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214.
This is part of a verse in Revelation chapter 4, verse one.
Revelation chapter 4, verse one. After this I looked and behold the door was opened in heaven, and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me which said come up, hit her.
We haven't finished Ephesians 1.
Would that be suitable to continue?
Yes, I would think so.
What do you suggest you start?
Well, we were talking about a lot in general terms and, uh.
I would suggest verse 12 or verse 13. Is that about right?
00:05:10
Walt, can you read it for me?
12 verse 12.
Ephesians one, verse 12, That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ, and whom ye also trusted. After that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession.
Unto the praise of His glory. Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the Saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance and the Saints.
And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us? Were to believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when He raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and have put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church.
Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth All in all.
I would suggest that there are.
A couple of things that can be noticed here in connection with this 12Th verse.
Back in verse six we have the expression to the praise of the glory of His grace.
Because.
What we have in verses 3-4 and five concern us.
But what we have in verses 10 and 11, while they concern us.
If we could use the expression, they first of all concern Christ. And so as I pointed out before, and others have too.
When Peter and John and others preached the gospel in the early chapters of Acts, they began with man's need and how God had met that need. And that's wonderful. But when Paul preached the gospel, he preached it from a different point of view. He calls it my gospel. And Paul's gospel begins with God's purposes in Christ. And so the order is important because in verse 10.
We have God's purposes in Christ. In verse 11 we have how that God brings you and me into blessing with Christ.
And then the expression is that we should be not simply to the praise of the glory of His grace, although that is true, but to the praise of His glory. And so, as dawn was calling to our attention yesterday.
And it has been remarked before that the 10th verse is really the key to the understanding of the whole Bible.
Because we might say in one sense, that the reason God created this world was to use it as the stage, if you like, on which to work out His purposes concerning His beloved Son.
And when he's finished with the world as it is today, he'll burn it up because he doesn't need it in that sense anymore for that purpose. But in this world, and excuse me, through the present creation, God is using it as a place to.
Work out His purposes concerning His Son, in order that He might be head over all things, both which are in heaven and which are on earth. Well, isn't it wonderful that in a coming day you and I are going to see that Blessed One exalted His head over all things, and we brought into favor with Him are going to be to the praise of His glory?
00:10:19
No. Of course Paul is talking mainly in verse 12 about himself and others who first trusted in Christ. But then in verse 13 he brings the Ephesians in true.
In two and others who had heard the gospel. And that reaches all the way down to the present day to us, doesn't it? We too are included in that expression in verse 13, In whom ye also trusted, and so on.
So it's the Jewish believers in verse 12, isn't it? And the Gentiles, which includes us in verse 13. It's interesting. He says we and in verse 13, ye. And so Jews and Gentiles both are brought into blessing. But it's interesting.
First trusted in Mr. Darby's translation. It's pre trusted because the whole nation is going to be brought.
Into blessing in the future day, but prior to that time there are those who are brought into blessing in this way that we have in versus 12 and 13.
Through the Holy Spirit.
Being brought into what we have later in the chapter, the body of Christ.
Just as an expression, Bob, is that what Paul means in First Corinthians 15 when he speaks of himself as one being born out of due time? Is that the thought there?
You have the nation as a whole.
Connection with these verses, I'd like to have us notice a little bit of the Lord's Prayer in John 17.
In John 17.
Where the Lord is giving his prayer.
In anticipation of the time when he would no longer be on earth, but he was going back to heaven. And so he speaks to the Father concerning that and he says in verse six, I have manifested thy name under the man which thou gave us me out of the world. That's the 12 apostles and others who put their faith in the Lord Jesus but.
Particularly the apostles were before him, and he prays about them, but then later in his prayer he says verse 20, neither pray I for these alone, but for them also, which shall believe on me through their word. And we come into that class. We are some who have believed through the word.
That they were given and uh, So what is he says after the his prayer for them? Well, he's just to get the umm, notice verse 22. Since our verse is about glory, he says, and the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them.
That they may be one even as we are one.
And uh, verse 23 I and them and thou and me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know.
That thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me.
In the coming day, in the Millennium, the world is going to see us.
In association with himself and his glory. And the world's gonna know.
That is to the exceeding greatness of His own glory, that the world is going to see Him and those who are in association with Him and know the heart of God in love. That God would take people as they were, the Gentile and others of the Jews on this earth, and bring them into a relationship with Himself who's worthy of that glory.
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But it is to the greatness.
The focus is on the greatness of himself, and then the world's gonna look at that and know.
His glory in a way that when they see His glory displayed in those who are in himself and in those who are in association with him, uh, then they'll say, as it were, the world will say, thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me. His heart was for us in that. And when we are identified with Him and his glory, then the world will look at that and say, whoa.
God loves them like he loves him and, uh.
That's beyond my little mind to to fathom that God loves me like he loves his Son. But that's what he says.
Maybe we just have to say, Oh yeah, of little faith, but God wants the whole world to see that. And when it does, it's the display of the greatness of the glory of the person that has so done such a work that others could be associated with them as they will be.
Little other example of that in a similar character is when the Queen of Sheba went up to visit Solomon.
And she saw his servants.
It was to Solomon's glory.
It was to Solomon's glory.
But when she saw the place and performance, I suppose you would say, of the servants of Solomon.
It was to Solomon's glory and God is working that out in us to the end result that we will be fully, properly to His glory.
If we're honest with it, we would have to say, well, I can't say I am now in the way I will be, but he says the day is coming when I finish the work I'm doing. And you'll be like one of Solomon's servants. You will be to his glory in the day of his glory before, not only in heaven, but it before this world.
Verse 13 we have the Spirit of God.
As the seal.
It says after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.
So it's the gospel is brought in, the gospel of our salvation, which is includes the work of Christ, very important, the work of Christ because salvation is based on what happened at Calvary, the work of redemption.
There, when we believe that, then God puts his seal on us to Marcus as his own.
Somebody has said that the ceiling is for security.
And the earnest is for enjoyment in verse 14. The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance. We've been talking about the inheritance, verse 11.
And God wants us to enjoy the fact that we have an inheritance. In fact, He's so interested that we enjoy it now, brethren, that he gives the earnest.
The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance.
Brother Gordon Hayhoe used to give the illustration. I thought it was very good.
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Supposing there is a piece of property in the Chicago area that has a price tag of $100,000.
Somebody is interested.
Very interested and they come to put a down payment on it.
And he says, I'm so interested in getting this property, I'm going to give you a down payment of $1,000,000.
Well, you say that the price tag is only 100,000.
Yes, but I'm so interested that I wanna put that payment down of, uh, a down payment of $1,000,000. And so when you compare the inheritance and the earnest of the inheritance that God has given us now, which is greater?
Necessarily the earnest is greater the spirit of God. Just think of it, brethren, God has put his spirits, his spirit into.
Our hearts into our bodies, uh, I don't think we really grasp that properly. Tremendous import of that, uh, fact that the God, the Holy Spirit dwells in these bodies of ours.
And so this present age in which we live is often been called the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. It's when the Spirit of God is down here in this world, in God's people, the church.
He inhabits the church, the habitation of God through the Spirit. Wonderful, and so in verse.
13 it's the seal for security in verse 14. It's the earnest for enjoyment. He wants us to enjoy these things. I must say, brother and I have enjoyed going over in Scripture what relates to the inheritance. And our inheritance is extremely great and I think we need to stop and think about it and realize how great our inheritance is.
And again, I say, as we mentioned yesterday, if we do that, it will deliver us from the materialism that seems to motivate the culture that we're passing through.
O brethren, our inheritance.
You have a father that is not that wealthy. Why? You might expect something of an inheritance when he passes on, but if your father is extremely wealthy, then you will get something that is far greater.
And since God is our Father, brethren, we should be interested in what the inheritance is. And I think we have the inheritance in its widest sphere presented to us here in Ephesians one and verse 10. It says all things in Christ, both which are in heaven.
And which are on earth even in him, so that the inheritance is every created thing.
Could not be more wealthy.
I so enjoyed years ago the.
Story of old brother Harry Hagel. Can you tell it better for me, Don?
Felt better, but I was sitting here thinking about it. Thank you so much, you said.
He used to travel a lot on the train.
And, uh, as he traveled on the train as a way of engaging people in conversation.
Uh, he, as they got out into the countryside, he point out the window to a farm that had some cows or something on it and he'd say, see those, those belong to my father.
They drive on or you know, the train, I'll go down the tracks X some more miles and he'd lock out the window again. It's something else. You see that land there? That land belongs to my father. And of course what he was doing was leading him to say who's your father? And that was the opening. He wanted it to say that God is my father. But as Co heirs with Christ and the way Bob was presenting it to us, he could have said, you know, I'm going to inherit all that.
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If if in the sense of our chapter, he his story didn't go that way because he he was trying to focus on getting them to ask him the question that he got to preach the gospel to them. But we could look out the window and say, well, that's part of my inheritance.
But I also remember another brother in the other way. Uh.
Having to do with these things, he.
Took up a position in this world that perhaps is not very suited to a heavenly citizen in contrast to earth. And someone said to him, aren't you raining a little early, brother? And uh, I think sometimes we need to recognize we do wrong really of not identifying ourselves with the Lord Jesus and his present rejection if we seek a place in this world.
That he could not have now.
And so these things are for our present enjoyment and anticipation of when they are to be realized. And it's good for us to recognize even in that, that he himself.
Will not take his inheritance until we can have it with him.
That's a precious thing, brethren, to think that he, he, he in his own heart, he would say, well, I can't I I don't want my inheritance yet.
Because those that are going to have it with me are not all with me yet. And so until he can take this inheritance which is his and which we are Co heirs, then he says no, I'll wait.
That's what we have in the second part of verse 14, until the redemption of the purchased possession under the praise of His glory.
What is the redemption of the purchased possession? We go back to Matthew chapter 13.
In the parables, one of several of which are, uh, likenesses of the Kingdom of heaven. It's interesting what it says there in uh.
Uh, verse. Umm.
44 Again, the Kingdom of heaven is likened to a treasure.
Hit in the field which the witch, when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth, and bieth, and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. He bought the whole field. He was looking at the treasure, but he bought the whole field in another place that says The field is the world.
So when the Lord Jesus died on the cross, he paid the price not only to redeem us, His people, but He prayed the price to redeem the whole creation.
Is going to bring it all out from under the ******* of corruption.
In that coming day of glory. And So what it says here, the redemption of the purchased possession, it's that day when he's going to take his inheritance and bring it out from under the ******* of corruption under which it groans to this day. Wonderful, beautiful fact.
Like to notice a verse, It's a little different aspect of this not so much chapter of Ephesians one, but I think it's worthy to notice it if you go back to Isaiah chapter one.
We'll see the use of the word redemption.
In its general meaning, but a little bit different aspect of it.
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Then, uh, what we have in Matthew 13.
He paid the price.
At the cross, really to have the world.
Uh, to bring it back out of its condition into a condition that is pleasing and satisfying to God.
But the world doesn't. We're not talking so much here about individual souls, but the world doesn't want to accept that. It's not going to be happy when he says I'm now going to claim what I have a right to. So I just like to notice the consequence of that in Isaiah chapter one.
And, uh, the Lords here referring to Israel.
And uh, he says verse 20.
Uh, but ye, if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. How is the faithful city? That's Jerusalem, the common harlot?
It was full of judgment. Righteousness lodges in it. But now murderers, the silver has become dross, the wine is mixed with water, The Princess, the leaders, if you will, are rebellious and companions of these and so on. And he then states that he's going to bring judgment upon the beloved city, beloved, to his own heart. And the verse I want to really notice is verse.
Umm, verse 27. Zion. That's the Bluff City.
The only city on earth that specifically in Scripture he says my city, the only land on earth other than owning the whole earth itself in its broad sense that he calls my land, is the land of Israel as a very special place in his heart. And so he says in verse 27, Zion shall be redeemed with judgment.
Solemn thing, but it to claim that which is his to get it back for himself, he's going to have to do it by judgment. And so we see in the tribulation the execution of that by judgment to bring that which is his back into his own place and as a possession and, uh.
We won't be part of that, but it ought to solemnize our hearts to see the state of rebellion against him by his people. That is the Israel right now, the people in the land in a general sense.
Have something of the character of Isaiah 2 where they say, look what we've done, look at this land, look what we've done against all enemies. We've held this land, it's ours. And the Lord is going to bring His hand on that because it's the voice of pride. And they will be humbled before they're restored to Him so that they will be brought into that state where they say salvation.
Is of the Lord.
And not themselves in their present state of saying look what we've done.
There's a solemn days ahead before the Lord will have his.
His glory, and even in the property sense of the word, it's redeemed. The property itself is redeemed by judgment.
And not to complicate matters here, but I've enjoyed, I trust from the Lord, a precious thought in connection with this. I believe that verse 10, which we have already identified as perhaps the key verse of the whole Bible, will find its expression during the millennial day. That is, in that day the glory of the Lord, as we've already heard, will.
Uh, fill the earth and also we know the glory of Christ will fill heaven and he will indeed be head over all things both in heaven and which are on earth but.
In another sense, again, if I may quote Brother Harry Hayhole, he said, remember that the Millennium is only the front porch to the eternal state.
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What does that mean? It means that the So excuse me.
The day of the Lord that is referred to in Scripture.
Not only that is the Day of Judgment not only refers to the judgments that will usher in the Millennium.
It really takes in the whole of the millennial day and it takes in that judgment, those judgments, I should say, at the end of the Millennium, first of all, when there is a tremendous rebellion after 1000 years of peace and righteous government and blessing. And secondly, the great White Throne judgment that our brother Bob referred to in the gospel last night. Both of those take place at the end of the Millennium.
And it's in the eternal state that the full fruit, the full blessing from the work of Christ will be realized. And so while I believe with all my heart that what we have here is going to find its expression during the Millennium, it's really all pointing and leading up to a day. As are Him in the little flock. Him book puts it, all taint of sin shall be removed, all evil done away.
And we shall rest with God's beloved through God's eternal day. Well, what a future there is for us. And we might remind ourselves that although the Kingdom is finite.
It'll last for 1000 years. The inheritance, I believe, is eternal, as Brother Lundin used to remind us, When God gives Christ his inheritance and you and I share it with him, he never takes it away again. Well, again, it reminds us, and it speaks to our hearts as we've just heard. How can we possibly get enamored with the things of this world when?
All that is before us.
Add a little to that.
Umm, the next big day, if you will, for the earth is is Bill just said is the day of the Lord. But the very expression brings something of the fact that there's.
Lord is authority, and often authority over that which may rebel.
And the Kingdom of 1000 years will require reigning for authority to maintain the order of that. And the reason is because they're still sin in existence.
And as long as there's sin and existence, God cannot rest.
God cannot rest.
When Adam sends.
God's rest was broken and is never come back. Lord Jesus, when he was here, you could say my Father worketh hitherto and I work, and even through the whole of the millennial day that work will have to continue.
And only.
The day of God that's been referred to can come when all sin is forever removed from God's creation, and then God will dwell with man without, and then he calls it the day of God, the time when God is able to dwell with man and there will be no longer sin, and so God can rest and he will rest forever.
And he won't need to govern which will satisfy his own heart. And so in the day of God, there's nothing about reigning. There's nothing connected with that anymore. It's not really God's desire. He introduced that to keep order. But when it's no longer necessary it it's brought down to its most simple God satisfying condition.
And God will rest in His pleasure, and He will rest for eternity and not need to maintain anything in the sense of governing over it.
But just to dwell with man in the common.
Mutual enjoyment of the satisfaction of his own heart and his son and man likewise to be satisfied in the sun.
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Another.
Sort of assurance. We have here what Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 1.
Now he which established us with you in Christ.
And half annoying the dozen is God, who has also sealed us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
So this makes me think that we can get lost.
Whatever happens.
You said we cannot get lost. Is that what you said?
But here it's interesting in that verse, brother, that there is not only the ceiling and the earnest in verse 21, there is the anointing.
And we have that in First John chapter 2.
For intelligence, for understanding the Scriptures, the Spirit of God is the anointing. Also for power and service, the Spirit of God is the anointing. Says in book of the Acts that when the Lord Jesus went out in service, he was anointed by the Spirit of God. Spirit of God came upon him. We know at the.
Time he was baptized, and then he went forward in his earthly service down here in this world.
Wonderful too, to realize that.
The power to go forward in service is the power of the Spirit of God in US.
RIP the rest of the chapter. Here is a prayer of the apostle. I think we've mentioned that yesterday, but it is tremendously beautiful prayer and so much to be gleaned here says wherefore verse 15. I also after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto all the Saints, cease not to give thanks for you making mention of you.
In my prayers.
This beautiful making mention of you in my prayers.
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.
We mentioned yesterday in verse three begins out blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And it's beautiful to see that in verse 17, the prayer begins.
To the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. Whereas in chapter 3 there's another prayer in verse 14, that is to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And it's in keeping with the character of the prayer.
The prayer here in verse chapter one is more towards those things that are without, and in chapter 3 the prayer is about those things that are more within.
That.
Uh, he deals with here, but beautiful contrast here, brother, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, dear, the Father of glory God is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ both.
And the relationship of father is something that he.
Enjoyed eternally.
He's the eternal Son of God, so that that was never a time when he became the Son of God. Important, wonderful truth. He's the eternal Son of God.
But when he became a man.
He then could look up to.
God as God because he had become a man and then genes are in Psalm 22. He says thou art my God from my mother's belly. So as soon as he became Incarnate in the womb of the Virgin Mary, he could say thou art my God. Wonderful to think about it, the Lord Jesus.
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Speaks of the God and Father, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so we enjoy both things, Brethren, God is our God, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, but he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so we can enjoy those things because it is true of us.
We see it here. We see it many places in Paul's epistles and elsewhere. The three characteristics of Christian life are given here, and they're very interconnected. If one of them is not active in our lives, it's going to affect the other two very shortly. Those three things and umm Paul in his prayer.
Uh, brings them something out, but when he says in verse.
15 He gives the first two of them.
I heard of your faith. That's number one.
In the Lord Jesus and love, that's number two.
Those are two characteristics of Christian life, and it's very often love of the brethren, because having eternal life in me displays itself in my love.
It's an evidence, it's a mark that it's there, it to be seen in the life. And so the love is always part of it, but it begins there with the first aspect, faith and love. And then the third, you might say pillar is that for which Paul is praying here. And it's in verse 18 that you may know what is the hope.
And the hope is the third aspect of Christian life. You see it in newborn believers in First Thessalonians chapter one, UMM, speaking about their faith, hope and love when they turn to God from idols and so on.
Umm, And just a comment connecting it with some of the other things that we've had over the weekend and with regard to these three things.
When the church in Ephesus, this church right here is addressed in what sometimes is called the 2nd Epistle to the Ephesians in Revelation chapter 2, when they're addressed as an assembly again later.
He says I have something against you.
And then he says you've left your first love.
What's the consequence if the love of these three things is not active as it should be?
It opens the door to the world.
And when it opens the door to the world, it gives access to the world to have a place in us if our hearts are not taken up with that which is our own in Christ. And whence the world gets a point of entry, as you see in the progression of the seven churches, until the 7th church, the world is so taken over the profession of Christianity that the Lord has seen on the outside knocking to come in.
If any and and Laodicea, the world had completely got an entrance in and in the process, once it gets an entrance in, it's going to make us earthly minded or it has no other hope for itself but earth. And so it's important for us in the recognition of the prayer and these things that we need to have the hope.
To be heavenly minded and recognize we're a heavenly people. But I just also say two other things are very important to the maintenance of that, and they are at the activity of love and the faith that characterizes Christian life.
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In the beginning of.
Chapter verse 18 We have the eyes of our of your understanding, being enlightened.
Now JJ and David says the eyes of your heart being enlightened.
Oh, that would mean that we have to have a a heart for these things.
Not just outward understanding that we could maybe even boast of it, but inward appreciation.
Of these things.
Namely, our closeness to the Lord and our God.
And he goes on, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints.
This all goes together.
The real challenge? I really believe that, brethren.
We need to have our eyes opened as to spiritual realities. We have the verse in Second Corinthians chapter 4 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, and the things which are not seen are eternal. Everything visible is passing away.
And the culture which we're passing through makes its full emphasis on things that are visible.
Brethren were not called to that. We are called to something that will last forever and we need to have our eyes opened us to that. I must say it's been a challenge to me to go into some of the poorer parts of the earth and to see some individuals that the Lord has given to have their eyes opened as the spiritual realities and how much enjoyment there is.
It's been a tremendous challenge to me to see how much I have been robbed with the, uh, enjoyment of spiritual realities by the occupation, with present things, visible temporal things. Yes, we're passing through a world where there's a lot of temporal things, and in a certain way we have to relate to it. But if we can.
Have our eyes focused on what's beyond?
Oh how, what a difference it's going to make. And I've mentioned it before, but it's so impressive me with the way the Lord Jesus passed through this world as a homeless stranger.
He had so little material things down here, next to nothing. He did have a few things, but why did he live so simply?
Brethren, he came from the Father's house, and it wasn't that. It's wrong to have those things.
But there is nothing down here to attract his heart to those things.
Since he knew what it meant to dwell in the Father's house, brethren, may the Lord help us to have our eyes opened just feel increasingly how much we've been robbed by occupation with present material things. May God grant that we would have the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him that the eyes of our.
Hearts he brought out was being enlightened that we may know, and as I was mentioned yesterday, there are three things specifically. First is what is the hope of his calling? Second, what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints? And then third, verse 19, what is the exceeding?
Greatness of his power to us were to believe according to the working of his mighty power just like the apostle Paul just runs out of adjectives and Speaking of the immensity of the power that's in operation to bring us into.
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The enjoyment of these things.
Just emphasize again.
The eyes of the understanding of your heart. True knowledge.
Finds its lodging not in the brain.
In the heart.
And maybe this illustration will help by turning this whole subject upside down for a moment.
Suppose you took a man of the world, an earthling to heaven.
We're on earth as a heavenly people, but let's turn it around for a moment and let's take an earthly man to heaven.
Would he be happy?
No.
His thought would be I wanna get out of here.
I'm not interested here.
There's nothing in heaven that satisfies.
The earthly.
You see the Lord Jesus here. Does that satisfy unearthly man? No.
We will not have this man.
Well, so I go to the home of the man. Is he gonna satisfy me? Because it's a different environment and I'm gonna suddenly say, whoa, heaven's a nice place, No.
Not at all, he'll say. There's nothing here that satisfies the desires of my heart.
I wanna go back to earth.
The activities here don't have anything that satisfies me. Remember Me is sinful flesh. That's all he's got to work with. And so he would say the man here, no, I don't have any interest in him. The activity here, what's people are interested in, I don't understand it. I really don't have any interest for it. I want to go back where I was.
And he would. The first thing he'd want to do is get out of heaven and and get back to earth.
What attracts us to Earth is the same thing that attracts him to Earth.
Is that which has to do with the sinfulness of the first man. And so we're constantly exhorted to say, and it's takes a lifetime, I think, to learn it, but we're exhorted to say, I'm dead to that.
And what attracts the heart is the new of the new life, and heaven is perfectly satisfied to it. But it's lay hold of my faith because our eyes spiritually are connected with faith. Unbelief blinds.
And our hearing is connected with our will in a spiritual sense. He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear. If our will is involved for earth, then we'll say, I don't want to hear right now. We'll be like the little boy or girl that puts their hands over their ears. I I don't want to listen. I want what I want. Same way with the man in John nine. He had a he believed in his eyes were open spiritually and naturally.
The Pharisees who say we believe are in that chapter, John 9. Their unbelief made them blind, and so we don't take in the truth of God except through the senses.
But the senses that are important, if the eye is the eye of faith and the submissive ear that take them into our minds and they have to go through our consciences and then they find their lodging in our hearts, and when they do, there's understanding.
And peace and satisfaction. But these things war against us that keep us, you might say, at times half blind.
Or too stubborn to accept and submit and we're not understanding as a result.
What was the main occupation of the Lord Jesus when He was here on this earth?
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It was having a heart for those who were in trouble for the sick.
And he drove out demons.
And when a man came to him and said or in a man spoke up out of the crowd and said.
Lord, I want you to tell my brother.
To divide the inheritance with me.
What did the Lord Jesus say?
What have I to do with these things?
He didn't want to have anything to do with that.
His heart went out to the people who had needs.
The power that's looking up here in verse 19.
And 20 is interesting, brother. And when we look at creation, it is a tremendous display of the power of God. And the more you study the universe and see the tremendous expanse of the universe and realize we're talking about a God who spoke and it was done, the power of God, that is.
Evident in creation is incredible, but here we have the power of God in a different sphere completely. And how was it displayed not in creation but in resurrection? Doug was talking about that last meeting and it says which he wrought in Christ verse 20, when he raised him from the dead.
And set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.
Far above all principality and power and might and dominion, in every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.
It's just amazing, brethren, to think that God reached down and took the Lord Jesus from that place of death and raised him until the Lord Jesus.
As a man is in the highest place in the whole universe.
There's a man there. A man.
A real man of the human race in the glory of God, far above all principality and power and might and dominion. Oh, isn't it wonderful, brethren, to realize His presence there, and not only realize His presence there, but realized the relationship that we have to Him in that place?
And that's where we come to the end of the chapter. And hath put all things under his feet.
And gave him to be. And notice this it doesn't say head of the church.
That head over all things to the Church, which is his body.
The fullness of him that filleth All in all, so that every situation.
That takes place in the life of a believer. The Lord Jesus is head.
Over it all in relation and so when things happen that can be rather negative in our lives.
How important it is, brethren, to not be short sighted. So often we get occupied with that brother that doesn't understand me.
For that neighbor, that gives me a hard time.
Brethren, let's not be short sighted and just look at him and instruments. Let's look up to that man in the throne of God to whom we are united here and now. We are united. Every situation of my life, every situation of your life is directly controlled by that man in the glory of God.
No wonder the Apostle Paul later on in this book, in chapter four, he says, I therefore the prisoner of whom does he say of a prisoner of Rome? That's what he was. No, he doesn't say that. That would have been short sighted. He says the prisoner of the Lord isn't that beautiful, brother? He accepted it from the Lord's hand. And that's where we need to get in our souls, brethren.
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Oh, the wonderful reality of the fact that even now, in the day in which we live, when there is so much ruin in the public testimony, we are united to that man in the glory of God, his head not only of his church, but his head over all things to the church. Wonderful, wonderful reality.
Greater light brings greater responsibility.
We just over time is gone but in First Samuel chapter 12.
Umm, just a few verses in contrast with what we've we've read in this chapter. It talks about not ceasing to pray for them. Umm, there's another few verses in First Samuel chapter 12 That talks about Samuel's promise to pray for Israel.
First Samuel chapter 12, verse 20, there's very brief comments because the time is gone. But Samuel said to the people, fear not, you've done all this wickedness yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart, and turn you not aside. For then you should go after vain things, which cannot profit or deliver for their vain. For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great namesake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you as people wherever. Moreover, As for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you.
But I will teach you the good and right way. Only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart. For consider how great things he has done for you. Uh, and then in Lamentations chapter 3, just a very, just one verse to put in contrast with what we've had in the end of this chapter, Lamentations chapter 3 and verse 26.
We read from verse 25, the Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both open quietly, wait for the salvation of the Lord. Samuel and in this case Jeremiah were among those who we would say had.
Tremendous spiritual light among their contemporaries, but it doesn't even begin to compare with what we have.
They were still and there were going to be with them in heaven, but they they didn't couldn't have the perspective. We can look back now. We have the complete word of God in our hands. We have the Holy Spirit in us. We have not. You wait and quietly wait because you don't even know exactly what your hope is. Our hope is so clearly laid out for us. It's not something that takes speculation that they had to sometimes, if I could say, serve without much light, and many of them did.
We are so much more responsible and comparably more responsible. And one of the things that they both said, Samuel said it to them, Paul said it here. Cease not to make mention for a few of my prayers, Umm.
Think of, and if I can use this to practical example, it struck me many times, uh, knowing what he did know. And I don't think in some ways he had the life that we've been given, but Hudson Taylor prayed by name for over 1000 people a day. How many of us could name 1000 people to pray for in a day? We go from here, We've had this and yet there was a, there's a practical, if I could put an assignment that we can have to pray that we each can enjoy what we have in Christ.
For heavenly people, we have far more light than anyone had in the Old Testament. Our hope is now clearly laid out for us. The work is done. Christ has died, is risen, He's ascended into the glory and umm.
He's waiting perhaps today to take us home to be with him.
237.
The third stanza, His faithfulness is forever sure for endless ages will endure His perfect work through the depth of his unchanging love. 237.
Rejoice.
And pray.
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Amen, Grace.
Song of Solomon, I think it's Chapter 7.
Song of Solomon, Chapter 7.
And verse 10.
I am my beloved.
And his desire?
Is toward me. Spray.