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Ephesians chapter 6. We'll start with the 13th verse. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore having your loins dirt about with truth.
Having on the breastplate of righteousness.
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel. Peace.
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for All Saints and for me. That utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the Gospel for which I am an ambassador in bonds.
That therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak.
First parts of the armor.
Where we have.
And therefore having your loins guarded.
About the truth about the breastplate of righteousness.
And your feet shoved with the preparation of the gospel of peace. The thing is our brother.
Brown was not with us as he could give us. I'm sure he could give us some added thoughts.
On those parts of the armor that we went over, starting with your loins girt about with truth.
Well, if we.
Are not walking.
In the truth, if our loins are not gird about the truth.
We can't expect the Lord's blessing if it isn't true.
It's error.
And the word of God is that that.
If we're willing to submit to it.
We're not going to be LED astray.
Now in connection.
With having our loins gird about with truth, there's the necessity.
Of practical righteousness accompanying it.
Having on the breastplate of righteousness, that's practical righteousness.
If I'm not walking in a righteous, upright way.
I can't expect to make progress in my soul.
So that it's most important.
That not only we should have our loins gird about with truth, but then there should be accompanying it the righteousness that matches the truth that we profess.
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
That is in our walk. The feet speak of the walk.
With the preparation of the Gospel of peace.
We're in a position through faith in Christ.
To enjoy a sense of peace in our souls, and that peace can only be a peace that's in keeping with the mind and character of Christ.
So the next verse starts out beside, beside, not above, but beside all.
Taking the shield of faith.
The shield of faith.
Whereby you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Now, having on all this armor doesn't mean that we're not going to have to meet the enemy.
It's just the opposite the enemy is going to make.
More fierce attempts to trip us up if he sees that we are wholly trying to.
Please our Lord Jesus Christ, he's going to attack us. So beside all this thinking, the shield of faith whereby we shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Where the objects of his hatred.
And the devil himself.
Detest anything that honors Christ.
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Anything that honors Christ, the devil is opposed to.
So there's that shield of faith whereby we shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the devil.
But how does faith express itself? By laying hold upon the truth of the Word of God?
Taking the shield of faith, laying hold upon the truth of God.
And then in connection with the helmet.
Of salvation.
I have a little note here that I think is worth reading to us all.
Mr. William Kelly, the helmet of salvation is the consciousness.
Of the full deliverance God has wrought for us in Christ.
I'll read that again.
The helmet of salvation is the consciousness of the full deliverance God has wrought for us in Christ. So taking the helmet of salvation is that complete confidence in what God has wrought for us. And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, that is the sword that the Spirit of God uses.
In meeting our foes, the Word of God.
For the shield of faith is.
Full confidence in God in connection with His Word. Trusting His Word and believing.
That what God has promised, as it were, He is able also to perform. That is, we can fully trust Him to go on in the scene of conflict where we're continually faced by the enemy and meet the enemy under.
Any trial or any circumstance, if we're trusting fully and the Lord for his help, for his.
Being with us and meeting the enemy. So it's the word of God, isn't it? Again? But it's full confidence in the Word, in the one whose Word.
We believe and are trusting in.
What a Savior, what a Father we have and think of all the deep, boundless love in the heart of God our Father and in his beloved Son for you and me and our pathway down here.
Well, a verse such as we get in the 8th chapter of Romans. He that spared not his own son, but freely delivered him up for, but delivered him up for us all.
Shall he not also with Him also freely give us all things?
Rather than we should have unbounded confidence.
In the Lord's love, the love of the Father towards us as His children. And when the enemy comes in like a flood, by then we can lift up a standard against Him. And what a striking and beautiful illustration.
Of the.
This.
We have brought before us the breastplate, no.
The shield of faith. Well, you know, in battle, when the enemy was throwing his darts, the soldier held up his helmet.
And those, those fiery darts never touched him at all, never harmed him. Isn't that wonderful? And I was thinking of these dear young people.
The dog can so fortify them amid all the attacks in their school life and and wherever they are facing these.
Difficult is that all these attacks can fall.
Useless and powerless to in any way harm their souls. But we must take God's provision. In other words, we must use not our own shield, our own thoughts, our own wisdom, but the shield of faith.
And brethren, these fiery darts are very.
Very real dangers, aren't they?
Penetrating into our thinking, suggesting thoughts that would lead us.
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Into the ways of the world, making us believe that the world is having a better time than we're having.
And suggesting, maybe after all, that we can't always trust in every part of the Word of God.
With all that, it weakens the believe resistance that God has provided to these many attacks of the enemy.
We're told in Leviticus 11.
Now I suppose that we understand that it means the word of God, the water, and.
If we are and our children are fortified by the word of God.
Will be preserved if there's faith. Now we have this word faith, which is sort of a general used in a general way oftentimes, and we sometimes don't understand exactly the connections, but we can always say that faith is dependent upon the word of God. There's no such thing as faith.
Except through the Word of God Faith.
Comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Now here we have the shield and the helmet. I believe these two things are very important for us to notice because in a day like this we find the darts coming from every direction and the soldier must hold up his shield. Well, what is his shield?
Well, it's the shield of faith. In other words, it's the Word of God.
We, we really should be practical about this, you know, and in our homes the father and mother are responsible to keep the word of God before the children. This was even true among Israel. They were to teach these things to their children.
That is the precept that were laid before them, the law and all that had to do with the Word of God.
So that they might be preserved.
Well, this is very important for us, and I believe we're living in a day when the Word of God is being neglected. We have it on every hand. We have it in all these marvelous writings of the Spirit of God is preserved for us to this day, and we have all the help we need. But is there a real interest in our part to bring these things before our children?
And we see the sad results where it is not.
Because we can always trade where there is failure.
Generally, the Word of God has been neglected, at least in measure. It might have been enjoyed by the parents, but it wasn't transferred to the children. And I believe it's important that the parent not only read with their children, but pray with their children.
Because unless these things are brought home in reality to these little hearts, these children will not be preserved. And that's what the main issue is right now. It's our children.
And what will the next generation be like if we neglect the Word of God? But what about the hell now?
Well, we have the same thing unless we have the word of God.
Firmly entrenched in the soul, unless there is this helmet of salvation, the consciousness of the full, full, revealed mind of God that we can rest upon. Not only knowing it as a doctrine, but enjoying it because that's what the Word was given to us for, to enjoy. Now, unless this is true of us. Unless this is true of our children.
The helmet won't be on and the enemy will get in connection with what you're telling us.
From the 6th of Deuteronomy. The 6th of Deuteronomy.
Reading from the sixth verse, Deuteronomy 6/6.
And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart.
Not in your head, but in thine heart.
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children.
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And shall talk of them.
When thou sittest in thine house.
That's quite a thing, isn't it? Shall talk of them. And now, Citizen thine house.
Well, sometimes Saints of God can be occupied with other things in their house.
Then sitting and talking about the mind of Christ.
When our citizen thine house, when thou walk us by the way.
When thou liest down, when thou risest up, and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand.
And they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. Don't forget that. Frontlets between thine eyes. What are we going to look at?
We're going to spend our time with our eyes.
And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house.
And on thy gates.
I think that's a good word, brother.
Concerning Deuteronomy.
Those words shall be in thine heart.
The shield of faith, then, would be full and entire trust in God. But there's another thought that's there.
I believe it's the present assurance in the heart. That's what faith is. Begins there, not in the head.
For it's with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
So we have not only that full confidence in God, but there's also the heart.
Heart that president. Assurance in the heart.
In by way of illustration, do we not see it very prominently in King Hezekiah in his outstanding trusting the Lord under when he's faced for the enemy, how he laid it before the Lord and.
Jehoshaphat did the same thing when faced to the enemy.
Owning that we have no might now, there was the shield of faith in looking to the Lord, putting the Word of God into face activity for the Lord. We see it in Daniel and his three friends over and over again, where their confidence was in the Lord according to His Word.
We have no might against.
Enemy that cometh up against us, neither know we what to do.
But their eyes are upon thee. So we have, as our brothers mentioned, the heart.
And the eyes, Oh brethren.
Where What are we reading and where are our eyes in these days?
One wonders.
If we read much of the word of God as we should.
The word to Timothy was be strong my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Well, what does he mean there to young Timothy?
How can we be strong if we don't read?
If we don't meditate upon the word of God.
I suppose God's dear people because of the.
Work that they engage in and they have to hurry to work and hurry back again, and we feel for the dear Saints.
With their many, many obligations that leave them with little time to meditate.
We feel for them.
But that should not cause us to eliminate Beloved.
The reading in the morning and getting down on our knees in prayer.
Very important birth in Lamentations 351 in connection with the eyes and the heart.
Says there.
Mine, I affected my heart.
Well, if my eyes are fixed to fix upon the trash of this scene, my heart will be affected likewise, and my heart will be occupied with these things. But on the other hand, if my eye is fixed upon Christ in the glory, my heart will be filled with Christ and filled with joy and peace and be a witness for Him. So it's a very, very important word. Mine I affecteth mine heart.
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Now another word to go with it, brother in.
The Song of Solomon. Just a couple of thoughts there.
Song of Solomon.
Chapter.
In chapter 5.
And verse 12.
His eyes.
Are as the eyes of doves.
His eyes are as the eyes of doves. You know how the dove, when released from the Ark, had no eye for the corruption?
It found drift floating around the waters.
He returned to the Ark. There was nothing of the new creation for it to feed upon.
Its eye found nothing.
Until it was released again when it brings back a little sample of the new creation in that olive leaf.
Now here, this speaks of his eyes.
Now let's look back at chapter.
Four verse nine. Well yes, I want a first brother. Allow me to 1St read verse one.
In Speaking of his beloved.
He says, Behold, thou art fair.
Thou.
Past doves eyes, we that are born of God have a new holy nature.
Exactly like that holy divine nature.
That the Lord Jesus walked in.
And that new nature cannot feed on the corruption of this miserable, miserable world. So we have doves eyes. Are we using them now? The other verse our brother mentioned was verse 9.
The Lord says.
As it were, I put it, as it were, Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse, thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes he loves to see.
Are I single and as it were, with one object, his own glory?
And carrying out your thought, I believe it's generally understood that.
Doves have this characteristic that when one of the when either mate should leave the other, that the dove would turn in the direction that the companion has departed and remain in that direction and looking in that direction until the return of the mate.
Has been keeping with the verses that were read to us this morning.
In regard to the Lord's coming, and I believe we should keep this in mind, brethren.
And these meetings that the return of the Lord is very, very near, and we should have doves eye. There's another thought, brethren, in verse 13 of Psalm 68, though you have lined among the parts.
Yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.
Now high wings.
In the Bursar, brother read, Thou hast doves eyes.
The eye of the dove is always turned homeward. Home, brethren, have we eyes for whom? Let me tell you, I was in the Bolivian army, and, as you know, preaching Christ.
To the troops and the the officers had.
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These doves or these pigeons carry a pigeons, and they use them largely for carrying messages.
One day there was a dove found there.
And resting for a considerable time, in fact for some hours.
And the officer thought he would climb up on the roof and see what was the matter.
And the little bird allowed him to pick it up.
And suddenly he noticed on its little red leg a piece of paper.
That dove had flown 3000 miles.
Brethren, have we eyes for whom?
Thou hast Dobbs eyes, eyes for home.
Healed as having a special need with our young people.
One was thinking of the.
Attack the subtlety of our enemy has been before us as through his wild, and our young people find that subtlety perhaps more.
Poignant in any than in any other way in the teachings of evolution.
And I fear that oftentimes our dearer young brethren and sisters seek to cope with this in an intellectual discourse.
And to reply to the challenges of evolutionists.
But the Spirit of God was not remiss, was He in giving us?
As the very first example of faith in the 11Th chapter of Hebrews.
We believe that the world were framed by the word of God through faith, and this is our shield, dear young brother, young sister.
Or all that they confront us that goes beyond our ability to fully comprehend.
Now if one were to challenge me on evolution.
I would be hopelessly.
Out thought in regard to intellect, because we know that those who are the enemies of creation by the power of God have a great arsenal of statistics.
And reasonings that sound very plausible.
But through the grace of God, I would not speak to meet them on those terms at all.
But to turn to the first verse of the Bible, and to turn again to the 11Th chapter, Perhaps it's the second verse of Hebrews, and they might face.
Know that God created these things and I enjoy the simplicity and the utmost Peace of Mind and heart and knowing.
Through faith that this is so and your attacks won't affect my beliefs. One I own. Mother Gill. May I call our attention. Pardon my interruption, will you? There's a verse that.
I believe it's my champion verse in answering evolution because it's from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
And it's the 10th chapter Mark, Mark 10, verse 6.
But from the beginning of the creation, the beginning, the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female.
Now that just completely sets aside.
All pretense and evolution from the beginning of the creation. God made them male and female. That's it. Very nice, brother. I think that's a wonderful verse in the beginning. God, if there's a biology student here, I hope you don't believe in transmutation.
We can let mutation go along because there is a variety, brethren, but not transmutation.
There's no such thing. I was taught in biology that man evolved from great depth, from a bed of slime, and from that bed of slime he came forth as an electron, and from an electron into a protoplasm, and from a protoplasm into a codfish, and from a codfish into a monkey, and a monkey into a man. There never was a great ally. One day I had the pleasure of having dinner with.
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Howard Kelly, the Dean of the University of John Hopkins.
He asked me to have dinner with me, not because there was anything in me, but he knew I was from Bolivia and one of his best students happened to be there.
A great surgeon and he want to know about him, but he said to me in wonderful Spanish, Unmono Vestida, they say there's mono Tolavia, a monkey dressed up in silk is still a monkey.
That's what he said to me the first time he saw me. Yes, there may be mutations, dear student of biology, but not transmutation. There's no such thing from slime into a man. That's all wrong.
We met a Christian family, father and mother and four children. The two older ones came home one day and said father.
The professor is bringing before us that.
We came up from monkeys, how about that?
Hello, Father was just a simple believer who made his living as a tailor. Well, he said, Children, it's this way.
Men to get men.
And monkeys. Forget monkeys.
There was a test made without hammering too much on this. There was a test made concerning by the Russians.
They had perfected blood and they said that it was exactly like human blood.
They injected that into a sick soldier and he died. There was number life in it.
Then there was another occasion when they tried monkey blood with a man and the man died immediately. Didn't work.
Well, we trust that if there's a student here in biology. I went through this, beloved, until my head swam around.
We trust that you will believe those words in Genesis. In the beginning, God, In the beginning God.
I hold the fiery darts too are not always in the realm of logic and reasoning. I'm sure the shield of faith is the only shield effectual in the realm of reasoning and logic. And with all my heart, I thank God for having seen that shield of faith used in those who went before me. I thank God with all my heart so that when I too was confronted in some little measure with these.
Brilliant men.
Whose logic and reasoning I could find most law in. I could see in my minds eye that dear Saints of God, who are now with the Lord, holding aloft the Word of God and proclaiming the wonder and beauty of it. And all that reasoning and lodging sounded completely empty. It was God-given, and I thank Him for it. That that shield of faith simply stopped those darks. I could never meet them alone. But I wonder too if in the realm of.
Fiery dart. There might not also be that which doesn't quite challenge the logic or the intellect.
But I think of the writer of this epistle, who himself was faced with many adversities.
And as a prisoner on the way to Rome in the midst of a great storm, when they had abstained even from eating for many days and neither sun nor stars appeared, he stood forth and said, I believe God. I think Paul had the shield of faith well in use that day, and there may be someone here who is faced with steep trial.
Great grief and sorrow, and I wonder at such a time, does the enemy not come along with fiery darts, and perhaps suggest that God could have treated us a little more kindly?
God has perhaps given us a greater grief than we're able to bear rather than I've not had to face this kind of thing, but others have. And I feel that even in such circumstances, the shield of faith that would look up and say with the writer of this book, I believe God, what has God said? He has told us of his love. He has told us of that love so fully.
Has been brought before us this morning.
He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? It's a fine verse to read when things are going well, but it's a shield of faith when trouble or adversity or bereavement comes upon us. So perhaps the shield of faith can be used both in the realm.
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Of reasoning and logic and can be used in that realm where Satan would attack us in times of adversity.
I believe that students largely are permeated with this. I've talked with many of them and they seem to be on the wrong track.
Well, there is a book published by a man called Meldau. He's with the Lord.
I have read that through carefully and I could commend that.
To you students here who are inoculated.
We trust not with this lie of evolution.
And I have enjoyed it too, brother.
But I believe we can have full get full credence to what he reports there and the marvels of God's creation. However, Mr. Millville did rely oftentimes on outside sources.
For his information, and some of our brethren have been to serve that they have found some things that were not accurate, and thus they have discarded the whole book as long as their brother Smith mentioned that I I nearly enlarged on this, that I believe that book commended by Brother Smith is a commendable book for us.
And if there have crept into it one or two facts not substantiated, it doesn't necessarily mean we should throw out the rest.
Because he brings the marbles of God creation in a very striking and forceful way. But you, you may find in it one or two things that do not entirely measure up to the known fact. Thank you, brother GAIL. I think it's really a wonderful book.
I enjoyed it very much.
And I keep it on hand and have passed it on to different young people that may be facing problems.
But in regard to what their brother Gill has just been telling us, we can't expect perfection in anything that anybody produces, whether it's William Kelly or John Nelson Darby or Mr. Meldow, we we can't expect perfection. But I believe that the reading of that book.
Will help to clear the minds of young people to get troubled along this line.
As clearly as anything outside, of course, the Word of God.
It's it's a remarkable book and I can hardly recommend it. May I add this?
Being an editor myself as I read, I'm always looking for errors.
And.
I'm not able to criticize the book at all from the standpoint of the.
Statements themselves.
I felt, as I encountered errors, that it would be a kindness to the publishers to let them know. So when I finished it, I sent them two or three typewritten pages of typographical errors. Now, if there are brothers among us who are competent enough to point out.
Statements that are not true, would they not be constructive and do the Victory Publishing company of Service in advising them of these misstatements or imperfections?
So that when the next editions come out, the blemishes may be removed. It's nice to be constructively critical and not destructively critical, is it not? I'll let somebody give it that, can give it correctly.
And not in evolution. I had the pleasure of calling on that brother two years ago. He went to be with the Lord last year, brother John Milldale and.
I mentioned to him that the dear friend of mine claims that there's a one or two things there in your book that don't don't really tally with the facts of science. He says here he handed me a book. He says, give that to your friend and have him write back to me. So I said to our beloved one we all love, I said, did you?
Write back to him. No, I said. Why didn't you? Oh, I didn't get much on my says. Won't you show me?
There's one or two things. I appreciate it. Well, he didn't have time.
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But I might mention this, I run across a brother we love.
And when I mentioned this book, he said, oh, I don't care for that stuff. I.
I'm living in the heavenlies.
And I don't need that.
So I told him, I said, well, you remind me of brother Mr. Darby and Mr. Grant in writing in the train.
Mr. Darby noticed some beautiful scenery. God's creation. So Mr. Grant says, Oh, I'm dead to all that. Well, as they went on, Mr. Darby had not said a word until it got on Mr. Grant and he finally wanted to know if Mr. Darby was not feeling well and.
You know, I'm feeling all right. Well, then why don't you say anything? Well, there's no use talking to a dead man.
Now let me read one verse to add to what you said, brother.
In Jeremiah chapter 8 and verse 9.
The wise men are ashamed.
They are dismayed.
And taken.
The statesman of our day, the highest range scientists of our day, are baffled.
Everything is getting out of control. They cannot produce the solution for the state of things the way the world is going. But the rest of the verse.
They have rejected the word of the Lord, and what wisdom is in them true of the education of.
So far as we are speaking about it in connection like evolution and philosophy going to call attention to a verse in the 82nd Psalm.
In connection with what her brother was saying about.
The dreadful condition of things in the world today.
The fifth verse of Psalm 82.
They know not.
Neither will they understand.
They walk on in darkness.
Now the rest of this verse is what I have in mind.
All the foundations of the Earth are out, of course.
Now, I believe that's referring to moral foundations.
And all the various relationships of life in the world today are out of course, the.
The family relationship is being broken up, and the civic relationship, the moral relationship, all the foundations.
Of the earth are out, of course. That's the condition to which things have dropped according to what we have in this.
82nd Psalm. All the foundations of the earth are out, of course.
But I don't. Excuse me for half profounding.
Different from some of the comments that have been made about that book.
The title of it rather frightens me. I'm not at all prepared to say anything about the content of the book. Anything I've read in it I have enjoyed very much. But I hardly approve of what our brother Gill has said. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed as God has described them. And the title of the book is.
Why I believe in creation and not in evolution?
Brethren, is there not just a little setting aside of the Shield of Faith, but a very title of that book? Why do I believe in creation and not in evolution? Because I have seen in creation the marvelous handiwork of God as compared to the nonsense of men. No, I believe in creation and not in evolution because God's Word proclaims creation and on that basis.
Alone I accept it if I see.
Furthermore, in the evidence that is given, that which thrills and delights myself. Thank God. But I hope this is not an awkward note to suggest, but I don't like the title Why? I believe in creation because the shield of faith accepts belief in the testimony that God has given in His word and not because someone has written the book of evidence. I believe we all say Amen and have the same point of view as you do, brother, and we've heard that before.
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Too. But we do see in the advanced discoveries through the electronic what do you call it?
Microsoft.
Yeah, microscope that the depths and the increase of entering into things that are now known through that means he does bring out much and by reading these things to you and me that understand this other. And you're correct brother, it does magnify the creator.
It does magnify the Creator for you and me. It isn't going to be used of God as it were to give faith because faith cometh for hearing and hearing by the word of God.
I want to give a balanced view to it.
I wonder if we could turn to a scripture in Genesis 35. It's just a little different from what we've been discussing, but it's in connection.
With our brother Albert Hales. Previous remarks on the shield of faith.
I wanted to make this connection. You know, there may be some of us here who have felt that.
We have failed in our responsibilities here, and the enemy would attack us and cause us to become, shall we say, discouraged after that which has been put in our trust.
Either our children or anything, any responsibility, and we need the shield of faith in this regard as well.
Now in this case of Jacob, we know Jacob had rather a checkered life.
We know that there are many things in Jacob's life that.
We can see.
Duplicated sometimes in our own there wasn't always the living up to the full privilege that Jacob had.
But we do remember that in the 28th chapter of Genesis, God had said to Jacob that he would be with him and he would see that he got back to Bethel.
Well now in this chapter we find it says, And God said unto Jacob, Arise, and go up to Bethel, and dwell there.
And make there an altar unto God that appeared unto thee, when thou fled us from the face of Esau thy brother.
Then Jacob said unto his household.
And to all that were with him, put away the strange gods that are among you.
Be clean, change your garments, and let us rise and go up to Bethel.
And I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress.
And was with me in the way which I went. And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears. And Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. And they journeyed, And the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, And they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
Now the point that I would like to bring out here in connection with the Shield of Faith.
Is that when you and I have discovered our failure, there's only one right course for us?
And that's to humble ourselves before God. That's a part of the shield of faith.
Because we find that God came in to Jacob's life and did what Jacob could not do.
Could not cleanse his house.
Jacob could not put away the strange gods that were in his house.
He could not remove the uncleanness.
But.
In faith Jacob was a man of faith. He waited upon God, and the time came when God came into his house, being a man of faith, and God did for him what he could not do for himself. Now I believe, dear brethren, that this is an important point in the shield of faith, because many.
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Become discouraged when they find out that their efforts have failed.
But we know that God is going to get the glory in the end, and we'll have to give it to Him.
Now just let me read a little further here and we'll see what effect this had upon Jacob. And that's what we want to see in our own hearts and in the hearts of our brethren. The effect.
We read on to the.
3rd we read on the 13th verse.
And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.
Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone, and he poured a drink, offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel, the House of God.
Hear Jacob is pouring out a drink offering. It's the only time in his life that we have recorded, I believe.
That he poured out a drink offering. Now, as I understand it, a drink offering.
Accompanied other offerings like the peace offering, but it had to do with the subject of joy. Joy.
Now where does Jacob find his joy? Does he find it in the fact that he had led such a wonderful life, and he was such a wonderful parent, and that he kept his house in order? No, indeed, brethren.
Here we find Jacob. The subject of joy is that God had come into his circumstances.
And God had ordered his household for him, and God had completed everything he had promised in connection with Jacob. He had taken him all the way, and he brought him back.
And so I suppose the only thing that's recorded of Jacob's faith is that when he was old that he blessed the sons, wasn't it when he was old? Well, it's a wonderful thing, dear brethren, that if the path ends well.
There may be many mistakes along the way, but where there's the shield of faith, where there's counting upon God?
The path will end well.
Now let's be sure of that, brethren, because God will never disappoint faith.
Let's have the shield of faith on whom I was going to remark, brethren, was a comforting verse concerning Jacob, which means supplanter. And that's what we are. But we're just poor old Jacobs. I'm so glad that we read this verse. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. And so we come back below to God in the beginning, God.
The Lord of Hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge.
Remember, Mark, Mr. Potter made I think it was publicly too, he said. We're glad that we have a Peter in the New Testament and and a Jacob in the old, for we find there men that were like ourselves, says of armor mentioned are not given to the Christian soldier as instruments for attack, but for.
Protection.
And we are not told to fight the enemy, are we? We are told in James 4 to resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
And again in first Peter Five, we are told again resist him.
The armor is given for protection, not as weapons of warfare to fight the enemy. How about the sword of the spirit? Didn't the Lord use it in the fourth of Matthew fighting attitude though? But he used it with the enemy, the sword of the spirit and it surely it it, it surely paralyzed the enemy.
Quite true, but I mean our attitude should not be a fighting attitude.
Find that when Israel was in Egypt, they didn't find the Egyptians, they were delivered from them.
And we are delivered to from the enemy by the power of the Holy Spirit and through obedience to the Word, are we not?
Doesn't stop there, it goes on and is connected with praying.
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Now we have a lovely example of that. Pardon me for referring to the Old Testament again, but we have the time when King Jehoshaphat.
Went to war and I believe he had the sword of the spirit because they left their weapons at home.
And they took musical instruments, and they went to war against the enemy.
The battle was won at the Watchtower.
It's at the Watchtower that the battle ended. If you'll notice the passage, we won't turn to it, but.
That's prayer, prayer and watching unto prayer. I believe it's important that.
We watch unto prayer that shows the reality of our prayers. When we watch unto prayer that is we believe God and this is connected with the sword of the Spirit. Is there something that we feel the Lord wants us to do? Well, we can't do it in our strength and so if there if there is the direct attack as the sword would indicate.
There must be the prayer. Go with it. It's in the same verse here, praying.
Always.
With all prayer that's general and supplication is specific in the Spirit. Well, God has given us, has He not all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ, they've all been given to us. If they're not so, are we not looked at here in Ephesians 6 as in possession?
About the enemy comes along to attack us, to take away from us, or to try to.
Of what we already possess. And is that not the reason why, as you were saying, brother gliding?
Our attitude is a defensive one. We have the sword of the Spirit, but our attitude is a defensive 1 to hold fast to what God has already given us. And he couldn't have given us more, could he?
Say then, brother Smith, that all the armor is defensive until you come to the Sword of the Spirit. That's offensive. That is, the Christian is only given one weapon to use against the enemy. All the rest is to protect ourselves, to be prepared. And then when the enemy does come.
If we are fully equipped with the armor of God, well then we have one weapon.
That will absolutely defeat him.
And that's the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
I've heard some people tell you get that forward out, that is, they have a bottle in their pocket, get it out and use it. Well, that might not be what we're reading up here at all because it's only the word of God yielded in the power of the Holy Spirit and that necessitates everything judged that would.
Communion with the Lord so that we might be filled with the Spirit and able in this way.
To to meet his attacks.
Now we have a perfect example of what we're taught here in connection with the victory of the Blessed Lord over Satan. When he was tempted in the wilderness, Peyton came and said to command these stones to be made bread.
Well, the Lord was hungry. They were fasting for 40 days, and all that time he was subjected to the awful influence of Satan. We can scarcely imagine what had transpired. And now the Lord a hungry man.
Is an approach that a vital point? Well, there was just one way that he met him. And it's a wonderful thing, beloved, that in meeting the attacks of Satan, the Lord met him in the way that the feeblest believer can meet him and defeat him too.
The Babe in Christ can defeat the Satans attack just as thoroughly and.
And with all the results that we see in the blessed Lord, a dependent man.
Only relying on the Word of God for his victory. So when he came, the enemy showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
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You met him again.
It is written and then when the Satan took him up to the pinnacle of the temple.
And even quoted scripture to him. Then he replied it is written again.
And the enemy was so shrewd that he will even quote scripture to try to confuse us. And that's why we need to be acquainted with the whole volume of GOB work that elsewhere to have the word of God in its entirety and the living in the power and enjoyment of it. So that when the enemy comes to confuse us.
We're ready to reply. As the Lord replied. It is written again.
And we should also notice just one more point, and that is that before you have the sword of the Spirit.
You have the helmet of salvation. You know the soldier in battle couldn't lift up his head if he didn't have on his helmet because he'd be afraid to that he would, he would have something landed on his head. So there is these wonderful cops that had lifted up when the certainty of our salvation, we know our souls were saved.
Divinely and eternally. And we know that salvation will never fail until we're in our glorified bodies like Christ. Then we can fully face the enemy. Excuse me, brother, excuse me. We are told to resist the devil.
I resist the devil, and he will flee from you. We're not, we're not told to rebuke the devil.
We're not told to rebuke him, but we're told to resist him. Now another verse that I think we will all admit that we might have been using during yesterday and today is I don't remember that we've been using it and that is that we should have no confidence in the flesh is related to Gilgal truth before going out.
To meet the enemy, there should be the often returning to Gilgal.
To be in the presence of the Lord.
Measuring ourselves as having no strength whatsoever. Without Him we can do nothing. And so at the beginning of our truth, like in verse ten of our chapter where it says be strong in the Lord and the power of His might.
That is the secret to being the presence of the Lord, having no confidence in ourselves.
Even to Philadelphia, where it says thou hast a little power. Now that's the exact translation there, I believe, at least the most faithful one as you understand it. But thou hast a little power if you and I have.
A little of the leading of the Holy Spirit in our life and our ways. It'll be to magnify the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit is here to glorify Him so.
To have a little strength, to have it in the Spirit of God and not of self or self-confidence, I'm sure is the most important thing of what have been said. Can we say that in verse 13?
There is to walk in the truth of the world. The result will be in righteousness.
On verse 15.
Walk in the meekness in meekness.
And in verse 16 walk in confidence of the Word. And in verse 17.
And the power speaks of the power of the word.
Yes, Brother Barry, I did not mean when I spoke about defensive warfare. I didn't mean that we were not to use the sword of the Spirit offensively. Far from it. But what I was thinking of was that some beloved Christians have the idea that we should go out and attack.
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Other Christians or people?
To heal them down with a sword. I got a letter the other day from a well meaning brother in Latin America and he said we have a radio program called.
La aura de la ray forma the hour of reform.
And he said we are launching out an attack by radio.
Over so and so and living that, that was what I had in mind.
So I wrote back to the brother and I said, dear brother.
Uh, we're not called upon to try to reform Christianity.
And much less the world and.
The Word of God has pronounced the.
The trend and the culmination and the judgment of Christendom.
And we are not going to change it, but wouldn't it be nice if you called your program?
Laura de la Aurora.
The hour of the dawning and announced the people the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Mark's Gospel it says that he was driven of the Spirit into the wilderness.
It was not any delight to the Lord to spend that 40 days in the wilderness and that attack of the enemy. There should never be any pleasure taking if we're having to meet the attacks of the enemy at the most problem thing when we have to face the attack of the enemy. And it should indeed.
Colonize us.
And draw us closer to the blessed Lord, so that we might be.
In communion with his mind.
Even though it was from scripture, it wasn't.
True. Was it because he left out four words? And that's the way the enemy does?
There's a special judgment upon those who would either add or take away from the Word of God, and Satan is the one who who introduces this sort of thing. In all thy ways. You left that out. You will keep thee in all thy way. I believe a practical truth that was just suggested by our brother Barry.
When he used the word as to our judging ourselves.
Is there no room for that truth in our subject we have before us?
Oh indeed, we should have that.
We already mentioned that we should have no confidence in the flesh. But what if we have had confidence in the flesh? What if we have not used the been covered with the whole armor and used the sword of the spirit? What if we have not done that and we failed? Then I'm sure that self judgment.
Is very, very much in season now. I'd like to read.
242 different portions on this point.
I believe it's worthwhile.
Lamentations, chapter 3.
The book of Jeremiah has 52 Chapters, the last one perhaps not written by Jeremiah, but after Jeremiah will say he wrote 51 Chapters. Why this book of lamentation originally was a part of that long book?
Lamentations, the five chapters, but it is by that profit that 41 years.
41 years was raised up of God.
In an 18 years of that time was.
When that wonderful Last King of Judah, Josiah was reigning. We love to read of Josiah.
We often hear ministry on Josiah.
But do we like to hear God's report by his prophet Jeremiah as to the internal corruptions that were going on during those 18 years when when Jehoshaphat himself had such a lovely, lovely reign?
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Well, the truth in Jeremiah's ministry I do not think we are liable to relish, nor did the people. Was he very popular with them? For he was really.
In On the Spot.
With the most privileged tribe of the 12 Judah, he was also addressing the most privileged spot in Judith, Jerusalem, Gods appointed center.
Now, I'm sure the people of Judah and Jerusalem did not relish the things he was addressing.
Was it with the purpose of warming their hearts? It was for the purpose of reaching their conscience. It was prophetic ministry and we should not leave it out of our thoughts, the prophetic ministry. So when we come to the end.
Of all that wonderful ministry of Jeremiah we read here in Lamentations 3.
He shows in verse 18.
A very, very.
Discouraged, a hopeless spirit.
He says my strength and my hope is perished.
Verse 19.
Remembering mine affliction.
And my misery or wandering.
The Wormwood and the gold, oh, the bitterness of our failure. My soul hath them still in remembrance.
And is now notice this word humbled in me. Is that not a profitable?
Exercise in the soul for it to be humbled. Is that not one of them?
One of the most needful things for the moment.
That we if we are humbled and recognizing the Lord's ways with us right now.
What will be more blessed in the end? And so he says, my soul is still in remembrance and is humbled in me.
This I recall to my mind, or the other translation to heart.
Therefore have I hoped. Therefore have I hoped. Now this is the word of God.
Now.
In verse 23.
Great is thy faithfulness in the face of our unfaithfulness. The Lord is my portion.
Saith my soul, therefore will I hope in him.
If self is owned and renounced as having failed, we do have our everlasting resource in the Lord. He is faithful. The Lord is my portion, therefore I hope.
Now in verse I want to touch on verse 27. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
I take it that if we are going along with the Lord.
Happy in his will, the yoke teaches us to bow and to go along with him in his will. Then in verse 29, he putteth his mouth in the dust. Ezra 10/1. Ezra cast himself down.
Put us his mouth, and us if so be there may be hope all the secret.
Of deliverance when we have so signally failed is humbling ourselves. If we just get self out of the way and only want His will. How perfect. Now I understand the time is up, yes. Just a thought if any of you care to look into it in that wonderful chapter of Exodus 32.
Where Moses had gone on high, you know the Lord Jesus gone on high during his absence they lose heart, they become weary and impatient as to that Moses so the resort to their own ways. The result is we have a golden calf.
When When Moses comes back.
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Oh, what a sad thing there.
The stone is crushed.
And Moses doesn't eat or drink for 40 days. He is so humbled about this. Shameful.
Condition state of things he finds he might say during his absence that has gripped in.
Then when you get to the second time or no, I shouldn't say that, I'm sorry.
We find that while he's down there with them, he turns to.
A newsstand that is at the gate of the camp who is on the Lord's side is raised. There is the challenge and the test for our hearts. Now we find as a result of faithfulness in judging according to God's mind and rewarded for it, we do find.
This word.
Moses said.
Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord that He.
May bestow upon you a blessing this day. Blessing will come from self judgment, humbling ourselves, owning all before the Lord. And don't let us try to evade it.