, as Mr. Darby says, bring in all God's claim.
2 Peter 1
Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
When the Lord came in time, we.
Had.
Whatever.
It is.
And.
You ought to read from verse 12. We might have gone over it a little bit.
Verse 12 Where Wherefore I will not be negligent, but you always in remembrance of these things, though you know them, and be established in the present truth. Yeah, I think it meet as long as I'm in this Tabernacle to stir, go up by putting you in remembrance, knowing that shortly I must put off this my Tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed me. Moreover, I will endeavor that he may be at may be able, after my decease, to have these things always in rememberance.
Where we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But were eyewitnesses of His Majesty, For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved Son, and whom I am well pleased. This voice which came from heaven, we heard when we were with him in the holy Mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy, For until you do well that you take heed and unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.
00:05:30
Knowing this first that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation where the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, the holy men of God spake, as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
You know, this whole book is a book to call Remembrance, but we have, I think that the Ministry of our Grace, the last meeting was.
Was good to conform to this reading of this whole book.
The second chapters, not just something added to it, is to call the remembrance of the grace of God what's going to take place on the earth in the last days.
The third chapter talk some more about bringing in to remembrance.
So we need to be stirred up by the remembrance of the grace of God, opposition He's placed us in through the blood of the Lord Jesus.
The Apostle Peter is about to give us a.
A good and an eyewitness report.
On that precious experience that he and two other disciples had.
On the mount of Transfiguration.
But before he gives it, he makes an interesting statement. We have not followed cunningly devised fables.
The world is full of cunningly devised fables.
That is, men have made-up.
All sorts of.
Ideas and stories about God and about creation and so on. And they have made them up out of their own imagination and some of them do pretty good job because they have detailed minds and can imagine all sorts of things.
But I'll share with you something that's very precious to me.
And that is 1 Servant of the Lord, speaking about the life and work of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Said this.
It would have taken a Jesus to have invented a Jesus.
The story of our Lord Jesus Christ is so precious and so.
For the display of God.
That no human person could ever have imagined such a wonderful character.
Now some folks like fiction.
And they like to read love stories and all that kind of thing. And they like to read about heroes and heroines.
And so on.
And authors are quite capable of imagining very nice people in their stories.
But it would have taken a Jesus.
To have invented a Jesus, no one could have imagined such a wonderful person.
As the Lord Jesus Christ, who in every detail of his life and all his words and ways.
Where so intricately good.
And consistent with the glory of God and the revelation that God had given to man.
That no human being could have invented such a story or such a hero.
As he but there are many cunningly devised fables.
You and I possess the word of God.
And I would like to quote for you.
A poem? I guess it's not out of place to quote a poem in a Bible reading.
But this is a good one, and this came from the pen of an old English writer.
One of the Old English poets whose name was John Dryden.
I believe Mr. Greydon lived in the 1600s and he said this.
00:10:04
As he commented on the word of God.
Whence but from heaven?
Could men unskilled in arts?
In several ages, born in several parts.
Weave such agreeing truths or how?
Or why could each conspire to cheat us?
With a lie. Those are profound words from one of our Old English poets.
And it's utterly impossible to think that the precious word of God that you and I hold in our hands is the product of man's imagination.
This is the revelation of God, and to read it is to understand it.
To be solved, but the world has rejected.
The Word of God.
In some parts that as some have rejected it, thank God you have not.
And thank God, by the grace of God, I have not. I accept this precious book as the holy word of the living God, and it's the book that speaks to my soul. But this poor world that doesn't want God's revelation.
Has invented cunningly devised fables. There's the fable of evolution.
And the best comment I've seen upon it in the last month is the bumper sticker I read.
Which that evolutionists make monkeys out of themselves.
Well, that's a pretty good comment on evolution. It's a cunningly devised fable. And then there are the scientists that tell us that the world all started in a Big Bang and suddenly somewhere, somehow, there was a Big Bang.
And things kept going and going and going. And where are the results? Well, I don't know how you can believe that.
And then one dear young brother was telling me just before the meeting that now they've come up with a new idea.
And Mark Rogers was talking to me about it and.
What did you call that, mark, this new idea?
Ah, think of that. It's the theory of uniformity, and that is that everything is just been going on as it always has.
Wow. Got to be a little dense to accept that one. But there are a lot of cunningly devised fables, and I've only cited just a few of them, but there are many. My father-in-law, as you well know, Brother Dan Anderson, labored for the Lord in Africa, and he tried to help those natives understand that God had given a book that reveals himself and his ways, and he took that book to the dark parts of Africa and he talked to the natives and.
My father-in-law said to the natives, where did you come from?
Well, they said.
We just like the trees. We just grew.
So even in Africa they have their cunningly devised fables, so wherever you go on Earth, you'll find them.
And when man gives up the light, he ends up with darkness.
Precious book that we have in our hand is the Light and the beloved brethren. We have not followed cunningly devised fables.
And this book will stand every test that man can give it.
Thank God for it. Thank God we have such a resting place for our souls. God has spoken and here we have His word in our hands, and we can rest the destiny of our souls upon it.
In respect to cunning the device fables, I would like to read for us all the 4th chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians, and I'm going to read it for Mr. Darby's translation, because it gives us the character of some of these fables and the purpose for which they are created.
I'm reading chapter 4.
Of Ephesians.
After it has pointed up the purpose.
For which God has given, or Christ really the ascended, glorified head of the assembly has given gifts to the assembly. Verse 14.
00:15:02
In order that we may no longer be babes tossed and carried about by every wind of that teaching which is in the slate of men, in unprincipled cunning, with a view to systematize error. Now there you have the character, and the purpose of what man has created and introduced into the House of God that Peter refers to as cunningly devised fables.
They are stories with a moral point that lead men away from the truth.
And refused to allow men to be brought as to their conscience into the presence of God, and have that conscience wrought upon by the word of God.
And so it results in a vast system of error that our brother has very rightly described as darkness. Man has gone back to that darkness. Christ brought the light. The assembly is to be shining his lights in the world. But when it opened its arms and heart to the world early in her history, the light that was in her became darkness. And now there is every kind of a moral made story with a moral maid that keeps men out of the presence of God and keeps the word of God from acting upon their conscience.
The mine produces these things.
Apart from the spirit of God, and I believe we have to be very much on our guard that we do not approach any subject.
Merely by human intellect we have to have the help of the Spirit of God to give us understanding. The natural mind is darkened and we.
Needs divine help and the only way that we can even understand this book.
That is before us is that the Spirit of God opens it up to us, and we have to approach this in humility and ask for that divine help to open its pages to us. Cunningly devised fables as a result of the mind.
Undisciplined minds.
Trying to solve problems searching out things, not utilizing.
The help that God himself is willing to give. Left to himself they will produce more darkness.
Now indeed, brethren, to let the precious truth of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ sink into our souls, I really find for myself it's a tremendous challenge. We talk about the Lord's coming, and we can have it all straight as a doctrine, but if it doesn't affect our hearts and our souls, brethren, this is what it seems to me that comes so strongly before me in this.
Passage. These are not cunningly devised fables.
He says that we made known unto you, and we made known the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We were eyewitnesses of His Majesty. These things are real. They're going to happen.
And I must say in my own mind that I find I tend.
Dealing with the truth of the Lord's coming, my mind is some distant future out there.
The brethren, it could happen this afternoon that we're going to be caught into the Lord's presence, and what he speaks of here is really the coming Kingdom that will happen at the end of the tribulation period. That what it speaks of that everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, That.
Is going to be introduced in glory in this world. We too are going to be eyewitnesses of the introduction of the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus into this world. It's going to come with power and glory. We're going to accompany him. We're going to be eyewitnesses.
As by the word of his mouth he is going to smite before him the great armies of this earth, he is going to take the rod of his.
Justice. And he is going to reign supreme from sea to sea. These are real things, brethren. Sometimes I must have to say I confess that it almost seems too good to be true. But, brethren, if it's not true.
00:20:10
Nothing's true. It's all true, brethren, and these things we need to get a glimpse of the glory. It's getting a glimpse of the glory that it's going to have an effect on our lives. Here, the Apostle Paul got a glimpse of the glory. He was caught up there as well, and he saw that glory. And from that time on, the Apostle Paul was a ruined man as far as worldly glory was concerned.
The apostle Peter got a glimpse of the glory along with two others, and.
They too were not interested in anything.
Short of that coming glory of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And we need a glimpse of it, brethren, and let the reality of it. These are real things. They're going to take place.
They are not fables. Peter, James and John were eyewitnesses in a preview of the Kingdom on the Mount of Transfiguration. The Lord Jesus was here in this world, Oh brethren, just to let the weight of the truth of this fact. Jesus is coming again. Praise God. He's coming again. When we see the confusion of this world, the awful misery, we have so little concept of it in this nation.
Millions of people in Africa in danger of starving to death. We have no concept of that.
The misery of this world, oh brethren, it should make us long for his coming again. Not only is the rapture the hope of the believer, but the appearing of the Lord Jesus is the hope of the believer looking for that blessed hope. That's the rapture and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
We get a glimpse of that, dear brethren. Let it sink into our souls. It's going to have an effect on our lives and avoid them.
Keep our lives, our light shining, until they come up and says in the in the first John every man has had this hope in him, purified himself even as he is pure. So we need to keep in mind that if we were expecting some some famous person to come to our house to visit, we want to keep everything cleaned up and everything in order where we ought to be when we look for the coming of the Lord.
Not to let down.
Anyway.
I think it would be profitable and suitable for us to read Matthew's Gospel, chapter 17.
Where we have the account of this.
The thing that Peter is talking about.
Yeah, thank you. I was going to do that, and we're going to sneak it in. But good. I'm glad you confirmed that. Thought I had Matthew's Gospel, chapter 16 and verse 28.
Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here which shall not taste of death, until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.
That's a very important thing to note.
The Son of man coming in his Kingdom. Now when was that going to happen?
What happens in the next chapter? So let's read on.
And after six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up.
Into an high mountain apart and was transfigured before them, and his face did shine as the sun.
And his raiment was white as the light. Behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him and.
Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here.
If thou wilt, let us make here 3 tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
While he yet spake, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them.
And behold, a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.
Hear ye him? When the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
And Jesus came and touched them, and said, arise and be not afraid. When they lifted up their eyes, they saw no man save Jesus only.
00:25:09
And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying television.
To no man until the son of man be risen again from the dead.
Well, it's quite interesting that these three disciples were told not to relate this vision until the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. So Peter in our chapter does that very thing, doesn't he? With the Lord Jesus Christ ascended as the glorified man to heaven. Now Peter can tell the story, and you and I have read the story in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 16 and 17. We've read of that. Wonderful.
A thing that happened to Peter and he says.
We've made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now I would like to say that.
There's another key for us.
We ended the meeting this morning. We talked about a key.
That gave us to open the chapter. Now we're going to get a key that helps us to understand the experience on the Mount of Transfiguration. What's it all about? Here's the key. It's the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That's what it's all about. It's a little preview of that day when the Lord Jesus Christ is going to come back and he's going to have a people in heaven and he's going to have a people on earth. So Peter gives us the key.
To understand what that vision was all about, South, I suggest that you look closely in the word of God.
14 And here is another one. And so if we are going to understand properly what happened on the mount of Transfiguration.
We will want to use this key and say, ah, that's a little preview.
Of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ when he will appear in glory.
And you have a heavenly people represented by Moses and Elijah.
Later to come back to earth, did they? But they were there to enjoy His glory. But he'll have an earthly people represented by the three disciples on earth, and the Lord Jesus will be the center of both of those groups.
For his own glory and the glory of God, and the blessing of both the heavenly company and the earthly company. So we do thank Peter for not holding back on us.
But after the resurrection said, I just can't wait to tell you what it's all about. And that's what we've got in our chapter. It's very important to realize the progression that Peter gives us here, because everything that our brethren have said as to the coming glory is absolutely settled in the heavens and will occur. But notice it says that it was not following the imagination of men's minds.
When we made known to you the power and coming of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, we read in the 4th chapter of Hebrews as to the common salvation. And the principle is the same as to the Kingdom which was first spoken unto us by the Lord and confirmed to us by those who heard him, the Lord Jesus Christ, in Matthew 5-6 and seven.
Set forth the principles of his Kingdom, and in Matthew 8 through 12 went about to demonstrate the power of his Kingdom present for the blessing of his people.
So when Peter says that, he gave to these Jewish believers.
The power of the Kingdom. That is what we see demonstrated in the Acts of the Apostles.
The power of the Kingdom translated into their life for the blessing of those around them.
And the hope of his coming in order that, as our brother pointed out, that their lives might be affected.
In the 12Th of Luke, when the unprofitable servant sat in his heart.
My Lord Delayeth his coming. He began to eat and drink with a drunken.
And beat the maid servants and the men servants, and we know the end of that man's history cast into outer darkness. But the point is when the church or when we as individual believers.
Realize or fail to realize that.
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Present hope of the immediate coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our behavior as children of God is going to deteriorate.
Now, as to the power of his Kingdom, what is it? It is to prove?
That God is going to overcome evil with good. And so you and I, when we translate the power of that Kingdom into daily experience with God, we are able to let a man smite on one cheek and turn the other. We're able to go 2 miles instead of the one. We're able to let a man have our coat and our cloak when we're sued. That is the power of the Kingdom that's coming, brought into our life as an expression of the grace of God that has brought us to himself.
What's your thoughts that the disciples, I don't think really understood this vision that they saw in the mouth at this particular time when they witnessed it and but after the Spirit was come, then they benefited from this. And we see even the disciples on the road to Emmaus. What was the distress?
They thought that he was the one that would set up the Kingdom, and the Lord had to rebuke them, that they were slow to believe all that the prophets had said. And Peter in his first epistle said that the prophet spoke of the sufferings of Christ and the glory which was to follow, and they wanted the glory without the sufferings. But I'm sure I'm not going to find saying that he didn't understand.
What was taking place at the time when they witnessed it? And the Lord doesn't want them to relate anything that they do not understand. And so after the Spirit was come, they were able to realize why the Lord gave them that vision. And why did he do? Because he didn't want them to be shaken in their faith. Here is a Jew. They had all their hopes and expectations.
Centered in the coming Kingdom, the son of David would sit on David throne and reign over the nations and now they were not going to realize that. But the Lord is giving them this view on the mound to make sure that they would not doubt the word of prophecy. And they have now confirmed the prophecy that were given in the Old Testament men about that coming glory and.
We take a great interest, do we not, in that coming glory. And you know, in Second Thessalonians, and even in the first epistle, we see that we will have part in this when you read in first Thessalonians 3 the last verse.
The Apostle Paul says to the end.
That He may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His Saints.
And then in the second Episcopal, so we will be there when he comes the second epistle.
The first chapter verse 7.
And to you.
Who are troubled? Rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. For are we going to have a wonderful company? We will be accompanied by the mighty angels. The armies that have come out of heaven with the Lord Jesus will not be asked. Only us. All the Saints, also the holy angels will come with him. And in. Matthew 30 Matthew 2531.
We also have reference made to him coming back in power and glory, and the angels I mentioned there also, but then also in verse ten of first Thessalonians one listen to this, when he shall come to be glorified in His Saints.
And to be admired in all them that believe because our testimony among you was believed in that day, that also refers to that coming back with him. It's not bringing any glory to us, because he will be glorified in the Saints, and he will be admired in all them that have believed. They will see the grace of God that has made us to be what we are.
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All the grace of God and he will be admired. It will be all for his glory.
I would like to request.
More information on what is meant by verse 19. We have also a more sure word of prophecy.
I would like to have more said on that to help us understand what it means. What does it mean when it says we have also a more sure word of prophecy or we have the word of prophecy confirmed? What? What is the meaning of that?
The Darby letter that we have the prophetic word made sure.
How did that happen? Now will you allow this thought?
That Peter may have learned something from the Apostle Paul that confirmed the prophetic scope.
What is meant by that? We have the prophetic scripture confirmed? When did it happen and how did it happen? What does it mean?
The vision confirmed it.
Or the vision. The vision confirmed the vision confirmed it. I think so.
That confirmed and made more sure what the prophets had spoken of, made it clear to them to understand that this Kingdom that had been prophesied would in fact take place. Are you saying then that?
The vision or the amount of Transfiguration was a confirmation of the Old Testament prophecies. Is that what you're saying?
Thank you.
I've always pondered that and wondered what it meant, and if that's what it meant, that's good. I'm glad to learn that that this vision confirmed the Old Testament prophecies. There is a word in Revelation 1910 that says the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy or the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. And when we hear in our chapter that.
He received from God the Father, honor and glory.
There is another one of your keys, brother. It exhausts the Lord Jesus Christ. And anytime we take up a subject, a deal of a prophetic nature, and we miss the testimony of the exaltation of God's beloved Son, we go in real danger of creating some of those fables that we've been talking about.
A little thing that might be added here that's been helpful to me and that is in Exodus 24.
That you have Moses and the elders gathered together, and they.
They see the body of heaven in its clearness, and it says, and they saw God and did eat and drink. Now I'm sure that the effect of that upon Moses and the elders of Israel was never forgotten as long as they lived. And that Moses writes, after he has this glimpse into the Kingdom of God. Now in the Old Testament there are little revelations of the Kingdom of God in different ways.
But when it comes to this revelation on the Mount, that was the most glorious thing that mortal eyes have ever seen.
Because there we see the sovereign of the Kingdom of God transformed, transfigured before them, and something that the apostles, the three apostles that sought, they never forgot and were deeply affected by it. Now as we look on, we think of the great tribulation coming on, and here the man of sin is to be revealed. And what does he do? Why, he sets forth great signs and wonders that people look at.
And they're awed by it, and they're drawn to it, and they're deceived by it, and they're go into everlasting darkness. But to think of the Revelation when the Kingdom of God is manifested in the coming day, as it's been read in Thessalonians, and to think of men on the earth with mortal eye beholding that scene of glory, granted, there is going to be the judgment.
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And sin is going to be judged. But think of the transforming power of that Kingdom upon men on the earth as they look at it, and their hearts are changed. And here they have been, staggering under deception and Satan's harshness, and bringing men into *******. And at the end of that great tribulation you wonder how there could ever be any healing that men could rise up and even enjoy a Millennium.
But I think it gives us to realize the glory and the power of that Kingdom will transform men, and they will rise up.
And they will enter into peace and equity. And so it's that real, beloved brethren, and it's been encouraged to have a sight of that Kingdom now. And it's going to transform our lives too, and give us a divine sense of values as we await His coming.
Washington says that in all things he might have the preeminence in Ephesians, God's eternal purposes.
That he might gather together in one all things in Christ.
Things in heaven and things in earth, even in him, the Lord Jesus is the preeminent 1.
This is to be reflected in our lives even today as we view that coming Kingdom when God is going to bring it out in a manifest way.
Here in this world, it's interesting in this 17th verse of our chapter.
It quotes what was said the voice of the Father on that holy mount. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. What provoked that voice to say that thing, brethren?
You remember in the story that was read in Matthew that Peter?
Makes the suggestion it's good for us to be here.
Let us make 3 tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, one for Elijah, and without realizing that he put the Lord Jesus on the same plane as two of those mighty servants from the Old Testament.
And immediately those two servants disappear from view that Jesus alone might be seen.
And that voice comes out of the cloud. This is my beloved son.
In whom I am well pleased. Here eve him, O brethren, God. His eternal purpose is the glory of his Son. And if any mere servant gets in the way of our vision to see Christ, God may have to allow them to disappear from view that we might see Christ and Christ alone. How often that happens in our lives down here, dear brother.
And God is jealous. He wants Christ. He will have Christ.
To have the preeminent place of justice looking at the book of Isaiah and I'd just like to read a few verses in the second chapter of Isaiah that bring this out in such a.
Remarkable way which really referred to that coming Kingdom.
The second chapter of Isaiah and the 10th verse. I'd just like to read a few verses there.
Enter into the rock and hide thee in the dust.
For fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His Majesty, the lofty looks of man shall be humble, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
For the day of the Lord of host shall be upon everyone that is proud and lofty.
And upon everyone that is lifted up, and he shall be brought low, and upon all the Cedars of Lebanon.
That are high lifted up, and upon all the oaks of basin, upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up.
And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures, and the loftiness of man shall be bowed down in the haughtiness of men shall be made low, and the Lord alone.
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Shall be exalted in that day. What a picture, brethren, what a picture. Does that have any effect on us now as we view that coming Kingdom, brethren, may the Lord give us.
To be willing to be made low.
We've had exhortation as humility. The day is near when all the loftiness of men, in whatever way it takes place, even in religious way, Brethren, that my heart is susceptible to any loftiness is going to be made low. And as we view that coming Kingdom, we're getting so close now.
And God brethren, will allow.
Any smear servant that we might have our eyes on to disappear from view.
That Christ, and Christ alone may be exalted in his that day. Oh brethren, may that voice reach our hearts. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
That is most significant, beloved, that the Lord Jesus Christ is here owned as the Son.
God has committed all judgment to the Son. He is given all judgment because he is the Son of Man. When he took his place in public service, he was owned of God, his Son. When he was born into this world, that holy thing which should be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And here in that Kingdom it is the Son who is going to be supreme.
Now.
He received honor from the Father. John 5 again tells us that the same honor with which God is honored should be paid unto the Son. And so it is here that it is the beloved Son who is the sovereign in his Kingdom. Nathaniel said it Thou art the Son of God, Thou art the king of Israel. And here we have it, beloved, in our chapter.
I'd like to bring out something.
Paul's.
Experience we cannot low akin to the eye of faith, see that we have been talking about and the wonderfulness of His coming and of the transfiguration on the mount. But we can through the eye of faith see God and see the Lord Jesus, even though we're born as Paul out of due season.
We can see that, and if we ever get a real glimpse of the Lord in glory like Paul did, we can go through just as much sorrow and sufferings and persecution as Paul did too. But we must have that seed, that Lord in the glory and realize.
What Paul did to carry him through all the sufferings that he did go through during his this scene of Paul's life, I'd like to add Brother Ton.
Was saying this thought. Yet it is especially important to see that God is testimony to the Lord Jesus to be the Son of God, because we know when he comes in power and glory that is connected with him being the Son of Man like we have in Hebrews chapter two. He has not in verse 6.
He has not put in subjection the world to come.
We often speak to angels. What is man that thou art mindful of him? The man of God's counsel is going to be the one to whom the world will be subjected. But this man is not just a man. And just like we had in the last verse of chapter 16 in Matthew, him mentioned to be the Son of man coming in the Kingdom. But the testimony that the Father gives to him is.
He is my son. He's the son of God. He's more than a mere man. I think that's beautiful to lay hold of. Yet when he comes in power and glory, when he takes dominion, it is as the Son of Man.
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The man of God's counsel. All was lost in the first man, but all will be established on a firm foundation in the second man, the man of God's counsel. But this person is more than a man. He is God's son.
The Lord Jesus Christ. Beautiful.
I wonder if there's not an application here. In verse 19 we have also a more sure word of prophecy where until you do well that you take heed. Would I be wrong in saying that Peter is bringing before us here the fact we need to trust in the word of God more than we trust in our experience? Peter had this enormous experience of seeing Christ in glory, yet he knew that there was more to the future Kingdom, the knowledge of it, than just his experience on the mouth.
And so he brings out here that we have a more, more sure word of prophecy. That is, I can look.
Beyond what Peter saw on the mount of Transfiguration into the Prophets especially.
And see, like a brother, Bob read what's going to happen when the Lord Jesus comes back.
To show his power and glory. It's tremendous. And that's where I've learned and enjoyed so much about the Kingdom myself, as in the prophets. What? What is it going to be like when we come back with the Lord Jesus? What's going to happen on this earth? And I believe there's hundreds if not thousands of scriptures in the prophets and in the Gospels too, regarding the manifestation of Christ's power and our association with him. What am I going to see in the way of events on this earth, how the mountains are going to?
Rundown. The valleys are going to be filled, the deserts are going to blossom as a rose, All the nations will be brought into subjection to Christ, and all the kings of this earth are going to bow the knee and think of the enormous changes in the ecology of the earth and the whole economy of the earth. There's hundreds of scriptures that we get in the prophetic scriptures do tell us about this coming Kingdom. I'd like to think that Peter is reminding perhaps himself and me too, that regardless of what my experiences may be.
That I can always trust in the word of God.
Do you see that from what it said?
For unto you do well to take heed. Is that what you're saying to us, That we're encouraged to take heed to the prophecy?
And the rest of the chat drawn down the rest of the cap. He refers to the Old Testament scriptures regarding this subject and I want to encourage myself.
To make sure I read the word of God regarding the future and the Kingdom. I know the Lord is coming, He's going to appear, but what's my involvement in it? And better yet, what am I going to see happen on this earth? Because that is part of my inheritance and I want to know what's going to happen if I can and shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I shall do.
And God has not hidden from us the things that He is going to do in this thousand year Kingdom. There is so much in the Old Testament that has to do with this Kingdom we're talking about.
Good little, no. They're little. Interesting detail in Luke's gospel. You don't have to turn to the 9th chapter where we get the amount of transfiguration told as well. There's a detail there that doesn't appear in the other accounts that the conversation between Moses and Elijah and the Lord Jesus was his decease. You would think that when they saw that glorious display there on the Mount of Transfiguration.
Perhaps they would be discussing the glory, the majesty that was there.
That wasn't the theme, brethren. It was his deceased. The cross. No, Brethren, What a thing to think about through all eternity. The cross is going to be the center. We sing in a hymn of two eternities, look with rapt adoring eyes, onward and back to the cross. Never, never such a display of the blaze of the glory of God.
As in the darkness, those three hours of Calvary.
After Jesus died and shed his blood, none of these things do blessings that we read about.
Today the judge the world could happen until after Calvary, after the death of the sun God.
That's what he came to do, what he accomplished.
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At that Transfiguration, that what were those disciples doing when this enormous event happened? They were asleep.
And I think I've been asleep regarding the Lord's glory. I mean, because I don't know much about this coming Kingdom. And like I said, there's hundreds of Scriptures, if not thousands of them, that have to do with this coming glory. And now, Lord, I want to wake up regarding your glory. And I believe God is reminding us that mount of Transfiguration, that we're very susceptible to fall asleep. The Scriptures tell us who we could be asleep as to the Lord's coming. The Bible tells us we could be asleep as to the Lord's word.
Ephesians 5 tells us we could be asleep as to the Lord's holiness in Acts 20 tells us we could be asleep to Paul's ministry. I think we're a sleeping church, but I'm glad that Peter's reminded us that if we open the Bible and read these prophetic scriptures, I believe it'll wake us up. Well, there's some great things that we got to look forward to and I'm glad I can see in the Bible some of what's going to happen.
In which way does this give life to you and me?
And how will it help us who are still in this dark place? The light shines in that dark place. It shows me, and it chose all of us, that all the efforts of man to try to write things in the world and to bring in that utopia that man is looking for, are in vain.
And it helps me to understand there is no hope for this world.
Until death, Blessed One comes back in power and glory, and he's going to deal with all the inequities and injustices in this world. And I am not going to waste my energies in a futile effort to try to straighten out this mess in the world. The best of men can't do it.
It will be straightened out when this Lord Jesus comes. And it helps me to understand why it is my responsibility to walk as a pilgrimage stranger here, and that I patiently weighed until He comes whose right it is and he will write and everything. And that's why it is important to understand prophecy, to understand dispensational truth.
And then Peter refers that there is no scripture of private interpretation. In other words, we have to interpret Scripture with Scripture, not by our imagination. Scripture interprets Scripture. If you have to depend on my explanation of a certain passage of Scripture that I cannot back up with, Scripture, don't accept it. Scripture interprets Scripture.
No scriptures of private interpretation. It's like a big crossword puzzle or like.
Something that has to fit all together, you know, if you remove one.
Syllable, one letter, the whole thing is messed up and all the truth of God is all one solid union, union, or unity. And we cannot attack any aspect of the truth of God without causing confusion as to every aspect of it.
So Scripture interprets Scripture, brethren, and holy men of God.
Pent down the truth of God and that poem that our brother gave of this Englishman. How beautiful it is.
Here written by so many writers at different times.
In the history of man, yet it is one complete, whole, beautiful, and you know we have only scratched the surface. There's so much yet that we have to come to understand. But how thankful can we be that God in his goodness has given us to understand some of the things sufficient to help us to know that we are not looking in vain to any man?
We're looking to the man of God's counsels, and it helps us to walk intelligently, patiently waiting for that day.
The details of our brother brought before us that is recorded in Luke's Gospel is valuable to us in this respect. It shows us that the establishment of all that we have been speaking about is consequent upon the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Israel.
Send away and forfeited every right to the Kingdom promised them. But Caiaphas being high priest that year prophesied it is expedient that one man die for the nation that the nation perish not. And so based on the grace of God and the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ Israel is going to be restored and the king of the Jews is going to be universal Lord and they will then be the head and no longer the tail of nations.
01:00:27
So what man has?
Sinned away and forfeited as to write to anything God has established. And His Son Jesus Christ became the minister of the Circumcision. That is, he became that one man to die for that nation in order to confirm the promises to the fathers and extend that blessing to the whole world. So it's all grace of God just like. And that's reason beloved. Excuse me for adding a thought here, but that is the reason for the vast confusion that Christendom has allowed.
To this Kingdom and as to the assembly, because their blessings are both based on the same death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. So they do not read with discernment these things of a word of prophecy that's been pointed up, but the coming Kingdom is the based on the same.
Principle of God's grace to the nation, that is, that we enjoy today. God's grace to us.
Is no not only because it follows the first that is new and that it has a completely different character. The old covenant of Sinai was based on men obtaining the promises on the basis of their faithfulness. The new covenant that he will establish with both the houses of Israel.
Based upon the principle of grace and based upon the work of the Lord Jesus, that's the New Covenant. And even when we read there in Hebrews that he will put their laws into their hearts, that's not Christianity. That's what refers to what will be true in the Kingdom for Israel. For us, in Christianity, it is not the law that is put into our heart. That is Christ that is put there. That's Christianity.
That's beautiful to see. And they're coming down. That's why Moses and Elias are on that mount of Transfiguration. You know, he was the lawgiver, and Elias brought the people back to the law. And so you can see it is going to be realized by that people in that coming day. The law will be in their heart, and they will, from the heart obey the word of God.
I'd like to say with that that the.
Gospel of Mark. We noticed that Elijah is mentioned before Moses.
That's only peculiar to Mark, because Mark is the Gospel of Restoration. And to me that's a great comfort as I look upon my brethren and I see that some are death and some are wounded. We may have children that do not respond spiritually, and we have a sense that they're saved, that they're not living for the Lord. And just to think of that coming day of glory, that everyone.
Is going to be in their place and there will not be 1 tarnish or anything. And brethren, won't that be a wonderful day, everyone restored to his glory. And so if we didn't have that consolation, our hearts would be broken and we just would feel like it isn't worth going on. But we look on to that day when Paul is restored and in keeping with the heart of God and Christ.
I was thinking too of a second Corinthians 4 where it says for God who commanded the light.
To shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ in creation.
While it had become without form and void, And God says let there be light, light introduced to darkness.
In the glory of the law there was a glory, a very great glory. But what does it tell us? We had it in Hebrews chapter 12, just a part of a verse There it tells us.
The end of verse 18.
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A mountain that could be touched, burned with fire, black darkness, Tempest. But there was a great glory to the law, but the glory of grace.
Excels, doesn't it? It has a much more excellent glory. If you touch them out, we get thrust through with the dark. Now we go to the mount of Transfiguration. Is it blackness and darkness and Tempest? When man introduces a thought, let us make 3 tabernacles.
In what way is man's thought shut off? Not by darkness.
But by a cloud of light, a cloud of glory of brightness.
And I believe in the chapter here. Notice in verse 19.
Light that China in a dark place. Now God is introducing light in a dark place. And the previous verses we've had. The reason these fruits of the spirit are sought to be brought forth in us is He's got only us on earth to introduce light into a dark place and.
The chief example? Think of the Lord Jesus as he set his face as a Flint.
The God of Jerusalem to accomplish his deceased eternal counsel ran all wrapped up in the the light was going to shine in a dark place, and the word of prophecy is made sure.
But mouth that glory cloud, oh the grace, my blackness, and darkness.
Is going to cause, Peters thought, to come to nothing but a cloud of glory that blocks out everything.
Saw no man say to Jesus.
Oh, what a glory it is. Then, in the last chapter. This is physical. It's just One Burger 2 by.
Verse Chapter 3.
Verse 12.
Looking for and tasting.
Under the coming of the day of God.
We can, by this light that God has introduced into our darkened hearts, hasten the day of God if we walk good as these truths can.
Shall we sing #260 two 160?
And we will not sing all the verses.
But that.
The first, the third, the 5th and the 7th. That means the odd numbered verses only.
Of #260.
God, Lord, to make ourselves free.
Oh.
Lord.
They grow.
God will save my love.
Where was I?
Always stands.
Lord Jesus fall.
Lord gave us God.
Where I was feeling our souls.
May love whatever.
Communion
Address—D. Rule
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Save your.
Home.
This afternoon, it's on my heart to speak of the subject of communion.
We hear little sayings sometimes. Some of us have heard them for most of our lives.
And sometimes a little saying doesn't do justice. It isn't adequate really to give us the full thought.
But one of those things that many of us here have heard many times is that there is no substitute.
For Communion and I hope in the next 45 minutes that each one of us will have an increased.
Realization in our hearts and in our souls that there really is no substitute for communion.
We sometimes hear that expression communion, and we hear the terms means common thoughts. And yes, I think it does. I think that's a nice little summary. But there again, I hope this afternoon we will see from the Word of God that the fullness of the thought of communion goes well beyond just a little phrase common thoughts. Would you turn with me first to Genesis chapter one?
God often gives us his mind about something right in the beginning.
Of his word, and then he develops it through his word.
Expands on it gives us a further thought about it here in Genesis chapter one.
And verse 26 it says, And God said, Let us make man in our image after our likeness, and let us have and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air.
And over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him male and female created he them. Chapter 2 and verse seven. And the Lord God formed a man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.
And man became a living soul.
With respect to God's earthly creation, man is unique. I say with respect to earthly because of the angels being heavenly creatures perhaps enter in in some of the same ways of what we're going to say, but.
God.
Desired to have a creature.
With whom he could have communion. God created the fish, God created the birds, God created all the animals of the animal Kingdom. But there's something about every one of them that was different than you and I, and can I say, places a certain limitation upon God with respect to them. And that is they are not creatures with whom he can have communion He cannot enjoy.
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Their company, or putting it another way, they cannot enjoy His company, they cannot share His thoughts because they do not have the capacity to do so. But man, you and I, as the creation of God, are different as to that. We are really unique in that respect because we are made in the image and likeness of God.
And God has so made us that he can have communion, He can have fellowship, He can enjoy common feelings, common thoughts, common interests with us according to his own heart.
Or pretty special with God.
And in fact, I'd like to add just a thought.
For you to meditate upon. I've often heard the statement made man or God is sufficient.
Unto himself in everything except one thing.
And that is to have an object to love.
I would like to suggest to you that we might appropriately add to that statement an object to love and with whom he could have communion.
In Genesis chapter 3, something comes in that is sad.
But important to recognize.
In Genesis chapter 3.
And verse eight it says, and they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.
And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God.
Among the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and he said unto him, Where art thou?
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself.
Communion is broken by sin.
Adam enjoyed the fellowship of his Maker, God.
God enjoyed fellowship with his creature Adam. It was so important to God's heart.
That we have suggested here to us that God would come down in the cool of the day.
That he might enjoy that unique creation of his heart, his creature Adam and his wife Eve.
And yet here we find that that.
Fellowship was broken, and it was broken by sin, and we see the characteristic that comes in as a result of broken fellowship. One thing is fear, another is to seek to go out of the presence of the one with whom the fellowship has been broken.
And so it was here in the case of Adam, in the case of Eve.
Not only I'd like to back up and make a comment here too. Not only did God see and in his own heart say I want to have a creature that I can enjoy and that can enjoy me. That we can be together, that we can share those things that are common to us. But also God, in placing man upon the earth, recognize that man himself needed someone with whom he could have.
Fellowship with someone with whom he could have communion with and so God created for Adam. Help me his like it says he creates Eve and is that not true in your life? There's not a person in this room this afternoon that has in any measure a happy life that isn't have that happiness in large measure because of shared communion with others.
And so it was between Adam and Eve, that desire that God put in their hearts for one another.
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And their desire to be together, to share together, to live together.
And as a picture of Christ and his bride to be joined together in one.
And so God saw that need, can I say, in his own soul or in his own being. And he creates man, and he recognizes man as his life. And so he creates man to have that same need, that same desire to have fellowship with others. And so he creates him in the same way. And just as man's fellowship with God was broken, was hindered because of sin.
So sin also has that same characteristic between creatures, between fellow men, that the fellowship can be broken, the enjoyment of one anothers company can be marred and spoiled in measure because of sin. We say sin, but as we meditate upon this subject this afternoon, I believe we'll see that there are other things as well besides positive individual acts of sin that can come in and be a hindrance.
To the enjoyment of this subject of fellowship of which we speak.
But I'd like to turn over now to a verse in John's Gospel, chapter 17.
John's Gospel, chapter 17.
And verse 3.
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.
To me, there's something.
Fantastic.
I thought it's tremendous to the soul expressed here in this verse.
If you want to really enjoy another person.
Or another being, it's important to have a common kind of life.
And a common kind of nature, we sometimes hear the expression that.
A dog is man's best friend and there are certain characteristics of some dogs that.
Man can get close to there can be a shared affection between a man and a dog. There can be a shared companionship between a man and a dog. But there are also real limitations. Because men and dogs don't share a common nature, they don't share in full extent common thoughts.
And so there are limitations there.
And actually in a certain way.
There were, can I say, certain limitations really between the degree of enjoyment that Adam had with God. It was perfect in its character.
Bought Adam did not have the eternal life that is brought before us in this verse.
And yet, God's desire to have this fellowship with you and I is so strong.
That even though sin came into this creation and interrupted it, God worked in such a way that it's even better than it was in Innocence, in Adam, in the Garden of Eden. It's better because God has now given to each one of us in this room who can I say has restored fellowship with him. He has given to each one of us in this room who is saved.
Eternal life, the same life.
And nature.
That we have in Christ Jesus.
That we why that we might live for a long time no.
That we might know him.
That we might know him.
That we might that God might share to the fullest extent possible with the creature.
All that interests him, all that he cares about.
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All that he delights in, in his own heart.
Why do you think God by the Spirit?
Speaks so much to us of Christ. He wants to share with us.
The delight of his own heart. He wants us to enter in with Him.
Into that which he enjoys.
Don't we understand that? We do?
Have you ever met somebody?
And you said hello, and you talked about the weather and where did you come from and so on. And after not very long, it seemed like the conversation sort of dribbled off to nothing, and you wondered why. And sometimes you thought about it a little bit. And you said, oh, it's because we don't seem to have anything in common.
No common foundation to have communion. There was nothing shared of interest and so there was very little to talk about. There was very little to be excited about.
I hope if you come and visit Addison in the next little while, you like babies.
Because we're expecting seven of them this year.
And there are lots of people who share very common interests, especially at this time in talking about little ones, newborns.
The responsibilities of bringing them up for the Lord, the joy of them.
There is a common interest that produces a common fellowship.
A common bond. And so it is in the things of God. God says to us, I'm giving you eternal life because I want you to have the same life that can enter to the fullest possible extent into that which I enjoy and I want you to enjoy too.
And not only in eternity, but right now, today, right now, today, do you want to have fellowship with the Father and with his Son? It's a practical thing.
Can I say, can I speak of it in a practical way?
I say this to my heart, there's probably something different to yours.
How interested.
Is my father and who wins the Pennant this year?
How interested really, can I say my father is?
And who's going to be the next World champion in basketball?
Or some other?
The last reminiscence of a great entertainer, as he has his last.
Program on television, whatever it is.
If I want to have interest with my Father, with my God.
With my Lord Jesus Christ, it's going to be on those things in which we share a common interest.
And if we have a common interest in other things, then we're going to share it with those that have that interest.
It's not a legal thing, is it? It's not a law. You shouldn't do this and you should do that, and this is right and that's wrong and so on, but it is the result of that sharing between 2:00.
We don't have lots of time, so let's move on to Ephesians, OR.
First John, chapter one.
First John, chapter one.
I'd like to suggest to you this afternoon that the apostle John is, can I say, the apostle of communion. He is a they all enjoyed communion, all the apostles did, all the disciples did with their Lord. But John excels in that way and is given to us perhaps as an object lesson to help us to want to enjoy communion as well with our Father and with his Son.
And so.
John's epistle is an epistle of communion.
It's founded, isn't it, on being, having that same life and nature of being the children of God?
By faith in Christ Jesus. And so they were brought into the fellowship.
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Of the son and the father, they were brought into the family.
That's simple, but that's important.
If you have not been at a dinner table sometime and someone's made a comment and someone else says, oh, maybe you don't understand, I'll have to explain that to you. That's a family joke. And so they explained to us, why is it that we didn't get it or didn't understand it? Because we didn't share in the common experiences of the family up to that point That would make us understand.
That whatever it was that had been said. And so when we are brought into the enjoyment of our fellowship, our true eternal fellowship, then we begin to enjoy the experiences of the family. And John takes us into that line of things. And so he says here in the first chapter.
And.
Verse three. That which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us.
And truly our fellowship is with the father and with his son.
Jesus Christ, these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. You want to be happy. We all do, don't we? There's no substitute for communion.
There is no other way to be properly happy.
Apart from fellowship with God, if you're here this afternoon and you're not in the enjoyment of fellowship with God, you are not truly happy. According to the heart of God. It's impossible.
That fellowship and happiness go together, and they cannot.
Truly be separated.
Just another thought, let's turn over to chapter 3.
And verse 18, chapter 3, verse 18, My little children, let us not love in Word.
Neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemn us.
God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemneth not, then have we confidence toward God, that whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and He in him.
And hereby we know that he abideth in us by the spirit which he hath given us.
Like to notice just three things in this little passage that I believe relate to the subject of fellowship or communion. One is obedience, suggested by the word here of commandments. Another is faith, and the third is love. Faith, love, and obedience, and all of them are connected in important ways with the question of fellowship.
Do you want to have boy or girl here this afternoon? Do you want to have fellowship with your mother and father?
You want to enjoy them and have them enjoy your company. Be obedient. Be obedient.
Parents can't have fellowship with their children if there exists a state of rebellion or disobedience between them. So it is with God our Father as his children for all of us, whether we're teenagers or middle-aged or older here this afternoon. We're all the children of God without distinction in that way.
And everyone of us are present. Enjoyment of God's company this afternoon is directly related to whether or not we are walking in obedience.
It also mentions love here, and if we have time, we're going to go back to what I think of Indiana. The Old Testament is the.
Book of Communion, the Song of Solomon. It's a tremendous.
Lessons there on the subject of communion and we see there the, can I say the foundation.
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Pulp that produces fellowship. The thirst, the desire for it, and the maintenance of it is love. There isn't true fellowship with God apart from.
Reciprocal love, the love of the Father for us and our responsive love.
To God you want to have fellowship with somebody that you don't.
Love them up, love them up. I don't mean setting aside truth. That isn't the point.
But it is that the spring in the heart that produces the desire to have fellowship with another is the heart of love.
There's a marriage here that isn't going happily together before the Lord.
I suggest.
That perhaps part of the difficulty might be that that spring that produces that desire for fellowship is wound down or broken down in some way, that heart of love which seeks the good of its object. And so God in wanting to have fellowship with us for eternity.
Has within him he is love and the motive of his heart.
When Adam sinned, God righteously had to say, all right, Adam, I'm going to have to put you out of this garden. You're going to go through some tough times, Adam.
As a result of your disobedience. But it never changed the heart of God toward Adam. Not one iota was changed in his heart, not one diminishing in his soul or in his being of that desire to have fellowship with Adam.
I dare say it was harder for God to leave the garden than it, or to put Adam out of the garden than it was for Adam to leave. It hurt God more to have to put Adam out than it was for Adam at that time to leave. Adam didn't know what the consequences were really going to be. He hadn't experienced them yet. And so we see here in this book of communion, this first epistle of John.
He was the man of communion and he.
Knew the importance of love.
And the response of love shown to produce a reciprocating love in return.
And then one other thought here.
Obedience and love and faith.
It's important. Faith is so important.
It says without faith it's impossible to please God, without faith it's impossible to have fellowship with God.
Communion is often spoiled to some extent when unbelief. It is when unbelief comes in.
And.
Last night in the prayer meeting at the local hall versus in Matthew 14 were read concerning the disciples on the sea and everything was turbulent. The sea was riled up. The Lord came walking on the water and Peter wanted to go and see him and.
He said if if you're really the Lord, call me.
And the Lord said, come. And so Peter starts out and then unbelief comes in and and his confidence was shattered and he begins to sink and the Lord has to step in. There is a word of comfort here before we pass on and that is verse 21. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not then have we confidence toward God. Many times, many times many of us can say our hearts condemn us.
It isn't that there's necessarily some specific sin on our conscience that's not.
Been dealt with before the Lord, but just a general distance that's come in between our soul and the Lord.
Communion isn't just on or off.
In the full sense of the word, there can be a nearness connected with communion.
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There can be a distance and many times we may not realize it.
In the book of Communion, the Song of Solomon, as you read it through, you realize that between the two people there was a drifting apart, or there was at least on the part of one, there was sort of a drifting away. And they weren't conscious of it at the time. And many times our fellowship with the Lord sort of wanes and we're not conscious of it until the Lord does something that wakes us up and makes us realize that. And yet there's a word of comfort in this here. Well, it's says.
If our heart condemneth not, then have we confidence toward God? He goes on to say. But God is greater than our hearts. God loves us enough, and he cares for us, and he ministers to our needs even when there isn't the nearness of fellowship that he desires and that would please his heart.
And so he But it does say there's confidence.
You know, and then he goes on and talks about asking things. Communion is connected with prayer.
We sometimes hear the statement prayer is based upon the immense.
Privilege of having common interests with God.
We come before God because we share things in common, in interest with Him.
And because we share those things in common with him, we can be intelligent in what we ask.
And so we ask according to his will, when we are in fellowship with Him in our hearts and in communion. Sometimes we don't know what to ask God because we have a conscious sense in our souls about that subject, about that thing that we really don't know what God's mind is.
We're not in the secret of the nearness of the Apostle John.
To fellowship with him.
Was mentioned this morning in the reading when we were talking about Colossians chapter one.
Where it speaks about being in the full knowledge of his will.
If we want to have communion with God, it's important to sit.
At his feet as a learner.
Mary enjoyed communion.
And says she sat at Jesus feet and heard his word.
And when we sit at his feet and we are, You can't separate communion from practice.
From performance, they go together. We're not talking about our position here, we're talking about the practical walk of life.
And it's important, as it was mentioned this morning, we might know the Bible backwards and forwards. We might have even wisdom.
We might have everything that seems necessary, but if we don't have at that moment communion, we're going to miss his mind. We're going to miss his mind. No matter how wise we are, no matter how much knowledge we may have in a general way of God's will, we must have present communion. I don't know if you've experienced this in a practical way. In my own soul, there have been occasions when.
During the day I have done something that was sin and I have realized it was sin and I have told the Lord it was sin. But it wasn't just saying Lord it was sin. It was also the realization that that was just what was on the surface that I had to say. Why did I do that? And I will be honest and say that was necessary to feel a little uncomfortable to make any important decision that day.
Because I realized it was not only the thing itself, but the state of the soul.
That was hiding from God to some extent, and consequently, while there was a confession of the sin, there was still a realization of a heart that had lost its confidence in God.
Perhaps you've experienced that as well. Let's just turn over in the last few moments to the Song of Solomon.
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I encourage you to read it.
And read it. Read it again.
Since being asked to have this meeting, I enjoyed reading it three times through just to let it speak to my heart and.
It's a tremendous.
To see, you know, as you read the Song of Solomon, it's sometimes maybe some here know very clearly, I don't, but it's sometimes hard to even say who's speaking at a certain moment in time. And sometimes one person is speaking in another sort of interrupts and says a word or two. And then the first person goes on. And that's characteristic of a close fellowship. You ever been with two people and, and they're talking and maybe the husband is giving a story and sometimes out of communion, but often in communion, the wife might add a detail to it.
Or vice versa. And so there is that kind of mutual sharing. And you find that in this little love story of communion between 2:00.
And we'll just notice a couple of things here. Verse two, it says let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth with I love is better than wine. Oh, there was a desire for this. There was a thirst for it, Mary.
At the tomb of the Lord Jesus, her fellowship with the Lord and as a natural man had been separated from him, and nothing else would satisfy her but to have himself. She valued that communion. And sometimes we don't have much of it with a person just because we're not interested.
The bond of love that is that spring isn't really there.
And consequently.
We don't care too much perhaps, but with the Lord.
That spring is always there and that desire to have us close to himself. And the point I want to make here in this second verse is let him kiss me. You've got to be pretty close to somebody to kiss him.
You've got to be real close. You don't do that across the room.
You've got to be close. There is communion involves a nearness.
A closeness.
It involves eye contact.
Soul contact with the Lord.
It's important.
I remember a brother that there was something important, a visit that needed to be made. And I suggested the brother, well, it's kind of distance, let's call him. And he said, no brother, we want to see him face to face. We want to see him face to face. That's important. And so here we say, let let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. Then verse three, because the savior of thy good ointments, thy name is as ointment for, for.
Oh.
It's a wonderful thing to share Christ with God.
There is a joy, there is an ointment, there is a flavor, a savor that has to be experienced, can't be described. You enjoy that.
Does that bring joy to your heart to enjoy the sun, the Lord Jesus and fellowship with the Father? Then it says verse 4, draw me and we will run after. There's no substitute for communion if you don't have it yourself.
You'll never be a positive influence to others to draw them after Christ.
You must, must have it in your own soul, and if you're not enjoying it, you're not going to be able to have that responsive draw to others.
It's been well noted.
But just to me, there's a progression here in the knowledge.
Of affection between these two individuals.
When it says let us grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I believe that knowledge isn't just up here.
It's in the conscience, it's in the heart, it involves the affections, the true knowledge of God.
Involves our affections and if our affections.
If the love of God does not have its proper place, along with God is light.
We're not having the full fellowship with God that he desires. Why does it say what is the first thing that went wrong in the Church of God?
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Thou hast left thy first love.
And what happened when that took place? Why was that important?
Because the fellowship was lost.
With the heart of God, His love.
The truth of measuring up to it was lost. And so it wasn't of God. It wasn't according to his own heart.
Well.
You don't need to turn to it, but just close with.
3 verses here in this Thistle Chapter 2, verse 16 My beloved is mine.
And I am his.
Chapter 6.
And.
Verse.
Three, I am my beloved, and my beloved is mine.
And then Chapter 7, verse 11 or no, verse 10, I am my beloved, and His desire is toward me. There's a progression here in the measure of the fellowship and the measure of the full knowledge of the one for the other. It's tremendously important. In the first case. It's like she said to him.
Your mind, she reaches out and lays hold of him, holds him because she's enjoyed him. And that's the way we are when we first come to the Lord Jesus. Sometimes we just, we just lay out, reach out as it were with our hearts and embrace him. But then there is a sense that grows there that as she begins to know is love better than it's like it reverses. She has a sense of him reaching out to embrace her.
And more than that, she becomes content in his love and in the fellowship with Him, when she drops herself out of the picture altogether. And she says, I am my beloved, and his desire is toward me. Our heart entered in to the love that He had for her. May we each grow in our fellowship with the Lord.
To include.
That so we're great.
Our God and Father.
Elijah Still Small Voice
Address—R. Klassen
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With all our God.
No more.
Is the Lord.
Of glory way from that race of.
And.
Let U.S. Open this very precious book to the book of Romans, Chapter 11.
Romans, Chapter 11.
And we'll begin reading at verse 2.
God hath not castaway his people.
Which he foreknew what she not, what the Scripture saith of Elias or Elijah, how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and dig down thine altars, and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what answer saith the answer of God unto him?
I have reserved to myself 7000 men.
Who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so, then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
As I read this portion of God's word.
There's a confession that one feels he needs to make.
In respect to the life of Elijah.
Remember as a young boy hearing this comment made that it's the only sin of an Old Testament St. that is recorded in the New Testament and that kind of put a stigma on Elijah's life in my own heart.
And then after.
Time had passed. Years.
It came so forcibly before me that that dear man stood with Moses.
Speaking with the Lord Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration of the deceased that he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
And I wondered, perhaps this stigma will have to go.
And to look into why this is recorded in the New Testament, this failure. Now it isn't called a sin here, but we know that it was.
And when we realize when Elijah spoke this, that we would have fallen under that intense pressure.
Moses, you know, he was another one that called God's people rebels and smote the rock twice when he should have just spoken to it, smote it.
And he was not allowed to go into the promised land.
But I think what makes it a sin is this. When we look at Samuel's life and he's in the Crucible of pressure, of having LED Israel before the Lord and seeing them begin to gain and to grow, that then there's a cry out for a king. And Samuel, in that intense moment, he said that ye have rebelled against the Lord. But he also said this.
God forbid.
That I should sin before the Lord.
In praying for you.
Or I just marvel at those dear servants that can bear up under such intense pressure and realize that if ever there's a need to intercede for God's people, it's when the rebellion of our hearts are spilling out and we've become discontent for some reason or other, and we want to change things and set off in another direction.
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But I would like to for the remaining moments, just to highlight a little bit of Elijah's life. That brings us to this moment when the Lord reveals to him that he has a remnant according to the election of grace.
Let us turn back to First Kings Chapter 17.
Now, for the sake of time.
I'm going to draw a little bit on your memory as you have read God's Word and respect to the history of Israel to pick up a little backdrop now.
Elijah was born.
In a place where.
The folks that he was among, we might say, never made the headlines. He lived in Tishbe and Gilead.
And he had the advantage, no doubt, of having the books of Moses.
And as Israel was declining, there he was, a little boy growing up, and he would hear stories that would.
Passed by the older ones and he could tell by the stories that were going that there were heavy hearts.
As Israel was on a course of declension and apostasy.
And one story after another began to have a leavening effect, and it finally got down to the point where it just didn't look like it mattered what you did.
Now let's stop to think of Ahab for a moment. Ahab married into the royalty of the Zidonians, which God had plainly said were a thorn in their eyes.
And the Zidonians were very rich and had colonies throughout the Mediterranean.
And had untold wealth pouring into Zaiden and he marries into that.
Royalty, and I'm sure that there were many in Israel that were excited about this marriage.
And they thought of all the economical benefits that they would have.
You know has already been told.
That materialism.
Is really a vexing thing to the Christian spirit.
And dolls are valid sense of values.
And so the stories would go on. Well, you know what Ahab's doing, why this wealth is pouring in, and he's making him a palace of ivory.
And I just can see Elijah as a young man and every report just driving a shaft of pain through his heart as he was jealous for the God of Israel.
Then he gets the report that there's a bethelite that's going down to Jericho and he's rebuilding the city of the Curse.
532 years had gone by since the curse had been pronounced.
Now there was a system of things that were reigning that really didn't make any difference. You just did what you wanted to do and there was no divine restraint or it seemed that way.
And so there came that day.
When?
Elijah earnestly prayed that it would not rain.
Did he have the word of God to form that prayer?
Or did he just think it up on his own?
I think we know he had the word of God. Let's just turn to Deuteronomy Chapter 11.
To see what that dear man might have read that caused him to pray so earnestly.
Deuteronomy Chapter 11 and verse 16.
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Take heed to yourselves that your heart be not deceived.
And he turned aside and serve other gods and worship them.
And then the Lord's wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven.
That there be no rain and that the land yield not her fruit.
Lest she perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth you.
What a prayer, what an exercise.
And I believe that Elijah had it out with the Lord, perhaps in this way, saying, Lord, thou hast spoken thy word, that if the people go into idolatry, that thou wouldst withhold the rain.
And the rain is still coming, and the people feel that thou hast no care what's going on among his people.
There's one other report that Elijah might have heard.
It was a report that Ahab and Jezebel had.
Build a temple.
To a God and a goddess that represent the inflaming.
Of passion, lust and sin for young.
And for all. And he said, I must act. And we gasped as we think of this mighty tide of evil that was rolling, say, Elijah.
You'll never affect anything, you better back out while the backing out is good, but all the conviction was so deep in his heart that we read in chapter 17 and verse one.
And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab.
As the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand, there shall not be due, nor reign these years, but according to my word.
We were talking about virtue, moral courage. Here it is a man speaking to the head of Israel, face to face.
Oh, what courage this is. And I can imagine that Ahab was in a state to say, well, I wonder who this young upstart was?
Pass him off and send him down the road.
But Ahab, after a while, realized it wasn't raining.
Brother was speaking to me last evening in connection with the abundance of rain that was coming down from the heavens. He said, you know, the ground was chapped and was getting cracks in it. Said we're so thankful for this rain. And oh, when the rain is withheld, everyone feels it. And I think of Elijah going to the brook chair, saw that brook dry up.
When he first went there, the animals were coming for their water, but they were dying off.
The people were dying off, the brook dried up, and he was sent to the widow of Serepita, you remember. And here this woman and her son were making their last meal.
Oh, what must have Elijah have thought. I'm the cause of this. I pray that it wouldn't rain and here's such a desperate circumstance.
You know, if we pray.
Sometimes in a very serious way when we see.
That there are things that are moving against God's people, that we may pray in a very serious way, and we must suffer with them.
And there is a need to be for that sometimes.
And so.
It goes on that the burning desire in Elijah's heart is that the altar of God would be established.
And worship to the God of Israel would be recovered.
And that's was his whole aim. And to think of a condition of things that there must have been.
After 3 1/2 years of no rain.
The famine, the pestilence, death.
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Oh hello, the Lord has to bring us sometimes to get our attention as to His divine claims over us.
Now we come.
To his.
Victory, his outward victory over the prophets of Bail slain. 400 of them near their bodies are floating down the brook Chaise on out to the Mediterranean, and it looks like now a victory has come, and he prays it would reign.
Doesn't say freight earnestly, just says he prayed because God's heart was willing to bring the rain.
That the faintest plea, you might say, from Elijah's heart. And at this time when this rain is starting to come down, it's coming down in such abundance.
That Elijah is concerned for Ahab, that he gets back to his house in safety.
I might be supposing a little too much and I'm willing to be corrected, but it tells us that he ran.
He ran from where they were.
To Ahab's palace to make sure that that man got back safely.
And as he ran, he must have ran with the speed of a horse.
And you can just imagine the joy that filled his heart.
As he thought, he could see a turn around and a going in the right direction. But what happens? What happens?
Let us read what happened.
Invert and Chapter 19.
Verse one and Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done.
And with all how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. And Jezebel sent a message unto Elijah, saying.
So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I may not any light, make thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belonged to Judah, and left his servant there.
What a blow.
That man Ahab went back to Jezebel and he told her in detail everything that had happened.
We say, well, what did he expect? Would she have been pleased with the news?
No way. And it tells us that when Elijah saw that.
His heart failed.
We might have said in the moment of greatest expectation of revival.
Had died and he ran down to Beersheba, the last city of the inheritance.
And leaves his servant there and goes out into the Arabian desert.
To Horeb.
A long, long run.
Why did he go to Horeb? Why did he select Horeb to go to?
He realized that there was divine values there.
It was in that place that there was a burning Bush that was not consumed.
Where the Lord had spoken to Moses years ago, asking him to take his shoes from off his feet.
For the ground where on he stood was holy ground, where God communicated his mind as to how he was going to use Moses.
Like to turn to the book of Deuteronomy chapter.
33 to look at this Bush.
Deuteronomy chapter 33.
Verse 16. For the precious things of the earth and fullness thereof, and for the goodwill of him that dwelt in the Bush.
Let the blessing come down upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.
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Oh, I think we feel, we understand why he ran to that Bush. The loneliness, being alone and no one standing with him and he was let down completely.
To go to Horeb, to the goodwill of him that dwelleth in the Bush.
You know, that's a wonderful place for any of us to go. It's in that place that we had have communion as we have had in the last address.
Which is needful and precious to know the mind of God, the circumstances and crisis that we may be in, and decisions that we have to make unavoidable to make them in communion.
With the goodwill of him that dwelleth in the Bush. Do you know when Elijah arrived there?
He arrived in a state of soul that had to be dealt with before God could communicate his mind.
Let us read verse 10.
They're the last part of verse nine. What dost thou hear, Elijah?
And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, slain thy prophets with a sword, and I even I only am left, and they seek my life to take it away.
That's self-explanatory, isn't it?
And the Lord said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.
And behold, the Lord passed by in a great strong wind. Rent the mountains.
Breaking pieces of rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.
And after the wind and earthquake, that the Lord was not in the earthquake.
And after the earthquake of fire, that the Lord was not in the fire.
God is very wise in the way he deals with His people, with His servants.
What is the Lord actually doing to Elijah at this point?
I would like to suggest that he's giving Elijah a playback of what's in his own heart.
Elijah wanted revival. He wanted something to be seen outwardly that would be for God's glory.
But you know, there's something that God is more interested in than that, and that is inward reality. If there's inward reality and then there's testimony with it, that's a wonderful thing. But to have an outward thing without there being a work of God within the heart.
There's no pleasure in the Lord for that. So the Lord is saying now, Elijah, what you would really like to see is you'd like to see a Tempest sweep through God's people and just blow every idle down on the ground and shatter it #1.
And the next thing you would like is to see a terrific earthquake that would just shake into the core and bring them to their senses.
And then you would like to have a fire that would just purify him.
I think I understand that.
I think there were days in my life when the Lord had to speak to one on that wise.
To have a playback, sometimes an awful, shocking thing.
Is this really what?
Lodging in the heart, but the Lord can't identify with.
Oh, what a faithful father. We have to change these sense of values that we pick up on the side.
Instead of having them formed by his word being in communion with him.
Now what?
And after the fire.
A still small voice.
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Oh, there's volumes that could be set on that still small voice.
That voice is not heard with the ear. That voice is heard in the heart.
That's Communion.
Sweet communion, have you ever experienced in your lifetime, whether you're young or old, the Lord calling your name just that? As he called Mary of old just said Mary turned around and fell at his feet.
Have you ever heard him say?
It as I be not afraid.
In that extreme moment when you thought you were going to break.
Have you experienced a voice behind you saying this is the way walking in it?
We are traveling the wrong direction. The voice was behind us to turn us around.
Go in the right direction.
That still small voice that never shocks us because it's soft and gentle.
Communion.
Now.
What happens after that verse 13? And it was so.
When Elijah heard it that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entering into The Cave.
Behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What dost thou hear, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous.
In other words, he says exactly the same words that he had just said before all this.
But in a totally different way. Perhaps in a questioning way now.
In other words, the message is starting to get through. But this thought had worn such a deep groove in Elijah's mind, he just couldn't get over it. He had to have an answer for it.
Have we not experienced that feeling that we have a cause that just has turned in our mind for days and weeks and on years and there just isn't an answer for it? There's not a vindication for it?
And we go to the Lord about it, and we press our cause, and He allows experiences to come into our lives, and we begin to say it a little softer.
Say it with a question.
Maybe the day comes when we are just glad to drop it.
Now what?
The Lord is going to deliver his servant.
But he's going to do it in a way that is going to break his heart, he says. In essence, Elijah, you like to do these great things outwardly, that can be seen.
You go and annoy Hazel King over Syria.
You go on a night Jehu the king over Israel, the annoyed Elijah.
Broke his heart.
He barely did one of them.
But as we have this very crushing thing come upon Elijah, God often gives a very black backdrop to set the diamond. What's the diamond here? Verse 18 Yet I have left me 7000 in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto bail, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
What a revelation to Elijah's heart.
When he felt so alone, says where are these men? I didn't know there was 7000 that hadn't entered into idolatry in any form.
The question is to be asked.
What was it that sustained these 7000 men?
Still small voice.
That's what was sustaining those in the land of Israel when idolatry was running rampant.
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What a wonderful discovery to realize at any given time in the history of Israel or the Church.
That God has always had a remnant according to the election of grace.
Why didn't they identify themselves with Elijah? Why didn't they come out and show their colors?
Because they knew better.
They were enjoying that still small voice that meant everything to them, precious Holy Communion with the God of Israel that kept them from the corruption that was in the world through lust.
Now the Lord is going to take his servant by the hand. Crushed, He's going to begin to introduce him.
To that remnant, the first one he comes to is Elijah.
There's one.
All to begin to meet God's people.
Find that heart that is in fidelity to His divine claims over us is like finding He had treasure.
To be enriched with a fellowship that comes from that remnant.
That so appreciates God's wonderful grace. And if there's an Elisha, there must be his father and mother.
And it's been a thrill to my heart from this point on, going on through first, the rest of first Kings, going on into second Kings and finding these one surfacing.
Oh yes, there's a captain with 50 men that are supposed to take Elijah and bring him down, and he falls down on his face and he says, let my life be precious in my sight and those with me.
There's one man with 50 men and not bowed in need of Baal because if they had of bowed the knee of Baal they wouldn't have bowed it to a light Elijah.
An absolutely incongruous to the will that is set in darkness.
You go on to this unamite woman and her son. There's a man from Bail Felicia.
Bringing where he came from. Where that place is, I don't know, but he comes and he brings food.
To Elisha when there's a famine.
And then there's something very special to my heart as you get into the 5th chapter and there you learn about the Syrian maid that was taken captive out of the land of Israel.
Somewhere between those two golden calves in Israel, there was a family.
That did not bow down to those golden calves. They walked in the fear of God.
And they raised their children in the fear of the Lord. And when this young girl is taken captive and taken into the Syrian country.
Want to tell you, I don't think she was ignorant, nor was she young, very young. I believe she was a teenager. A teenager in that age when she'd like to assert her own will and have her own way and show herself.
You don't do it under these circumstances, raised in a home where she submitted to that captivity and the blessing that flowed from her words, from her mouth, the blessing that flowed after that. Why, it's just wonderful to read in God's Word the effect it had even in Syria, to the extent that Elisha could go to Damascus without fearing for his life.
Having such a rich exhibition of God's grace shown to the Syrians when they should have been dead and been destroyed.
All that remnant according to the election of grace. Dear ones, as I look out over this company, it thrills me to think that I'm among that company that have answered to the call of God in grace, a heavenly calling. And we cannot stay here. We cannot entrench ourselves here because there's nothing to satisfy our hearts. And we're moving on home to glory and we're looking.
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For the moment, we're going to look into the face of that one that made it possible for there to be a remnant according to the election of grace.
I trust that the stigma.
Has somewhat been removed from Elijah's life for you.
And that you would be encouraged to draw from this life those things that are necessary to give us light and guidance through the remainder of our journey here before we enter yon shore.
And so the chain goes on and on. You can go through the kings and justice mark out.
But there was a remnant and they showed up here from all walks of life, all ages, all circumstances.
God is sovereign.
So may we just be encouraged.
To praise him as we have reflect upon him what it means there in the book of Romans.
A remnant according to the election of grace. Shall we sing the last verse #36 in the appendix?
Old man, brown lover.
Horror.
Dead River.
The songs of joy and praise.
Shall we praise him again?
Our God.
God Chastening His People
Address—R. Thonney
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Every side.
Shall we pray?
I like to turn to Hebrews chapter 12.
Begin with verse one.
Hebrews 12/1 Wherefore.
Seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
Who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross?
Despising the shame and is set down.
At the right hand of the throne of God, for consider him that endured such contradiction.
Of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
You have not yet resisted unto blood striving against sin.
And ye 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 chasing it and scourge us every sun moon he receiveth.
If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you, as with sons.
For what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not?
But if ye be without chastisement, whereof 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, 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 yielded the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down in the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way.
But let her rather be healed.
Follow peace.
With all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.
Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God.
Lest any root of bitterness bringing up trouble you and thereby.
Many be defiled lest there be any fornicator or profane person.
As Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
For ye know how that afterward when he would have inherited the blessing.
He was rejected, for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
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For ye are not coming to the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire.
Nor unto blackness and darkness, and Tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words, which voice that they heard.
They that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them anymore.
For they could not endure that which was commanded. And if so much as a beast touched the mountain, it shall be stoned or thrust through with a dart.
So terrible was the sight that Moses said I exceedingly fear and quake.
But ye are coming to Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the General Assembly and Church of the first born which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.
And to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
See that you refuse, not him that speaketh, for if they escape, not who refuse.
Him that spake on earth much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven?
Whose voice then shook the earth. But now he hath promised, saying yet once more I shake not earth only, but also heaven.
And this word yet once more signifies the removing of those things that are shaken.
As of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved.
Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire.
Just read the whole chapter because I want to get the picture that we have presented to us in this chapter.
The book of Hebrews is a very precious book in which the.
We believe that it was the Apostle Paul, although his name is mentioned, writes to the Hebrew believers.
Trying to draw them away from the system that they were acquainted with in Judaism.
They were so attached to, and yet it was to that system that the Lord Jesus had presented himself and he had been rejected.
And crucified. And now God was calling them out of that religious system. And so he presents in this epistle the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is the one who is presented as the apostle in the book of Hebrews. He is the sent one of God. We had those first three verses of the book read this morning. And the breaking of bread, meeting about the Lord Jesus, the brightness.
Of His glory, the express image of His person.
Who upholds all things by the word of His power?
And when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, what a tremendous picture we have presented to us, how it should capture our hearts, the person of Christ presented, and that's the drawing power. When God's people are in one thing or another, that is a hindrance to Him, it is Christ.
That is the drawing power to bring them out of such a system. Oh brethren, sometimes we speak of system in other areas of Christendom, but sometimes I feel we need to be exercised that we do not fall into system ourselves.
May the Lord give us graciously to be exercised in His presence. We are not.
In a system of religion, in Christianity, it is a glorious person.
That is Christianity. Christianity is Christ in all his glory.
In all his beauty, and the heart and the soul of the believer drawn after him, Judaism was characterized as a.
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As a fold, something that had.
A perimeter to it. Christianity is characterized as a flock, a center of attraction, and that's what we desire to understand as we read this book of.
Hebrews, that it's Christ that must be livingly before our souls continually, brethren, all the way home to glory. And in this chapter we're exhorted by the apostle Paul to run the race with patients looking unto Jesus. Oh, how those words come as a fresh challenge each time I read them.
To my own soul, brethren, we have a tremendous reason to take courage and to go on.
We are living in the last days. There are lots of discouragement around.
And we don't, we don't want to ignore the fact that there are real serious difficulties on every hand in whatever aspect of life you look at it, in this world there are serious problems. We cannot ignore that.
But brethren, we have even more reason to take courage to run the race with patience that is set before us. That word patience is endurance. It is a long distance race. It is a race that lasts the whole life long of the believer. It's not just 100 yard dash that you put all your.
Your energy into it and then it's done in a few seconds. No, it's the whole life long. It's endurance that it's important. In connection with this race, the other day at school, my boys school, I was there to watch them run some races and they were running a group of them, the mile. It was interesting to watch. They had quite a group of them. They had them all run together. I don't know how they kept them all sorted out, but.
Anyhow, they were all running together and I noticed one girl that was running.
She was a pretty good runner, it looked like, and she took off and for about.
Half of the first lap she was way out ahead but she finished third from the last.
That's what we need now is to go on, brethren, to go on, not in a religious system, but after Christ, to be drawn after his glorious person.
So the apostle in this first verse speaks of a great cloud of witnesses.
He's referring to the 11 Chapter. We've been speaking in our readings a little bit about Abraham.
Abraham figures as probably the major figure in Chapter 11.
They are witnesses of faith. You can go back to the Old Testament and read their stories in detail.
They have their ups and they had their downs as well. They had their problems, they had their sins.
You'll see the whole story there in the Old Testament. But they went on.
They had faith, they were witnesses, and they're put there to encourage us.
There's times when I get discouraged and I have to go back and read the story of those.
Old Testament witnesses of faith, and it encourages me.
He says here, being surrounded by, compassed about, with this great cloud of witnesses.
He said let us lay aside every weight and the sin.
Which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience.
The race that is set before us. Just wanted to stop here a moment. In a race there is a prize and we don't have it mentioned here so much as perhaps we do in the book of Philippians chapter 3 where it speaks of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Why do people race? Because they want to win a prize?
And they are willing to make every kind of sacrifice.
They go to all sorts of expense to win the prize.
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And depending on the race they run, the prize of times is quite a handsome sum of money.
Brethren, what are we running after? Let me seriously ask you, dear young person, what are you running after?
Is it something down here in this world?
If it is, I want to say to you.
You're going to be disappointed, you will.
Be disappointed because nothing down here.
Can satisfy the heart of a believer. I have seen many who have gained.
Pinnacles in the business world, then.
Amazing. They've been totally.
They thought this would be the greatest.
To have that position and they have been disillusioned.
Again, I say if your object, the thing you're running after, is something down here in this world, you're going to be disappointed. We need to have our sights set further afield. We need to set our sights in that eternal day that's coming. We've been called to His Kingdom and glory, not to anything down here. Nothing down here is worthy.
Of a Christian's objective.
Oh dear brethren, we need to have our sights set there to get a glimpse of that prize.
That lies before the soul. And here again, as we were mentioning yesterday, I want to.
Stop and press at home to each heart here this afternoon.
Because I know a lot of you young people probably sit there and say it's all well and good for those older fellows to talk, but my life's a little different. I say it's not different. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus. This is the goal that God sets for you. Don't settle for any goal that's less than the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Some start out real fast, maybe in the race, and then later on they get tired and they they drop off to the side and they can't run anymore.
I want to lay before our hearts a little bit this afternoon that price that your heart might feel drawn again, the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Once you get that before your soul, every other thing in your life will be related to that.
We have what are called weights mentioned in this first verse.
Weights are not necessarily bad things, they're just things that don't let you run like you ought to run as a believer. That's all it is. And there's lots of things in this world that in themselves perhaps we can't tack down and say they're sin, but they are definitely weights.
And we see believers that have perhaps a nice desire.
But you know, a desire is not enough.
It's not enough, Proverbs said. Says the sluggard desires and has nothing. Sure the sluggard has a desire too. Desire is not enough. David said one thing, have I desired that will I seek after? There must be purpose of heart as well as desire, purpose to go after.
You know, there are things in light as we were mentioning that our positive weights that don't let us run.
Like we need to run and I want to encourage my younger brother and sisters.
In Christ, all of us really want to encourage to live simply in this world. We're pilgrims here. Is that just a doctrine that really doesn't apply to our lives? No, brethren, let's make it practical. Let's be simple in our lifestyles as much as is possible. Sure, we live in the United States and we can't live like they do in South America. I'm not saying that we have to be aesthetics, but what I'm saying is that we can be simple in our way of life.
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And that's what we need, because if you're going to run.
You don't want a lot of weights tied around you, you want to be as light as possible.
I think I've mentioned before and I just repeat it for perhaps some who haven't heard.
When we lived in Bolivia, a man who we became acquainted with, who was a mechanic.
And who also ran in the car races in Bolivia professed faith in the Lord Jesus. I believe it was real.
And.
We used to go for Bible readings from time to time in his home.
And he seemed to sense that, for some reason, I wasn't.
In agreement with car racing, I never told them that.
But one night when I stepped into his house and sat down and got talking, he says, what's wrong with car racing? I don't see anything wrong with it, nothing morally wrong with racing. I said no. I said that I would like to ask you a question, I said.
Supposing I was in the car race from.
Santa Cruz to Cochabamba, that's to the cities. They race between the cities over the roads of that country. Supposing I was in that race, would it be all right for me to stop and take some pictures along the way? Oh no, no, no, you don't do that, I said. Is there something morally wrong with taking pictures? No, nothing wrong with it, but you just don't do that when you're in a race, he said to me. That's just exactly the point. I said to him, there's a lot of things in this world that are not morally wrong.
But you just don't do them when you're on a race and once you get that goal before your soul, dear young person, dear older one too.
I say every single thing in your life, your house, your home, whatever you have in your home, your car, whatever is related to that goal. It's not a question of things down here that you want to attain. It's a question of a goal up there. You'll need a car. You'll need a home.
But that isn't your goal. Your goal is beyond.
Oh, how important to have our sights set right. And it seems to me when.
We get discouragement. We tend to lower our sights and our objectives.
The Lord encourages not to lose sight of the objective.
And he speaks here too of sin that so easily besets us.
Is there anyone that would say that's not the case with me?
Sin doesn't so easily beset me, brethren, I really believe we're going to have to admit.
It easily besets all of us. Let us be sensitive in the Lord's presence that there are things the Lord may want to speak to us about.
Sin easily besets the believer in the Lord Jesus. It may not seem like.
Such a serious thing. It may seem like a very small thing, a lie perhaps.
But it is a serious thing and needs to be laid aside.
So that we can get on to the goal.
Verse two says looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
Who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame?
And is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Oh I love this.
Brethren were called to contemplate our Lord Jesus Christ.
We tend to be self-centered. That's the kind of world we live in.
It's a powerful current in this world.
We need to remove our thoughts from ourselves.
We need to consider the Lord Jesus. Verse three says consider him.
That endured such contradiction of sinners against himself. Lest you be wearied and faint in your mind, consider him the Spanish translation I love here. It says, Reduce your thoughts to him.
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Need to reduce your thoughts. Sometimes we start thinking of how I've been treated, how the problems I've had.
If that's the tendency in your case, I want to ask you to do just what it says here in verse 3.
Consider him. Reduce your thoughts to him.
He endured far more than you are enduring.
He went through situations far more difficult and trying than you could ever go.
Did he ever give up? Did he get discouraged? Did he say it's not worth it?
I'm not going to go any further. Did he ever get to that point? You know he didn't. He went all the way, even though it meant going to that cross and going down beneath that storm of the judgment of God on our sins that were laid on Him. He went through it all. Nothing turned him aside, absolutely nothing. Why? Because He had that joy that was set before Him.
Before his soul. What was that joy? It was the joy.
Of doing the Father's will. That was the Supreme.
Motivating power. There are other things I'm sure as well to have his bride with him.
But the supreme motivating power was to do the Father's will. Think of that joy that there was when, after He rose triumphant from the dead, He ascended into the right hand of God. Oh, I try to think of the joy of that moment when He took His place as a man at God's right hand.
Fully having fully completed the work that was given him to do. Now, brethren, the race remains for us. We're not. We haven't won yet. The goal is still before and the times are hard. The times are tough. We cannot ignore the fact in these next few verses. It speaks of the discipline of the Lord.
We cannot ignore the fact that God has.
His hand of discipline on his people.
And I just like to meditate in these next verses because I know that it weighs heavily on many hearts, the fact that the Lord is disciplining His people. But I want to encourage you. I want to lift up your hands. I want to strengthen your knees, as I trust you'll do to me as well when I need it.
Brethren, it is love that takes the rod to punish.
Whom the Lord loveth, He chasing us and scourge us. A very strong word. Every son whom he receiveth.
Scourge it.
Oh, have you felt if you are a true believer in the Lord Jesus?
I'm sure individually you have felt that in your individual life.
There is such a thing as God scourging his people in a collective way as well We have.
Time after time of that mentioned in the Old Testament where God.
Allowed a scourge to come in because of things he saw that he didn't approve of.
Brethren, there are three reactions.
Recorded in this chapter that result.
From this discipline, this chastisement, this scourging.
Number one in verse five we are told not to despise it.
And then later in that same verse, nor faint.
That's the second reaction, and the 3rd and proper reaction.
To His discipline is what we have in verse 11.
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Being.
Exercised by it. Oh, these are important.
Things and we all fall into these categories.
Either we despise the Lord's chastening, or we faint under it.
Or were exercised by it. Remember, we don't belong to ourselves now.
We belong to God. He has paid an awful price.
To make us his own.
And you and I cannot walk as we choose in this world.
He will have the last word with everyone of his children.
You can't get away with anything when you belong to God.
He will have the last word, but I just want to press home that fact again.
That his chastening is because he loves.
When the father is punishing his child, it is because his child is near him.
Or he is near his child and when God is disciplining, chastening us.
It's because he's near, brethren. He loves us. He loves us so much, He's not going to allow us to continue.
To go on like we are.
Whom the Lord loves, he chases. But I fear sometimes that there is a tendency to despise His chastening. What does that mean? Means to not really pay attention. Not really pay attention?
We think the problems that take place amongst God's people.
It's because of a certain sector of God's people.
Are we listening to what the Lord is speaking to us?
Or are we pinning the blame over in some other direction?
We need to listen if we're pinning the dream over in some other direction and not taking it.
No matter for ourselves, we really believe that is what despising the chasing of the Lord is.
We need to be careful not to do that.
The Lord give us.
Not to despise the chastening of the Lord, nor the other extreme, is nor to faint under his rebuke.
The thing is to just get totally discouraged. Neither he that despises nor he that faints gets the blessing ready. When God allows trouble and problems, He means it for the good of His people.
And our place is not to be looking as much as sometimes we do at one another. It is to be looking to Him who wants our attention because He has something to say to us.
No wonder in the seven churches of Revelation, two and three, everyone, he says.
He that hath an ear to ear, let him hear the very last church Laodicea, which is very characteristic of the Christian testimony. In the day we live, where is the Lord Jesus? On the outside of the door knocking says, If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in stuck with him, and he with me.
Isn't that terrifically sad on the outside of that door?
The proper response under discipline is what we have in verse 11 was already mentioned.
It yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them which are exercised thereby.
It doesn't seem joyous. It seems grievous.
I think we all can ascend to that.
But it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby.
What does it mean to be exercised by his discipline? It means to reflect.
To try to be alert to what the Lord is trying to say to us.
In such times of discipline.
I'd like to share, brethren, a few things that I feel in my own soul. I'm just going to share them as what I feel.
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God is saying to me in these times.
Or not. I'm sure what the Lord is viewing.
His ways are unsearchable, his judgments are unsearchable and.
Who can tell all his ways? No, I wouldn't dare to stand up here and try to tell you what God is trying to teach us. But in the exercise of my own soul, I'd like to share with you some things that I really believe the Lord has brought to my own.
Exercise.
One of the things that has really come before my own soul is.
The fact, brethren, that so many of our problems.
Are due to a lack of understanding of the very basic principles of the Gospel.
Repeat.
A lot of our problems are a lack of understanding of the very basic principles of the gospel.
What do I mean?
In the gospel we preach.
Man's total ruin.
The gospel we preach God's complete provision.
In our ruin. Those are in brief.
Two of the main principles in the Gospel.
But when I see the reactions that take place amongst God's people.
Seems to me we have not been convinced in our souls of these basic principles of the Gospel.
We're not saying that we don't preach the gospel. We do, I'm sure, and I want to encourage to continue to preach the gospel when we need the gospel.
You know, brethren, not only to explain the gospel to our children.
That are growing up and into our young people but to press home those vital issues to their heart.
Into their conscience. The ruin of man I remember in my own growing up.
Hearing the gospel each Lord stay evening. But I remember the time came distinctly.
For me, you would have asked me. I would have sent it to the fact in a mental way. Yes, I know there's no good in me.
But I remember when the Lord showed that to me, really laid it on my heart and conscience.
Not that I'm not continuing to learn it, brethren, but.
We need to have those basic things burnt into our souls, pressed into the heart and conscience. It's not a matter of mere intellect, it's a matter of the heart and the conscience. And I really fear that many places there are a group of young people growing up who have never heard the gospel pressed home to their consciences and to their hearts.
And I fear without any life towards God knowing all the answers.
But not got these basic issues settled in their souls.
Second issue God complete provision.
Oh, the preciousness of knowing it, brethren, we have in Christ, in His precious Word, complete provision.
I was given a book recently.
That was written by a Christian man, supposedly Christian man. I was shocked by a statement that he made, he said.
In connection with dealing with a certain problem.
He said. We find that the Scriptures are not enough in this difficult situation.
I was shocked.
Is God not left us sufficient, brethren?
We see in the world around us today a movement that is fostered in.
The liberty of democracy. Thank God for the liberty we have here, but it is the self movement, self esteem, self love, self worth.
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Brethren, it is not Christianity. It is not Christianity.
When we start Speaking of healing of self and building up of self esteem, we're talking about what we were as men in the flesh. But in Christianity we are dead, buried, risen again with Christ.
We are delivered from that we need is not healing is deliverance from that very principle.
And we have it in Christianity.
But, brethren, why do these things come in?
I really.
Honestly believe, and this is what I want to challenge your heart about, that we can teach these things mentally, we understand them, to put it out clearly in a mental way, but we're not living in the reality of what it means to be dead, buried and risen again.
Why do I say that the reactions that take place when difficulties arise, brethren, show.
That we don't know the reality of it in our lives.
I have. That was the first thing I have. I have a little list here that I wrote out my things. I'd like to share three others if time permits.
Second matter, her brother spoke yesterday.
In first John, chapter one of Fellowship.
Precious fellowship. And in the third verse of that first Epistle of John in the first chapter.
It says.
That truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
To go on down in the chapter, the seventh verse says if we walk in the light.
As he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another.
You notice the order. Fellowship with God as Father and with the Lord Jesus is first.
His first brother fellowship with one another is second.
I really feel that in what God is allowing, He's manifesting that we've got these two things turned around.
We have set fellowship one with another, so important.
The Lord has taken the second place.
And then, when troubles come in, to fellowship amongst believers.
We're thrown for 350 loops and don't know which ends up any longer.
Brethren, let's get back to the simplicity of fellowship with God the Father and with the Lord Jesus Christ.
We've been called into that fellowship to know what it means to walk.
Day by day, side by side with the Lord Jesus, in whatever circumstance of life.
That you may have your life thrown into. He is there.
We mentioned yesterday he has promised never to leave us or to forsake us. He's there. How much do you talk to him through the course of a day? Do hours go by and you never say a word to it?
Does that happen? What would happen if I was walking?
A full day visiting some brother and you notice that the brother talked to me.
But I never paid any attention to what he was saying and I never even responded a word the whole day.
Or even a couple hours. You saw that to be the case. Is something's wrong. Wouldn't you say that that would be right? The Lord is there.
And his words should be living in our hearts, brethren, what he's saying to us, and we should be speaking to him. We don't have to close our eyes, always in our heart. We can speak to them, says pray without ceasing. It should be something that's continual with us.
I really believe, brethren, that those two matters have been turned around. We've put fellowship with our brethren in such an important plane, and fellowship with the Lord Jesus is taking second place, the Lord.
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Get us to set our priorities right in this matter.
3rd matter I'd like to just speak of briefly.
Is the matter of Speaking of the place.
Of gathering.
Thank God for the scriptures that we have that show clearly.
God's principles of gathering.
But sometimes I think, brethren, we focus so much.
On a place that we forget about the person.
And I think this has been a snare we need.
To focus more on is the glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Those whose hearts are right will be drawn. But if I Speaking of the place.
Refer to people outward, visible.
Buildings or whatever it may be that it is associated.
And souls come and they see problems. They're going to.
They stumble.
Brethren, we can't see the place unless we see Christ.
And the principles of his precious word.
That's the only way we can see it close.
But sometimes I fear that over the course of time we associate the place with a group of people, a certain group of people.
And the outward externals of what is visible.
Brethren, in Christianity we have nothing visible.
We have Christ, the center of attraction, and not even He is visible to our natural eyes.
It's by faith we apprehend these things.
We need to be careful, brethren. Again, I say, I'm not discounting the precious principles of the Word of God.
As to gathering of his people, but I'm saying let's be careful that we do not so focus on the place that we lose sight of the person is the Lord Jesus.
Just like to briefly give you something that was shared with me and I enjoyed.
In the book of Malachi, where everything was in ruin.
And where there was terrific indifference as to what was due to the Lord's glory.
You find in the third chapter a little group of some who spoke often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard, and a book of remembrance was written.
They didn't do any great feats. They just spoke one to another. They encouraged one another.
And it seems like in spirit, they came down through those 400 years.
Until the Lord Jesus appears in Matthew's Gospel and Luke's Gospel.
And there you find a little group of them there that really feared the Lord.
Joseph and Mary and Simeon and Anna and.
And.
Zacharias and Elizabeth Six that are mentioned. I believe there were perhaps others.
And they seem to correspond to that little group.
But there was a vast multitude in Jerusalem extremely zealous for the place.
That they had no idea that the person was walking right there.
Brethren, is there something that corresponds to that in our day?
Really, in my own soul I say I feel there is. I just present it to you for your consideration.
I do not want to undo the precious truth of gathering of God's people.
That the scripture teaches, but what I'm saying is let's not.
Make the place so visible that we can't see the person.
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One other matter that has exercised me, brethren.
We were enjoying yesterday about Elijah in the Old Testament and how he got discouraged. Tremendous servant of God that he was, and in his discouragement he spoke against God's people.
And God told him then after he repeated his complaint the second time.
To anoint his successor Elisha. The Lord help us, brethren.
Not to speak against God's people.
There are many dear believers great gifts.
That God has given that do not gather.
Together with us.
Sometimes the remarks that are made in meetings.
I don't say that this is meant to be so, but sometimes it seems to me they give a negative impression about others of God's people.
Remember, they are God's people and He loves them.
They may not be gathering the way we see things. They may not see things the way we do.
But we should love them. We should pray for them.
Even though we may not be able to walk with them in fellowship, that should be always evident in our speech about such persons. Thank God for everyone of God's beloved people.
Those are four things, and I just leave them with you, dear brethren, I want to go on to.
Stay here in this chapter. It speaks in verse 15.
Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God. What does this mean?
Brethren, we stand before God on the ground of His sovereign grace. That does not mean that God's standards are let down to the ground. No, it means no less.
A pure standard of holiness than in the Old Testament it's the same.
The very state, the God of Sinai, is the God of Mount Zion in this chapter.
The same guy.
But we do not stand on the ground of law obligation.
And legislation. We do not stand there, brethren. We stand on the ground of grace. And grace is and will be the power to draw us on to serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. And we need to be alert.
The scripture tells us looking diligently doesn't mean to be suspicious one another.
But to look diligently, lest we depart from that principle of grace, because that is what touches the heart, and the heart is the mainspring of Christian life.
Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God. Verse 28 just to end wherefore.
We receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire. That's just breakfast.
Gracious Father.
Bless thy precious word.
Gospel
Gospel—D. Macnab
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Like to welcome everyone to The Gospel Meeting tonight.
You and I have a unique opportunity tonight.
You know, there's messages going out all over this world of a political nature and there's a lot of confusing things being said.
The politics in our country is different than the politics in the Philippines is different than the wars being fought in areas of countries. I don't even know their names.
And there are people standing up and very convicted about what they have to say.
What I want to say to you tonight at the beginning of this Gospel meeting.
That the gospel.
Of the grace of God. The good News through Jesus Christ is the same message everywhere in the world.
And whether you're in Des Moines, IA, or Alaska or the Philippines, there's a need common to every man. And that need is to know the Lord Jesus Christ as personal savior.
I wonder if we could sing together. And I'm going to ask you to stand at an old choir director in high school that said, you sing a whole lot better when you get your diaphragm up and let it go out. We're going to sing #19 together. Please stand with me. And if you really believe the chorus, sing it #19.
Oh Christ, in the my soul have found and found.
Till now I know. Now that is my Christ cancer.
I sigh. More rest and happiness.
I am without nothing.
But.
Whatever I say goodbye.
Islam.
No, no, but Christ.
And satisfied not other than for me.
There's love and light and.
Letting go Lord Jesus.
Found in thee.
I cry the road and sisters look at all the water filled me and as I still feel great.
And love me as I will.
And lasting joy.
Lord Jesus.
Found in the.
The pleasure squads are way more.
But never went for thee.
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Other name for me.
There's love and light and.
Lasting joy.
Lord.
Chapter 4, verse 16.
And he that's Jesus came to Nazareth where he had been brought up.
And as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read, and it was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written. I want you to get the picture of this. This is the man, Lord Jesus Christ, going about. And he came to a group of people and.
In God's wisdom, add the book brought to him. They only had part of what you and I have.
Available to us today, but he had the book brought to him and he opened the book.
To the book of Isaiah, Isaiah as we know it, and he came to a portion.
And he read it, and this is what he read. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.
Because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel.
To the poor, he has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight. To the blind, to set at liberty them that are bereaved, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book. That's really all we have to say. Our brother Noah set aside a little longer time, so we'll just with God's help to go on here for a few more moments.
Like to turn over also before we make any other comments to the 15th chapter of Luke.
The 11Th verse portion known to probably most here.
Luke 15 Verse 11 And he said, a certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, Give me or give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them as living. And not many days after the younger son gathered altogether, and took his journey into a far country. And there wasted his substance with riotous living. And what he had spent all there arose a mighty famine in that land. And he began to be in want. And when he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine, and he wouldn't fain have filled his belly with the husk that the swine did eat.
And no man gave unto him, and when he came to himself.
I'd like to introduce you to a friend of mine that I've met recently. Two of them. The one's name is Luis.
The other ones name is Rudy.
Louise is probably about 35 years old.
He comes from somewhere South of Colorado, although he's semi permanently living there.
My guess is that Luis comes from probably South of the United States border.
He has a little different composure or?
Look on him then, most in this room. He's got a little different hair than most in this room.
Luis walks with a pretty good limp.
He has no telephone number where I can reach him.
Rudy's another man about the same age.
Rudy and Luis live close to each other.
Maurice carries some creases in his skin because he has nine bullet shots through him, some bullets still residing in him.
They both reside in the Buena Vista Correctional Facility, which is located 3 miles from my home, commonly known as a prison.
I sat with Louise and Rudy and three other men about a month ago.
In a Bible study.
And they carry this book under their arm with a smile on their face.
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Some of the happiest men I've ever met in my life.
And we sat that night and I don't remember what we were talking about.
But we got on the subject.
Of.
Where we are.
And there were five men at that table that night with my wife and I.
And four of the five, unequivocally. And the other one, it wasn't that it wasn't agreeing, said. The best thing that ever happened to me was that I went to prison and I got to the bottom of myself and I found Jesus Christ.
They don't have much hope. I don't know what their sentence is. None of my business. I don't know when they arrived there and I don't know when they're going to leave. Unless they go and shout with us. I know that'll happen.
But I'd like to speak tonight about getting to the bottom of it.
And these dear men are the inspiration for whatever comes out tonight other than the word of God, the inspiration of the Word of God and the Spirit. But it's really something, my friend.
To sit in front of people and have them say to you the best thing that ever happened to me was for me to get arrested and thrown in a prison where they don't respect you. They treat you not like any of you have been treated in the last 10 or 15 years. And it's all done for a purpose, respectfully, but not with the respect that you would expect.
We're in the furniture business. They don't have sofas. They don't have lazy boys. They don't have rocking chairs. But I'll tell you what these men have. They have Christ Jesus as their savior. And they're happy. They're happy. Are you happy tonight? You know, that's why the Lord Jesus came. We just read. He came to preach deliverance to the captives, to heal the broken hearted and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are brewed.
We work with another portion of men that come in on a crash program.
To find that they are nothing so that they can be something.
Dear friend, have you ever come to realize that you are nothing? You're a boy or girl? Have you ever realized that there's nothing in yourself before God that is a value for your eternal salvation? But yet God set his eye upon you. God has fixed his eye. He has focused it directly, individually on everyone in this room and said I love you and I sent my son for you.
The Lord Jesus has said, I have come to help you, to give you the opportunity because you have the right to choice, but to give you the opportunity to accept what I did on Calvary crop. Have you accepted that tonight? Does that have a meaning to you? Does that rise up in your heart so that you can sing that chorus now none but Christ can satisfy? I hope you're honest tonight when we were singing that if you are not satisfied.
You could have mouthed the words and that's fine. I often sing things. I'm not quite sure what I'm saying.
But dear friend, right now and all, open honesty before a God who loves you.
Can you say that I'm hurting? Can you say that I know down inside me there's no good thing?
Our dear friend, the Lord Jesus wants to reach out to you because he said right here, that's why he came. He affirmed it by what he read out of his scriptures, and then he even spoke it. And he wants to reach out to you tonight. He wants to come to you.
The man we just read about over in the 15th of Luke, it says. And when he came to himself, you know, this world has a lot to offer. So it thinks. And so we think. But here was a man that had everything that could be offered to him. He was in a good home. He was in a good family. We see a loving father, a tremendous home relationship. He had a brother that got angry with him later, but apparently they could get along before.
Did a good job.
But he got greedy.
And God had to speak to him, and he had to go down, down, down, down. Dear friend, have you gone down? Have you got to the bottom of it? Have you realized that there's nothing that you can do? There's a verse in Romans that says that in me, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. Have you realized that? That's God's word that says that to you? Not that I say it to her or your friend or your mother or your dad or your uncle or your aunt or your grandmother?
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Your friend, have you realized that that there's nothing that you and I can do in ourselves?
But we can accept the work of Jesus Christ. I'd like to go back into the Old Testament.
And look at some occasions back there of people that ended up in a pretty low place. Turn with me. First to Genesis chapter 37.
Genesis first book of the Bible, chapter 37 and verse 23.
And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colors that was on him. His father had made him a precious coat.
And he took this coat and he was went out to seek his brethren who were out in the fields.
And he went out to talk to them, and they became jealous of him. And they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty, and there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread. And they lifted up their eyes and looked. And behold, a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicy and balm and mirror, going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said to his brethren, what prophet is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.
Brethren were content. Then they're passed by Midianite merchantmen, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph onto Egypt.
Joseph.
Was put into a pit.
Now I don't know whether you've ever been into a pit or not.
I haven't been in very many pits. I remember one time when I was in the real estate business, I was showing a building that used to be a slaughterhouse and a meat processing plant. And I was told that here's the key and you take the key and you work your way and you go down into the basement and you go over and you take a flashlight and there's no light down there. And when you get to the bottom of that stairs, you position yourself in a certain angle and you shine the flashlight on the wall and you'll see electric box on the other side of the wall.
And you go over there and you turn on, that's the main box, turn the lights on to the entire building. So I started walking over and they said there's a couple of steps you have to go down. So I walked down what I thought was 2 steps here was this nice, what I thought was a level floor to walk over to turn on that light switch. Well, that level floor was a grease pit. And I stepped into the grease pit up to my knees. They forgot to tell me that you had to walk around. That wasn't a very comfortable feeling to have the old cookie grease up around my knees and in my shoes and around my legs.
But that's about probably as close as I ever got to this position that this man was in.
And here was Joseph. He was put into a pit because of the jealousy of man's heart. But you know, God used that occasion to take him up out of that pit. And he was taken and he was separated from his family. He was taken off into a land, and even there he was abused. He was taken in the head man in the country.
Allowed him to be near his wife and his wife even abused him and he got thrown back into prison.
And finally, Joseph, however, was taken out of that prison and used, but he was down in a pit, and it was due to the treatment at the hand of those with evil hearts. And I want to tell you, dear friend, that there is an evil one out there, and he wants to throw you into a pit and to keep you there. And whether it's a grease pit or a sand pit or any other kind of pit, my dear friend, that's where they want to put you. And that's where Satan.
Wants to keep you. God saw to it that Joseph was taken up out of that pit. And dear friend, tonight God has made a provision to take you out of the pit that you are in. The question is do you recognize the pit that you are in? We had a young man about a year and a half ago riding a three Wheeler at the sand pits back where we used to live in Ohio and he was riding.
With some of my family.
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And he was riding one of these all terrain vehicles and he didn't realize where the wall was and he rode straight off into the sand pit and they carried him off to the hospital in an ambulance.
Dear friend, these are just simple examples, but you get the message of the spiritual example that you are in a pit.
Do you recognize boys and girls? Do you realize you're in a pit? You're down, down, down.
Down at the bottom. But God wants to provide you with a way out of that, and he has provided it in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn with me now to the Book of Jeremiah.
That might be a little harder to find. I can't tell you It's the first book. In fact, I can't tell you what book it is. Maybe one of your children came, but it comes after Isaiah.
Jeremiah.
Chapter 38.
Jeremiah was someone who was faithful.
To God and speaking to people. And he was faithful to God and speaking to the leaders of the place where he was.
And Jeremiah?
Told some things to the leaders.
That were very truthful, but not exactly what they wanted to hear.
And I suppose tonight that perhaps what we're talking about here is something that maybe some here don't want to hear.
But it's not what we have to say, dear friend. It's the truth of the word of God. And as I said earlier, this is a message that is not new. This message tonight is one that has gone out to the end of the world.
Dear friend, perhaps you've heard it before.
And perhaps you've rejected it before. That's OK. But tonight, for whatever reason, God has given you another opportunity.
What are you doing with the opportunity of the message of the gospel God speaketh once?
A twice. Yet man perceiveth at night. Are you willing to say to God, I'm going to shut my ears again tonight?
You probably can look back already based on what we've had to say and think about at some time in your life when you were taken to the bottom of something. Perhaps it was an accident.
Perhaps it was a financial difficulty.
Perhaps it was a personal problem, maybe an emotional problem, Maybe a health problem. God speaks once and twice.
Are you willing to say like Luis and Rudy? Thank God he took me to the bar.
Is that your cry tonight? Are you willing to realize that the end of anything in ourselves must be approached? And then God can take that which He created originally and use it for time and for eternity? Oh dear friend, it's God's message to you. I have really been impressed lately. We live out there in the hills of Colorado now, and you want to feel like a nothing.
You know.
Stand with 14,000 foot peaks all around you and look off and the nearest car looks like a speck on the dust and realize what you look like from up at the top of a mountain.
Now, but you know what? God focuses love down on every soul.
Our brother this afternoon so beautifully pointed out that God had a purpose in creating you, and he focused on you to make you so that you could have a relationship with him.
You know, I say this very carefully, and I hope it's acceptable, but God didn't want to be alone in heaven, so to speak. He wanted a people for himself. He wanted to be surrounded with those so that he could pour out his love for eternity and have a relationship. And he has his eye on you tonight, dear friend, dear boy or girl. Perhaps there's a boy or girl here tonight that doesn't quite realize what we're talking about when we say you have to get to the bottom of it.
But you know, I bet if you're thinking your family, you've heard about somebody that had an accident.
Or you can think about somebody that.
00:25:01
Has a problem a whole lot worse than any of you ever ran into.
I was in.
Iowa City Thursday night.
Coming through on my way to go up to Iowa fall.
And there was a lady quite a bit older than myself sitting at the restaurant there at the Country Kitchen.
And I realized she was all crippled up. And you know, she had the sweetest smile on her face. She had a whole lot worse problem than I can ever conceive of ever having to live through. And I just looked at her and I could tell she probably had lived a long time with that difficulty. I didn't take the opportunity to speak to her about the Lord I should have, but just the smile on her face led me to feel that that problem wasn't dragging her down. Dear friend, let's look at Jeremiah here. Jeremiah spoke out, and he spoke out faithfully.
And here's what they did to him.
Verse four Therefore the Princess said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakened the hands of the men of the war that remain in this city, in the hands of all the people.
In speaking such words unto them, for this man seeketh not the welfare of his people, but the herd. Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand, for the king is not he that can do anything against you. Then took thee Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchai, the son of Himalek, that was in the court of the prison. And they let him down. They let down Jeremiah with cords, and in the dungeon there was no water but mire. So Jeremiah sunk into Mire.
Pretty picture.
Number of years ago we were digging A manhole, digging to put a manhole in steel manhole that was 12 feet deep in the area. We were digging a lot of sand and we had a lot of watery sand and as we dug this hole with the big hydraulic backhoe.
Some of us had to climb down in that hole and I didn't have much experience at that time with excavation work.
And I had a pair of five buckle boots on and I stepped down. And I thought, well, when you step on sand, like when I was a kid at the seashore.
Finally compressed. Well, you know, I stood and it didn't compress. I just started going down.
And I went down and I went above the boot and finally I had to grab a hold of something, a cable. I was in quicksand. There wasn't just watery sand, it was quicksand. And I don't know how far I would have gone.
And that was an eerie feeling. I was thinking that I was going down.
And I could not lift my feet out. In fact, I hurt my back that day, jerking. When you jerk so hard with this part of your body and that part doesn't come, something's going to give. And it was the lower part of my back gave out that day. I was stuck. Jeremiah was stuck. There were dungeons. There was no water but Mire. So Jeremiah sunk into the Mire. Pretty sorry place to be for telling forth the word of God.
But you know, God used this for a purpose, and he's using it right now to speak to someone here tonight. Dear friend, you and I have to come to the point where we realize that we are stuck in the life. We are glued down, as it were. We are stuck. Well, Jeremiah had some friends, and he had some wonderful friends, and they decided that they were going to help Jeremiah.
And an 11Th verse. And so Ibad Mileck took the man with him and went into the House of the king under the treasury.
And took that old cast clouds and old rotten rags and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
And ebed me like the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah. Put down these old, put down these old cast plots and rotten.
Rags under thine arm holes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. So they drew up Jeremiah with cords and took him out of the dungeon, and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. The last thing, the last thing that anybody thought would lift Jeremiah out of there, was old cast rags.
You know, dear friend, the heart of man.
Doesn't realize.
The power of God and perhaps the last thing that you would ever think of to turn to for salvation. Perhaps that which you would not want to bow to. Or you would say don't throw that to me, that won't do any good. What if Jeremiah said, hey, those are old rotten rag. They were under the treasury. They used to wipe off the gold cases with those things until they were nothing but no good.
He didn't say that because God had a way to get Jeremiah out of there. Dear friend, God has a way. He's provided a way, not man's way.
00:30:02
Man's way is to try to work himself out of the minor, and he doesn't get out very easily. But God's way is through the Lord Jesus Christ and what he's done at Calvary.
The way there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
That cast. Clout, the clods, the rags, whatever it was, which seemed hopeless, were use of God. And so, dear friend, there was a man, and his name was Christ Jesus. And he came here, and he went through this earth preaching what we read, reaching out to the bruised. Are you starting to feel tonight that maybe you're bruised?
To the blind.
Are you spiritually blind and need your eyes open, dear friend?
That man came and the world didn't want him then because they said that won't work.
But their friend at work, salvation is through Christ Jesus. He went to a cross and he hung there, and he just didn't go there as a martyr. There were other men there that day for punishment for sins. There have been martyrs all down through the ages, and thank God for them, but he went there for the sin, the sins of mankind. Oh dear friend, that's the message of the gospel from the bottom to the top.
It's available. It's open. Will you take it? Oh, dear friend, we're crying. But tonight you would hear God speaking to you in love. In love. You know, there is so much animosity in this world today, particularly in this country in which we live. You can just sense it.
Group against group, in some cases family against family, brother against brother.
Oh dear friend.
I met another man. Dear dear Christian.
Dear me.
But for a while, he wasn't a dear me. In fact, he got so far away into drugs out in the streets of California, and he was a small man. And he said I had power because I had a gun. And he said that was power to me. And he said that with that gun I could get anything I want.
And he said one day I was in a.
Nightclub.
And I got into an argument and they said let's go outside. And he said I took that gun and I put it right in a guy's stomach and I pulled the trigger in. The man fell. And he said I reigned and I reigned.
I ran for two days.
And I hid in culverts, and I hid and tried to steal a car.
And he said I finally went to someone that I had been dealing drugs with and I called him and I said you've got to help me.
You know how he helped him? Called the police and told him where he was, he said. My best friend turned me in and he was in jail.
And he was arrogant and he was frightful. And they came to him one day and said, here's your clothes.
With what's going on since you're released?
I gave him his clothes and he started to walk out and they clamped his hand on his shoulder and said the man didn't die. Now you're arrested for attempted murder.
And they took him back in and they sentenced him to six to seven years in prison.
And he was in his prison, arrogant, defiant.
And a man walked by as he described him, a little old man that didn't even look up, and he handed me a Bible.
And a track.
And he said, I'll be back. And you know what? He came back.
And they said I started reading that book and I started to read it and that book started to speak to me. And he said, God, I tried everything on myself.
And he said I could do anything.
But now I know I can do nothing.
Reveal yourself to me.
Ruben Chavez now is out preaching the gospel for Jesus Christ.
Back last Tuesday night, he was in Buena Vista preaching it again in the prison. I wasn't there, but I know he was scheduled to be there.
Dear friend, he got to the bottom of it. He thought he had power. He thought he had it all figured out. He had every way going. He was strong and mighty. But it was only through the work of Christ that now he can go out. He can tell the true messages.
00:35:07
Turn over to the book of Jonah.
Second chapter, you know, Jonah was an interesting guy. I like Jonah because I like to see my name or Mike. I've got a lot of characteristics of Jonah. God says go that way and I go that way. God says something and I tend to rebel. Well, you know, Jonah had every opportunity. God wanted to go to a town and he wanted to speak. You all know the story.
But the part of it that I'd like to focus on is the second chapter.
Jonah prayed unto the Lord, is God out of the fishes belly? And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord. And he heard me out of the belly of hell, cried I, And now hurts my voice. For thou hast cast me into the deep in the midst of the Seas, And the floods compassed me about all the billows, And thy waves passed over me. And I said, I am cast out of thy sight, yet I will look up again toward thy holy temple. The waters compass me about even to the soul. The depth closed me round about. The weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountain. The earth with their bars was.
About me forever. Yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God?
We live, as I said, in an area where the little county we live in, a smaller county in Colorado with boasts of more mountain peaks 14,000 feet and over than any other county in Colorado. Well, Can you imagine this was said he was down in the bottoms of the mountain and that Great Big Sea out there. There are mountains that are covered, and those mountains are tall and they're high, but they're covered with water.
You know, we like to climb up to high peaks, but here Jonah was down, down, down, down, down at the bottom of the mountain. He wasn't just down in the sea. He didn't land on top of a mountain in the sea. He went right down to the bottom.
And the Lord spoke to him, and that belly of that great fish that Jonah realized that there was something that he needed to listen to.
Well, dear friend, I don't know that any of you or I will ever have the experience of being at the bottom of the oceans in the belly of a fish.
And let's pray God that we don't have to be there for God to get our attention. But he spoke to Jonah, and, you know, he brought Jonah up from that. And he put Jonah back out on the seashore. And Jonah went and God used it. You know, my friend, one of the things I think that people fear about coming to the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ is they're fearful that God might use. What will they do then? Well, you know, we're given the privilege to speak to others.
Who are given the privilege to do things for.
The Lord Jesus were given the things to do, given things to do for our fellow man, our neighbors, our friends, our families.
With a new motive. Would you like to have that tonight? Would you like to have a motive in your life that is above and beyond yourself? Jonah's motive was wrong. He went in the wrong direction. He turned left when God told him to turn right.
But after he finally came up after turning the right direction, God used God brought him up out of that and put him on the right path. Dear friend, if you accept Jesus Christ as your savior tonight.
God wants to put you on the right path and he's not going to ever, ever leave him. My dear dad. He's up there in Iowa Falls tonight. I trust he's there. I left him this morning. But he used to say to me. Used to say, David, he said you can do anything you want.
You can take the name that nab off you. You can even get rid of the name David. You can move to another country, to another land. You can change your citizenship. But he says you will never cease to be my son.
Dear friend, that's the way it is. God wants you to be one of his sons or daughters, and he says I will never, never, never leave you out of my hand. One of the most wicked tools of the enemy today is to say that God would give up his own.
Dear friend, when you put your trust in the Lord Jesus, you're his for eternity and he will never let you out of his hand. You read that verse there in John, and that's the emphasis of it. It's the strongest word that the language can come up with for the word never. You think of the strongest way to say nothing can ever happen and multiply it, and that's what that means. Well, Jonah was brought up and he was put on that seashore and he was used. God wants to use you tonight, dear friend.
00:40:16
And I'd like to also say perhaps there's someone here tonight.
That is bogged down. Maybe not all the way into the pit, but you feel the mire coming up around it and things are pretty tough.
Well, there are tough times, but you know the Lord wants to come in, steered David in the Psalms. He said, Restore unto me the joy of my salvation. Oh, we pray tonight. We were just in that room across the hall one hour ago, with people pouring out their hearts that there would not only be soul sage here tonight, but there would be those who perhaps are discouraged to have a sense of the joy.
Of Salvation fill your soul, and that the Lord will use you to go on for him.
Turn.
Now to the last book of the Bible.
To Revelation.
And this is a very solemn portion I'm going to read.
It's in the near the end of the book.
The 20th chapter.
And I saw an Angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent which is the devil and Satan, and bound him 1000 years, and cast them into the bottomless pit, and shut him up and set a seal upon him, That he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years should be fulfilled. And after that he must be loosed a little season.
Dear friend, I have to faithfully say to you tonight that this could be 7 plus years away.
This chapter.
When I say plus, it could not be very much more than that. It might be longer than that.
When this event is going to occur, God is faithful.
And he will fulfill his word.
And maybe you don't believe there's a hell, but God's Word says there is, and he tells us right here a little bit about it.
And he says that there was this bottomless pit.
And they cast Satan the devil, and Satan bound him 1000 years, and cast him in the bottomless pit, and shut him up and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nation's no more.
Dear friend, I can't describe to you all that hell is God's word. Gives us some hint, but I know that it's the absence of the love of God.
And that's a pit.
That I am very fearful that there should be anyone in this room should end up there.
That's awful scary. When I was in that quicksand, there were those that I knew could help me and they would help me and they did help me get in.
Jeremiah had some friends that helped him and got him out.
God sent someone along to get Joseph out of that pit.
God himself brought Jonah out of that bottomless bottom that he would be. But my dear friend, I have to tell you faithfully.
Based on the word of God that if you reject Christ and go to an endless eternity, there's a description here of something called a bottomless pit.
And I don't know how deep a bottomless pit is, but I sure don't want to check it out. And I sure hope that no one here ends up there. We don't like to scare people out of it, but the reality of God's Word is here.
Luis and Rudy are happy that they're not going to be in this bottomless pit, that God took them to the bottom of a prison. And I got to believe, I can't say this for sure, that they spent some time in what they call the hole. And I've never been in a hole, but I'm told what holes are like and they're not very pleasant places to be. But dear friend, this is the place that we cry to God.
00:45:19
There'll be no soul in this room tonight and go out of here rejecting and end up here. Now let's turn back to songs to the 40th song for a moment.
Get a picture.
Of someone.
Who came out of a pit for you and for me?
Put your finger in the 40th Psalm and I should have turned 1St to the 2nd chapter of Philippians.
From Philippians.
Chapter 2 and verse five it says Christ Jesus.
For being in the form of God.
Fought it not robbery to be equal with God.
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant.
And was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, either the death of the cross. And I'll turn back to Psalm 40.
I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined unto me and heard my cry. He brought me also up out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he had put a new song in my heart, my mouth, even praise unto our God. Many shall see it in fear, and shall trust in the Lord. Bless him, or happy is that man that maketh the Lord his trust.
Dear friend, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Came here into this earth.
It's kind of hard to believe, perhaps.
He came here.
In reality, and he came as a man.
And they came.
From a position where he could have been and was equal with God.
But he lacked that position to come down here and, as we read in Philippians.
He went down, down, down. I don't know the poem and maybe someone can quote it here. My dear father-in-law used to quote it and he goes something like go as low as you can go, some go as low as you can go. Someone has gone lower still. I don't remember the exact words of it, but perhaps you get the name. Dear friend, you and I can go as low as we think we can ever go, but someone has gone lower still.
The Lord Jesus Christ went down into death so that you and I would not have to go through that.
Would not have to suffer the punishment for our sin. You know part of one of the programs we deal with at the prison out there.
It's it's really kind of interesting to work with people.
This is going to come out wrong, but who realized?
That they got themselves into a mess.
A week ago Tuesday night, I spoke to a group of 40 some people who had been in the crash program.
And we were talking about some of the basic principles of the scriptures.
And I quoted John 316. I said John 316 and I didn't realize what was happening. 2/3 of them quoted the verse. They've never been to high school, most of them. One night I spoke about a physics class and they didn't even know what I was talking about. I was trying to talk about prisons. I was trying to describe how God looks down and he looks to us different than we look at each other. And I tried to use the example of a prism and they didn't even know what I was talking about.
But it talked about cracking guns and a few other things. They would have known it, but we came to John 316 and they knew it. Isn't that marvelous? Probably never been in his Sunday school, but they knew it. Grandmothers don't give up praying fathers. Uncles don't give up.
00:50:06
But they have a sense that they've done wrong and they've gotten there of their own making.
And they listen.
Your friend, don't listen to me. Listen to the Lord Jesus. Listen to God calling to you tonight. He's calling to you. He went down lower than you ever went. He went to the lowest depths. He went below whatever any man could do to suffer. Then he came up out of that horrible pit, out of the miry plane. I mean, he describes what the sense of punishment is like.
Described as a horrible pitch full of Mirey play.
We had a property back in Ohio still have it that is on Clay and I mean Clay.
Tom, would TuneIn, if I said it's clay good enough to build a landfill out of nothing, would leach through it.
I mean, this play is gooey.
You go out there in the rain when you go out to work, and you go out in your boots and you could barely lift your feet. Just such mucky miry guck grass hardly grows in it. But that doesn't compare any way to the miry clay that's described here of sin and destruction. Oh dear friend, the Lord Jesus has come up out of that. He has come up out of that for you and for me.
And He has conquered it. He has been delivered, He has delivered us from any.
Need for us to ever approach that He came here and God has highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every name. Do you respect the name of Jesus? You know, maybe you can quote John 316.
But are you saved? For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not care, but hath everlasting life. Are you saved tonight, dear friend, boys or girls?
Is there a boy or girl here tonight that's been as I used to do?
I used to write on the tablet, but my ears were at the podium. Mom and Dad didn't know whether I was listening or not.
I was a pro addict. I used to count every light in the ceiling.
I used to know how many chairs there were in the room.
Sat in conference after conference like a lot of you do.
But you know, somewhere along the line somebody got into here.
With the message of the gospel.
And I was lifted out of the miry clay too. And I can say that Jesus Christ died for me.
Can you say that tonight you know that you were in a mess?
I was going to look at the lady there and 2nd Kings. Her brother talked about Elijah.
With the lifestyle thing, you know, the creditors were at her door, they were going to take her son. I run into some people and some financial difficulties, but I never ran into anybody whose son was going to be taken by the creditors and she said we need help.
And the prophet called to God, and God filled the pots and said go out and get some more. The emptiness of that house was.
Filled with the sense of the Spirit of God that day do you want the emptiness at your house. Filled with the sense of the Spirit of God. He wants to come down and not only save you, he wants to indwell you with his Spirit and then wants to give you a path.
And go on and happiness to him. Not a path without difficulties, but a path of happiness and joy in him. Our dear friend, I cry to you tonight. I beg of you. The solemnity of it just overwhelms me. Think that there's a soul here tonight. He could go into an eternity. Who was here tonight?
And walked out of his room.
It's overwhelming.
To think that a boy or girl or a neighbor friend, we're going to eternity loss tonight. My dear dad used to take us on take me on a walk. We used to go on a lot of walks together and we walked through. For whatever reason, we'd end up walking through a cemetery. And I used to just be amazed. I always thought cemeteries are full of old people.
00:55:08
Not only old people die. We'd stop and we'd read the tombstone.
Go, I'll tell you, there's a lot of tombstone where the children don't get to be 5 years old or 10 years old or 15 years old. There's a lot of them.
There's no guarantee of tomorrow, dear friend, dear boy or girl.
Life is short. Eternity is sure. Are you willing to accept the Lord Jesus Christ? I want to tell you another story about a friend I met, and then we'll close. Thanks. Tom Hemingway. Tom spent 25 years in the Marine Corps.
Tom went to Vietnam.
He was a commander or whatever. I don't know all the terminology, the right terminology to use.
Tom got saved. I'll tell you how he got saved. He was born as a strong guy. I mean, he was just born strong.
And his dad was a Marine. He was just tough. I see some guys in this room that I know that could have whipped me at any age. You know, they were just born strong.
But it got in the way of Tom. One day in Japan, when he was in the Marines, he picked a guy up. He was so mad at him and he picked him up and smacked his head on the concrete and he thought he killed him.
And he went home that night. He went back and he saw that he hadn't killed him.
But he went back home that night and he said God.
This has got to change. Would you come to me? I don't know what I'm saying, but would you come to me?
And he got a Bible, and he started reading the Bible.
They got saved.
God has used him mightily, but he got captured with two other men.
In Vietnam. And he got tortured. He spoke to the boys at the prison and he told him, You think you've been tortured? He said. How'd you like to have your arms tied behind your back to your feet on the cold concrete? And then they jump on you? He says you think you have it wrong. I'll tell you got their attention.
But Tom.
Was imprisoned and his two friends were, and they were both.
Kept separate. They were kept separate from each other and along the way.
Each of the three was individually offered the opportunity to leave the others and go and negotiate for them.
Say a good deal. Would you take that you're being trapped on? You know those three men were so bound to each other.
And they didn't know it, but each of the three turned it down and said I will only go if you let my buddies go with me.
Now that's true.
You know in John 15 and I want to close with this, it says.
Greater love in the 13th verse hath no man in this than a man lay down his life for his friend. Ye are my friend that was spoken by the Lord.
Gospel
Gospel—T. Clement
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But begin the meeting this evening by all standing together and singing hymn #13 Man of sorrow. What a name for the Son of God who came ruined sinners to reclaim Hallelujah, what a savior #13.
In my heart.
Where it falls on a rainbow.
And now fell asleep.
We pray.
I'd like to turn again to Luke chapter 4.
When I came to Des Moines, I had a portion that I was interested in, in the gospel.
But sometimes it has happened. The Spirit of God can change your mind, and there's been two references already to Luke chapter 4.
And I'd like to turn back to that portion because it's a portion which the Lord Jesus.
Himself preached the gospel. He can't find a better gospel preacher anywhere on this earth than the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Our brother Ron mentioned something yesterday regarding Elijah and a widow. And our brother Dave last night mentioned some scriptures here in Luke chapter four. I would like to try and add a little bit to that and I trust it'll add something to your soul. So let's begin reading in Luke chapter 4 and verse 16 again.
And he, Jesus, came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up.
And as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up.
For to read, and there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah.
And we had opened the book. He found the place where it was written.
When he'd opened the book. I'd like to press that on all of us here tonight, especially you younger people. Have you ever opened the book?
The Lord Jesus, the one who wrote this book, he's the author of God's Word. He's the living Word of God. And yet that man, when he was here on earth, had the grace to condescend, take that book into his own hands and open it up. And I want to say to you tonight that you can't be saved without the Word of God. The gospel is very simple. You can sum it up with three facts. You're lost, God loves you, and Christ died for your sins.
You're lost, God loves you, and Christ died.
For your sins. Now, the way you learn that is not to take my word for it, but to open the book. How long has it been since you opened the book and read? You know, I didn't get saved. I didn't know a thing about the gospel. I didn't know what it even meant to be saved until I opened the book.
And if the Lord Jesus Christ himself can open the book, we ought to follow that example.
And he found the place.
00:05:01
A brother brought before us this afternoon some comments about the place. I hope he doesn't mind if I maybe take that up for a few minutes. About the place. Here it is in Scripture. You want to find a place? How about the place? Here it is the place, the place where you can go to get all the wisdom and counsel of God.
The place where you can come to learn about eternal salvation. The one place you can learn about the counsels of God for this world.
The one place you can learn accurately the whole description of mankind, his depravity. The one place you can learn about the love of God for mankind. The only place you can learn about the future of this world and the future of mankind. This is the place and that place you've got in your hand. If you've got a Bible tonight, the Word of God is the place where you learn about God.
I'm so sorry I waited 20 some years before I ever bothered.
To open this book and find the secrets of God that are in it. And I would encourage anybody here tonight, maybe there's somebody here that doesn't have a Bible. Don't leave tonight without a Bible. You need that book. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. You cannot be saved tonight without faith in the Scriptures, without receiving the word of God. That's what's able to save your soul. Many, many people today are willing to come to a meeting like this or to a church and here's somebody speak.
But I want to tell you this, that the issue tonight is not between me and you, it's between you and Christ. You see, these are the words. This is the preaching of the Lord Jesus that we're reading about. And the gospel has to do with just you and with him. I know before I was saved, I used to look to a church. I used to look to a priest or a system to find comfort, to find some sort of consolation, but I never had peace. You've got to open this book and find the place where it was written.
And believe the word of God to the saving of your soul. You know many people today in the world.
Say they believe they believe I have a neighbor or a lady that rents.
On the other side of the house from me. And she says she's told me many times lately, Tom, I believe, I believe. But what does she believe? Many people believe in Jesus. You know, the Muslims believe in Jesus. The communists believe in Jesus.
But my friend, tonight the issue is this. Do you believe to this saving of your soul? I believed in Jesus.
For many, many years before I was saved. You know, he's a historical fact. There's not many history books I suppose you can take up and read and not read about Jesus Christ. But we're not talking about a religion regarding Jesus Christ. We're talking tonight about a relationship with the Lord Jesus. Well, I wanted to point this out. There's another place in the Gospel of Luke. Let's turn to it, Luke 23. We'll come back to chapter 4. But Speaking of the place.
These thoughts just came to mind this afternoon and this evening.
I want to point you to another place in Luke chapter 23.
And verse 32.
And there were also two other malefactors LED with him, that is the Lord Jesus to be put to death, and when they were come.
To the plate, which is called Calvary.
There, they crucified him. If you're going to be saved tonight, my friend, this is the place.
You need to come to the cross. The cross.
The cross of Christ. That's how I got saved when I looked up through the book of Romans.
That Christ died for my sins, that he was buried and the third day rose again from the scriptures, all according to the scriptures. I said I must believe that. And I remember the struggle that went on in my soul as I felt that that was just too cheap and that was too easy. But God's working, when God works, He humbles us, and there's nothing in man of himself that will receive this. It must be the work of God. It must be the work of God. So God humbled me to see that I must come to the place of the cross, the place of the skull, and believe that Christ died for my sins.
If you believe that, now, that's the way of salvation, the only way. There's no other way to be saved except through the blood of Christ. You know there must be a substitute for you. There must be somebody that stands between you and God. You can't stand for yourself. God requires blood to make an atonement for the soul. He's done that all throughout Scripture. You can go back into the book of Genesis and look at the first couple, Adam and Eve. And how did God clothe Adam and Eve after they had sinned?
It says with skin, so an animal had to be killed and blood had to be shed.
00:10:01
To cover Adam and Eve, and that's no different for you today. If you'd like to have your sins covered, you need.
The blood of Christ, and only the blood of Christ. It will take away all your sins.
Well, in Luke chapter 4, when Jesus had opened the book, He found the place where it was written. If I could press on you people here tonight, just one thing, you must, you must open the Bible and read it for yourself. I know it's so tempting to come to these conferences because I did it after I was first saved and listened and get paid and take home lots of written ministry. But I tell you what has blessed my soul more than all of that put together.
Is when I open the book and read. Open the book and read. If you have questions tonight about your soul salvation, about the forgiveness that stands, I encourage you to open the book and find the place. There's many young people here tonight. Maybe you have some questions about what to do in your life, what kind of education they get. I say to you, open the book. The answers are in the book.
And some of you are interested, I no doubt, perhaps we all are, We're going to have a partner in life. Open the book and see what the instructions are in God's book about those things. Some of you are wondering what's this world coming to the chaos and the environment and the economies of this world. I say to you, open the book and find where it's written about these things. It's all there in the Bible. Jesus did it and I can do it. And you can do it without faith, remember, it's impossible.
To please God and faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
And what did the Lord Jesus preach? Luke chapter 4 and verse 18, he said.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent me to heal a broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captive.
And recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised or crushed.
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Is there someone here tonight that's poor?
I tell you, there's the unsearchable riches of Christ that are offered to you tonight through the God.
I've never been a wealthy man myself, but I've seen now that I have Christ that my inheritance is the whole world. The wealth of this whole world is going to be mine. The Bible says I'm an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ. But for the poor, you have the unsearchable riches of Christ offers just by receiving the gospel of Christ to heal the broken hearted. Many of us know about broken hearts. You know I've had my heart broken before.
Mainly in relationships with people. Maybe in your family, maybe with a boyfriend or a girlfriend, maybe somebody at school, Oregon, somebody at work. Many of you know what it's like to have your heart crushed. Maybe something's been said to you. I know when I was growing up, it's very easy for me to take the sticks and stones from my neighbor friends. But when somebody would say something to you, remember that. Remember that when your best friend in the neighborhood or maybe a brother or sister in the family said something to you.
And it so crushed you, you couldn't even speak.
All you could do is just breakdown and weep. That's a broken heart. Jesus knows all about broken heart. And maybe some of you have had broken relationships, many broken families in this world today. The Lord Jesus can heal that. There's one above all others that knows about broken hearts. That man hung on a cross 2000 years ago and he says reproach has broken my heart. That man had a broken heart like nobody else, and he can heal yours.
He looked out at that multitude hanging at Calvary's cross, and he looked for one person to have pity.
You look for one person that would have comfort or compassion. He could find none. None of his disciples, none of the women, none of the soldiers. There wasn't anybody in that whole scene at Golgotha.
It could identify with what the Lord Jesus was going through. Reproach broke his heart.
So he knows about healing, broken heart, and the priest's deliverance.
To the captive as captive to sin. If you're here tonight and you're still lost, you're a captive to sin, a slave to it. I remember the struggles before I was saved. You know, God, I'd like to be out of this mess. I wish I didn't love to sin so much.
What can I do to deliver myself? And one day is better than the next. You think you conquer, and then the next day you fall right back into it again. You're a captive who can set me free. The Bible says that the sun shall make you free. You shall be free indeed. And I got set free when I came to Christ, believed in him, and received him as my Lord and Savior. And the recovering of sight to the blind. So many people are blind today.
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Then, blinded by the God of this world, the wealth of this country has blinded your eyes and my eyes, until God opens them.
Are you blind to what's going on around you? So many people think the world is just going on, it's going to get better and better. They're blind.
Men love darkness, it seems, rather than light, because their deeds are evil. Do you like to have your eyes open?
To know what the real condition of the world is, the real condition of your own soul.
The real condition even of God's church on earth, You need Jesus.
You can anoint your eyes with ISAF, you can open your eyes that you can see and he'll show you from the word of God.
And to set at liberty them that are crushed. So many people have been crushed today under the circumstances of life, monetary, family circumstances. Think of all the things that there are in this world that have crushed people, that have crushed people. The enormous burdens that there are in this world today, all the personal troubles, family troubles, church troubles, and troubles in the environment, politics and economics. Think of them all the people are just under this horrible burden.
Who can deliver this man, This man, one man can do all this. So Lord Jesus, so you've got to have a relationship with him. Not just a religion about him, but a relationship with him.
And he said to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book and gave it again to the minister and sat down. And all the eyes, and the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And I would pray that tonight. I've prayed it already that if nothing else, tonight, those of you that are here, if there's one thing you could see, you'd be able to see Jesus.
We see Jesus.
We see Jesus. Have you seen Christ? I mean, I've never seen him with these eyes, but I have seen him by faith.
And I love that man, the Bible says, whom having not seen ye love. And if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, it says in the scriptures, let him be a curse, The Lord is coming.
Do you have affection? We heard this afternoon about affection for Christ. Do you have a love for the Lord Jesus? If you don't, there's something missing.
There's something missing. Well, I trust your eyes will be fixed on that one tonight. You know, not on a podium or a preacher. There's fifty brothers in this room that could stand up and go through this portion too, and bring out these same things. And you might be able to line up all the 10 greatest preachers in Christianity Today, and they can stand up here and preach wonderful things, but you can't be saved by a preacher.
You only be saved by Jesus Christ. And how many today have got their eyes fixed on a minister instead of on Christ? That's very, very sad. Men comparing themselves with men are now wise. But when you compare yourself with the Lord Jesus, that's going to do one thing for you. It's going to humble you. It's going to humble you. Right through the dust. We'll look up and look at Christ. You'll see that he died for you. And I trust tonight that your eyes will be fastened on him. And in verse 21, he began to say unto them this day.
Is this scripture fulfilled?
In your ears, this day, this day, I believe this is the day of your salvation. It impressed me again last night when my brother Dave stood up and began the gospel. That him, I thought to myself, sitting in my seat here, you know this is the most important gospel meeting that has ever been preached.
This is the most important gospel meeting I've ever been to, because it may be the last.
A God in his mercy has waited one more day, and now we've started one more gospel meeting.
And I've told you the way of salvation already. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. This is the most important gospel meeting.
That has ever been preached to any of you people because it may be the last you'll ever hear.
So it's good to take heed. I believe the coming of the Lord is very, very near and one of these gospel mediums, perhaps this one.
Is going to be the last and if you're not saved you don't get another chance. Those that have heard the gospel of Christ will not have a chance to hear the gospel of the Kingdom.
And be brought into the Millennium. If you've heard this gospel and rejected it to be no mercy shown.
Beyond this, this is the day. This is the day of salvation.
Now is the acceptable time. Now is the day of your salvation. I remember the day that I got saved. And many people, as I see in the Bible, I'm sure Paul remembered the day that the Lord struck him down on the road of Damascus. And I'm sure the Philippian jailer remembered the day that he was saved. I remember the day that I was saved. And if you'd like to be happy, why don't you be saved tonight? Why don't you be saved now? Jesus says this right here. This day. Is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears?
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Will you receive it? Don't put it off. Man is not the boast of the Morrow. You don't know what a day is going to bring forth. If the Lord will, we shall live and do this or do that. If the Lord will, we shall live. I may not live till tomorrow, let alone do the activities that I purpose to do tomorrow. I may not even be alive tomorrow, and you might not be either.
So believe it. Now, don't put this off.
And verse 22, it says all bear him witness and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. Oh, I tell you, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. If there was ever a man that walked on the face of this earth that could reach the heart, it was this man. If this man and I would beg of anybody here tonight that's not saved. You listen to the word of the Lord Jesus. The Spirit of God will do the rest not me, the Spirit of God. Oh, listen to the gracious words of the Lord Jesus. That's what he is. He's grace and he's truth.
And they said, is not this Joseph's son?
No, he's not.
Joseph's son.
I want to ask you what thinking of Christ?
Is he just Joseph's son? No, he wasn't Joseph's son, the Lord Jesus.
I was not born of Joseph. The Lord Jesus Christ was born of a virgin.
And the Holy Ghost, Joseph was not the father of the Lord Jesus, but the natural man. You know, he wants to look at what he can see on the outside.
And so he, the natural man here, they looked at Mary and Joseph and they saw that this child was being brought up. I believe that this time now Joseph is gone, he's dead, he's passed away. But they look back in, in time and they could see this man Joseph associated with this young child Jesus and Mary. And they assume that Joseph must be the father. No, no, Joseph was not the father of the Lord Jesus. God was Jesus Father, this man Jesus that we're talking about here.
Not Joseph's son is God's son. He's God's son. It's very important to get the right Christ.
You know, it's very subtle how the Christian world even at Christmas time will make much of this. They say things like the parents of the Lord Jesus or Joseph's son or Joseph was Jesus father. It's very subtle how that creeps in. But I believe the Lord Jesus is the Son of God, born of a virgin and born by the Spirit of God. What do you believe about Christ? What think ye of Christ? You know there's many Christ that are preaching the world today. Well, the Christ I see in the Bible.
Is the eternal Son of God and he came down to this world and became a man for 33 years and he was a perfect man apart from sin. There was no sin in the Lord Jesus. So he was perfectly God and he was the only perfect man apart from sin that ever walked or lived on this earth. This is the Christ that saves your soul if you believe in Him.
And he said unto them, You will surely say to me this proverb position, Heal thyself whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum.
You also in thy country. And he said, Verily I stand to you. No prophet is accepted.
In his own country. But I tell you the truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias.
Elijah, when the heaven was shut up, three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land.
But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Zaiden.
Under a woman that was a widow.
Brother Ron spoke to us about this yesterday. I want to ask you one question. Those of you that were here and heard this story about the widow, what was the one thing, What's the one thing that this woman did that spared her from death?
Well, one thing that poor widow woman do when Elijah came to her.
That saved her from certain death. Have you thought about it? One thing she did, she obeyed.
Obeyed. She believed the word that Elijah said unto her. She obeyed it.
And she was spared from death. Now that's the whole principle of the gospel. You must obey the gospel. And the obedience of the gospel is simply this, to believe it, to believe it. This is the work of God that she believed on him whom He has sent. You see, there's going to be judgment in the future for all those that obey, that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, that believe not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. You must obey the gospel.
Now, this is not law, this is not a formula. This is just a biblical fact. That woman, this widow, if she was going to be spared from death, must obey the prophet Elijah. Go get me a drink of water. The prophet just simply asked for a drink of water and she obeyed. I want to say tonight, all God's asking you to do is trust in His Son to obey whatever the Scripture is, that the Spirit may be pressing on your heart regarding your sins, regarding the salvation that's in Christ. I don't know how the Spirit of God works.
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In everybody's heart.
That if the spirit is pressing something on your soul tonight, I, I would exhort you to receive it and to obey it. And I can tell you the scripture that saved my soul that I had to obey. It's Romans 10/9. Romans 10/9. I remember the weeks of agonizing about my soul. You know, God, I want peace. What's all this stuff about a rapture? What's all this stuff about judgment? I'm not saved. People talking to me about being saved, talking to me about a rapture. And if I'm not saved, I don't go in the rapture. What's all this about? I'd like to know about it. I'd like to be at peace.
And so I began to read through the book of Romans, and I came to chapter 10.
And I struggle with a lot of things. There's so much I don't understand, but I came to that verse nine if.
Thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus. Now I understood that.
Finally, something in this biologist. I understand that I've got to say with my mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord.
I remember sitting there on the couch in the living room in that apartment, and I told God that he was Lord. I believe that the Bible says he's Lord. He's Lord of all.
And if thou shalt believe in thine heart, that God has raised him.
Raised him from the dead. Thou shalt be saved. And I said, Lord, I believe.
And that's when I got peace. See, I had to obey, and you've got to obey too. If you go out of this room without obeying the gospel, you go out of this room lost.
You continue just the way you were born.
Everyone in this room was born lost, and you weren't very old before you became guilty.
You become guilty when you know right from wrong and you do that which is wrong.
So you're lost and you're guilty. Oh, I had to obey. I thank God that I did, or I wouldn't be here tonight.
I don't know where I'd be tonight if the Lord had saved my soul that day, but you're responsible.
Your deadly responsible to receive these things as the word of God.
Not the word of man, it's not the word of man. The word of any preacher is going to save you, but the word of God. You must be like this widow.
You must obey the word of God as it has come to you. Now we have another person here. Verse 27. Many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elizabeth or Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed save Naman the Syrian.
Naman the Syrians. I'd like to turn back to that story now. In Second Kings. I want to read about this man Naman.
And maybe there will be something for your soul then. A lot for my soul. And the story of this dear man.
I'm going to see Naaman someday in heaven.
He's there now.
Someday I'm going to see him be wonderful to talk to this man Naman and the Lord Jesus used this story.
In preaching the gospel. And I'd like to use it tonight too, so to turn back the second Kings chapter 5.
2 Kings chapter 5 and we'll see what the Lord Jesus was bringing up in his ministry here about.
A leper named Naaman and we'll see if we can't get something out of this that might be a prophet.
To our souls, 2 Kings 5 and verse one.
Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria. He was also a mighty man in valor, but he was a leper.
And the Syrians have gone out by companies and have brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little made.
And she waited on Naaman's wife, and she said unto her mistress.
Would God, my Lord, we're with a prophet that is in Samaria.
For he would recover him of his leprosy. And one went in and told his Lord, saying thus and thus said the maid.
It is of the land of Israel, and the king of Syria said, Go to go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel.
And he departed. He named and departed and took with him 10 talents of silver and 6000 pieces of gold.
And 10 changes of raiment. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying now.
When this letter has come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent name and my servant to thee.
That thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter.
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That he ran his clothes and said, Am I God to kill and to make a lie? That this man does sin unto me?
To recover a man of his leprosy. Wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh the quarrel against me.
Naman story naman. Go back to verse one now and make some comments about this man. He was a great man with his master. And I look out of this room and I know in this room there's a lot of great people in the world. I've talked with some of you. There's engineers here and there's PhDs here and there's people that are very skilled in computer work. There's lots of people that are excellent farmers. Maybe some of you are involved in other technologies I don't know anything about, but there's some great people here.
And you're very valuable to the world, like Naaman. But I want to tell you, if you're not saved, you're still just a leper. Now, leprosy in Scripture speaks about sin. And it doesn't matter how great of a person you might be in this world, like Naaman. Naman was a great man in the world, but he was a leper. He had an incurable disease.
It also says that he was an honorable man or gracious man. He knew how to get along with people and some of you folks here are very gifted at getting along with people.
But I want to tell you this. It doesn't save your soul. It has nothing to do with the salvation of your soul, the cleansing of your sin, the fact that you know how to get along with other Christians. Some of you young people are very good at school. There might be valedictorians here and salutorians, and I don't know what other kind of Torians there might be here, but you may be very able in school. That's good.
But you can be a straight A student in school, the top of your class, and you might still be a leper.
You might still be a leper.
You can be at the very top of your field. You can go all the way to Washington, DC and still be a leopard.
I remember the months that I worked in Washington, DC, got into some pretty big offices back there. Pretty impressive. You know, you put on your coat and your tie and you get your passes.
To the White House and the Office of Management and Budget and you go and oh, it's so impressive and I was still a leper.
A miserable, unhappy, unpeaceful leopard.
My skins weren't gone.
Got into the very highest places in this country and is still a leopard, just like Naaman. And for some of you kids out there, young people, you're looking to be great into this world, you better think about this man name. And he had it. He got as high as he could get in Syria. And he's also a gracious man. He knew how to get along with people.
And it says also that he was.
He had given deliverance.
Under Syria, for he was a mighty man in valor, a great warrior too. He knew how to fight.
Very gifted, able man, still a leper. I've got a friend, a very able and gifted man, a great warrior in the Air Force. And probably, I think the last time I was at this conference, I'd seen John, Colonel John Craig, just before I came to the conference. And he, he flies a very sophisticated jet. And now he's very high in the Air Force and he's a great man, just like Naman. And I thought about my friend John in connection with this chapter many, many times, but he still, he's still.
A leper. He's still a leper.
So beware of this people. It doesn't matter how great you may be in this world, if you're still dead in your sin, you're going to stand before another man that's far greater than anybody else. You're going to stand before the man Christ Jesus, and you're going to shrink with terror. Your mouth is going to be stopped as you see that holy man on that great white throne. And your mouth is stopped. And you stand there condemned in your sins, a leopard for eternity, a leper for eternity.
Don't do that.
The Syrians have gone out by companies in verse two, in a Broadway captive out of the land of Israel. A little made, and she waited on Naman's wife, and she said unto her mistress, Would God my Lord, were with the Prophet, that is, in Samaria, where he would recover him of his leprosy.
I'd like to make this comment especially to the younger people, to myself who I think I'm still a young people.
Don't give up your testimony for the Lord Jesus.
I know some of you are in school. I know when I was first aid I was so nervous about saying anything about Christ. But the Lord's helped me overcome that nervousness. And some of the young people, especially, I think of the younger sisters, it's a very fearful thing to speak up and speak for the Lord. You may be very discouraged by your circumstances. No doubt this little maid was enormously discouraged by her circumstances. She'd been taken captive out of her homeland. Perhaps her parents had been killed. Now she's all alone in the enemy's camp, all alone.
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Now what does she do?
Peaks up for God a number name in the Bible. You know, I suppose everybody in this room has heard about Naaman. This is a well known portion. There's nothing new that I'm bringing up in this part of the Bible. But what about the little girl? The little no name?
You know this whole story, this whole story about this great man Naaman and the greater prophet Elisha, all hinges on a no name. You can tend to be a no name and have God use you to turn great men and maybe even great women around. Think about the no names in the Bible. Or think about it. Almost all the great people you can read about in the Bible, their life, somewhere in their life you're going to find a little no name.
And the whole fulcrum of their life hinges and tilts on this unknown person.
His little mate Naaman's whole life was turned around because one little girl spoke up. Maybe there's some of you younger people at school and you've got a great professor, somebody that's really respected, and maybe some little comment that you might make in passing for the Lord Jesus or for the Bible, something for the word of God. That man's soul may turn, may hinge on what you say. Don't give up your testimony. Don't you don't want to be obnoxious. I know I was very offended by.
People that try to cram religion down my throat, even real Christians. I don't like that attitude myself. But here this little girl waited because she saw an opportunity. This man had a need, and she knew who could meet that need.
And we all know people that have a need, and we know who can meet that need. It's the Lord Jesus, the man of God.
Elisha here is a man of God. I believe he is a picture of the Lord Jesus. Don't be surprised if one little comment, one little track that you leave with a soul that's got some burden or some exercise may spread and God may multiply it. Look at all the people that heard this comment by the little maid. The mistress Naaman went clear up through the chain of command clear to the king of Syria. I wonder how many people may have been turned to God by the comment of this little no name girl. Think about it people.
The young people especially, you know, don't hide your light when you get an opportunity.
Speak up for Christ. Somebody's soul, eternal destiny is going to hinge on it. Somebody spoke up in my life. That's the only reason I can be here tonight. Verse five, the king of Syria said go to go and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he departed and took with him 10 talents of silver, 6000 pieces of gold and 10 changes of raiment.
Boy, what a load this man had trying to buy his salvation. Anybody here tonight trying to buy your way into the Kingdom of heaven, the Kingdom of God? Anybody here trying to buy your salvation? You can't be bought. They can't be bought. The Bible says without money and without price. The Bible says the gift of God is eternal life. You can't give God all the earth in exchange for the forgiveness of one of your sins.
No, the issue tonight in the gospel is God's trying to give to you. Will you receive it? Will you receive it? Don't dare try to give God anything. Naman had good intentions, I suppose, like we all did at one time, to try and bring something to God and to have God accept it. He had silver, gold and raiment. And I like to make this application in a room like this tonight. This is serious. Silver speaks of redemption. He had 10 talents of silver, perhaps hundreds of pounds of silver. Might have been 500 lbs of silver.
1000 lbs of silver perhaps, I don't know, tremendous load of silver. And it speaks about redemption in the Bible and this. I look out at this room and I see a lot of people in this room tonight that I know have got the knowledge of redemption. You can tell me how to be saved better than I can say it. You know all the doctrines of salvation, redemption. Naaman had all this silver and he's still a leper. I want to ask you tonight, you have all the knowledge of salvation and you don't know the Savior.
You got 10 talents of silver.
But you don't know the man of God. It could be, it could be how many people are in churches tonight.
Hearing this very same message, thousands, millions of people here and tonight, perhaps the way of salvation, but they don't know Christ. Are you just in the church and not in Christ? You got to be in Christ to be saved because the Scripture says if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Being in church don't make you a new creature. I was in church. I mean, I went to a lot of churches before I was saved and I wasn't in Christ.
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I have a little knowledge but in a room like this I believe this is a fundamental Bible believing group as they say.
Many of you have got 10 talents of silver.
But I'm afraid that some of you may still be lepers.
And he also had that 6000 pieces of gold. Gold in the Bible speaks about the person.
The divinity, the glory of Christ. I mean, Jesus is solid gold.
And in a room like this, in the past meetings, the last two days, there's been a lot brought out about the person of the Lord Jesus.
Tremendous subject in itself, and I'm afraid that there may be some here tonight. Know a lot about the person of Christ who he is. All about His eternal sonship, the work of redemption, His perfect holiness as a man, where he is now in heaven and what he's going to do in the future at the rapture and at the reign of Christ, when he comes back to this earth. You may know all these things. You may have 6000 pieces of gold and still be a leper.
Still be.
It's one thing you know to know about Christ. It's another thing to know Christ. Oh, be sure. Be sure you know the Lord.
Knowledge can pop up. You know, I knew some things about the Bible before I knew Christ.
If I name it.
Add some silver, add some gold. But I was still a left naman. Had 10 changes of raiment.
Now Raymond in the Bible, I generally believe, means the outward appearance, the outward profession.
And boy, we're in a room full of people that are very good at putting on Christianity. Putting on Christianity.
You know the right language.
Oh, I can tell you exactly what you want to hear.
But you can tell me exactly what I want to hear you associate with just the right people.
Are you saying just the right things you have at home on your bookshelf? Just the right ministry?
You've got these ten changes, Arraignment just like naman, but naman still a leper. Still a leper.
You can have all the clothing of Christianity, all the outward appearance of Christianity, the humble car and the humble house and the humble speech, and still be a leper. Oh, be careful. You know, these are serious things in a room like that. I'm glad God allows the Scriptures to penetrate us and expose us a little bit.
And I trust that the people here tonight that you do have the knowledge of redemption and the person of Christ. And there is the outward profession of Christianity. Man does look on the outward appearance. But I want to be sure, I want to ask you this question. Do you know the Lord? Are you in Christ or just in a fellowship?
You know the Lord Jesus.
Well, he brought the letter and verse six to the king of Israel. Now when this letter has come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent name and my servant to thee.
That thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter.
That he ran his clothes and said am I God to kill?
And to make a lie, that this man does send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy.
Wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me. I'd like to.
Suggests that the king of Israel might represent the law.
The law, the law of God, the 10 commandments, if you will. And I was one of those poor souls that was under the 10 commandments for many years. Well, what can that administration do? What are the 10 commandments in the Bible? The Bible tells me this, that the law is a taskmaster.
The administration of the law of God is a ministry of death.
It's a ministry of death, not of life. Well, this king was right. Am I God to kill and to make alive? No, he could kill.
He could kill. The king of Israel had the authority to take life and to kill, and that's what the law does. It did it to me. It's done it to many people. You put yourself under the law, you're going to kill yourself. Read Romans chapter 6 and Chapter 7 and see if it's not so. By the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in the sight of God. I do not frustrate the righteousness of God. If righteousness has come by the law, Christ is dead in vain.
If you can attain any favor with God through the law, the death of Christ, the cross of Christ with all vanity, but it's not so. The law can only kill, but it cannot make a lie. Did Naman come to the King of Israel to get killed? He came there to get healed. And that's what the gospel is tonight is to bring life. Jesus said I am come that you might have life and you might have it more abundantly, and he is eternal life. And this is eternal life, that they might know thee, the one true God, the only true God and Jesus Christ.
00:45:19
From now I sent Do you have life? Life eternal.
Oh, don't put yourself under law.
It'll kill you, but Jesus will give you life.
Verse 8 And it was so when Elijah, the man of God.
And heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes?
Let him now come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet.
In Israel, get those words in your soul if you're not saved.
Here's a word from the man of God, Elijah. I believe he represents the Lord Jesus.
Let him now come to me.
Would you come to the Lord now and be saved?
Come now to me. You see, it's a personal thing. It's not come to a conference, not come to a meeting, not come to your parents, not come to a preacher, not come to an elder. Jesus has come to me. All ye that labor and are heavy laden, I'll give you a rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn to me, for I'm meek and lowly, and you shall find rest unto your soul. But you must come. You know the Lord Jesus came once.
To this earth to die, God has raised him from the dead and put him in his right hand in heaven.
And now the invitation in the gospel is that we must come to him. How do I do that? Well, you don't come down and alter call.
You don't go to somebody else in this room, you don't go to me or anybody else in this room to get saved. You come to Christ and that's by faith. That's why the Word of God is so important for you to believe. If you don't receive the Scriptures, you cannot be saved. You cannot be saved. Come now, let him now come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. So Naman came with his horses and with his chariot and stood at the door of the House of Elijah. I believe everybody in this room tonight.
Is standing at the door.
But Jesus says this, I am the door by me. If any man enter in, he shall be saved.
Remember the day I entered in and was saved? I don't believe it's important that you know the day I happen to know it, and I suppose some of you do. But the important thing is, have you entered into the door?
And Christ is that door.
Another interesting scripture, I believe it's in Mark. It says the whole city came together and they stood at the door.
And maybe there's a room full of people here tonight there to come right up to the door. But that's not good enough. You must enter in. And now is the door narrow is the way that leads to life. You've got to come one at a time. You can't take the hand of your mom or dad.
Your boyfriend or girlfriend or your aunt or your uncle or your grandpa and come in. You got to come by yourself.
Come in the door, and that door is the Lord Jesus. But here Naaman came, and Justice stood at the door, and Elisha sent a messenger unto him. And that's all we are, we're just messengers. And what do the messengers say? Go and wash in Jordan 7 times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, he will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
Are not Habana and far, far rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel?
May I not washing them and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
Hey, God hates pride. Oh, but how God likes to get at that root. He got at it and me, and he's still getting at it.
Somebody read today from the book of Job. I abhor myself and repent and dust and ashes. Naman is not to that point yet. He that exalts himself shall be obeys, but he that humbles himself shall be exalted. Naman was asked to go and do something he never thought he'd have to do, go down into muddy Jordan and dip himself not once, but seven times. Now what's the secret of this man's deliverance, his salvation, his cleansing?
This man Naman has to do exactly what the widow did back in First Kings 17 that we already talked about. He has to do exactly the same thing the widow does or did. What is that? He must obey. He must obey the gospel. You know, they had two different messages brought to them. Naman was supposed to go down into the water. The widow was supposed to bring some water up.
00:50:04
And so God deals with everybody in this room a little differently. I mean, the way God worked in my life to save my soul is different from the way he worked in your life. But we've all got to obey.
We've all got to receive Christ, however it is that He works with you. I don't know.
But I know that he is. If you're here tonight, I believe God is speaking to you. And Jordan, lowest river on the face of the earth, as far as I know. I think there's one other place maybe on the planet that's lower. But anyway, Jordans, a place of loneliness, the muddy river that old.
***** spiritual, beautiful old hymn. Muddy Jordan. Muddy Jordan. I like that hymn. Wonderful old hand nobody likes to go over or go through. Muddy Jordan. Naman didn't like it.
You know, this speaks to me about repentance, and I think this is getting to the root of some of the failure.
And wishy washy nuts and Christianity Today, in all the plastic Christianity that we see today, the root goes back to this There's no repentance.
No repentance. Naaman's got to repent. He's got to humble himself.
And until you realize that yourself, people, until I've realized it.
I'm really not going to have anything to do with God. You know, I want to do it my way. I grew up with that.
I heard it when I was growing up. Anyway, I did it my way and I was walking through a cemetery the other day in Bozeman, Mt.
At a funeral and it's very depressing to go through a cemetery and I came to one tombstone.
Right at the end of a row and I was shocked to see this. Just the man's name.
Didn't live very long, but emblazoned in great big letters across that granite boulder and it was a big tombstone.
I did it my way. I wonder where he is now.
Where is that soul right now? I did it my way just like naman.
I want to get saved my way. God has one way.
And that's for you to repent and receive Christ.
The Bible is full of people that have repented and are in hell.
The Bible full of people that have repented and are in hell. Did you get that there was a man in the Old Testament, Balaam.
He showed a little repentance one time. He's in hell. There's a man in the New Testament.
Says he repented himself, went out and hanged himself. Who was that? He's in hell as Judas. There's another man that was exceeding sorry. It says that he cut off John the Baptist's head. Who's that and where is he now? He's in hell. You can be so sorry for what you've done in your life, what you've done against your reputation and your family, and you can still go to hell because repentance is not enough. If it's just towards yourself, you must have repentance toward God. Repentance toward God.
Against thee and thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight.
Without repentance there can be no salvation. Well, I'm glad though in verse 13 the servants came near.
That's something I could do, or the Spirit of God at least could do to you tonight. Come near and tell you this, my Father.
My son, my daughter, my friend, the prophet had bid thee do some great thing. Would you not have done it? I'd much rather than when you say it to be washed and be clean. Then he went down. Then he went down and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God. He obeyed and his flesh came again like under the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. I pray this there won't be one person go out of those doors tonight that's not been washed in the blood of Christ.
But you must have repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, I tell you a name. And had no regrets, did he? This great man had to come down and humble himself. But did he have any regrets that he obeyed the man of God? And you'll never have any regrets either, if you'll obey the gospel of Christ. And he returned in verse 15 to the man of God. He and all his company came and stood before him naman before he had come and been able to stand at the door.
We've been able to come and stand at the door and I suppose tonight you're all standing at the door of heaven.
You're not saved tonight. You're at the door of heaven. The only way to come in is through faith in Christ.
And the only way you'll ever be like Naman and stand before the man of God in peace, knowing that you're saved, you're cleansed.
You're a new creature in Christ, as if you obey and receive the Lord Jesus like Namah.
He came and he stood before Elisha, and I trust everybody here tonight. Someday we'll be able to stand in perfect assurance and peace, cleansed by the blood of Christ before the Lord Jesus, with all confidence, knowing that your sins are as far as the east is from the West. They've been removed from you. Oh, what peace, what joy that naman must have had. This was a happy day for Naaman, a happy day for Naaman. I hope it'd be a happy day.
00:55:14
For you.
Let's stand and sing #5.
Oh Happy Day that it's my choice on thee, my Savior and my God.
Well, may this glowing heart rejoice and tell its raptures all abroad #5.
My Savior and my heart.
Well, make it holy heart, freeze us and jealous.
Your heart will be a living.
Sends away.
Gospel
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 will get your fast.
Hard. You're sending us a.
Word What's gone?
Come over.
Hot Turk Oh, he's very tall. It's calm.
Calm.
Father's half and full house.
Whip heads up and I can't talk.
I prefer people of all.
Welcome.
To the fingernail finger pill apart.
Your health curviness, your plan.
Calm.
Have a couple of announcements to make.
One is that our brother, George Hoskins of Jordan, Iowa, has lost a Bible.
And two hymn books, so if anybody.
Find a Bible with his name on it.
Would like to ask that you turn with me please to the third chapter of the book of Romans.
Romans chapter 3.
Verse 23.
All have sinned.
And come short.
Of the glory of God.
All have sinned.
And come short.
Come short.
00:05:02
Come short.
Come short.
Of the glory of God.
During these meetings, I have been looking.
Toward the speaker.
For three days.
And I have noticed this curtain which is a backdrop to the podium.
Where I stand tonight.
And I was wondering how high it was.
I was wondering how high that curtain is.
And.
I'm going to ask our brother, Mr. Ewell Tan, are you 6 feet tall? How tall are you?
5-10 OK two inches short of 6.
Well, I noticed that he came short of the top of this curtain, that 5 foot 10.
Well, you can imagine where that puts me.
I have measured up to 5-6.
In my tallest moments.
And the last time I went to the doctor and got measured, I.
I think he called out. Five, five.
So I seemed to be going down.
And instead of getting taller, I seem to be getting shorter.
So there is no hope that I will ever attain such a height as this.
If Mr. Tan can't get there, I surely couldn't.
I have come short of this height and.
I really think that there is no one in this group.
That would be that tall as to be as tall as the top of the curtain.
And so in this respect.
We have all come short.
We're in this together.
And there is no way that anyone of us can attain to this height.
We have come short.
Several years ago.
I attended meetings in this place.
I can't remember just exactly how long ago it was.
But a very, very bad storm came up.
And we were advised by the management of this very fine university.
That we should go down into the tunnel.
Now I did not know that there was a tunnel connected to this building.
But I learned it very quickly.
There is a tunnel.
Beneath the surface of the ground.
Connected to this building and we were asked to go into the tunnel because we all.
We're afraid of the storm clouds.
We were impressed with the sirens that were blowing.
And we heeded the warning to go down into the tunnel for our safety.
And I remember that it was a quiet group.
It seemed like we had very little to say to one another.
As we were in that tunnel, there was light there.
But it was a quiet group.
We were all scared.
But we were in that together.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
And dear friends, we are in this together.
There is not one person in this room that has not sinned.
Against God.
Now the greatest sin of all is the sin.
Of not believing God the greatest sin that a man or a woman or a child can commit.
Is the sin of unbelief.
00:10:00
So.
I say that we are in this together.
We are all guilty in our lives of unbelief.
Unbelief of the word of God.
And that's sin.
Well, there are other sins too. There is the sin of lying.
Which we?
It seems did not have to learn.
I'll never forget when our brother Noble Gamble, who used to live in Des Moines, was talking to the children and he asked a very interesting question of the children in the Sunday School, he said.
Do you have a class in your school?
That teaches you how to be naughty.
And he waited for the answers to that question. Do you have a class in your school that teaches you how to be naughty?
And I was getting interested. I wonder what the kids would say.
And finally, one little child put up.
Its hand and said.
No, we don't have any classes like that because we don't need them.
We don't need any classes to teach us how to be naughty.
And I did not need any education to teach me to lie.
I did not need to go to school to teach me to steal.
I am a thief.
I haven't told all the things that I've done in my life, even to my own wife.
Maybe I'll have to tonight.
I'm a thief.
I am a liar.
I am an unbeliever.
By my history.
My report card is not very good.
There are the sins of filthy thoughts.
And there are a host of other sins. There's that sin of wanting what somebody else has.
That you don't have.
That's called covetousness.
I'm one of those two.
And I say, beloved friend.
We're in this together.
I don't know how to compare myself with you.
But I do know this that.
We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, just as I am short of the top of this curtain, and you are too, so you are short.
Of pleasing God in your life.
Now this is serious, especially when we realize that we have been created by God to glorify him.
And so it becomes very serious when we realize.
That we have sinned against the very one who made us.
It's a very serious thing to be a Sinner before God.
And God's word, the Bible tells us the results of sin. It says the wages of sin is death.
It says that be sure your sin will find you out.
It's an awful thing to be a Sinner.
And as you read the pages of the precious word of the living God, you'll find out what happens to sinners.
You'll find out what happened to the first one.
And his wife.
They were excluded from the Garden of Eden and.
Because of their disobedience in taking what did not belong to them.
They had to die.
The word of God says the soul that sinneth it shall die. It is a pronouncement of God.
And that's why it's serious to be a Sinner. Death is waiting for you. Rightly so.
00:15:02
It's what you and I deserve as sinners.
And we're in this together.
And I want to tell you this, my friend.
There will not be any sinners.
In heaven.
There will not be 1 Sinner in heaven.
Because sin cannot enter that court.
Of light and holiness Nothing that defiles shall enter there.
And there will be no sinners there.
There will be people there.
But they won't be there with their sins.
There will be people there who have had their sins taken away.
By the mighty sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ and the cleansing power of His precious blood. But there'll be no sin in heaven.
And so for you, or for me who have come short to get to heaven.
Something has got to happen.
In our lives.
About the sin question.
Have your sins been forgiven?
The Lord Jesus Christ said, If you believe not that I am He, you shall die in your sins. You see, there are two ways to die, to die in Christ, or to die in your sins.
And those who die in their sins can never go to be with Jesus.
He said, If you believe not that I am, he shall die in your sins, and where I go, you can.
Not come.
And so if you want to be with Jesus in heaven.
You'll have to have your sins taken away before you can go there.
Well, I've got good news for you.
I've got real good news for you and that is God has provided a way whereby sinners like.
You and I may have our sins forgiven and be taken to heaven when we leave this world, and not only that, have a right to go there because of the value of the mighty sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross.
That's good news, isn't it?
And the more we realize how short we've come.
And the more we realize what sin really means.
The better the news is going to sound.
The supper call sounds best to those that are hungry.
And the gospel call sounds best to those who are lost. You see, if you're not saved, you're lost. There's no middle ground.
Are you saved?
If you're not saved, you're lost.
But I got good news for you and that's why I came tonight.
I tried the best I could to get out of having this meeting. I was hoping that this one and that one and all my suggestions got turned out.
And so here am I, and I'm going to do the best I can to present to you.
The good news of how you and I who have come short.
Can be saved and not only be saved.
But.
How we who have come short of the glory of God can actually.
Giving glory, Can you imagine that that we who have come so far short?
Of the glory of God.
Because of the gospel message. Why? It's just like turning the whole thing over.
And even better, we can glorify God.
I got good news. Let's turn to Philippians Chapter 2.
It's been referred to during these meetings, to my great joy and we're going to look at some wonderful.
Verses in the Word of God tonight.
In chapter 2 of Philippians.
2.
Verse 5.
Says the end of the verse.
00:20:02
Says Christ Jesus.
Oh.
The good news begins with Jesus.
It begins with Christ Jesus.
Why does it says Christ?
In the word of God in the Old Testament, a wonderful person was.
Spoken of who would someday come into this world?
And he was called the Anointed, which means Christ.
A man that would do wonderful things.
It was prophesied that he would be born of a virgin.
That was prophesied that he would.
Be called Wonderful Counselor the Mighty God.
The Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace.
And it was prophesied of that wonderful anointed Christ that he would suffer.
And bear the sins of other people.
Though he had none of his own.
Christ Jesus. Oh, I'm glad to tell you tonight, dear friends, that the Messiah has come.
The Anointed One has come, and his name is Jesus.
As we read the New Testament, we find out there were many Jewish people who were looking for the Messiah or the Christ.
And many of them did not believe that Jesus was the Christ.
But we read the story of some who finally caught on that Jesus.
Was the Christ and it changed their whole lives. Why we've got Jewish people today that are looking for Christ.
But they don't believe that Jesus is the Christ. But all that's the good news.
That the Messiah has come, he anointed. One of God has come, the Christ has come.
And his name is Jesus, born of a virgin.
Lived in Nazareth, born in Bethlehem. Lived as a man on earth, and demonstrated by everything that you can imagine, that he was the Son of God. With power he healed the sick. He gave sight to the blind. He raised the dead. He walked upon the water.
Jesus Christ.
In verse six it says who being in the form of God.
Thought it not be robbery to be equal with God.
Beloved friends, let me tell you about Jesus Christ.
He is the eternal Son of God.
He is a member of the Divine Trinity composed of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and He's the Son. He's the Eternal Son.
Is God uncreated? In fact, he is the creator of the whole world.
By him were all things made.
He's the creator.
Who being in the form of God.
Oh, what a wonderful being he was.
A member of the Divine Trinity, the Godhead.
And he thought it not robbery to be equal with God. You know, when you rob something, it means you take something that does not belong to you.
Oh, when it came to taking the place of God.
That was not so with the Lord Jesus. He did not take something that did not belong to him.
No, he took the place of God, and it was his.
By right.
Now Satan tried to get that position by robbery.
And it didn't belong to him. But when the Lord Jesus Christ took that position on earth as.
God.
It was his by right. In fact, he always was God the Son. Always.
He's the eternal son of God.
It says, but in verse seven he made himself of no reputation.
And took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.
The incarnation is a wonderful truth of God.
And when that little baby was born in Bethlehem, in the city of David.
That was God in human form.
He took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man.
00:25:03
And all, dear friends, of all the precious things I read in the Bible, I know of nothing greater than this.
That God has become a man in the person of Christ.
He was made in the likeness of man without sin he did not have.
A sinful nature. He was that holy thing.
Sent apart.
Absolutely sinless. He did not sin. He had no sin. He could not sin. This is God.
Become man.
Oh, this is wonderful.
And verse 8 says in being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself.
And became obedient unto death.
Now.
That does not mean that Death had any claim upon him, but the thought is he became obedient.
Even to the point of dying.
Even to the point of dying, Death had no claim upon him, as it has upon you.
Someone has said we enter this world with a cry and we leave it with a groan.
Stroke Death has a claim upon you. You are mortal.
Death has a claim upon you because of sin, but it had no claim upon Jesus.
Because he was sent apart.
But it says, he became obedient unto death, That is, he obeyed his father's will.
By going into death.
That he might pay the price.
To save your soul and mind from sin.
Even the death of the cross. And dear friends, I want to tell you the good news.
Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.
That at Calvary's Christ, this Christ, this Jesus, this Lord Jesus Christ.
Died on that cross as a sacrifice to God.
For you and for me. Christ died for us.
Ah, he did not die for his own sins, for he had none, but he died as a sacrifice for sin, that you and I might be saved.
Even the death of the cross and during those three hours of darkness on Calvary's cross.
The sins of every believer of all ages were heaped upon him 1 by 1.
And the stroke of God's judgment came down in the dark and every sin.
Laid upon his holy person was fully taken into account, and Christ suffered for those sins.
O the mighty transaction of Calvary's cross.
Christ died for our sins. He took the penalty of God against the mall.
And there's not a person in this room but what I can say to you.
With all joy, Christ died for you.
He died for you.
He sure did. I must have loved you, and God must have loved you and me too, to provide such a sacrifice.
Now in view of this mighty work at Calvary's cross, when he was obedient unto death.
It says in verse 9 Wherefore God has highly exalted him. He deserves it.
And given him a name which is above every name. Now this is the second time Jesus got a name. You seldom find that anywhere in the scriptures about somebody getting a name twice.
But here is this wonderful person getting a name the second time, giving him a name. And what is it that at the name of Jesus? Ah, it's like God searched the whole universe for a name that would be suitable for this man.
Who had accomplished this mighty sacrifice? And he could come up with no greater the name than the very same name he got in the first place.
Ah, why is that? Because there is no greater name. The name Jesus means Jehovah God, our Savior. There's no greater name, and so he gets it the second time. Why? Because there isn't any greater name. The name of Jesus giving him a name which is above every name. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. It says should bow.
00:30:25
That means he deserves that you and I bow our knees to him. He deserves it should bow.
Of things in heaven, of things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Every tongue should confess. I want to tell you, dear friends, that Jesus is worthy.
That your tongue shall confess him as Lord. Now I know.
That in other places in the Bible it says that every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess. I know that.
But I would like to present to you the worthiness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I want to tell you that he deserves that your knee should bow. He deserves that your tongue should confess. And it's a question in this portion of the word of God, of his worthiness, that you and I should bow and we should confess. He deserves it.
He merits that title, and he merits that allegiance.
Now it says to the glory of God the Father.
Now, didn't you remember when we were starting to talk together tonight that I said we had come short of the glory of God? Remember that?
And we have, haven't we?
None of us will deny it, but all if we bow our knees to Jesus Christ the Lord.
And if we confess him as Lord?
It's to the glory of God the Father and you and I who had come short of his glory now.
By submitting to Jesus as Lord.
We can actually glorify God.
Against whom we'd stand.
Ah, this is the salvation of the soul.
I was so happy last night when Tom Clement told me and told you that it was this verse in the Bible that brought salvation to him, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus.
And shall believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead. Thou shalt be saved. And Tom told us it was that verse that brought salvation to his soul.
Thank you Tom, for telling us about it. And now I would like to tell you, my friends, that it was that verse, that same verse that brought the assurance of God to my soul that I'm saved.
And I want to present that verse to you.
For the joy of your heart.
That if you'll confess tonight, Jesus as Lord.
And believe in your heart.
That God raised him from the dead. You'll be saved from your sins once and for all, and not only that, but it'll be the means where God by God can be glorified in your life and in your heart.
I'm so thankful that this man who stands before you, who has come so far short of the glory of God.
I'm so glad that by my confession to you tonight that Jesus Christ is Lord.
I am glorifying God.
Oh, do you wonder why I love to confess his name?
How by the grace of God confess his name until I have no breath left.
He deserves it for the glory of God and I say to each one here tonight.
Do you want the assurance of the salvation of God confess Jesus as Lord?
And bow your knees to him, and you'll have the salvation.
That means so much to Tom, and means so much to me, and means so much to other believers in this room, and means so much to God himself because it's the means by which God can be glorified in man.
00:35:14
Let's sing together #15.
Oh blessed gospel sound. Yet there is Rome.
O Blessed.
Is the world.
No one else will make all your Lord my name is God.
Oh, they are ready. Come.
Yeah, let's go.
Rise down. Great thing have done.
Yeah, that is wrong.
Our work is now completely for the 1St state.
Would you please would you please listen closely?
While I read that last stanza, God's house is filling fast.
Yet there is Rome.
Some guests will be the last.
Yet there's room.
Yes, soon Salvation's day from you will pass away.
Then grace will more will say.
Yet there's room. I hope nobody here tonight will say, you know.
When you end up in a lost eternity in the flames of hell.
You'll say, I wish I had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior.
At the Des Moines Conference in 1992. If I had done that, I would not be here tonight.
Some guests shall be the last.
I urge you with all that is within me, that you will bow your knees.
To the Lord Jesus Christ and confess him as Lord.
Tonight for if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart.
That God hath raised him from the dead, Thou shalt be saved.
Well, that's the greatest news anybody could ever tell to anyone else. Let's pray our Father. We thank thee for the God.
Open Mtg.
Open—D. Jaeger, H. Brinkmann, D. Brinkmeyer
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.
Where will God be in the heart?
Of all.
Flavours of God, where it shall bring.
We fall.
Brethren, there's something very much on my heart, and I'll trust you'll forgive me for hopping up so quickly, but really, I feel quite full on this subject. Turn with me, please, To 2nd Corinthians. I'm sorry, Second Timothy. Chapter one to read. One verse that will.
Express that which is before me.
Second Timothy chapter one verse 9.
Now I know I'm using this first slightly out of context, but nevertheless I'm feel free to use it. God who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. And so there would be a title to what's on my heart. It's Our Calling, Our Calling as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, and I think of ourselves too as a unique company here.
Of course we know, as our brother Bob indicated a few minutes ago, there are many, many believers in this world, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, lovely Christians. And we though, as a unique company of Christians, have, I think, a special calling. And that's what's on my heart. And notice that it says here it's a holy calling, It's according to God's own purpose and grace. We have the word on grace.
My view of grace is that it's God's power of blessing for us that we can call upon by faith.
That is grace. We are to grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, we grow in our faith to call upon that power by grace. Are you saved through faith? And so grace is inseparably connected with grace. When it's not faith and God works in our behalf, that becomes mercy, because God can have mercy on whom He will have mercy. But grace is always connected with faith.
So these things just finished. Verse nine was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. So we have a calling, and that's what's before me now, if you will turn with me.
To Ephesians chapter 4.
And I'm going to read the 1St 6 verses.
I therefore the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation.
And I'll note that Mister Darby translates vocation calling.
Walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye are called.
With all loneliness and meekness, with long-suffering forbearing one another in love.
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, there is one body and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling, 1 Lord, one faith, one Baptism, one God, and Father of all who is above all and through all, and in you all.
00:05:08
Now, having read those verses without comment, I'm going to cover them one by one in reverse order. It's been noted that verses 4-5 and six can give us a representation of all humankind, all mankind in this world. And so that's what's covered by verse six, one God and Father of all who is above all and through all. And in you all the in you all, of course, is the Apostle Paul writing to the Ephesians.
But there is one God and Father of all all mankind. And so if you think of these three verses as concentric circles.
With the same center verse, verse 6 covers the largest, most inclusive circle of all. All mankind will in God and Father of all. And we have that referred to even by the Apostle Paul when he addressed gave the address on Mars Hill where he spoke that all men are of one blood, which shows in the sense that there is a unity to mankind and we know that every man, woman and child was made in God's image and likeness and put upon the earth.
I heard one evangelist speak one time and it was most interesting because he said.
And he was referring, of course, to the theory of evolution, he said. But the one thing that no one can disagree with that separates man from all other creatures is that man is God conscious.
He's conscious of an almighty God. Even the atheist proclaims as atheism, protesting that very point that we are immortal creatures and we are God conscious. So verse six is the largest circle now smaller within that circle is verse 5 and I believe this covers Christianity 1, Lord, one faith, one baptism.
Because as we're baptized, we're baptized unto Christ, so there is no distinctions there. It's one Lord, one faith, the truth of the gospel, and one baptism. Then we might say, Well, isn't that sufficient? Well, verse 4.
Is smaller still, and I hope this is not misunderstood, but I believe it refers to what I would consider Our Calling we as Saints who are gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Because there it stresses those things that each one of us here knows are very precious, That is, there is one body, one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling. And so we seek to manifest in a real way in this scene the reality of the one body. And of course that includes the headship of our Lord Jesus Christ, our head. And we have no other name that we take.
We are, we trust, in the place where the Lord is pleased to put His name. We have that principle well established in the Old Testament where God chose to put His name. And so now we are gathered unto the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so I believe that we can see ourselves as a company of Christians in verse four, and you might say, the smallest of those 3 concentric circles.
But now we have to be careful of Brother Bob touched on this and I was very happy he did.
That there are many Christians, many more than we are. We know many, many more.
And true Christians, no matter what their association but true ones, show the wonderful characteristics of being Christians. It's lovely to be in the company of other Christians, no matter what their fellowship may be. When they're real Christians, the fragrance of Christ shows forth, and they are precious, and we should value every opportunity to speak to those who are Christians.
The way I look at it is that in this world there are really, well, we've heard this, three groups of people. In the eyes of God, there are the Jews.
There are the Gentiles and there are the believers in Christ, the Christians which come from both Jews and Gentiles, and all other distinctions really are unimportant because God has his promises which are yeah, Amen. Which will be realized for the Jews in due time.
The Gentiles are those who are outside. They don't even have the promises of Israel. And then of course, there are the believers in Christ who, when that child is given, are going to be caught up, every one of them, whether they're in this room or wherever, as long as Christ is their Lord and Savior.
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Now I thought when we were when my brother mentioned about other believers, and we have to be very careful and pride doesn't come in because of our knowledge of the word or our position. The Lord knoweth them that are His, but let everyone that name it the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. I think that's a word we have to remember. That's in Second Timothy 2.
The foundation of God standeth, sure, but the point is we do not have to be the judge of other believers.
We don't even have to be judges of one another in this room, except as it relates to our own walk before the Lord. And so that's why that verse, I think it's a very powerful verse, because if you name the name of the Lord that is, you say he's my Lord, then you have a single responsibility and that is to depart from iniquity you personally. You don't have to make judgments about others. In fact, that is one of the things that can cause us infinite trouble.
Is if we get judging spirits now we have to judge, of course, to determine our walk and so on. But I trust we all have a knowledge of what it means to be judgmental. We should be very judgmental concerning ourselves in the light of God's word, very tolerant with our fellow Christians, and only make that distinction when we have to, when we can no longer walk together in fellowship because of some matter that we know from the scriptures.
And let's face it, these other believers are immensely fruitful for the Lord. If it were up to us, how much would there be in the way of widespread evangelism?
There are we have some of our brethren who are in various parts of the world, and we're thankful for it. We're thankful for the the the fact that they've been called of the Lord, and they're being fruitful. But when we look at the totality of those who, under the name of Christ, are abroad in this world, and sometimes we know very feebly and sometimes even an error, but nevertheless under the name of Christ are seeking to spread the gospel, we are dwarfed.
Several years ago, a brother who was visiting us and staying with us for a day or two.
When we were driving around to visit some of the shut INS, he shared with me the thought he said, Brother, he said. I think that we as gathered Saints, that our role, the the thing the Lord would have of us, is to maintain the truth of the one body being gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And the Lord has worked for other Christians to do, which is not in the sense our concern. Our concern is to go on and do that which the Lord would have us to do. So that's part of my thought in this matter of the one calling. But just to show you this is something I don't think many know, but I learned that there was a radio station in the South part of France that is very powerful and its sole purpose is to preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in Arabic.
And it's directed towards the Middle East and as I understand it of course talking to some of our brethren in Egypt and so on that it is very widely listened to. So we know that the.
The Muslims are very militant and anti Christ, but God's word still gets through and we have nothing to do with that radio station. But we surely can be thankful that there are those that are proclaiming a gospel in Arabic, so that's just a little illustration of those.
Who are within the circle of verse 5?
Now when we come to ourselves, and I've already indicated those things, I think that we have, is Our Calling to maintain the truth in a practical way of the one body and the one spirit being LED of the spirit illusion has been made to some of the problems amongst us, and I think it's because we've lost sight of what we're called to. So now I want to work a little farther back in this chapter to verse 2, which we just read.
But didn't comment on notice it says the Paul beseeches and he's writing to the Ephesians that you walk worthy of the calling wherewith you are called. Now the first question I would raise is how do you walk worthy of that calling? And I might observe this about the calling too and reflecting on this. I don't think this calling speaks upon Our Calling as Christians for eternity. I think it's Our Calling here in this scene.
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Like the apostle, Paul was called as an apostle. That's the salutation he made in everyone of his epistles. Paul, an apostle called because that was his calling of God. Well, we as believers and privileged believers, because we have had before us, and we all are here together because we see the truth of the one body and the headship of Christ walking apart from all other systems of men that we have now a particular.
Responsibility.
To maintain this truth. But how do we do it? Verse 2.
With all lowliness and meekness and long-suffering forbearing one another in love. Oh brethren, when we consider that what a challenge that is absolutely contrary to the old nature, isn't it?
That isn't the way we usually would naturally operate, you might say, when we're faced with a matter of doctrine, you know, we we hold this doctrine and we feel strongly believe what God says. But to hold it with all loneliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love.
I submit that part of our current stress amongst the gathered Saints is because we are not practically.
Practically observing that verse two turn with me, if you will, to apportion that we read this morning in Philippians Chapter 2.
We started with verse 5 and it was most appropriate. And I'm sure everyone in the room. We so often refer to this portion that the breaking of bread, because it tells us of our precious Savior, the Lord of glory, the Creator, the one to whom every knee is going to bow, taking those seven downward steps and humbling himself and becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. But why is that portion here in the second chapter?
Of Philippians.
This here is an illustration of how we should be in this world.
Because verse 5 which and we often skip the first part of verse five, it says let this mind be in you, which was in Christ Jesus. So we take that portion out of context. And I don't say that's wrong at all because it's a lovely portion and it just elevates our hearts and our affection and our worship for the Lord Jesus. But really the apostle was writing it to the Philippians because.
Because they had problems in that assembly.
Was the problem. The real problem was a lack of one mind, or to put it another way, contention. And who was the contention between two sisters? Two sisters in that assembly who couldn't get along put a paw on the whole meeting. And the apostle Paul wrote this epistle and the and if you look at it sometime from this viewpoint, it's interesting to read this epistle. Just think about 1 mindedness, because I think that's one of the themes of this epistle.
But it's right here in the beginning of chapter two. He says, Fulfill ye my joy, verse 2.
That ye may be like minded, having the same love, being of 1 accord of one mind.
And brethren, I say this is what should characterize all of us if we're not of one mind of 1 accord.
Certain. One thing is certain. And you know what that thing is? We're missing the mind of the Lord.
Because if we had the mind of the Lord, all of us, we'd have one mind, wouldn't we? We'd have one accord. So it should be a very humbling thing when there is a difference between brethren that should drive us to our knees and not to be self-righteous. Say I know I'm right and he's wrong. That's not it at all. Say Lord, where have we failed? Why don't we have your mind? That's what we want. So we should be of one mind 1 accord the same love. Now verse 3.
And I'll just as I read this, you think about what's going on. Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
The way I re paraphrase verse four is don't look at things just from within yourself.
If your brother or sister has a different viewpoint or doesn't agree with you, try and see what it is they're seeing. Look not on your own things, but look on the things of others. But more than that, in verse three, let nothing, nothing be done through strife or Vainglory.
00:20:04
Now why is that here? It's here. It leads us right into verse 5 because it gives us the most wonderful example, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, the Son of God. And yet it says, let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. And what was the mind of the Lord Jesus?
He didn't argue with Pilate. Pilate was wrong. He didn't answer When he was reviled, he answered, not again. We're going to look at another portion.
But what did he do? He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Do we have that mind in US? Are we willing to humble ourselves?
I think that's the most challenging question. So here we have.
The perfect example, the Lord Jesus. Now is there strife amongst us.
There's no place for it. There's no stripe with the Lord Jesus. He was yielded. He humbled himself. Let's turn to the first Peter.
And it's nice that it's in Peter too, this portion, because it shows that two apostles are an absolute accord. Of course they had the mind of God, but sometimes we think of the Pauline epistles and so on chapter two of second of First Peter.
And this is very challenging too. Verse 21.
For even hereunto were ye called. Now I'll just stop there and say the thought I had this afternoon was Our Calling as well. Read intelligent Saints who want to walk in the full truth of Scripture. Christ is our head practically walking on the ground of the one body. All right here onto we are called.
Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example.
That ye should follow in his steps. So what we're reading here is not abstract theory. It's not something that's ideal. But we're being told that we should follow in his steps, following his steps, and it tells us exactly what those steps entail. Who did no sin, Neither was guile found in his mouth.
Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed to him that Judgeth righteously, and noticed himself as an italics. I really don't think it belongs here. In other words, the Lord Jesus committed that situation when he was reviled, when he was threatened, when he was, when he suffered.
He committed to him, that is, to the Father, his father to him, that judgeth righteously. Now I'm going to stop there.
Are we having contention amongst us?
We are told not to proceed with strife and Vainglory, not to argue for that which we may believe is really the true situation that may be that's not the issue. We're not to use strife and Vainglory.
Where we don't have to depend upon our own knowledge to set someone else straight.
What we can do is exactly as the Lord Jesus did here. He committed to him a judgeth righteously.
Now I'll quote a hymn in the beginning of the appendix he won.
The Mead and crown by being trodden down. That's the Lord of Glory.
Now I speak to my own heart. I'm not scolding anyone here, believe me, because my nature is one that's very quick to flare up.
But when we encounter difficulty with our brethren, are we willing to be trodden down?
And committed to God.
I mean, I think that is the answer. There should be no room for strife or contention among us.
We should be willing to take the low place as we have in Philippians. I think God's word is so clear to us now. If you accept my model of the three circles, then we place ourselves in that smallest circle, which is a privileged place because we're seeking to maintain the truth as we find it in God's word.
Do we have problems? We have the all nature in US. What is the solution here? It is God is telling us in the most plain language. Is it easy? No, it isn't easy. It's absolutely contrary to our own nature. Our brother referred to the day in which we live. I couldn't help but think of a verse. We're surrounded by that which is around us the in our daily lives, the media and so on. Do your thing. Think of #1. And so on.
00:25:20
Evil communications corrupt. Good manners that rubs off on us. Oh brethren, we have the resource. I think this was mentioned yesterday in a reading meeting, but there's repeating, and that is God gives us nothing in His word as to walk in our ways that is not practically attainable. In other words, he doesn't put the impossible before us. It may be difficult, but it's not impossible.
So if he expects us to be yielded, to be reviled and not reviled again.
To esteem each better than ourselves to take the low place.
It means we can't do it now if we go back to our portion in Ephesians.
I think we have a little picture of that.
We have a few verses that we didn't read.
But Ephesians chapter 3.
Go up to verse 16. I say up because it's up in my Bible, but 3/16?
That God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man.
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with All Saints what is a breadth and length, and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now here's a wonderful promise now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask, or think according to the power that worketh in US.
After reading those lovely verses, I ask you, is this an impossible thing to do?
You know, there's a saying in the world that takes two to tango. That is, if you start to fight with one of your brethren, your brother is going to fight back, the brother observed after the last meeting. For every action. This is the law of physics, is an opposite and equal reaction. So if you push, then somebody's going to push at you.
But if you're yielded, there's nothing to push against, is there? There's a proverb that says a soft answer turneth away wrath.
Let me suggest that these problems that we have of contention amongst the Saints, and I think that's a fair word, start with me. They start with you. Because if there's no resistance, there's no contention. But if you're committed to the Lord, the way our precious Savior did, if we walk in His steps, where's the fight?
Now you might say, but I know that this is ripe and what he's bringing out is wrong.
Where is your faith? God's arm is not shortened.
He can reach out to that brother. He may be using you as the instrument to do it, but you're not called to set things right.
You committed to the Lord just the way the Lord Jesus did when he was reviled. He reviled Not again. Oh, I think the challenge to us is so plain, so plain, brethren. And I think that if we had a sense of what Our Calling is, our true calling is to be Christ, like in this scene. And Christ was a humble, lowly man, wasn't he? It's not what we're taught in the schools. It's not what we're taught in the life about us. It's difficult.
But I believe it is attainable. And the final word is it's a matter of faith. It's a matter of faith. Do you believe God when he says it, that he will take care of it? That we committed to him, that we don't have to do it?
Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God for our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now we know we're justified on the principle of faith, but I think it's more than that, because the moment we believed it was on the principle of faith. But if we want peace with God every day, we've got to live by faith. We've got to live by faith. We've got to trust God's promises. We all deplore the sad state of things and we feel the weight of it. And we can. I can even, I've said this myself. And perhaps God is doing a sifting work. Perhaps he's cleaning his house before the Lord Jesus comes.
00:30:03
That doesn't remove our responsibility one bit. For years I've heard, you know, we should all humble ourselves and we should all take that low place, but I think we're seeing the fruit of the lack of that right now. So I'd like to conclude by just saying that we, each one, are responsible.
To fulfill Our Calling and Our Calling is just to read the verses two and three of chapter 4.
Go on with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace.
Yesterday.
About a rule spoke on the subject of Communion.
Today about a Jager spoke of practical.
Applications of the truth of the body of Christ.
And what a wonderful truth it is that we are.
Members in the body of Christ.
I thought that perhaps some thoughts on the House of God.
Might be appropriate.
This time we know that the Church.
Is seen as the body of Christ.
As the bride of Christ.
The House of God.
And the Lamb stand.
And also as a city.
We find that especially in Revelation the city.
At the scene as the bride of Christ, the city is seen as the bride of Christ in the eternal state. The emphasis is on that city being the bride of Christ and when it comes to the millennial reign of Christ on the earth at a scene as a city.
But it's so important, Beloved, that we see the truth in the Word of God, of the Church being the House of God.
I'm afraid, beloved, that we many times in our thoughts about the Church.
Are too self-centered. We're thinking of ourselves, of our own blessing and forget.
That the church is the House of God where he dwells.
And that this is God's desire.
From way back before the world was.
That he would have a place where he would live, where he would dwell amongst a redeemed people. Let's turn to Exodus.
Chapter 15.
About it done yesterday pointed out that even in the Garden of Eden.
The desire of God is clearly seen that he wants to have communion.
That he wants to have fellowship with his creatures.
But we do not have.
The thought in Scripture of him dwelling amongst men until we have redemption, and this we see in Exodus Chapter 15.
Verse 13.
Thou in thy mercy hast LED forth the people which thou hast redeemed.
Thou hast guided them in thy strength and to thy holy habitation. Notice holy habitation.
Verse 17 Thou shalt bring them in and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in in the sanctuary, O Lord.
Which thy hands have established.
This is the first time in the Word of God that we read about.
God dwelling in the midst of his people.
00:35:03
Because we have seen in this book previously that God delivered in the most wonderful way His earthly people. They had their birthday as a nation in connection with their deliverance from Egypt.
They were delivered.
From the guilt.
From the penalty of sin by being sheltered behind their blood.
But they were also delivered from the power of the enemy in the Red Sea, both a picture of the death of Christ, and it is now.
After this is beautifully portrayed in this book that we have that wonderful truth.
That God dwells in the midst of his people, and it is seen already.
As if it is an accomplished fact.
They hadn't reached that place yet.
But there was number doubt.
That that is where God would lead them. It's already seen as an accomplished fact. Now let's turn to the New Testament.
Where we have scriptures about the House of God.
Ephesians chapter 2.
Verse 19.
Now, therefore.
Yeah, no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the Saints and of the household of God. And I build upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom all the buildings fitly framed together, groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord.
In whom ye also are builded together.
On habitation of God through the Spirit, turn also please to first Peter 2.
Wils Ford.
To whom coming as unto a living stone this allowed indeed of men.
But chosen of God, and precious He also.
As lively stone or living stones are built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to OfferUp spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
If we have impulse writings and also in Peter's writings, the truth brought out that we as believers.
Are built into a spiritual house.
And that's the dwelling place of God.
And one of the tremendous privileges that we have as being in that house is.
That God receives something from us.
And that is that we offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
We should think of that more beloved.
That when we come together.
That we should have something to bring.
Bring to God, bring to the Lord Jesus, bring to the Father.
How ungrateful we are many times.
And it is manifested by how little we have to bring.
And to give to God who has done so much for us.
Have you ever thought of there is a desire in the heart of God that can only be satisfied by a redeemed people? God seeks such, the Father seeks such to worship him.
And he appreciates any measure of appreciation in the heart of any of his own, of what he has done and what he has given us in the person of the Lord Jesus. This is really what worship is all about, that we bring to God, that which we have seen.
Of the Lord Jesus, of the work that he has done. And there is nothing to bring, beloved, if we are not occupied with these things, if we do not, as it were, put into our baskets the first fruits.
00:40:11
So that we have something to bring to God.
We show our grateful appreciation in doing it. And what a privilege that we can satisfy as believers the desire that God has to receive from His people worship and adoration and see a response in our hearts to that which he has done for us in the person of the Lord Jesus. There are too many, far too many silent priests beloved.
Amongst.
Those gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus.
And you know we are all.
Praised when the truth of the body of Christ is brought before us.
It's a question primarily of edification and encouragement and comfort.
That we be exercised individually. How we can contribute to the encouragement.
And edification of our fellow Members.
That's the primary thought.
But when we come together.
To remember the Lord Jesus and when we worship in spirit and in truth to OfferUp spiritual sacrifices.
The fruit of our lips.
You know, we have to have something to bring.
And we are all priests. It's not a question of the exercise of gift. That's the fact when we consider the body of Christ.
If I have not received a gift.
To use for the edification of the Saints. I can't contribute towards the edification of the Saints.
But I don't need any gift. Neither do you, to avail yourself of the privilege of coming before God as a priest. And you know what? It doesn't matter how well phrased.
Your appreciation is.
What counts, really, is that.
That what you bring?
Comes really from your heart that you really appreciate it and you're in the good of it. God doesn't want well phrased, learned, repetitious statements.
What he wants is that that which we bring to him, May it ever be so little really comes from the heart.
And he's looking for that in everyone of us.
You know what an encouragement we find in the fact that an isolate could not only come as a worshipper if it was able to bring a Bullock.
If he was poor and only could bring a pigeon, that's.
All that he was expected to bring, and that pigeon spoke as much of Christ to God as a bullet.
And, beloved, we need to avail ourselves of our priestly privileges.
Otherwise we lose it.
Privileges neglected will be lost.
You know, when we come to a conference.
It doesn't need to be those same brethren that open up the scriptures to us that participate in the breaking of bread. As a matter of fact, I will believe it would be much better if they would take a backseat and let those who do not have as much of ability to expose or expound the scriptures. I should say let them.
Avail themselves of their priestly privilege and OfferUp spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
I don't mean to say by that, Beloved, that we should not be exercised, that what we bring is intelligent worship.
But don't be discouraged and because of fear that you might make a statement which is not quite correct that therefore you better don't participate.
What is a wonderful encouragement to me is that the Lord Jesus is the minister of the sanctuary. As our high priest, he is not only there to assist us in our wilderness journey, he is also the minister of the sanctuary and he is only the minister of the sanctuary with that heavenly worship.
00:45:19
Of his people today he can't be that in connection with his earthly people, because he can't be a priest on earth. But he is the minister of the sanctuary to assist us in our feeble efforts. And all that we bring to him and to God goes through him. And he, as it were, skims off that which is not intelligent, that which is not accurate, and only that goes to God which.
Is according to the mind and heart of God, so be encouraged.
You know the crops and the fetters.
With the birds had to be left, had to be taken off. That which speaks of undigested food, and of that which men would glory in. There has no place in the worship of God's people.
But let's not neglect A priestly privilege prayer, of course.
Is also connected with our priestly privileges.
But you know, we have also in connection with the House of God.
Saying that is his house, a holy habitation.
We have in the word of God, brought before us the responsibility that holiness becometh thine house for God forever.
Paul writes to Timothy.
That he should know how to behave himself in the House of God, which is the pillar.
And ground of the truth.
Holiness.
Becomes those who.
Avail themselves of the privilege of drawing nigh as worshippers.
To God.
And to worship in the Spirit, in spirit, and in truth.
I believe beloved, allow me to say this.
That I believe.
We many times bring in the truth of the body of Christ when we should bring in the truth of the House of God.
It is not the function of the body of Christ to exercise discipline.
We cannot put out anybody out of the body.
Discipline and order oversight in the church.
Is connected with the house aspect of the church.
And let me also say.
At oversight is a local responsibility.
A brother who has a gift.
As we have mentioned in Ephesians chapter 4.
These gifts are gifts to the church.
And they exercised their gift wherever the Lord leads them to exercise it.
And that might also be in connection with teaching and instruction and shepherding, since shepherds shepherding is one of the gifts mentioned there in Ephesians 4 for the whole body, the universal aspect of it, if you would refuse.
Any brother to exercise their gift, even as to difficult matters in any assembly, if it is strictly to bring the light of the word of God before the Saints, and we would refuse that we would deny the truth of the body of Christ.
But if these individuals?
Would.
Attempt to act.
In the character of local.
Assembly Administration.
Acting contrary to the word of God.
They would act presumptuously.
Because only an apostle, you know. We know that an apostle was an office as well as a gift.
Only an apostle could deal with matters in every church, and could even deal with the church itself, as Paul clearly indicates in First Corinthians, because of the fact that he had Apostolic authority. And anybody who would today try to involve himself in an administrative way in the matters of a local assembly, presumptuously takes the place of an apostle that would only be becoming.
00:50:16
For an apostle to take.
So I believe, Beloved, the House of God.
The order for discipline and maintaining order.
In the House of God is a local responsibility. We see how the Lord in grace can come in.
And use the gifts that he has given to the whole body.
To be a help in any matter.
But there is a distinction. Is it not to exercise a gift or to act as an overseer?
We can only be an overseer in one assembly, and that is our local assembly.
Now in connection with the Church being.
A light in this world.
A light bearer, A Candlestick or a lamp stand. It's a better word. What a wonderful.
Picture that is, of the church also.
We know that we have failed in all of our responsibilities.
We fail in the way we carry out practically the truth of the body of Christ.
And we have failed in the way we have maintained order in the House of God.
And we also have failed in the way.
We have been light in this world. Isn't that a tremendous statement in Ephesians when the Apostle Paul says?
That once we were darkness, but now we are light in the Lord.
Not only that we once were in the dark, we were darkness, but now a light in the Lord and you know.
The Lord Jesus very definitely spoke in the Gospels of that responsibility to be individually alike for him in this world. But we are also to be a light for Him collectively, and I believe if we are not exercised about being a light for Him individually, we cannot be.
That collectively, and I believe this is where everything breaks down, whether it is in connection with the aspect of the Church as the body of Christ or our responsibility in the House of God.
The reason that we fail in all of these things is because we individually fail in our lives.
To practice that truth, I'm not only a member in the body of Christ when I come to the Assembly meetings.
I'm a member in the body of Christ, 24 hours a day and every day of the week.
I'm not only to be concerned about fellow members in the body of Christ when I come to the assembly, I'm supposed to be exercised about that every day.
I'm only mentioning that to show that we're failing individually and that's why we're so poorly carrying it out collectively. And so it is with delight being a light for the Lord in this Dark World.
The Lord Jesus was dead light when he was here, but he's gone.
And he has left us here to be a light. You know, we can hide that light under the bushel, or we can hide it under the couch.
The bushel, I believe, would speak of our business dealings and the couch speaks of our conveniences and luxuries.
And when our brother Bob was saying, I wholeheartedly re echo that we have to try to live simply.
You know because.
We get so pampered.
And outright sissies.
By paying so much attention to luxuries and conveniences and so on.
And it interferes with our being lives for the Lord. My mother used to tell me that when she grew up in Germany, they had a little farm and they had a work like slaves there. They didn't have any machinery. They had to cut the grass by hand and work like slaves. Then on Lord's Day they sometimes had to walk. Would you mind 5 hours to go to a meeting?
00:55:27
And you know, they had to walk five hours back too to get home.
If their heart wouldn't have been in the right place, they wouldn't have done that.
We have air conditioned cars nowadays.
And we sit in meeting rooms that are air conditioned, comfortable chairs. But Bob can tell you in Bolivia, those sayings, they don't even have chairs. You know, they have a board resting on some pieces of lumber, dirt floors.
We are getting pampered, beloved, and it affects our life, our light for the Lord Jesus.
These comforts and conveniences meet so much that we allow them to interfere in our usefulness in our testimony for the Lord Jesus and we cannot separate a business dealings.
From a Christian life.
Whatever we do, the Word of God tells us in Word or in deed to all in the name of the Lord Jesus. It simply means to it all for Him.
Do it all for him. There's a brother out West.
He makes a meager living by being a custodian and he's very much exercised to learn to speak Russian so that he can be a help to the Russian people.
I believe he is very diligent in doing it.
Commendable.
May the Lord help us, but now as to the House of God, beloved.
There is something that we have to understand, and that is that in the early days of the Church.
You find that the members of the body of Christ also made-up the House of God.
They were coextensive as people have used the term, but then as time went on.
Paul's material came into the house. They couldn't come into the body of Christ.
But empty profession entered.
And.
The condition became such.
That the House that is presented in First Timothy as in Order becomes a great house.
And our vessels to honor and vessels to dishonor.
And while we do not leave that house.
You don't leave the Christian profession.
Because of the condition of things, we have to separate within that House.
It's just like with the truth of the body of Christ. We recognize, as our brother **** has said, every true child of God as a member in the body of Christ.
And I feel many times guilty that I don't more miss my fellow believers, my members, fellow members in the body of Christ. You know, if I would feel this more the way the Lord feels it, I would miss every member that is not walking practically in the truth. We could benefit from them if they would walk.
In that truth, but we are not.
Prevented from practicing that truth of the body of Christ.
In a limited way with those who practically take that place and position today, and I believe that is the difference between the unity of the body of Christ and the unity of the Spirit. I believe the unity of the Spirit is that which practically gives expression to the truth of the body of Christ.
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That would not be consistent with keeping the unity of the Spirit if that unity would compromise the truth of the person of the Lord Jesus or any of the fundamentals of the Christian faith.
And so, while we miss our brethren, and I hope we do, the truth of the body of Christ is still the order for our coming together.
Just because somebody has lost one of his extremities, that is, one of his arms or his legs, he can still function.
I've made prosthesis for a man who lost both of his legs and one arm.
And he was still able to function until he got to be so old that even if he would have had all of his extremities, he would have ended up in a wheelchair anyway.
But we can function, and our exercise and should be exercised to function when we come together as believers, as members in the body of Christ.
But many.
Are dormant many who take that position and meet on the ground of the one body.
Are not useful, not because the Lord hasn't given them anything, because there are other interests.
Priorities are not straight.
I believe we ought to look at a Christian life and responsibility as.
The reasons for us being still in this scene.
Sure, we have to work and make the living. It's like this one, brother.
When he was asked what's your occupation?
He said. I'm waiting for the Lord Jesus to come.
And in the mean time, I repair shoes.
You know, even Paul was a tent maker.
And he provided for his own needs and for the needs of those with him. We need more tent makers.
Instead of anytime that somebody wants to do something for the Lord, he expects the Saints to support him.
I'm not saying that the scripture isn't plain to teach.
And it does teach that we have a responsibility that those who minister to us, minister to us the spiritual things, that we ministered, the carnal things.
And we do not muzzle the mouth of the arts, but we need more tent makers, beloved especially in our day and age. But as it is in the body of Christ, so is it in the House of God.
We are not able, in the day in which we live, to maintain God's order in the House of God as we see it in Second Timothy.
But we can within that House, within the Christian profession.
Separate from iniquity.
We separate from that which is contrary to the word of God, And unfortunately that also robs me of the practical fellowship of those who are not willing to separate from iniquity. And we have to see that, beloved, because if we do not see that the truth of the body of Christ.
While recognizing that every true believer is a member in the body of Christ, I cannot practice that truth.
Fully with every believer because.
Of their disobedience.
To the word of God, or that which they are associated with. But what a pleasure it is to meet a fellow believer in the lab where I'm working and finishing my working days now on my left.
There is a believer.
He loved the Lord Jesus.
I tell you, I'm glad there is at least one.
There who knows the Lord Jesus.
And we have opportunity every once in a while to speak about the things of the Lord. And he has asked questions on certain things. What a privilege it is. But we realize, do we not very soon this kind of fellowship.
Is limited when it comes to practicing the truth of the assembly.
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We limit it very much.
You can have personal contact, but as far as assembly truth, if we would receive all those who are truly members in the body of Christ and ignore their associations, not only their own doctrine and their own practices, but also their associations, we would deny the truth of Scripture. But second Timothy very plainly teaches is that a person is not only disqualified by his own.
Teaching by his own morale, but also by his associations.
Associations with evil defile.
Remember that beloved in a day of ruin in which we live.
The first principle of unity is separation.
From evil.
That's the first principle.
It's grace alone that can enable us to practically carry it out. But again, beloved, what a privilege it is to be part of the Church of God.
That God in his grace looked down upon me.
Or may I put it this way, upon any of us in the eternity past, before there was anything he said. I want dead one and dead one, and that one to be my son, my child, to be part of the bride of Christ. What a privilege that is beloved to be part of the bride of Christ. The body of Christ speaks of unity.
The bride of Christ speaks of nearness, a place of affection.
That we have and that we are so closely united to the Lord Jesus.
That we are His bride for all eternity. We are already in that privileged position now will be for all eternity. And you know when you look at that bride.
Presented there in Revelation.
But is already for 1000 years at least.
Up there with the Lord Jesus.
When the bride is presented, it's still in bridal beauty as a bride adorned for her husband, you know, here in this life.
You know when we get married, people speak of the honeymoon, and the honeymoon sooner or later comes to an end. But it is not that way when the church for all eternity.
It will be that freshness, this newness.
This intimate, blessed relationship with the Lord Jesus and the fact that He picked us out, that He picked you and me out, when we consider where He found us, what our lives were like, when His great reached us and brought us to himself, isn't that marvelous? And when we think of who that person is, that is our bridegroom.
It's the Lord of Glory.
The air of all things.
To whom the Father has given everything.
And who as much as says I don't want to enjoy it without having my bride there with me?
And in bringing my bride into that blessing, I myself.
We'll enjoy it. What grace has been shown to us. Our hearts ought to be warmed.
By the tremendous privileges that we have as Saints of God.
And how sad that many of the Saints of God are so much occupied with all kinds of things which.
Are really not of any concern to our Father and to our Savior at the present time.
Wasting their energies in lost causes and so on instead of.
Using their energies to enter into that which.
Is ours in the Lord Jesus, and to hopefully come to not only see the truth of God, these various things upon which we have touched, but also find grace to walk in these things, to practice these things.
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We are miserable failure, but we will never hopefully come to the point that we say because we have failed so many times, we're going to throw in the towel.
The Lord wants us to be exercised and to if He points out anything in my life, in your life, in our assembly life, that is not in keeping with His thoughts and His will for us, that we will judge it.
So that there might be a bright testimony for him, a bright light, and that we might be in a state of soul that we can.
Bring to him that which he so longs to see and to receive from his own beloved. Let us be less self-centered and think more of the Lord Jesus having his portion in his people and even in giving him that place of headship practically in the assembly.
Let us think more of what he gets out of our lives.
Out of our individual lives. Out of our collective lives and how much light we.
Let shine for him in this Dark World you know this is the only time.
That we can really function as members in the body of Christ while we're still here on earth. The body of Christ always at all times refers to those who are living members on earth at any given time in the churches history.
And there in the eternal state.
You know, and that city as we indicated.
And it is a question of the eternal state.
The point is emphasized that we are the bride, but when it is a question of.
The millennial glory.
The city is stressed because we have part in the government.
Of this earth, and there's still need for government.
During the millennial time, but it is not needed in the eternal state.
Righteousness will dwell in that eternal state, but presently beloved, those of us who make up that House of God.
The dwelling place of God by the Spirit, the holy Habitation, We have a responsibility to be exercised that it is consistent.
And according to the mind and will of the one that dwelt in that house.
He is holy holiness becometh thine House of God forever.
We have about 5 knots. I would like to just bring a very simple portion before us in a short time.
Our brother opening this meeting spoke about something that is very important to us. I want to turn to Genesis Chapter 2.
Seventh verse.
And the Lord God for man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Man became a living soul.
3rd chapter.
The end of the 19th verse.
For out of it lest thou taken, that's out of the ground.
For dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return.
Turn to.
That very popular Washington this afternoon, Philippians.
Chapter 2.
Verse 8.
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself.
Became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
And another portion I've had this afternoon.
First Peter.
5th chapter.
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5th verse, First Peter 5:00 and 5:00.
Starting in the verse? Yeah, all of you.
Be subject 1 to another.
And be clothed with humility.
For God resisteth the proud, giveth grace to the humble.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God.
That he may exalt to you in due time.
I was in the.
Bible truth portion. I didn't buy anything but some through a book. I noticed a comment by one of our.
Very old esteemed brother and he made the comment in this letter to someone that.
That the Lord would keep him humble. That we might be humble.
I believe there's a difference between.
The Lord having to humble us.
And the Lord keeping us humble.
I believe this brother and saying what he did.
Was a result of being in communion, in fellowship with God that he maintained a humble state.
And there is that where I become self exalted loud and then there's another way to be home.
That isn't what you're Speaking of. Well.
Now another portion, another first one return, but we want to turn to and that's in job. We're all familiar with that as well.
Bill 42.
Verse 6.
When the Lord was done dealing with Job, Job says, Wherefore I bore myself.
And repent, and dust and ashes.
Does anyone know here what humble means?
I might have looked in the dictionary.
My brother and at home may have heard this before.
You look that up.
And along the description of humble, it speaks of humus.
How many know what humans is?
I'm sure the farmers do.
Humus is that which is refuse scattered upon the ground.
That after it's left there long enough, it becomes useful.
And it isn't always the crop refuse that is out there.
There is other refuse that is carried out there and spread and mingled at the soil.
That it might become municipal rather, and that's humus.
That is related with humble.
I believe we have no concept of what humility is.
We talk about it, but if we're going to put it in practice.
We got to know what humbleness is. They talk about meetings of humility.
I asked the brother not too long ago, I said. I've heard other questions and some have said, well, what is the meaning of humility?
He didn't have an answer.
Well, I'm going to subscribe, and certainly it may not be right, but I believe perhaps one application is every time I meet a brother, it's so if I don't act, if I act right, it's a meeting of humility because I'm going to esteem that brother better than myself. And that's scriptural, isn't it? I esteem my brother better than myself. That's the meaning of humility. Sometimes we talk about humility and we have supposed meetings of humility and it becomes a vain show.
Because that's what plan is. He's again showing them.
So if I meet a brother and I esteem him better myself, that's familiar. And if we have a lot of those meetings, we're going to have a lot of humility and brother and we're going to be happy because in new time, the Lord's going to exalt the humble. When is that exaltation?
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It's not far off, is it?
Well, infinite. Just one more thought, perhaps in regard to the soil that is humans in it.
You know there are some farmers, and I see one over here to the left. He knows what you stir up the soil and when you get the ground properly prepared, you like to have it relatively smooth.
But what do you call that parts of the soil that is above the smoothness?
That's a clog.
That's a clog. No use for a clod. Other times a claw doesn't have a lot of humans in it because it isn't workable.
Rather, we need to be humble now, humans in the soil.
Is a wonderful thing.
It nurtures.
It nurtures it ease.
Am I feeding my brother that he might be higher than myself?
Or we might also think the Lord himself, that he became a corner wheat that fell into the ground and it died, but it brought forth fruit. Now I don't. I don't mean to misrepresent anything, but when we have a horn of wheat in the ground, and if it's going to grow, it needs humus, it needs food, and that humus is the food.
We have here in these portions just the compilation of Dust and humility, brethren. They go together.
If we're going to be in our true place as Saints, God, we're going to be the dust. We're going to be humble, We're going to feed our brethren and brethren, I'm sure when we see that through your or my part.
A sister or a brother has been helped.
That's all the exaltation we need. May we be truly humble.
Can we sing 18 in the Appendix 18 in the back of the book?
And.
This is all right. Now here I am.
I'm creating you.
Open Mtg.
Open—G. Rennie, E. Covell, E. Tonn
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The head on my heart.
A few verses in the 17th chapter. First Samuel.
About David.
And David is a real example.
Uh, he failed so many times. Maybe not as much as Peter did, but when he came back to the Lord, how gracious he was and how the Lord had accepted. We've heard.
The so many times today how that?
With certain things that we do, we grow and we grow and we grow in the Word of God and in the knowledge of God and in the love of God. But I'm going the other way a little bit.
So if we read.
How? Just a few verses, I'm not going to take too long.
And the 30.
Eighth Verse of Samuel seven. First Samuel 17. And saw iron David with his armor, and he put the helmet of brass upon his head. Also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David gird his sword upon his armor to assay and to go, for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.
And he took his staff in his hand and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, which he had even a script for.
His sling was in his hand and he drew near the Philistine.
Now I would like to speak a little bit on these five smooth stones.
We know.
If we go farther, that these five smooth stones represent the five books of Moses.
But he only needed one of these five smooth stones to to slay.
00:05:03
Goliath.
And.
As young people, it's very important to learn all the word of God.
But to giving someone to know the Lord Jesus as a savior, we only need one verse out of this precious book. We don't need to show our great knowledge of the word of God. I've always mainly speaking to young people, but the older ones can listen if they want to.
But we don't need the whole Word of God to give the gospel to someone that isn't saved. We only need one. And David only needed one small smooth stone to kill Goliath.
Now I'd like to take a little more time on those smooth stones. We know that most stones, in practice, all stones come from mountains or the cliffs or some place they broke off a big Cliff or a big rock. And when they broke off that big rock, what did they look like? Were they smooth? No, they were not.
They were rough. They had corners on them, they had little crags out here and they got a little crag out there and.
They were very rough. You when you go up into the mountains, you'll see this when they break off first. Now, what happened to those stones all down through the time maybe took many years for those stones to come from the mountains down to where David had picked it out of the brook.
And as they rolled together.
Each little corner got knocked off.
You know, that's something that we need, something that we need very much is to have our corners knocked off.
And to give it down to a nice smooth stone for what, David?
Could use to slay Goliath or what the Lord can use of us.
To give the gospel forward, to give truth forward, and all these different things.
Now I'd like to take these little corners and see if I could knock just a couple of them off. Maybe you would understand these things, especially the young people that the first thing that we.
Get knocked off when we're very young is our own self will.
We have to do as our parents tell us to do, and that is one of the first little corners that get knocked off of that stone that's not very round.
Then maybe a little few years later, we have pride gets.
Taken off maybe?
A wee while later, we'll get stubbornness knocked off.
And before very long, we might have.
Temper knocked off.
Our when we get a little older, maybe it's some of our bad habits will get knocked off.
To bring those five smooth stones down, to bring you down to be like one of those five smooth stones, the Lord has to knock all these little corners off. And you can add many more of these little corners that will be knocked off during your time.
As one that is following the Lord and especially if you read this precious book.
We maybe think we know quite a bit when we, especially when we get to high school and when we get to vote, we'll say.
About 1415.
We begin to think that we know quite a lot of knowledge.
Of the different things, we've read the Bible maybe, and we've got a big knowledge of the word of God. Well, you know, sometimes that has to be knocked down a piece too. And I often think of how much daddy and mommy has learnt, mother and father has learned from the time they're about 18 till they're about 24. I mean, the children are that age, but we have to learn the humbleness. And I think that's the last part of the stones that's getting it right down.
To a nice smooth stone where the Lord can use you and I, when we get humbled before the Lord and take His word and read it and meditate on it and work on it and see how small we are, that little small smooth stone. Now David took that stone and he put it in a slingshot. Now when I was younger, I used to be pretty good with the catapult.
00:10:26
And then I got a slingshot and why I couldn't hit anything at all. Finally it got fairly good that I could hit something. But you know, I don't think that David has was quite that good that he could hit a very small little place on the forehead that was not covered of of that big giant. I think the Lord took that stone and put it right where it was supposed to go.
David, through it you give forward the gospel, and that's wonderful that you give forward the gospel.
But the Lord has to use it.
Quite often it won't hit in the right place if there's anything of self in there. The gospel will not go in the right place, but the Lord can use it if it's given for him in his way of.
Putting it forward, well then when the David slung that stone and it hit Goliath in the right, exactly the right place, God had used that stone that David brought forward and that's why.
And I have one thing I'll have to admit I cannot. I can quote scriptures, but I cannot remember exactly where they are. All young people remember where you quote the scriptures, read the scriptures and quote them in such a way that you know where to say where they are. Because it's an awful drawback in giving the gospel if you can't tell where that scripture is from. And I'm only trying to encourage the young people to.
Memorize and memorize the place.
Where you find those things and then God, when you use the stone, you sling it, as you might say, or you give up the gospel, then the Lord can use it, that nice smooth stone. And that is you now become another, a little different angle on those smooth stones. We're all living stones.
Knitted together and build it into a into a House of God.
And God, it has to knock off all the little corners and things to fit us into exactly the where we.
Would be where we're placed.
To give forth his word and to encourage others to go along. And another stones that we read of is how that the temple was rented, was built, and each stone.
They never heard a hammer.
Those stones were all ready to be put into the place.
When they brought it up to the temple to build the temple, there was number hammers heard. Now on this scene here we will get the hammer and knock those chips off of each one of us. And there's another nice little example that I would like to read it put in on us on those stones present day we find.
Them selling special stones and different things.
And the way they Polish them, they put the mall into a big bar and they'll roll them and roll them and roll them over in that barrel.
For up to four and five months, this takes all the corners off and makes them fit to be used as a precious stone or an ornament. Well, God wants to knock all our corners off and get us down to the place where we're humbly before Him and He is able to use us in His work.
Ones this afternoon.
I have a word, desire has been upon my heart, and Romans 10 returned to Romans 10.
Romans 10 and verse one.
Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.
00:15:09
In these meetings we have already had a clear gospel message last night and the night before.
I'm sure with the desire, the speaker, it was desire and those dear brethren who gathered in the prayer room for the salvation of precious souls.
And here this afternoon. Perhaps there's someone here who is still unsaved.
As our desire for you this afternoon, dear boy or girl or older one, that you might come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your precious Savior.
Well, we read here.
Now the apostle, his heart's desire.
He always mentioned him this morning and the.
That we've heard the comment that there's no love. There's no love.
But all friends, the apostle here, there was love in his heart.
Desire for blessing for precious souls and all. I'd like to assure you, dear young ones, here this afternoon.
There are many dear Gray haired brothers here this afternoon and I know that those dear ones love you.
And the one who speaks, I love you too.
And desire not only that you might be saved, that you might grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
You know.
Some years ago there was a dear brother in our meeting who had moved up there from Montreal. He was only with us about two years and the Lord took him home.
And his hearing was practically nil. His eyesight was dim. He had to be picked up and brought to the meeting on Wednesday morning.
And I remember one large day morning after meeting, speaking to that dear brother.
And.
Bringing to his attention. But that day was soon coming when we would have no problems in hearing or saying.
And he turned to me and he said, brother, I saw him this morning, I saw him this morning. His eyesight was dim. That brother was there. And as the meeting progressed, scriptures were read. He heard very little.
Why was he there?
Oh, it was there because the Lord Jesus was there.
I know maybe that may that be which will draw our hearts.
To that center where he has placed his name is because he is there.
And so has her desire this afternoon.
Not only that you might come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, but you might have that desire to know more and more of Him, to return to Him. First Peter, chapter 2.
First Peter, chapter 2.
Verse 2.
As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that she may grow thereby.
If so, be that ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
A little child may have something and they're playing with it and you realize that that thing that they have, that object might do them harm.
And to take it away from them quickly, you might injure them.
So what is the secret you give them? Something else that would take their attention.
And then they forget that other object.
Well, our desire this afternoon is that you dear ones, who perhaps may be babes in Christ.
That you might desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.
00:20:01
It so be that you have tasted.
Well, you know.
I'm sure perhaps all don't like oranges, but I enjoy a nice sweet orange.
But you can't enjoy that lovely fruit until you have taken away the peeling and then you enjoy the sweetness of that.
Beautiful orange.
And so, dear ones.
It's only as we drink of the sincere milk of the word that we can grow thereby.
Your age, brother Gill. Many years ago he made a little statement. Some of the many of these dear older brothers had middle.
Statements they made that have stuck with some of us.
But I remember him saying that appetite is acquired by eating.
Appetite is acquired by eating.
And I know for myself there are times when I've sat down and perhaps picked up the word of God really didn't have an appetite.
But always you open its pages.
And you begin to read. You find that your appetite grows.
And so we say here in this verse, as newborn babes desire the sincere milk for the word desire.
Well, as newborn babes.
As fathers and mothers.
Our children as they have born into this world, we watch them closely and we see them develop and grow.
And if you do not develop and grow, we are concerned.
I have a dear little grandson.
It hasn't.
Developed as other little children.
But I know.
That his parents loved him just the same.
But older ones, this afternoon, God loves you.
And his desire for you, which would be that you would grow.
That you would desire that sincere.
That unadulterated no the world word that she may grow thereby.
The return back to Luke's Gospel.
Chapter 22.
I think of this verse, it makes me think of our dear brother who was taking speaking to the children on largely morning here.
And the look of expression on that little boy's face as he opened that box.
And he asked him what was in it. It was.
Nothing. It was empty. It was empty.
And he likened it to Satan, who wants to have you. He's got nothing to offer you that's real. There's nothing to offer you, nothing to have offered to you that is lasting and will give you joy and peace.
Well, in this verse here.
In Luke 22 and verse 31.
And the Lord said, And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.
Oh dear young believer this afternoon.
Perhaps you have tasted of this sincere milk of the Word and you're growing. Thank God for that.
But Satan who desires to have you that he may sift you as weak.
Here, Peter, he was wheat.
He belonged to the Lord Jesus Christ.
But there was that in Simon Peter's life that the Lord seen that needed attention.
And he says Satan has desired to have you.
That he may sift you as sweet. But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not.
And when thou art converted, strengthened thy brethren.
Oh how wonderful the Lord Jesus could pray for Peter that his faith hail not.
You know, we're going to turn over to Hebrews. We find there we're exhorted.
00:25:04
To let's turn to that lovely version, Hebrews chapter 13.
Hebrews 13 and verse eight or verse seven rather remember them which have the rule over you.
Who has spoken unto you the word of God?
Whose faith?
Follow, considering the end of their conversation. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever.
While whose faith follow, I look back some years.
And I think of some American, your brethren, and the Lord called whom?
Who were in those productive years of life?
And I thought of this verse with both of those dear brothers.
That I'm thinking of.
When we received the word that the Lord had taken them.
I thought of this verse whose faith followed. Remember them which have.
Spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow not through failures.
No, we don't have to be with anyone very long until we find out their shortcomings.
And my brother know me perhaps better than I know myself.
My failures, but always has whose faith followed?
And it's nice to see our brethren through the eyes of Christ.
To see Christ in them and to follow their faith.
Well, the Lord prayed for Peter then that his faith failed not.
And when they were converted, strengthened thy brethren.
Well, we heard brought before us.
In the elastic.
Open meeting, our brother reminded us.
About the.
Compass the humus.
And how that it had to be?
Left there that was completely deteriorated before it was of any use.
And so how often we have to be reminded.
As those who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ.
That we have to realize our own nothingness before the Lord can use us in any way.
When thou art converted.
Peter truly belonged to the Lord what he needed to be converted. Oh yes, there needed to be a change. There needed to be that. Not in his life that needed to be dealt with, dealt with. And then he says strengthen thy brethren.
And.
I'd like to turn to another verse in Assam chapter.
Luke 22 and verse 14.
And when the hour was come, he sat down and the 12 apostles with him.
And he said unto them with desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
Well, here we have the desire of the Lord Jesus.
We have been saved.
We have fed on the sincere milk of the Word, and the Spirit of God has LED us.
To be exercised.
Concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
To remember him.
And here the Lord with his disciples.
What was before him? Father Cross stood before him. He was about to be put on that center cross.
That Holy One who knew no sin was about to be made sin for us.
And yet here he is with his disciples.
And he could say, I desire to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. He thought of them.
And you know.
How precious it is when the Spirit of God works in your heart and mind against plants in our hearts that desire to respond to His dying request to remember Him in His death for us.
00:30:03
Now could we turn back to Isaiah chapter 26?
Isaiah chapter 26.
Verse 8. Verse 8. Middle part of the verse.
The desire of our soul is to thy name.
And to the remembrance.
Of thee.
My soul have I desired thee With my soul have I desired thee in the night? Yeah, with my spirit within me, I will seek the early.
The desire of our soul.
As when the Spirit of God has worked in your soul.
And the preciousness of Christ is brought home to your soul. There's that response.
The desire of our soul is to Thy name and to the remembrance of Thee.
Well, if we were to turn to 1St Corinthians 10, we'd find their.
Concerning the Lord's Table.
And.
To remember the Lord Jesus in his death for us at Calvary.
That is where we.
Sent to that wonderful.
Privilege that we enjoy.
To remember him.
Remember some years ago your young sister coming to me? She's not in our meeting. She's in another gathering now married with a little family.
But what she expressed was this.
I would like desire to remember to be at the Lord's Table. She expressed her desire to be at the Lords Table. I think that's beautiful because in that expression she was expressing her desire to be at the Lord's Table, but I believe it was owning His lordship over her life.
Oh, it's true. We belong to the Lord. You're not your own. You're bought with a price. And she said I'd like to take my place at the Lord's table. Well, how blessed it is to be found at his table.
And to partake of those emblems.
As he could say this, do in remembrance of me.
And again we read it for as often as you eat this bread and drink this coffee, to show the Lord's death till he come.
Well, yesterday morning.
We had that precious privilege once again of once more remembering Him in his death for us till He comes.
I like to turn back.
To another verse in the Song of Solomon.
I believe our brother gone read this the other day.
Son of Solomon, Chapter 7 and verse 10.
I am my beloved.
And his desire is toward me.
A reminder to the.
Little Sing, a dear brother, said many years ago too.
He said the Lord is doing the very best He can for us every day of our lives according to our state of soul.
His desire is to blush, you dear one, this afternoon.
He loves you and His desires to bless you.
Are you willing to let him?
Of a dear older brother in our assembly. He's in his 80s.
I'm not, dear brother.
In his meditations.
There will be some verse that He has especially and enjoy and He often passes it on to us. And one evening I know He got up and He spoke on those two words. Let him, let him.
00:35:01
Well, you know the person John's Gospel that tells us if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.
Perhaps we are concerned we're.
We're not sure about things, but oh, it's all in his word. And if we're willing.
To let Him heal, Shorts He'll lead us in that path will be for our blessing and for His glory.
And so I think it's so nice. Here I am, my beloved. Oh, it's true. We know that we're his, we're told in John's 10.
He could say that He concerning his sheep, that He gave unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No man can pluck them out of my hand.
All friends tonight, this afternoon.
Lord Jesus is that one.
Who loves you and His desire is toward you and for your blessing each step of our pathway here.
Until he leads us home.
To the glory, and may it be our desire just to let Him.
Lead us for that little while, till he that shall come will come, and he will not tariff.
I found it.
Most interesting.
That our brother.
Would speak to us a little.
About David.
The introduction of David.
Into the history of the people of God.
Is the beginning of God's intervention in their history and His grace.
As the captain of our salvation.
Our blessed Savior came.
And with his coming, we read in John's first chapter of his Gospel.
Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
If we should turn back to the 8th chapter of Proverbs.
We would see something of what our brother has been bringing before us, of the desire of the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ.
His delights.
Were with the sons of men.
And our brother read to us.
That desire of our Lord Jesus Christ to eat that Passover with his own.
Beloved.
That was the last Passover.
Before I suffer.
He was that Paschal lamb. He was that of which that Passover lamb of so many, many years ago was speaking.
I'm going to read.
The first verse of #10 in our hymn book.
Grace is the sweetest sound that ever reached our ears.
When conscience, charge and justice frowned, was grace.
Removed our fears.
I have in mind, beloved, to close up this.
Open meeting near the end of these happy times, together with the precious Word of God before our souls.
To speak of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
How happy.
Is each one in this room?
Who has experienced the intervention of God in grace in his life?
What a mercy.
That God would come into our circumstances and the person of His beloved Son.
00:40:01
Take upon himself our nature and a body prepared before.
In the eternal counsels of God that would enable him to take your place and mine in grace, suffer, bleed and die, and pay in His own precious blood.
Everything.
That the righteous claims of a holy God against sin could make.
Against the likes of you and me.
And so when we.
1St come to know.
The grace of God it is in the forgiveness of our sins.
But all beloved.
How much do we need?
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In that same first chapter of John's Gospel.
It says of his fullness.
We have all received grace upon grace.
Grace from God's heart of love.
That worked in the midst of evil.
To provide a means whereby he could reclaim poor, lost, sinful man according to the desires of his own heart. That's his grace.
But that's the first grace.
But we received of His fullest grace upon grace.
Beloved.
The second grace is what has been presented to us.
In these meetings as the need.
For us to go on with one another.
In these difficult times of the end.
We referred to the Last Supper.
We are in the last days. Let's turn to Second Timothy.
Chapter 3.
The.
Of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Came.
Into this scene.
When he himself appeared on the scene.
If we would take the time.
To read the last words recorded in this book.
By the Apostle Paul.
We would hear the grace.
Be with you, Amen. That's in this last line, Grace. Be with you, Amen.
If we were to turn to the third chapter of Two Peter and read his last words.
We would see the grace, but grow in grace.
And in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And if we were to turn to the last book of the of the Bible, the Revelation, and here the apostle John speak to our hearts, what would he say?
The.
Of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. I probably misquoted that. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
So we are in days, beloved.
When we need the grace of God.
So in Two Timothy chapter 2, please.
Thou therefore, my Son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
I have said.
Some of my brethren on occasions.
That this book did not have to say to me.
Be strong in being hard against your brethren.
All that comes out so naturally, doesn't it? For me to be hard on my brethren and easy on me.
00:45:07
No, Be strong in the grace.
That is in Christ Jesus.
Where are we to be here, brethren?
When we are in conflict with the enemy.
Endure hardness we have in our chapter here as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
When we are in the fray, standing for the truth, we must be hard. Having done all to stand, we are to stand having on the armor of God enabling us to withstand all the fiery darts of the enemy. There's a place for hardness.
Beloved, not with one another.
How it thrilled my soul how our brethren point up to us in the reading.
Of being kind hearted. 1 to another.
Long-suffering.
Forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. This is the grace that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace that would come in to the world his hands had made that man by sin had corrupted, and would go all the way to Calgary.
Shed his precious blood.
That you and I might know him as Savior.
No, God is our Father. No, the joy of having that divine.
Nature has been brought correctly before our souls in these readings.
And to know the power of the indwelling spirit that gives us that moral courage or virtue that we heard about, that enables us to refuse the evil and to choose the good.
What man received?
When he took the fruit and did eat.
Was a consciousness.
Of good and evil.
With no power to choose the good and with an.
Inside power that craved the bad.
Just as a matter of definition of give it to you now, the word, the flesh that the apostle uses in his epistles is.
That evil principle of rebellion against God that will have its own way.
Well, grace comes in and gives us a new life in nature that enables us.
To have that virtue or moral courage to refuse that and to say yes to everything, that's good. As we sometimes sing with the children, so here, beloved, we have an exhortation. Therefore be strong in the grace that is.
In Christ Jesus when we see this expression Christ Jesus in this terminology.
It sets the Lord Jesus Christ before us as a glorified man who has been here, but who now is risen from the dead and gone back on high.
We had the expression mentioned in the reading this morning.
As the truth is in Jesus that brings our Lord Jesus Christ before us as He was a man here below, There was never one more accessible than He. There was never one more compassionate. There was never one with greater desire for your good and for your blessing than He.
And there was never one turned away who appealed to the Lord Jesus Christ.
For mercy South, we are to pattern our life, beloved after Him and be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Let's turn to the last word, as it were, that the apostle speaks to the Hebrews in chapter 13.
00:50:09
When we come to the Epistle to the Hebrews.
We get.
The communication of God's mind to his believing.
People.
To move their thinking away from.
That religion that he had given them.
Onto the new beginning that he began at Pentecost.
I suspect most in this room, if not all, know that at Pentecost.
That godly remnant that gathered out unto the Lord Jesus Christ as a result of the call of John the Baptist gathering to the Lord Jesus Christ became the Christian assembly that eventual day when the Spirit of God came from a risen Christ and baptized all into one body.
And so now God has a word to that little Jewish company.
And it's the last word is the Epistle to the Hebrews.
In this epistle he has proven the Lord Jesus Christ superior to every.
Facet of Judaism.
Taken up the various elements of their religion, angels, Moses.
Aaron the priest and all of the elements, the sacrifices and shown the Lord Jesus Christ to be superior to every aspect.
And so we read in this book.
At the very end.
And somebody is going to have to find it for me.
Good to have the heart established in Greece and not meet.
Verse 9. Thank you.
It is a good thing that the heart.
Be established with grace, not with meats.
Meets, in this context, is a word that describes everything that was embodied in that religion, that appealed to sight and to sense.
And so it's good to be established in Greece.
And not meets which?
Have not profited them that have been occupied therein just a little earlier in this 13th chapter. A little later. Excuse me.
Since he has moved.
The mind of his beloved people.
Off of that earthly mindset that included an earthly Tabernacle. Onto the ground of Christian doctrine teaching, if you please.
It is solely on the principle of His grace, and He would desire that you and I have a sense of that grace in our souls, and not meats which have profited, not profited, those who are occupied in them.
In Second Corinthians chapter 8 and verse nine, you are familiar with that.
Wonderful verse that we often read in connection with the breaking of bread, and rightly so, was mentioned in one of the other addresses that we sometimes read things out of their context.
When it's right that we should have the Lord Jesus Christ before our souls and the nature.
In which He is presented there to us, though it is given in the context of how unselfish we should be in the distribution of that which God so wonderfully provides us to pass through our hands in the way of material things. It's sad for you know, the grace.
Of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That though he were rich, yet for our sakes he became poor.
00:55:01
That ye, through his poverty, might be rich.
The grace.
That is in Christ Jesus.
He was rich in that he was within the Godhead. He was rich in God had glory.
All that can be said of God is attributed to the Son because He is God.
And when the Lord Jesus Christ in grace.
Came into this scene we read of him in the book of Colossians chapter 2 and verse nine that in him.
Dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And so there are many things throughout the Gospels that are said.
Of the Lord Jesus Christ as he passed through this scene as a man that could never be said of anyone but God.
As the disciples beheld him walking on the water.
And heard him speak to the winds and the sea became calm. They said truly this is the Son of God. So there are things.
Also throughout the gospels that are said of him.
Of God, that could never be said of any but a man.
So when we read of the richness of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are talking about.
The fullness of the Godhead abiding in him.
Great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifest in the flesh.
When he came into his own, what did they say according to the prophetic word?
Emmanuel, which is being interpreted. God with us. It was God coming into their circumstances, beloved, to do them good and to bless them.
And so we read that he became poor.
We have had read to us twice.
That wonderful portion in Philippians 2 where he became poor.
In this 22nd Psalm where you read that he was laid in the dust of death, that's the poverty of our Lord Jesus Christ. He died.
I delivered unto you first of all that which I received, how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures tell, though he went beloved, he died and was buried fully giving evidence.
That he was dead.
And oh, how glad we are he was raised again according to the scriptures.
Coming forth out of death in him was life. Death had no claim upon the Son of God.
And it was light.
And that life was a lighter man, and so, death having no claim upon him, he could say that he takes his life again, because he received the authority to do so along with my Father. That is to say, beloved, that when he along with God in the eternal councils of godhood.
Received the authority by.
Agreement with God.
Within the Godhead that it should be, so that he should take his life again.
And it is that life, beloved, that he has taken back from the dead in resurrection, that he has communicated to you and me by being laid in the poverty of death.
He became poor that we, through his poverty, might be rich.
Only in death could the Lord Jesus Christ meet you and me, because we were dead in trespasses and sins. Except the corner, we fall into the ground and die the buys alone. Had he not gone to that cross and perished in the terms of giving up his life?
You and I would have never been in eternity except the pit.
He would have remained a man alone in glory, but oh, he would not go back to glory without us. I was so glad that our brother read that verse and his desire is toward me.
01:00:03
Except the corn, if we can fall on the ground and die to bite alone. But if it die, it brings forth much fruit. And the much fruit, beloved, is the riches that you and I possess in resurrection life in connection with the man in the glory.
So we are admonished in these last days when difficult times are there. There is no doubt they love it.
That these are hard times. These are times that are the fruit of man's will being introduced into God's assembly. And they are tough times. Hard times, hard decisions have to be made. But it's my joy to tell you this afternoon that there is sufficient grace in God to meet every exigency or need of your heart and mind and every need of His gathered cue in this day of confusion and ruin that sin has brought into the assembly.
My grace is sufficient for thee, and so it is delightful, beloved.
To speak of grace.
That is in our Lord Jesus Christ gone on high.
Poured out the spirit to give us power to live for him in this scene where we are left as his representative.
And given power to navigate upstream, as we had pointed out to us.
Against the current and arrived through the matchless grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
To that blessed place in the glory where He has gone for us. There was no place in heaven for man until the Lord Jesus Christ reached heaven as a man. But I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may also be.
The desire of the Lord Jesus Christ expressed in His prayer to the Father.
That they might be with me where I am and see the glory.
That thou hast given me. So in these last days, beloved, my encouragement is.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient for any need of my heart and yours, and any need.
Of the gathered Saints, in this day of confusion, may it be that we exhibit that grace and employ that grace and deal with one another according to the Greece that is in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Create all the.
Feet.
What?
Can you do?
Jesus Pleads With You — Come to Me
Children—K. Amsler
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And there's plenty of chairs up here for all the children.
There's a row up there and there's a row here and don't feel nervous because I'm just as nervous as you are.
So you're more than welcome to come up and share my nervousness.
Sing a song while the other children are coming up and you know, as usual, we sing from the back of the hymn sheet. So does anybody have a that they would like to sing in the back? The Backpage says. Children's hymns and choruses.
There's one hand right there, #47, #47, and we'll have a brother start the hymns for us and we have a designated hymn starter, Heinz.
'S love that's nearest old.
Life of our hearts and our.
Little children.
Who are?
Dreamers are the Jews. Gratitude.
This long and his own.
Like a star is on the morning, his bright crown on the.
You know, children, when I was a little child, I never got to sit up in one of these rows. I never got to hear the gospel message.
Like you do. And I wasn't able to sing these songs and say that I love my Redeemer because I didn't know him. I didn't know anything about the Lord Jesus.
And we went to a church, and I knew a little bit about them, but I didn't know that I had to be saved, to know him as my personal savior and have life from above, that he died for me and he shed his blood for me that I might have life.
And so you are a great opportunity to be under the sound of the gospel and to hear the good news. It's not bad news. Have you ever some of the older ones, have you ever looked at the newspaper or heard the news on the radio?
It's bad news. There's nothing good there for your soul. It's a it's a heartache for your heart.
Do we have another hymn? There's a hand right there.
What #46? OK #46.
00:05:40
An invitation from God himself. The Lord Jesus is pleading with you to come to come. You have one.
45 #45.
To work for him almighty.
So hard for him now in my youth.
Make them Lord Jesus and let them be.
Always obedient and.
You know, if I was just standing up here and I said nothing.
And your ears were aching to hear something. Wouldn't you be disappointed if I didn't say anything?
You know God himself when he created Adam, and he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living soul. Do you think God let him go on his way? No, God did not let him go on his way. Even when Adam had sinned, he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and he says, Adam, where art thou? You think he was mad? I think he was sad.
And he was pleading for Adam to come out from among the trees. Don't be hiding behind the trees.
You know, sometimes we hide behind trees, and we don't want to hear what God has to say to us. We'd rather listen to our own little hearts and our own little minds. But God is above us all, and he knows all what's inside there. And He invites us. He invites us. He says, where art thou? And come out from among the trees, And he'll close thee with the garments of salvation and give you that eternal life that lasts forever.
And ever and no one ever can take it from you.
And that's the invitation that God has. We have another hymn. Let's we had two boys. Let's have another girl.
21 #41.
On the throne of God, in heaven will many children.
Are all forgiven?
Thank you, God for God.
00:10:52
How many children like to sing songs?
You know when we go into meeting.
We live about 20 miles away from the meeting room and the girls always want to sing songs. So we have the little hymn sheet in our car and I'm driving along and I'm supposed to remember all these hymns, but I can't all of them. And I'm trying to drive and read this hymn sheet and sometimes we'll have to give it to my wife because I can't drive and read at the same time.
Anyhow, do you want to sing? Sing, sing. And by the time I get to meeting, I'll have a sore throat.
Do you have one?
#44
Into a tent where a gypsy boy lay.
OK #44.
Well.
Isn't it something that we can come here today and to sing these songs and to hear the gospel message and to be together? What if it happens that you're all alone, dying alone like this little gypsy boy? Do you think his heart ached very much?
Someone told in the gospel message, someone told him about the love of the Lord Jesus for his soul, for his life. Someone who had concern and compassion for him. You know, children, somebody has compassion and concern for you, your mom and your dad. I wonder if you were all alone and you're living on the streets. Are you living in a little tent and there was nobody to help you?
What would you do? You'd be crying, wouldn't you? Your heart would be aching and you wouldn't know where to turn. But I'll tell you the Lord Jesus is the way to turn. I am the way, the truth and the life. And the Lord Jesus invites us to come.
He says to come now, while you're young, while you're young. You know, I was 19 or 20 years old when I came to the Lord Jesus, and it was kind of sad that I didn't know about the Lord Jesus when I was young.
00:15:08
I did a lot of things that were not so good. I disobeyed my mommy a lot.
And I wasn't very good at school. I had no goal in life. But when the gospel message came to my heart and into my mind and I chose the Lord Jesus, I had a goal himself. The Lord Jesus gives you a goal in life.
Do you want to take him as your savior?
The man that told me the gospel, he says it's up to you to decide.
It's up to you to decide who you want. You know there's a battle for your soul. A brother was bringing it out the other day.
Satan wants you, and he desires to have you.
But the Lord Jesus created you, and he gave you life. Remember? You breathed into your nostrils the breath of life.
He wants you to. You have to decide.
Who you want, they want to rule over your life. Would you rather have the Lord Jesus to rule your life? Are the enemy of your soul that has no good for you. All he has is emptiness. A big black boy. You have a hymn 43.
43 Is there any more children that would like to come up front? There's plenty of room. There's some chairs here and some chairs here.
So while we're singing this song, come on up front.
Only one.
Of your and all day long.
That reminds me of a song I heard about the door.
There's only one door.
And you can go into that door. It's open.
But you can't climb over on the sides and you can't go around and you can't dig underneath. You have to go through that door.
And who said he was the door? Do we have any hands? Who said he was the door?
Jesus, that's right. I'm the door.
So we have to enter in through Jesus, and you can't go up any other way and you can't go around. You can't climb over. You have to go through Jesus. And it's the word of God that tells us that. You know, we were talking about the word of God in the reading meetings, how we need to have it and apply it to ourselves. We can't listen to mom and dad. In the aspect of reading the word of God. You have to get it for yourself. Some of you may be too young to read and your parents read it for you.
But you know what? You're not too young to take the Lord Jesus as your savior. You're not too young. Now is the day of salvation. Take the Savior while you're young and don't waste your life for yourself, are your friends.
Do your friends seek your good?
Or do they want to go out and Justice Corrales around?
You know, they often talk about peer pressure and some of you older children and teenagers, you know about peer pressure. I never had peer pressure. I just gave into it.
There is no pressure. I just gave in to it and it was sad Mr. Tony was talking about.
You had to have energy to read the word of God.
You have to have energy and you have to make it your own and put it in your heart.
That you have the word of God in your heart, that you might not sin against him.
So we have to have the word of God and obey it, you know, I was reminded when our brother Rahm was up, given an address, and just before that during the reading meeting he was talking about.
Those harming the servants of God. It was in the 105th Psalm and reminded me of Shimmy Eye. And he was a man that called David King David. A bloody man. He threw rocks at him, said Now we're a bloody man. He didn't like David at all. But you know what? He was trying to harm the Lord's anointed.
The Lord's anointed.
And you know, when you become the Lord's anointed, He'll anoint you with oil. You belong to him. Nobody can do you harm.
00:20:08
Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, and I will recompense.
You belong to him. I hope you do.
I hope you do. Are you one of the Lords? I hope you are. I belong to the Lord Jesus, and I invite you to come and not listen to that peer pressure.
And not listen to your friends saying, oh don't trust the Lord Jesus, that's nothing. There's no life in Jesus Christ. That's a lie. Because there is in him is life and life more abundantly, life that we don't even know about until we come to him.
And he pleads with us. Have time for one more hymn.
Let's see, you have 1 #40.
Jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells me so.
#40
He thought lovely. He will.
Take all day.
And my daughter give my life to me on my heart.
Yes, it will be hard to my kidney.
00:25:05
Why don't we just close our eyes and bow our heads and we'll ask the Lord to help us?
Our Father and our God, we thank thee for the blessed Savior, the One who invites us to come to Him today.
That we might be saved.
And OK, we're not going to say everyone's not going to say the verse, but who would like to say the verse? We'll give a chance for a couple to say the verse.
You know the verse real well.
Who knows the verse real well? They can quote it word for word.
You know the verse. Would you like to say it?
If thou shalt confess with thy mouth, Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thy heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Romans 10/9.
Good.
Do you believe that?
You know sometimes, what if someone says?
Well, you might be saved. You feel that you're saved. Did you see fireworks?
That isn't what God said. Thou shalt be saved if you believe and if you confess.
If you believe and if you confess, let's go.
Add something to the word of God. You have to listen to it and obey, I remarked about Shimmy I and his name, if I recall, meant here's.
Or obey? Isn't that kind of unique? Maybe Shimmy I heard, but he really didn't obey when Solomon came into his his Kingdom.
You know he gave Grace to shin the eye, and he said to shimmy eye.
What you did to my father, David.
Was very naughty.
He was the Lord's anointed.
You have to stay in Peru for.
And you build yourself a little house here. And don't you go over the book, The Brooke Kidman.
And I looked up that name. The Brooke kid run, and it means dark, black and gloomy if you go over.
Well, you know what? After three years, 2 semiized servants ran away. And so, Simi, I said, well, hey, this is something I have to do. It's not that I'm trying to run away, but I'm going to go after my servants. Oh, he didn't listen to the words of Solomon.
And you know.
You had to bear the punishment and died because he disobeyed. You know, if we don't hear and listen and obey, the gospel message will be forever lost and we won't have the good confidence and the compassion and the comfort of the blessed Savior will be lost without him, I suppose.
We'll give a boy a chance to say the verse who knows the verse over here that can quote it.
OK.
If thou shalt confess with Martha and Lord, and shall remain thy heart that have to make him from the dead, thou shalt be saying, Thank you. Thank you.
Isn't that nice?
You know, I suppose you're wondering what's in these boxes.
I work for a candy company.
You know, when I first got the job, a brother and a friend of mine says he says Kenny. That's like putting the mouse in charge of the cheese.
Because, you know, I love candy. And not only do we have candy, but we have a big kitchen back there that makes sandwiches and dinners. And we had chips, we had pop and juice. We've got everything you can think of.
And I like all that stuff. Sometimes I go home. I'm not very hungry.
You wonder why don't you? Because I raid the kitchen.
And the ladies are always saying, can you get out of here?
But you know, Candy's good.
Who likes candy, Emmy? Do you like candy?
00:30:00
This all Emmy eats. She's like her daddy.
Sometimes when I was talking about Satan, he desires to have you and the Lord Jesus desires to have you.
And Satan brings things before our eyes and before our hearts. And he says, look what I have, look what I have. This is better than what the Lord offers you. You're going to have fun.
And it's going to last. But you know what? He's a robber.
And he's a murderer and he's a liar.
Those are clean. I'm telling you the truth. You know he was in the heaven.
Where God was or is.
And he was an Angel, and he rebelled against God because he wanted to be in that power of God.
But he rebelled against God. You know, sometimes we rebel against God.
And we don't listen to the word of God.
We listen to ourselves.
Now getting back to those two that desire your soul and your heart and your life, Satan, all he wants is to use you, and when he's done with you, he throws you out.
Remember her brother McNabb was talking about getting to the bottom.
Deed that miry clay because.
People without life.
You're in darkness.
But the Lord Jesus desires to give you life and to give you light, light.
Has anybody ever been lost before?
Lost. I bet you had an eerie feeling in your heart.
Who helped you?
Was it your mom or your dad? You called out and someone helped you and directed you. Have you ever been in the store, A big store and you couldn't find your mom or dad? And often you hear over the intercom, we have a little girl here whose name is Angie and she's lost her mom.
So her mom was probably right straight up angled there.
She went to the right place and over the loudspeaker they said, here's Angie.
Well what I have in these boxes and I need someone to help me.
Hell yeah. Look at them hands. There's even hands back there.
Why don't you come? You have a black shirt on once you come up here.
Oh.
This nice big box that says Snickers on there.
You see this nice big bar? I have my knife here.
Wouldn't you like to have a Snickers bar? I love Snickers too. I like them when they're frozen. You ever have them frozen?
They're great frozen. Try them sometimes.
I want you to look in there.
Can you look in there?
What is that?
Nothing, but it's a nice big box. I see something in there. What's in there? Empty bags.
Empty bags.
But it's a nice big box and it says Snickers on there.
There's empty.
Bubblegum bags.
You know, but look at that box it says Snickers on there.
And it's empty.
That's what Satan has to offer you. Emptiness. Oh, you see. But he said he was going to give me this and he was going to give me that.
Be wrong, it's all emptiness.
Is there anything in there? No remnants of nothing is there?
God. Well, why don't you go sit down? But I have something for you a little later.
Empty.
You know, I often deliver coffee to the various accounts I deliver coffee cream, sugar, filters, you know. No doughnuts though.
We ought to do that because everybody asked me for doughnuts when I deliver the coffee.
Now.
Why don't we have a little girl come up here?
We have a little girl.
If you want to come up here.
This nice big box that had nothing but empty wrappers in it.
What are we going to do with those empty wrappers?
Throw them away. Oh yeah. You know where I live, we live out in the country and we burn all our stuff.
00:35:05
We have a burn barrel. We just burn it. And that's what I do with that because there's nothing. It has no value to me at all. No value. You know, the Lord Jesus, He's sweet and he's lovely and he wants to feed his soul.
And we I asked you earlier, do you like candy? And everybody says.
You know the Lord Jesus is sweet.
And he wants to fill your hungry soul with goodness. That's what he wants.
We're going to look in this little coffee box. Do you like coffee? No. And he likes coffee. Do you like coffee? Any Sometimes he drinks coffee with me in the morning. I have to put lots of cream in there, though.
We're going to look in here.
What's in there?
What is it? Bubblegum. Bubblegum. Why don't you smell that in there?
Does it smell good? Does it smell sweet?
You know, look at all this.
Look at it. Listen to all that awe. I love it.
You know, if you don't eat all this, I'm going to.
But you know, this is what the Lord has to offer you, not candy or bubble gum.
But the blessing of the Lord is insurmountable.
Isn't that something?
The Lord Jesus offers you the true riches.
He offered you the true riches, and all you have to do is receive it and it's good.
The Lord is good. And remember that children, when you make a decision.
Make the decision the Lord Jesus Christ for your life and all that you'll have in him will be nothing but blessings.
Who? That's the compassion of the Lord and how he desires you, He says. Come out from among the trees. You can sit down, sweetie. Come out from among the trees. You know, we hide behind our nice clothes.
Our suits, our cars, our homes, our dolls, our toys. We hide behind them.
You know, three speak of men and we hide, but the Lord Jesus says you have to come out.
He calls that he is down from that tree, that Sycamore tree. He was on that branch looking down for the Lord Jesus.
And he says, I want to find that man.
That man Christ Jesus and I want to talk to him and then he calls up and he says that he is come down. He says come down out of that tree and don't be hiding there and don't be looking come down.
And he received Jesus. What?
As a savior. But there's a there's a song that says and he received Jesus.
You remember?
Say it louder. He received Jesus joyfully.
He didn't hesitate when he heard the Lord Jesus say come down, he came down and received them joyfully.
And he knew that he was a Sinner.
And he knew that he took extra money from people. He's a tax collector and use did not like those tax collectors.
And he took the Lord Jesus to his house, and he made a feast there. And the Lord Jesus said.
This day of salvation come to this House.
No, your heart, he knocks. He wants you to come in and receive him joyfully and to have that blessing. You want to take it? I'm offering anybody some bubble gum.
You want to have some.
Look at all those hands. All of a sudden there's children out there. They just cropped up.
So as you receive this.
Piece of bubble gum.
Remember about receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, feeding upon him that sweetness and that loveliness, and receiving him joyfully.
Remember that. Make that decision for the Lord Jesus today, any older one, to receive him joyfully. Take him now and you'll have life evermore. And you'll have a new life. And you'll have a goal in life. And you'll have something to sing about. I want to tell you a little story before time's up. There was a boy. I know. We got lots of gum here. Don't don't worry. There was a boy. His dad died, and so he went to the big city.
00:40:23
To get a job. This is back. I don't know how long ago it was.
Anyhow, he got it. He got a job. He was sad. He was lonely. His mom wasn't there.
But he had to make some money and make a living to pay for his utility bills in his apartment. And he operated in the elevator in a big, big tall building he had to operate. So that must have been quite a while ago. Now you just press the button. Anyway, he was the elevator operator, and he was sad and lonely. He'd get on that elevator and nobody would talk to him to say, floor one.
5th floor, 6th floor, 20th floor. And that's all he heard all day long. One day he was walking in the park. He sat down and he looked sad and gloomy, and a man came up to him and told him the gospel.
And he heard that gospel message and he said that's for me.
And he had new life. He got saved.
He got saved and he got on that elevator with a smile and his eyes were lit up because he had new life in the Lord Jesus. And then he started talking to people, saying good morning, how are you? How are you doing? Which floor would you like? And pretty soon word got around. It was called the Sunshine Express elevator because he had new life before. It was dull and life was.
And then he was able to talk to other people about the Lord Jesus and people had got saved. Isn't that marvelous? He had new life, and that's what the Lord Jesus offers you, because you're old lion is nothing. It's full of sin. It's full of empty wrappers in a big box. And don't be hiding behind those trees.
Receive the Lord Jesus and come and get a piece of bubble gum. Come on.
This this one you get 2 like 2.
Remember, there's other people and that's all I have.
Don't take a hold on, sweetie, because there's other people coming, OK?
You're the Lord. Jesus has a lot more to offer than I do.
Did you get some? Here? Have to. Here you go, sweetie. Here you go. Did you get some?
Not too many.
Other people are coming.
OK, OK. Did you get some? Did you get some? Here you go, sweetie. There you go.
You get 2. Here you go.
Yeah, You're welcome.
That's fine. That's fine. He's a big kid.
Now I want to warn you.
I'm going to double warn you.
Looks like someone's coming back with more.
Let's sit down for a minute.
I thought I'd better give a little warning on the wrappers and on the gum because I might get in trouble for this.
I don't want to see it underneath the seat, and I don't want to see it laying on the streets or out in the carpet. So let's keep your gum in your mouth and the wrappers in your pocket. And when you're all done but becoming the wrapper, throw it in the trash. OK? Can you help me out that way? OK, why don't we just close with the word of prayer?
Our God and our Father, we thank you.