YP Talk—Nick Simon
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Well, let's pray.
Our God and Father, we do thank Thee for that which we've enjoyed over this weekend. We thank Thee for laying upon the hearts of our brethren to call us together, invite us to come together to be over Thy word. We each face numerous struggles in our life, personal, collective. Whatever the trials may be, we need the encouragement of each other. We need to build each other up in the most holy faith.
We need to strengthen those things that remain. We can't do any of it, our God and Father, without my strength.
And so we just pray now for the short words that they'll umm.
Give something for the speaker and that it would be presented simply and clearly and coherently. We just pray this in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
Well, I have to admit that I'm as tired as you are, which means that.
I'll probably lose my train of thought from time to time with than I usually do, but I like to read.
The buses from Joshua, chapter 5.
Can you all hear me?
Soda Chapter 5.
And verse 10.
And the children of Israel and Captain Gilgal and kept the Passover on the 14th day of the month, that even in the plains of Jericho. And that the heat of the old corner of the land on the Morrow after the Passover unleavened cakes and parched corn in the self same day. And the manna ceased from the Morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land. Neither had the children of Israel manna anymore.
But they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
Well, this portion obviously could occupy a better part of an hour, which I don't intend to do, so my hope is to just touch on some highlights without getting lost myself in the message. But we have three things presented here for Passover, the mana and the old corner of the land. And each of these three things speak of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And now feeding upon him.
And each speak of it in a slightly different character.
Now we don't make these things up.
So when I was in English class, we had to, in high school, we had to read books and analyze the book. And one student said this and another student said that, and the teacher said something else and it was all good. That's not the way we interpret Scripture. So we know that these things speak of Christ because we're told that in the New Testament. And as we've had in these meetings and we had in the Sunday school this morning, the Old Testament is a picture book.
But.
The truth of those pictures is revealed in the New Testament, so for example in First Corinthians chapter 5. And I will turn to these verses because I do not quote verses. If I try to quote them, I will paraphrase.
You know, I had AI had a, a brother in Christ say to me recently, well, I can't understand why the Lord would allow that. And I said, well, it's a good reminder that I have my weaknesses. So, umm, in First Corinthians 5, it says there quite clearly in end of verse seven, for even Christ, our Passover is sacrificed for us. So again, we have limited times. We're gonna move through this very quickly.
Passover.
We have to consider in three different aspects as the Church of Israel ate the pasta over in Egypt in numbers nine, they ate the pasta over in the wilderness and here in this chapter, the ether Passover in the land of Canaan and each present Christ and the character of the past servant in a little different way. So they ate the Passover first of all in the land of Egypt. And we eat that Passover as did the children of Israel in Egypt just once when we're saved, when we come under the shelter of the blood, when.
Know that we're safe from the wrath to come. We know we're safe from judgment. The Church of Israel that night, they put the blood on the door and they knew they were safe from judgment. And I trust that everyone here tonight that heard the gospel message, uh, took that opportunity to answer.
That door, as was often, that that invitation that went out tonight, because they know they're safe from judgment, because if you don't, you will have to face judgments.
But then the children of Israel ate the Passover in the wilderness and for them and looked back to that time in Egypt when they had killed that lamb, when they had put the blood on the doorpost. It was a memorial looking back for us as believers. We also have something that we participate in, and it's called the remembrance of the Lord, which we had this morning, the loaf and the cup, and it too looks fast.
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And it looks back to the Lord Jesus Christ, obviously.
We instituted the supper, the Lord's Supper. He told us what the emblems meant. This is my body, uh, the blood that was shed.
But when the children of Israel were in the wilderness.
That were primarily at that point in their journey, their life journey, thankful that there were no longer in the land of, uh, in, in, in Egypt under Pharaoh. They knew that they were delivered from ******* and they were thankful that they had escaped out of that land. And so we can remember the Lord in that character too. There's nothing wrong with that. To remember the Lord for what he has done for us on Calvary's cross.
But the children of Ezra also remembered the law also ate the Passover in the land of Canaan.
And you can imagine, and I'll touch on this again, uh, as we talk about the mana and the, the, umm, old corner of the land.
And, uh, touch on it a little bit more, but we can imagine that when they got to the land of Canaan while they're in the, in the wilderness, they had a lot of, lot of concerns. Again, we're going to touch on this again because it, it brings in the mana and the character of the Lord Jesus Christ as the manna. But once they got to the land of Canaan, you can imagine.
The the the, the joy that must have flooded over them.
They no longer had to think about the wilderness with a wondered how they were going to be fed and they complained and murmured about that. They wondered whether we're going to get drinks. There was a lot of trials in the wilderness that the Lord brought them through. But once they got to the land of Canaan, you can imagine their heart just overflowed as they worshipped and praised Jehovah God who has brought them out of Egypt.
Brought them through the wilderness and now to the promised land. And so we remember the Lord in that character. It's really the true character of worship where we remember the Lord Jesus for who he is. Remember the remembrance of the Lord is two things. Number one, we remember him. But more than that, it's a memorial where we show forth his death until he comes. The world crucifies the Lord Jesus Christ and they thought that was the last they would ever see of him again.
And they haven't seen him again, but we can come on load this morning.
Were those emblems before us? And we can show forth his death in a world that despised and hated him. What a tremendous privilege we have in doing that. It's not simply about remembering what he's done for me, but showing forth in his his death in the world that hated and despised and rejected him. So that's the three characters of the Passover presented very steeply.
And hopefully, uh, simply enough that you get something out of it.
And now we get to the other two things that we read about in this chapter, the mana and the old corner of the land. Now, if the world knows anything about Jesus, it's in the character of the manna. The manna was small and insignificant, and when they saw it, they said, what is it? And so the manna speaks of a humble Christ, the man that came down into this world.
And I said, if the world knows anything of Jesus, it's in the character of the manna. But sadly, Christendom.
And I trust they won't be judged for saying this. By and large, only know the Lord Jesus Christ as that humbled man that came down into the sea. By the way, I said we don't make these things up. So I want to be clear that we could turn to John chapter 6. And there we find that the Lord himself says that He was that bread that came down from heaven.
Umm.
Uh, you could look through the chapter, uh, and, and read it there for yourselves. But they in, in John chapter 6, verse 31, they channeled the award by saying our fathers in each manner in the desert, it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. And the Lord has to tell them, well, Moses didn't give you that bread, but my father giveth you the true bread from heaven at verse 32.
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And, uh, umm.
Verse 34 They say, then they unto him, Lord evermore give us his bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. Uh, just, uh, if you turn back to Exodus 16 or you don't have to, you can just listen to me read it, We find there where the manna was given and what preceded it was.
Umm.
In uh, Exodus 16, verse two, it says the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron the wilderness. And the children of Israel said unto them, would to God, We had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, where we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat threads of the cold, But ye have brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. And then in the rest of the chapter we find how the Lord fed them with bread, and how He provided the needs by giving them the manna.
The man, as I said, was small, it was insignificant. It speaks of Christ in its humility, in his manhood. It was also white, which was speak of its purity and never rested on the ground that rested on the dew. And there's so many different types there. But if we eat Christ as the manna, if we appropriate the Lord Jesus Christ to ourselves and the character of the manna.
It's really Christ meeting our needs in the wilderness.
And by and large, as believers, we are very much occupied with ourselves and our needs. And it's for this reason that if you listen to.
Uh, Christian ministry. If you read Christian literature, you will by and large only read of Jesus. That is all.
The the character of the meetings that we enjoyed this weekend were very practical and there is a definite need in our lives to appropriate for ourselves that manner. In Hebrews 12 it says looking unto Jesus.
The author and completer of faith. I'll read it because as I said, I will end up paraphrasing it, which will not be accurate.
Umm, it says, looking unto who? Looking unto this is a Christ, This is looking unto Jesus. The manner that man that came down into the scene who walked through this. Well the Hebrews is a wilderness book. It presents the Lord Jesus Christ as a man Jesus.
And as to eat of the mana means to appropriate for ourselves the man Christ, the man Jesus. And this there's a time and place for that and a very definite need for that. And I don't want in any way I thought of this after the subject of my heart and I prayed about what I should speak on. In no way does it in any way take away from the practical character of the ministry that we enjoyed this weekend. But the diet that is solely.
Occupied with wilderness ministry is stunting to spiritual growth.
I recently read a book that my wife was given by a dear Christian lady, an elderly lady, and my wife read it and she gave it to me and us read it and see what you think. It's, uh, a bestseller, Christian bestseller. And I will say that it was, was good. If you wanted to know what it was, I would have to, uh, qualify that a little bit because I believe there was, there was error in it. Umm, but overall I was, I was.
Pleased with it, surprised by it. Umm, I don't want to sound condescending and saying that in any way, but it did. Two things struck me about this book. It was about the Spirit of God. The first thing was never called the Lord by any other name than Jesus.
There is a time and place to speak of Jesus. When you speak of the humble man that came down into this world, that walked through it, I'm repeating myself now. That is the man Jesus.
The other thing was this book was about the Spirit of God, but when I got to the end of it, I asked myself, was it really about the Spirit of God or was it about me?
Now there's a lot of good things in it.
And, uh, things that, umm, were helpful and, uh, but.
One thing I've I've learned is a good guide when you listen to whether it's Christian music, whether you read Christian literature.
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Ask yourself what is the focus of this ministry?
Is it me?
Or is it exalting the Lord Jesus Christ?
So then we get to the third food, which is the old corn of the land, and again we have Christ in that picture as well, and we have that in John 12.
In John chapter 12.
The Lord Jesus says there in verse 24, Verily, verily, I stand to you, accept the corner wheat, fall into the ground and die it abide us alone that if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. And so that all corn of the land was simply the corn that had been harvested the year before. And I keep in mind that corn in old English.
And actually outside of the United States to some degree, though American English is almost universal now because.
Of, uh, television and media these days. But corn refers to a kernel of grain to be wheat. The barley, umm, in this country, it's almost universally made.
So the corn, the Lord Jesus was that Colonel of wheat that went down into death. And what happens is the wheat plant comes up and out of the head. You have many grains of wheat, but he was that first fruit that rose from the from among the dead. And he is still, as it were, that Colonel of wheat. He is a man in glory, and as the man in glory, his title is now.
Christ Jesus. Jesus Christ is the man that came down from glory into this world. Emphasis there. Jesus is connected with his manhood. It's the characteristic title of the book of Philippians, which is primarily a wilderness book. I don't want it in any way suggest that we can avoid or should even try to avoid wilderness ministry. My point is simply that.
A diet that is solely concerned with my needs. How Jesus is going to meet my needs. How he's going to get me through this world.
Is stunting to spiritual growth.
Just as I said, there are three characters in which we eat the pasta. The 1St is that our salvation, but we have the wilderness characters that Passover and sometimes in the breaking of bread, it's very much the wilderness character of the Passover. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's been wrong to start grading, putting a grade on the remembrance of the Lord, whether it was a three or an 8 or a nine, that that that serious.
That represents a serious problem with the state of how hot if we start doing that. But if we only ever remembered the Lord Jesus in.
That character, the one who died on the cross and saved me from my sins, that would not reflect well upon our state of spiritual material. Thankfully, we can. I can say for myself that there are being occasions, many occasions, where we've remembered the Lord, where a house just rolled up in praise and to glorify that one.
Who?
Perfectly glorified the father in his walk down here. And so when we eat of the old corner of the land is that we had this afternoon, umm, uh, set your affections on things that are above Bruce and I bought Bruce's little book on Colossians and I happened to open to that.
Part of Colossians where he wrote there and it it was very helpful. He said it's not think sitting back in our armchairs. Think thinking necessarily of what heaven is like and what he must be like up there. And you know, he said that the ambassador of Great Britain doesn't sit in France dreaming of the green hills of England. Know what he does in France is he's occupied with the interests of the king of England, the government of England.
And so when we're as set our affections on things above, what it means is it takes our thoughts of what Christ is to me and more on to what can I do for Christ. I'm not sure I necessarily put that the right way. A verse that comes to mind that maybe explains it from Scripture is Timothy was told to be an example of the believers. He was not told of an example to the believers.
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If I told you to be an example to the believers, it would make it all about you. If I told you to be an example of the believer, then it's all about between you and God. It changes the focus from me and puts our focus back on to where it should be on the Lord Jesus Christ. I see that I've already gone. Probably. Keep going buddy.
Umm. I'll just wrap up with one other comment that perhaps illustrates.
The character of what I'm saying I it's just something I recently enjoyed. It's a little different, but in John 11, the Lord Jesus, we know that's the chapter where Lazarus dies and the Lord Jesus delays in going back to Bethany. And when he does, Martha comes to meet him. And in verse 21 of John 11, Martha said unto Jesus, Lord, if that's been here, my brother has not died, but I know that even now.
Thou would ask of God, God will give it thee. And Jesus said unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha said unto. I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection, at the last day that was faced on Martha's path.
But sadly, much of Christendom knows no more than what Martha knew that there will be a resurrection at the last day knows no more. The Lord Jesus responds and says.
I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth thou this? She said, Yeah, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which are coming to the world again. Tremendous faith.
On Martha's part, but she did not understand what the Lord said, and in a way, to be fair to Martha, she could not understand what the Lord said at that point in His ministry and before the cross, before the coming of the Holy Spirit, and so on.
But what does she do? She goes out and calls Mary. Secretly, she says. I don't understand this, but I know one.
My sister who sat at his feet.
And listen to his words. Maybe she'll understand what he says.
You know, we possess even now resurrection life. We possess resurrection life even now.
Much of Christendom sees that at the end of the time there will be a general resurrection. They don't recognize it as a resurrection, but just the resurrection of the unjust. We now possess that resurrection life. We do not yet possess resurrected bodies.
That we possess resurrected lives. When it says in Ephesians that we are seated in the heavenlies, it's not merely that we are associated with Him there, but we have the very life.
That makes us suited to heaven. We have been made meat about the partakers.
Umm.
Uh, let me read that in Colossians. It was read earlier today, but it says there that we have been made need to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in life. We are a heavenly people, but I'm afraid that we get very occupied with ourselves. And my needs are like little children. What's the baby do? Every time it needs to be fed, it cries. And that's very much our character. We don't realize that.
That we're a heavenly people.
And as a heavenly people, Christ's interest should be our interest that we should be feeding on and, and, and seeking to know more about that heavenly glorified, uh, man.
Well, anyway, let's just be exercised about these things that, you know, I I'm so thank umm, dragging on, but.
I'm a human.
And I go to work.
And I, I said to people that, you know, after a period of time of week and week, uh, day in day out of going to work, you start getting grumpy.
Can you come to conference?
And you go back home and umm, your, your whole outlook on life is completely changed.
Umm.
Anyway, let's just think about how we're feeding on Christ.
It's just close with prayer. Our God and Father, we are in our great weaknesses. We own how little we think of anything outside of ourselves. But we pray, Lord, that would just stretch us.
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And, uh, cause us to look upward, heavenward, where the life that we possess, the new life that we possess where it's hung truly is, and but not to despise that, that manna too, which is in the character of that hidden manna now that which has been supplied.
Well, for us to appropriate for this wilderness journey that we're also on. And so Lord, we just commit ourselves to thee and just pray in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen, Amen.