Address—B. Imbeau
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.
Till chapter 43.
And we'll read 3 verses here.
Ezekiel 43 and verse 10.
And thou.
Son of Man.
Show the House to the House of Israel that they may be ashamed of their iniquities, and let them measure the pattern.
In amphibious chained of all that they have done, show them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof.
And all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof. And all the forms thereof, And all the laws thereof. And write it.
In their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof.
And all the ordinances thereof and do them. This is the law of the house.
Upon the top of the mountain, the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy.
Behold, this is the law of the House.
I, and no doubt many others, were much exercised by.
Many of the comments made yesterday afternoon.
Some of the practical.
Results.
Some of our practical actions in connection with what the Lord has brought before us.
It seems that so much of scripture and I'm thinking at the moment of like prophecy.
Where the Lord has revealed thanks to His people.
And the expectation.
Number one, it was true #2 The Lord expected His people to know and to understand what was said.
But there was the expectation.
That even though some of those things were far off in the future.
He was expected that it was to affect their behavior.
At the moment.
In fact, much of prophecy.
Was given.
To bring the people of God to repentance.
Now.
And also strikes me that not only prophecy, which is something often the future, but that God tends to work that way.
And observe many times before that.
The epistles of Paul give, you know, a lot of teaching in the beginning parts and then what we often call practical things at the end.
That there's things for us to know and to appreciate.
But God expects that it will affect our pathway.
Of course, the subject that's before us is not necessarily what's here in Ezekiel, which was a temple that was to come.
But we've had before us some of the thoughts concerning the church.
And I have a question.
If I were in a household.
600 years ago.
And I was in a household of some means so that they were able to have a Bible.
And knowing that they were able to teach me how to read, which was not always two things you could take for granted 600 years ago.
What would I think about the Church of God?
It bothers me to ask that question of myself.
Because how much of my thoughts concerning God's word.
Has to do with my friends.
The home I was born in.
The folks who have spoken with me.
And how much have I really gleaned?
00:05:02
As being taught by the Spirit of God.
In reading the word of God.
We sometimes hear the expression.
Well brother, practice what you preach.
You know, the reality of that is.
We preach what we practice.
And so often depending on our culture.
Depending on our set of friends.
We take the precious Word of God and we mold it to fit.
Our own thoughts.
And I trust that as we sit in these meetings from.
Day-to-day that.
We can be challenged to listen to the Word of God.
Hear what God is actually saying, taking the opportunities to mold our thoughts to God's thoughts.
And then molding our lives from that.
Show the house.
Let them measure the pattern.
Show them the form.
Of the house.
Let's turn to Ephesians chapter 5.
I'd like to make a comment which.
Number one is.
True #2 is sad. The comment is this.
I'm really hardly qualified.
To really speak a whole lot about the church.
You might nod in agreement. So yeah, it's true.
Why is it sad?
Because we are all in the church.
It's something that we should all be so familiar with in our conversation.
In the things that we just consider even from day-to-day, it should be so, so fluent in our minds.
That none of us should have to say, well, I feel kind of unqualified to talk about church.
And yet.
I know when I'm asked, what church do you go to?
You know, I'm not always real quick and and often afterwards I say, well, I wish I'd said, you know something a little different.
I'm just not fluent in it.
Like we all should be.
Yes, there are those that the Lord has raised up in a very special way, I believe, and they should be acknowledged as such. Who are teachers?
But it doesn't mean that I need to sit on the back row. And I am literally sitting on the back row.
That oh, well, you know, I let them talk about it, let them kind of work it out and really get the details and, and, you know, but I'll just coast.
Now the things of God.
Are for the people of God.
00:10:02
Jude speaks.
Of the faith which was once delivered to the Saints.
That's all of us.
That's all of us.
To the six year old sitting here who belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The faith has been delivered once.
Has been delivered to you.
And not only that.
But I need to know it.
In my own heart, and surely in my mind as well, but in my own heart.
My own being to have the thoughts of the word of God.
That I can enjoy at anytime because you know I am a member of the Church of God on Monday as well as on Lords Day.
Ephesians.
Chapter 5.
And the expression that I just.
Wanted to bring out verse 25.
As Christ.
Also loved the church and gave himself.
For it.
What more central event is there in the entire history of mankind than the death of the Lord Jesus Christ? Nothing.
As profound as moving.
As important to both God and to man, and indeed to all creation.
At that time when the Lord Jesus Christ was on the cross.
And in particular those three hours.
And of course, his whole work.
His death, shedding of blood, and the rising again from the dead.
It took that event.
To form the church.
It took that event to form.
The church.
It does not take a shovel.
And a cornerstone and a foundation to make.
Church.
It was the death of Christ.
And only the death of Christ.
Occasionally you'll hear expressions like, well we better get seated, you know, church starts in about 5 minutes.
Have you ever heard that? I have.
No.
The church started on the day of Pentecost.
Do you know that?
Show them the form of the house.
Do I know, do you know what the church is?
What makes it that the death of Christ formed the Church?
Perhaps you've heard the expression in one place or another. Well, you know, we should do things, we should behave in a certain way when we're at church.
If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, can you tell me? Can you tell me?
When you're not in the church.
00:15:03
You're always in the church.
Every redeemed soul is in the Church.
At all times.
Show them the form of the house. It's just the way it is.
Turn with me please.
Acts.
Acts Chapter 19.
You're going to say this is a very odd passage to look at.
But you know, it's a passage that has an exception in it.
In most cases in Scripture.
In most cases in scripture where the word church is used.
What does church mean?
I think brother here mentioned it yesterday.
It means called out ones, called out ones.
And.
That's what it means. That's the word that we read when we read in our Bible church.
It's called out once. It's not a building, it's not a structure, it's called out ones. It's you.
Show them the form of the house. That's what it is. It's called out ones.
We sometimes use the word assembly.
And that's an excellent word.
I have a slight problem.
Because when I use the word assembly I think of the English.
Instead of the Greek.
For obvious reasons, it's all I speak is English.
And sometimes we miss the thought of called out ones even when we use the word assembly.
But there's an exception here in Acts 19 where in almost every place where it's called out ones.
In the Greek it's been translated as church.
And is used.
In connection with.
God's what God has formed in this world.
When acts 19 if I understand right?
It's apparently the same word, and it seems to be used in a completely different context. And indeed, it is a different context.
So let's read.
In verse 29 and the whole city. You can read the rest of the story if you wish.
Yourselves. The whole city was filled with confusion. Having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions and travel, they rushed with one accord into the theater. And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not. And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theater. Some therefore cried one thing and some another for the assembly. And if I understand right, I believe that's the same word as we usually translate church.
In King James was confused and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.
And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward, and Alexander beckoned with his hand, and so forth.
And then the city, the town clerk, who's like the mayor, he came.
And he says in verse 39, But if he inquire anything concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly. For we are in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no 'cause whereby we may give an account to this concourse. And when he thus spoken, he dismissed.
The assembly.
00:20:02
You know, sometimes exceptions in Scripture give us.
An insight, and I trust that this is an appropriate thought. There was this city.
And there was also.
A time when the same exact citizens of that city.
Went out of the city and came together into a place.
And that's and that's the thing.
They were part of that city, but to have been part of this, what's called an assembly, they had to actually, they had to get out. They had to.
To be separated from their homes, their individual homes, in the street that they lived on.
It was like they were called out.
And that's what God has done to us as we are saved.
We are called out of our circumstances by nature.
Shall we say the street and the house that we live in, on?
And been drawn to a different location.
And it's called the assembly.
And if you look at that little city there, I don't know how little it was, emphasis was probably a good size city.
If you look at that as the world.
God has called you out of that, has moved you, brought you along, and now has called you through His power.
The assembly.
He's done that through what Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. That is the power.
Is brought to us by the Spirit of God to bring us out of a city of destruction.
And made us these called out ones.
To His glory and His honor.
Now where is the practical part of that? Show them the form of the house.
So that there would be some practical result.
God has already pulled us out of this world system as called out ones and made his church. He's already done that.
Now come, Lord, say morning.
Or Tuesday evening, Wednesday evening, Thursday evening, whatever it might be in your city.
What are you physically, literally going to do?
Has already being a called out one as already being a part of the Assembly of God.
To use the expression from last.
Maybe yesterday.
Already having that position, is your seat then going to be empty?
Why do you break bread?
Let me ask another question.
Why don't you break breath?
Who breaks bread?
Christians break bread.
Are you a Christian?
Will breaking bread make you something different?
If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are already.
Are called out one you are already part of the assembly.
To take the bread and the cup does not make you a different person.
You already are a Christian.
It does not make you a Christian.
00:25:04
It does not make you part of the assembly.
You already are.
But you know.
I'm yeah. You know, there's some things that I do that, well, maybe it's not quite like it should be. And so I'm a little fearful to break bread.
You're a Christian.
Christian means Christ one.
Do you feel more responsible to men?
Than to the God of the universe.
As a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Already being called out from this world.
Already a part of the church that Christ has formed, you have but one to please.
And it's not your dad.
It's your savior.
Let us just see just a little bit.
Of what we are part of as Christians.
The Lord Jesus Christ prayed.
In John 17 there was a verse read from that chapter yesterday.
That they may be one even as we are one.
That expression that they may be one is used.
Is it three times in that chapter? Anyway? Several times.
Is that statement true? Has it been accomplished? Has the death, the work of Christ done it?
Yes.
It's done.
You're part of that.
Because you're a Christian.
Because you've accepted Christ as Savior.
You are one.
With all believers.
In this world.
We live in a dispensation that we call the Dispensation of Grace.
Many of us have been to a dispensary where we got some medications. What do you do at a dispensary? You hand out the medications. You dispense them.
And so we live in a dispensation where God has handed out grace.
He has not handed out law to you, he's handed out grace.
It's also the dispensation of the Spirit of God.
Where God has handed out the Spirit.
There's a sister in this room that gave me this illustration.
In connection with the Spirit of God in our time.
You take balloons.
You make them into water balloons.
You put them in a barrel.
You then fill that barrel with water.
And so the Spirit has been dispensed.
To you inside that balloon.
00:30:00
The Spirit has been dispensed to us.
In that barrel.
It's true of you when you're born again.
Christ has been accepted as your own Savior.
You are that water balloon in that barrel of water. Scripture speaks of the unity of the Spirit.
How strong is the Spirit?
The unity of the Spirit.
Now keep it.
In the bond of peace.
We go from what is what is already true.
And we support it as a testimony in this world.
And so we're part of the church we're in. Dwell through the Spirit of God.
We're united by the Spirit of God to one another.
We are one.
Then, of course, comes the practical part. What God has thrust upon us always has in His Word, has always given to His people to hear it, to understand it, and then let it affect.
Your behavior at the present.
Moment.
Can I see as I sit down in the Lords presence?
Can I see and know?
That the work of Christ.
Has formed the church.
And then encouraged in my own soul, having that joy before me.
Of what the Lord has done.
Can I go on in faithfulness?
To that truth and faithfulness to my Lord.
There's a House of God.
You're part of that House of God.
There's also a great house.
There's a testimony given to things that has collapsed.
But does man's failure change God's truth?
We have an anchor.
And Anchor is not affected by whether I was born 600 years ago and lived in such and such a family or whether I live now.
God's truth is all predicated, all based on the work of Christ.
Every part of it is based on the work of Christ.
But am I willing to go on in some way that's in conformity with that?
With that.
I'm part of the body of Christ.
Because I'm a Christian. Because you're a Christian, you're part of the body of Christ.
If you happen to go somewhere else, it doesn't mean you're in a different part of the body of Christ.
00:35:01
No, we're set in the body of Christ as it hath pleased him.
To see his hand, his work.
View his form and pattern of that.
House to go again to Ezekiel.
All these things.
That you have been brought into.
That is the pattern that Christ has already given to us in His Word.
Smile.
He's done it for His pleasure and for our blessing.
Now go on.
In conformity where your practical existence from day-to-day, not from Sunday to Sunday, but from day-to-day.
Is in conformity with what Christ has already done.
And brought us into.
All right.
And I fooled her with it. All of us where?
00:40:19
311.
We thank the.
This afternoon, our God and Father.
For the privilege.
That we have had we've been reminded of before the.
Of being called out once we're reminded in the breaking bread this morning that it wasn't because we were anything special without it. Set thy love upon us.
But because thou didst love us.
And because not its love is not its give.
The Lord Jesus Christ.
And because he has died.
We are called out to him.
And we thank thee for reminding us.
What that means?
Reminding.
Us that we are members of the church.
His body, his bride, for whom he died.
Called out to him. We ask that as we separate this afternoon, some going on that we might remember.
His claims upon us.
And the reality of that call that it's not merely.
Not merely a claim.
But it's the claim of the Son of God.
That that claim bears absolute authority.
That the Lord Jesus Christ has gone.
To the cross to establish it, and he lives to validate it. And that claim, whether we recognize it, our God and Father is still.
To ring in our ears.
To echo in our hearts.
And we are responsible.
We thank thee.
For the hope before us.
For all that thy love as prepared.
We again ask my blessing upon each one, and commit ourselves to thy care. In Jesus name, Amen. Amen. Amen.