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I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you want worthy of the vocation wherewith here Paul, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, even as he are called. In one hope you're calling 1 Lord, 1 faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all, and in you all.
But unto every one of us who've given grace according to the measure of the gift of Frank. Wherefore he says, when He ascended up on high, He let captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. Now that He offended, what is it that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended at the same also that ascended up far above all heaven, that He might fill all things. And he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists.
And some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
That would be henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie and wait to deceive.
But speaking the truth and love may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplier, according to the effectual working and the measure of every part, make us increase of the body to the edifying of itself and love. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God.
With ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart, who being past feeling have given themselves over until lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ, if so be that ye have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus. That you put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful love, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man.
Whichever God is created in righteousness and true holiness, wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and send that let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor working with his hands distinguishes good that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth. But that was just good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed until the day of redemption.
With all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking, be put away from you with all malice, and be kind one to another, tender hearted and forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake and forgiven you.
One more, one face, one baptism, one God and Father of all. So then he has a note where it says there is one body, it says.
It may be translating. The body is 1 and so on. Body is 1, Spirit is one. God is 1, Lord is one.
00:05:05
If we could leave this out there is or is the forest would be so much the greater just be part of this because the question was asked where it says in verse 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit to move on to peace and move on to peace.
The question was asked if we break it. Of course not. The the Spirit has formed one body and there is one God.
And that means to walk together in unity.
The enemy has done his work in Christendom, and there are funders, maybe thousands of denominations and bodies that Christians are identified with. That's not keeping the unity of the Spirit. You can't make that. We can't change it. We can't break it. The Spirit of God has formed it. There's one Lord and there's one gone, and there's one Spirit and there's one body.
That truth, if it gets a hold of medium view in front of us, ought to say that.
OK, I've sent it this way, I said. I think the worst sin that a Christian can commit is to support divisions in the church.
There's that. That's just totally contrary to what the church is. The church is one body formed by 1 Spirit, united to 1 Lord and and and worships one God and Father of all. Just one and these other false.
And, uh, we have to hang our heads in chain that the enemy has done in the, the realms of brethren as well as other parts. And, uh, it's a shame. The enemy knows that he wants to divide, scatter and do his evil work and he's done it. But it's great for us to hold fast to the truth that we have in Scripture and we brought in peace.
And unity by the Spirit for the glory of the same Lord and for the honor of our Father. That's our responsibility. We have such a precious remembrance this morning.
The Dean was concentrating on the Blessed Lord in glory and his precious every Lord, stay Lord.
I was asked. I asked one of my dear family.
We used to be with us and it's not. She's connected with some denomination and so on. I said to her, I said, did you remember the Lord Jesus in his death, Bless the Lord's Day.
00:10:39
When it says endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit, we can't break it. The Spirit of God keeps it, and we can keep it in the proper expression of it by walking in the truth of the long life.
There are some verses in the Galatians that establish that to check and might have to read a few of them.
In Galatians 5.
Obviously one verse to start with and then I'll go back and read a few more. I think the 25th verse you notice in our chapter walk, were they the vocation wherever they were called? Walk, It's our walk. Now Relations talks about that in the 25th verse of Galatians 5. It says if you live in the Spirit.
Let us also walk in the Spirit.
Our walk, what we do and our our place.
Enforces our testimony more than our thoughts if it doesn't agree with the scripture, and that's one thing that the Spirit of God always does.
He always instructs us according to the Word of God. The Spirit of God never guides the child of God apart from the Word of God There, there's there's nothing person learning that we have the spirit. There is one spirit, there is one body. Now to walk in it.
Uh, well, we go back to this, uh, fifth chapter of relations again and read a few more verses. The first verse says stand fast into liberty for his crisis made us free and be not entangled again with the use of *******. That establishes what was the trouble then so prevalent is to go back to the, uh, the ******* of the law.
Man likes to be under the law because it's.
Makes him think that he's doing something for God.
There are two things we can do that.
Affect the Spirit of God, but he never leaves us. We have the Spirit of God. He never leaves us. We can grieve Him.
If we allow the right time, the Spirit is great. There's no power there then.
Or we can quench the spirit government. We have a direct word about that too, which not the Spirit of God. We're with your field. Well, quenching of the Spirit might be the hindrance of the ministry of the truth in my brother or even in myself. If the Spirit of God wants me to say something that's according to this book and I don't say it, I'm quenching the Spirit. Am I quenching another brother? What are you saying? That's a bad thing to do?
Just go ahead, buy this book. Well, that's going down to.
Notice that there are the.
The works of the flesh. We don't have to read much to see here. The works of the flesh are in contrast to the fruit of the Spirit. The works of the flesh begin in verse 19. Now the works of the place.
We're not put that is in the flesh, but the flesh is in US properly and we can't get rid of it. We could go back to.
Actually, that's 17 to find out about that, but maybe we'll have time for that.
They remember Exodus 17 was. I'll just say this because you can remember it.
And it's where God.
Says the Lord has sworn and will not repent, that the Lord will have war with amulet from generation to generation. Talking about this, we've often traded young people. The only trouble with you, you're just like your parents. You're the same quality person. That's that's what it is. The place never gets any better from generation to generation. It comes out because of the lack of control.
00:15:28
Well, that's enough about the works of the flesh, because we know what that is. But now let's go down to the fruits of the Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is Lovejoy, peace, long-suffering.
Meekness, faith, goodness, meekness, temperance, I guess that there is no law. You don't need any law for those things. Those are wonderful qualities. And then we have that first, we've already read. They have that our Christ have crucified the flesh with the affections. Unless if we live in the Spirit, we live in the Spirit. We do live in the Spirit.
Amen. As the Spirit of God lives in the Spirit He, He, he sealed it till the day of his redemption.
Let us also walk in the spirit. It's a continual trial. It's like a journey. You're taking us on yesterday dawn, from one place to another place to another place. You said the Lord stopped them 40 times. Maybe give them the instruction. Well, that's what we need. As long as we're down here because the flesh wants to get out. And if we don't?
Walk if we don't walk in the Spirit.
We don't look like we're living in spirit.
I'd like to hear somebody else say something.
There's a nice thought that's brought before us Deuteronomy chapter 32 in connection with walking in the Spirit.
In verse 24.
It talks about Asher and.
Let Asher be blessed with children, let them be acceptable to his brethren, and let him let him dip his foot in oil. That's walking in the power of his spirit, isn't it?
And as a result, we would be acceptable to his graduates.
If we deviate from this book, that is the truth.
Our word is truth and we are not walking in the Spirit. He will never cause us to deviate from the Word of God. He wrote it. The Spirit of God wrote it. He involves us, believe and guide us. He is born to one body, uniting us all together and to be controlled by the Spirit of God for the glory of Christ and according to this book.
That's our responsibility, and if we all did that, there'd be unity that everyone could see.
Probably mentioned yesterday that the first three versus our exhortation.
And then from verse 4 to 16, it's the doctrine of the epistle again. It's not telling us what to do, it's just telling us what there is. There is one body statement of fact, and I think it really helps to see that.
The body is one.
It can never be anything else. Even as you say, Chuck. The many different factions that Christians have denominated themselves by does not change the fact that there is one life. There cannot be any more than one body. It's what God has formed by 1 spirit.
But what happens is that the testimony that we give has become fractured. So you go out into Mayfield and ask generally, where are these Christian people that they're talking about?
Well, you'll find that the outward testimony is splintered. Nobody is going to get the idea by looking at what is outward that there is one body.
00:20:10
Still, that truth remains, and that's the wonderful thing to keep in mind.
Remember in Bolivia when we had some trouble down there, visited a brother who left fellowship for a time and he said, how sad, brother, that the body of Christ is all broken up into bits.
I said, brother, I've come over here because I want to tell you that you and I, even though we don't break bread together, are still members of one body. It is not broken to death. There is one body. We are just not acting like there's one body.
We should, we should, and if, like it's been said, if we walk in the Spirit, then we will show that unity of the spirit.
That forms the one body.
So it helps to distinguish with the difference between there is one body and the testimony that is born to that truth in this world.
Go back to chapter one.
For a moment.
And.
Verse 20, Chapter one. Verse 20. Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.
Verse 22 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. And then chapter 2 and verse.
21 in whom the whole building, fitly framed together, groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord.
In whom ye also are builded together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit.
These two points or passages are really lay the foundation for the exhortation of our chapter and that is the Lord Jesus.
Was here on Earth.
And he accomplished God's work of redemption and laid the foundation in himself and in his work. And then God takes him up to heaven, so the heavenly places, and from there that heavenly man is given.
Us to be his body.
And we are associated there with him, a heavenly body.
In chapter 2, the habitation of God by the Spirit has to do with the earth, and so when you have in our chapter the body, it is that he it's.
The truth of it, that is, it should have it upon our soul, is it's a heavenly body in union with its head in heaven.
And on earth it is seen as the habitation of God by the Spirit. And so it was formed on the day of Pentecost by the Spirit into one body. And that is actually the unity that is formed. It's a fact. It's the unity that was formed on the day of Pentecost by the Spirit.
In its character, a heavenly thing, a heavenly people, an association with the heavenly man.
On earth, the habitation of God by the Spirit, and as a consequence of that truth, we're given the exhortation to walk in accordance with it. And so the matter of keeping the IT doesn't say keep the unity of the Spirit in the verse, it says keep that unity that exists in the uniting bond of peace, and it's already been given.
Brother Chuck, I think quite clearly.
We may not break the unity of the spirit. That's that's to break the unity of the body really, which is formed by the spirit and that's impossible, but we can fail to practice it. And that's the exhortation that are given to us. We can fail to keep it in the unity of of peace, the uniting bond of peace. We can fail in those things. And brother and I just like to say.
00:25:28
It's true the problems exist outside this room and we can go out and look at Christendom and we already have this afternoon. But the Spirit of God would exercise our own hearts and our own consciences in this room about ourselves.
Are we together, maintaining the walk that is directed, as we've been told, by the Spirit of God, to walk in peace with one another and in unity?
There are conferences passed in which there were brethren sitting with us in this room or not with us in this room this this afternoon. Why? Because we who have been in this room have not collectively maintained this truth. And so we need to be exercised in our own consciences. Let the Lord put his hand on us to show us again we haven't been doing it. And I want to go back and say.
Unless we individually walk in our own lives in Canaan.
We can't properly practice the truth that's given to us and exhorted of us in this chapter.
If we walk in the world, if we walk in the wilderness, in our personal experience, and that is the character of our lives, we cannot practice this truth as it is in Jesus.
We have to walk in that heavenly character because our life is Christ and He is a heavenly person and if his life is not displayed in US, His life was lived in.
Perfect accord with the leading of the Spirit, and there was unity in every action and harmony if I could use the Word. And there was perfect harmony in every action in his life with the Spirit. That's what Doug said yesterday about the first part of this chapter. Christ did that. He was in prison for God.
There's a illustration that call attention to in the Old Testament when Balaam wanted to.
Or Valik wanted to bring a curse, and he hired Balaam to do that, and he sought to bring down a curse from above, from God's vantage point, if you please, and he was not allowed to do that because God would not curse his people.
But what he could do? He could work with the lust of their flesh and attract them to carnality, get them into.
Failing to walk as a true Israelite would walk, and he was successful. The same thing happens with us.
God does not allow.
A division in the body of Christ.
The Spirit of God maintains one body.
The God.
Has allowed the enemy to test us from time to time on the practical side of our walk.
And what Don has been calling our attention to as a warning, I believe, is precisely this. He can get our walk. The enemy can get our walk, not to where we say we are or not, according to the three things in this verse. And our walk becomes poor, carnal, or whatever. And then the enemy can bring in trouble.
Only as loud of God, of course. That's the vantage point where the enemy can attack us. He cannot attack us on the basis of the truth that God maintains one body that will never fail. And we can cling to that in faith. But when we cling to that in faith and then go out and practice in our walk something that's not in keeping with this, we have an open door.
00:30:02
For prom.
There's a book, I think it's in the in the BTP, the step I have taken by epidemic. He was a minister of the Baptist Church. I think it's a good book to read why he left that position he was in and a very, very highly, very gifted man. But he got a hold of the truth that we're looking at and he said I'm in the room place.
The official stereo position that he had and just became one of the members of the body of Christ. He would finally use and give him much good sound ministry.
Doug, that example you were giving of the Israelites, they linked up with the many, the Moabites, didn't they join their sacrifices together?
And it seems like the greatest tragedy of it all was that it happened in the last encampment, when they could look over into the land that flowed with milk and honey.
And to think that not one of them that entered into that crossed the George who died 24,000.
I don't think there's a discrepancy. It says there are 23,000 died in one day and Corinthians and 1St Corinthians 10. And what about the other thousand? Well, I don't know how clear that is, but perhaps there were those who who were thinking that they were getting away by falling a flash and join in the unity, thought they could get by with it. But nobody got by with it. Nobody possessed that good land so.
The point is, is so important.
He says in verse four there is one body, one spirit, even as ye are called, and one hope of your calling.
Mr. Darby comments on these next 3 verses. They're really 3 unities here.
The fourth verse is the unity that's referred to in connection with the Spirit.
2nd is a unity that's connected with the Lord, and the third is the unity connected with God. So we have all three persons of the Godhead and increasing scope to each one.
And the first one is 1, which is referred to as vital.
The Spirit, the one Spirit which formed the one Body, is also the source and power of the one hope of Our Calling.
As we had that calling presented to us in the first chapter, and Paul's prayer in the first chapter was that the eyes of their understanding might be enlightened that they might enjoy, might enter in, might comprehend that that calling, that heavenly calling to which they were called. And so as Bob said, it's not here in exhortation, but it's something to teach us so that we can understand. And it's umm, these things are in the fifth corners. It's a work of God.
Yeah, it's the work of the Spirit and we are the ones who are blessed by it.
So it might be saying I can't.
We have those, you can be gifted by them if you need it to carry it out.
He did that. He left the systems.
That stands in contrast to when they took the oath of the law. They said all that.
The command is what we do. They didn't have the power to do that, did they? It was too much. But in Christianity, we, through the Spirit of God, we have the life and power.
00:35:02
You mentioned Don, that verse four is vital means that.
Only those who are true believers are members of that one body.
But verse five is the circle of Christian profession, 1 Lord, 1 faith, one baptism. It includes all those who have outwardly taken that position by being baptized.
And then verse 6 is a circle which embraces all of creation, one God and father of all who is above all and through all and verse the end that last phrase of verse six in you all is really points back to verse 4 applies to those who are true believers. But I think it's helpful to see verse 4 is.
The circle of Christian reality.
Verse five is the circle of Christian profession, which includes verse four, and verse six is the circle that embraces all of creation. Because as much as people may not acknowledge in an outward way one God and Father of all, still He is God and Father of all in the sense that we have in Luke's gospel chapter three. I think it is where it gives the genealogy.
The Lord Jesus, it takes it back to Adam, which was of God. So God is the originator of all things.
And so in that sense, it embraces all creation.
Verse seven and what follows is connected with what comes before it and that is.
Lord Jesus in chapter one is that heavenly man which has gone on high.
And to him, in union with himself has been formed the body that is in now an association with him as his body in its vital oneness with himself. We're not only in unity with one another in a vital way, but we're in unity with him. And that's even more wonderful, really. But we are with him. And now.
He's at home, if you will, in heaven.
But we're still on Earth.
In fact, and so because we're not there with him and we have need, because we're still on Earth.
God is at work, gives to him the place of giving to us.
Everything that's needed for us until we're with Him. And that's the verses which follow in his grace. He who has gone on high as it refers to these He, uh, he.
He's ascended up up on high and so from himself are given to his body. And in this chapter, it's the individual that's given. In other places, it's a gift or an empowerment in Romans where it's God and, and uh, in Corinthians where it's the spirit. But here it's the Lord himself giving people, empowered by himself, giving grace of himself.
To be that which will minister to his body which is here on earth. And so it's being explained to us so that we can know that while we're separated from him.
In fact, physically, yet He is overseeing everything and providing for everything until, as we have in the very end of the Word, that we hear the Bride with the Spirit in US and among us.
And we together say, Even so, come Lord Jesus, and until that moment everything that's necessary for us is provided by Him, and we have some of it explained to us for our encouragement and for our exercise to fulfill our part in it while we're here on earth.
00:40:01
I think that should really encourage and.
And uh, stir us up, brethren, too. Notice verse seven again unto every one of us. There is no such thing in the body as a member that does not have a particular function.
And the tendency in.
Christian circles, and as Don was saying, even amongst ourselves, it happens, brethren, we tend to be some of us maybe sit more towards the front and others sit more towards the back saying well, I don't have too much to do here. It's not the right attitude to take every one of us. It says very clearly, not every gift may be a public gift, but there should be exercise on the part of every one of us.
Is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ, even the sisters.
This applies to them just as much as the brothers. They do not take part in public ministry, but there is a place for them to function and we all need to be exercised to be instruments in the Lord's hands to do what he gives us to do. It's interesting the other two places that Don mentioned.
Where the gifts are mentioned, I'd like to refer to those briefly first in First Corinthians 12, because it gives us the same thought that.
God wants to use every one of us, not just particular ones.
1St Corinthians 12 Notice what it says in connection with the manifestation of the Spirit. In verse seven. He manifests himself.
By the gifts he gives notice verse seven says the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit with all.
Now go back to Romans 12 where you have the gifts mentioned as well. Here it is God the Giver.
But notice what it says here in verse.
Three of this chapter for I say through the grace given unto me to.
Every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God had dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, so we being many, are one body in Christ, and everyone members one of another. But there's no such thought in Scripture of certain ones.
Who are to, to, uh, have all the activity and others just sit back and relax and don't do anything that's not in the scriptures. Lord, help us to be exercised, brethren, in view of this precious truth that we are one body.
The one question that I was asked so often at the hospital after talking to to nurses and so on, the nomination do you belong to that is a question which will never be asked once we get home in glory.
That question will never be asked again. What denomination you belong to? There's only one. So what did you say, Jack?
I said, well, let's go back to the 1St century. Go back to the 1St century. How many churches were there?
Just one was the answer. I said that's right. Another one came back to me after I talked to her and she said I've been thinking of what you were talking about. She says you're right, the nomination of religion is not of God.
I'd like to notice here how the Lord does what he wants in these verses. It's it's his side of things a little bit in these verses of giving the gifts.
Uh, just to illustrate a contrast to it, when Moses wanted to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt, he began his work still in Egypt, and he ran into opposition from the enemy and he was limited in what he could do as long as Pharaoh was active in power.
00:45:07
And so, uh, he, uh, he could only operate in a limited way. And in fact, things got worse for the children of Israel when they tried to act under the authority from through Moses. And, uh, they got that the taskmasters got harder and harder and caused the people to even, uh, faint and want to give up. But once Moses got the children of Israel on the other side of the Red Sea and.
Pharaoh was dead and all of his Armory then he could execute commands from God on behalf of God as he pleased. This is what the Lord Jesus has done. He has destroyed the stronghold of Satan, sin and death, and he has brought a people on resurrection ground. And now the Lord can do what he wants and get what he wants from his people. And that's what he's doing here in the exercise of giving out gifts.
For the building up of his body, the church, I just wanted to give a little emphasis to that side.
I'd like to make a comment to we all know what the matter being puffed up is, and we hear his comments about someone having a gift and thinking more highly than themselves and they ought to think. But I want to look at the other side of it for a moment. There's also a tendency sometimes in us, maybe different individuals, but we say I can't, I can't, I, I, I'm nobody, I, I, I'm not able to.
I, I, I just, well, I just have to sit and be quiet. I can't do anything. I want to say to your brother, sister, if that's what you feel in your heart.
You're putting the Lord down.
And that's a serious thing. That's a false humility.
It's a false thing. It's not a God, it's of the enemy of your soul.
The Lord Jesus has given you a measure of grace.
And if you look at yourself and and result result in those kind of sentiments, you're saying, Lord, you didn't.
You didn't give me that.
I don't have anything. You didn't give me anything.
It's not true and it's wrong to think that way, and it's a loss.
To the Lord who has given you that grace, and it's a loss to his body for which he has given it to you. Yes, it's in different measures, it says according to the measure. But to every one of us has been given, and we do not want to put the Lord down and what he's given or despise in our hearts the measure of what he has given to us. Mr. Darby made the comment and it's a helpful one, he said.
Humbleness or humility isn't thinking low thoughts of yourself.
Being free of yourself and not thinking of yourself at all.
And if I get self occupied with what I have.
That may result in pride, or it may result in feelings of inadequacy, and so on. Both are wrong.
The deliverance from self and the use of what is given to us is with an object for the blessing of others and the forgetfulness of self.
Like to say that example of a young brother who had a responsibility to speak at a funeral of his nephew.
And the responsibility was just overwhelming him. And he said, you know, I just, I just cannot go ahead with this. And so he was advised that he would, if he would go ahead and depend on the Lord that walking from the back of the Funeral Home to the front, that long walk, that there would be grace and strength given that if you don't do it, you would never prove it.
And he turned around to face 500 souls there in that Funeral Home, and you couldn't detect that he was even nervous, hourly though he was.
And so we come up against those things when we say we just can't do it and really mean it and feel it. But if we don't go forward in the responsibility, we're going to miss the wonderful experiences of having that strength come in that's not our own and carries us through.
00:50:21
What is it then? How can we know, and how can we know what gift we may have so that we can use it?
I It was greatly helped Bob on that point by a sister knowing a few here. Her name is Miss Patridge who lived in Columbus, OH and she's been with the Lord like a few years now.
She was the most gifted.
The evangelist of children that I've ever known.
One of the most gifted evangelists I've ever been privileged to know in my life.
And she said one time she prayed to the Lord. And she said, Lord, what's my gift?
And she said the Lord didn't give her.
The answer that you could understand.
And so she asked for it again. She said, Lord, what's my gift?
And she said, each time she said it, the Lord said children.
And she said, well, Lord, I don't have any children, I.
And, uh, but the Lord put it on her heart, children. Well.
And she began to evangelize children and was amazingly gifted evangelists with children.
But the point in it, I believe, is this.
It isn't to be occupied with the gift itself and say, Lord, what's my gift?
What is better is to say, Lord, what must thou have me to do? And if we get instruction from the Lord what he wants us to do, He will give us the gift that is necessary to fulfill what He has given us to do. And I believe it's a wiser prayer.
Than to say, Lord, what's my gift is to be looking to the Lord and say, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord will have us to do something and he will empower us whatever is necessary, whatever measure of gift is necessary to do that work. And I think that's a wiser thing for us than to be just simply saying the Lord, what's my gift?
I like what uh Moses when he was sent to.
Egypt.
And he says I can't even talk.
The Lord said to him, What is that in your hand?
All right, Lord, that was what God used.
What do you have right now? Use that for as much as you may feel your inadequacy and it it is good to feel our inadequacy because then we depend on the Lord. We're looking to Him for the grace necessary to carry it at all. So the Lord help us young people to be encouraged.
Like you like Don was saying not to ask particularly what gift I have, but just to do.
What He lays on your heart, do it.
The greatest need of an evangelist.
Isn't.
The ability to preach the love for souls and and God.
And put that necessary burden, that emphasis of soul. Here's a need and the Lord may put in what your heart to see that need and feel called of the Lord. Not every need we see is where called of the Lord to do anything about but pray, which is the greatest of all things we can do but to as the Lord puts that burden, then fulfill the burden.
And that's even the greater thing than than what we tend to think about is what we call ability.
And that's, that's the lesser part really of what's needed.
Someone would like to comment on a verse that we have in Second Timothy chapter 4.
4.
Verse 5.
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It says do the work of an evangelist and they control schools by ministry.
Helpline illustration.
Uh, brother Harry used to use and I believe he's in connection with this verse.
He said.
My wife looked after the children and provided the meals in our household.
And she, he said, when she was sick.
I did what I could. There was a need there for my children and I didn't have a particular ability. I didn't have a particular gift in providing meals or the other things that were needed in the household. But the need was there and I love my children and I did what I could. And I believe this verse is in that same sentiment that is.
Paul is speaking to Timothy, and Timothy perhaps did not have.
A particular gift in the Gospel. He wasn't specially suited to the work. We know he was a timid person and so on. He didn't have that part of a lion that many evangelists seem to have.
But Paul said, do the work. There's a need, Timothy, and there if, if our hearts are truly taken up with love for souls, even if we aren't specially suited, there is a work often that we can do in love for another soul that might meet that need, whether it's in the gospel or in in the context of the body in the assembly. And let's help.
You know, not every place has every gift.
Not every assembly has necessarily someone that's particularly gifted as as a teacher.
It's been said that the gift of the pastor is is a very rare one.
And it the the consequences among the same should seem how rare that gift really is in in in the shepherding care of the flock.
But don't look at oneself and say, well, I'm not evangelist, so I'm not going to tell this soul about the Lord Jesus. I'm not a pastor, so I'm not going to try to help my brother in need. There is a place for doing the work when, even if there isn't a specific, umm, empowerment of the Spirit that would make us do it all the time and everywhere.
There is a.
Worse than second Timothy as well in chapter one that I think is beautiful to think about in connection with.
Uh, doing what the Lord has given us to do.
Verse six he speaks of that Timothy stirred up the gift of God says, Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God. It can be dormant. Stir it up Timothy, which is in Z by the pudding on my hands for God. This verse seven God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of.
Power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
That's the spirit God has given us, and this is written in the last epistle when there was so much departure. It's still true today. Young person, older ones too. God has not given us the spirit of fear.
Do you ever grip your soul? Does mine?
That's not the Spirit that God has given us. The Spirit that God has given us is of power and of love and of a sound mind.
How long are these gifts gonna be here?
1St 13.
That's really cheerful to think about it. They're always going to be here while we're here.
Till they all come.
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The unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, under the measure of the stature of the fullest of the Christ.
And God's not going to fail in it. The end result will be perfect.
According to His original purpose, we sometimes start something in a building, project or whatever. The end result is far less than we had hoped for it, but our hearts will be raptured with glory that the glorious end result of the work of God and the work of the Lord Jesus Himself and the work of the Spirit with the Church.
And it's the final product will be absolutely wonderful.
To God's glory and for our eternal happiness.
Just like to mention in verse 11, we have 5 gifts that are given in persons.
Apostles and prophets. According to chapter 2 and verse 20, it says we are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. So it was men that God used in the beginning of the church to lay the foundation work. So we have the epistles of the New Testament, we have the doctrine, and upon that foundation we are built.
So we do not have these in person today. We have what they have left for us in their teaching, in the epistles especially. And then we have evangelists that are those are them that go out and bring in new material and.
And then we have pastors and teachers, those that build in that new material into the church.
So it's interesting.
There are evangelists. We need to be encouraged in the gospel. I think that is significant, isn't it, that in Second Timothy 4, the last chapter that fall wrote, he says to Timothy do the work of an evangelist and brother. And I really believe there needs to be a definite exercise. Seems to me that it is a healthy thing in assembly life when there is an outreach in the gospel.
Look to the Lord what you might do to carry out the good news. Hospitals. Nursing homes.
Detention homes, prisons. There's plenty of places to be active about carrying out the gospel at the end of the year. Go out with calendars, reach the neighborhood for the Lord.
It really is a good spirit when there is an active interest in the gospel.
Lord help us in that.
The question regarding the end of UH first 11.
It says that some pastors and teachers.
Have often been brought together and.
You also have a gift to the teacher or the separate but often seems possibly.
Umm, maybe in some together.
The teacher deals with the word.
I don't think it necessarily means that they are both in one person. It could be, but not necessarily.
But I think they are connected and that both are mentioned in connection with building into the into the church these new members that are brought in to shepherd them.
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We do have pastors, brethren. It's always mentioned in the plural, never in the singular in Scripture.
But there are those who have a heart for God's people, and perhaps it's a very quiet work.
People have the idea that a pastor is somebody that gets up front and preaches. Not necessarily. I've known a lot of people who have a real work as a pastor, but they've never preached publicly. They go after souls when they see them strained. It's a work of a pastor.
A teacher is one that perhaps is more public because he teaches the Scripture. It's very important. The church does not teach. The church is taught by those gifts that Christ gives.
N.
I think we have an example of the three gifts in Acts 11. It's just a case in point. Uh, I don't wanna spend a lot of time on it, but in, in Acts 11, you in the scattering, there was those who went out and preached the gospel and the number believed in verse 21 turn to the Lord. Then in verse 22, you have the work of the pastor, I believe.
The tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church, which was at Jerusalem, and they sent forth Barnabas. So Barnabas took up a work there that the others the previous had not carried out. And he, I believe it says he exhorted them, uh, in verse 23, purpose of heart, they would cleave unto the Lord. I I believe that follows along with the pastoral gift, but that wasn't enough to establish them well. And so he calls for Paul.
And in the following verses and he taught them. So that's just a case in point of different ones functioning and the harmony between them and doing it. I think, brethren, it's nice when we we see a need that we encourage a brother who has a gift along the line to meet that need.
We don't all have all the gifts.
Believe also they're closely connected in while distinguished and not always, as Bob said, in the same person. And that is they're connected with meeting in need of a soul.
And what you see in the example here and the purpose for which they're given in Ephesians 4 is the Lord's provision to meet the needs of the body so that it will grow. And a person who has a care for souls seeks to meet that need. And in I believe it's in part why after the gospel is given, even first, even more important than the teaching.
Is the shepherding care I think there's an order in which they're given here because that need of the shepherd to encourage the soul to cleave with purpose of heart to the Lord. Now that they're the Lords is is foremost an immediate that's what the soul needs and then it needs to grow by teaching it needs that as well but also.
The teacher needs to have a sense of the pupil in the sense that one message doesn't fit every circumstance. And when you see Paul's epistle, he always addressed his brethren according to their specific needs and to in many cases he knew them very well. Not in every case, but he knew them. And he ministered according to that sense that the Lord had given him of what they needed at that time.
And that was his focus, and that needs to be the focus of the teacher as much as it does in any other gift.
You speak over somebody's head doesn't profit them at all.
It isn't teaching isn't what you know.
And telling everybody else what you know, it is seeking to meet the need of the soul wherever that soul may be in their own personal growth. And the pastor is the one that often discerns that that soul is starting to wander. That soul is needs pasture or encouragement or something. And and to go and put one spiritually speaking arm around them and say here, brother, sister, can I help?
Don't you have that order in Acts chapter 20 when Paul, with his last words to the Ephesian elders, he spoke of speaking publicly and from house to house. There the word is given in a public way, but how nice to have that follow up from house to house. We can't go into every nuance and every detail necessary in a public way. And so it's nice to have that pastoral side that would come in and perhaps speak to the soul in an individual way so they can get a hold of the truth.
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It might have been presented very clearly, but sometimes we don't come to things all at the same time. So the pastor would come in and that house to house side of things in a personal way and without bringing things to growth on this because ever in view in this 4th chapter, it's the edification of the Saints that's the end in view.
In the secondary sense.
Three.
Angeles pastors and teachers.
It is possible for an assistant to carry those functions out.
Not. Not publicly, not.
As well as the men.
You have a beautiful example of a of.
Pastor Timothy, don't we set it in that there was no no man like minded you cared for.
What was that cared for? Your soul, your state, Your state, that would be.
Accommodation that's gonna be received. No man like my spirit or mistake and I'm encouraged and second Timothy chapter.
Obviously all recognizes Timothy to be uh, there was a need to have the ability as you she shepherd sold to communicate the mind of God to them. Not not necessarily have.
A, umm, definite gift to as a teacher.
But to have the ability to communicate the mind of God.
To those that he was trying to.
And with that, possibly.
Be able to see I'm not I'm not trying to go against anything that is necessary because I I feel that there's a distinct difference Shepherd and a.
Master.
I think applied us. That's mentioned in Second Corinthians Chapter 7.
Verse 15 it says his inward affection is more abundant towards you.
And then in the next chapter, Chapter 8.
But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest and care into the heart of Titus for you. So that was the heart of a pastor wasn't and, uh, connection with that verse that was referred to in connection with Timothy, uh, I understand in another translation.
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Uh, it's translated care with genuine feelings. So there was an entering ending to the circumstance of that person that he was ministering onto.
Uh, some time ago I was meditating upon.
Uh, the subject of a pastor or a shepherd.
And by way of contrast, we have Genesis. Am I my brother's keeper? Oh, that's the very contrast. Or opposite, isn't it? And then we get such individuals as Nehemiah. That, uh, is mentioned in the second chapter of that book. There was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
Then in the book of Esther, we have more decay that had the same heart, that had the same care, the same purpose. And so we have that Timothy and Titus too, don't we? And so lovely to see that there was that identification with those that they were ministering unto.
1St 13 We've commented on it several times, but it may be to look at it a little more closely. There's four things mentioned in it.
And all four of them are.
Like the Lord is working and providing so that all four will be realized in all of us. The first one is till we all, not just some of us, not a few of us, but till we all come in and it's nice to connect back to unity. So we all come in the unity of faith. And so there is that work.
That brings us into the practical and eventually eternal oneness of unity of faith that is our portion in the Lord Jesus.
He also says, and the knowledge of the Son of God, what what a wonderful purpose of God, that we all would be brought into a true full knowledge of the Son of God.
That knowledge, that enjoyment, that results from that knowledge, to know Him is to love Him. And what more could we desire but to know Him better? And God is ministering to us so that the end result is that we have it fully, not partially or not just so so, but.
All of us will enter into the full knowledge of the Son of God and then it says unto a perfect or Mr. Garvey translates it full grown man. This world has an expression. the United States has, I think the expression of no man left and no child left behind program sort of an idea. While there's some children or there's some that just in education and so on, they get left behind.
The Lord says no everyone, I want everyone to grow fully. I don't want any stunted children. And that's the heart of the Lord Jesus for you and me. He doesn't want us to be as if we're left behind or half grown or just partially developed in our Christian life. But his, his desire and his work is so that every one of us in an end result is full grown. And then he says the 4th 1 unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
What a standard. What an incredible standard, Reverend.
You're going to be like him, I half likened.
Not sort of a little bit like him, a faint shadow of himself in a moral way. No, will never be the Lord Jesus, but.
You have his life, I have his life. That is my life himself. His life is my life and his. It's the full measure. I love Brother Clem's comment that he made multiple times in my hearing and in conferences. And he said God is so pleased with Christ that he wants heaven to be full of people.