Address—C.E. Lunden
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Turn to the Book of James for a verse or two. The 1St chapter of James.
Verse 17 Every good gift.
And every perfect gift is from above.
And cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning of His own will, begatting us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures. We just like to start this afternoon, dear friends, at the very beginning.
In two ways.
We find that we have the Father of Light spoken of here.
The Father of lights, or the author of it all, That's God himself.
Now isn't it precious to think of this of his own will begatting us?
The word of truth.
When you came into this world, you had nothing to do with it.
And dear friends, new birth is just the same as far as God's side is concerned. There's only one who can bring about new birth.
But we notice here it's coupled with the word.
And so if you'll turn with me to another verse in Peter.
1St chapter of Peter.
The 22nd verse.
Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit, unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that she loved one another with a pure heart, fervently being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.
Now here we have new birds. That's the very beginning of your history as a Christian.
I trust that everyone this afternoon in this room knows the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. I hope you do.
But you have to have this beginning.
We see two things coupled here, the action of God in bringing about life, but we also see the faith that lays hold of the Word of God.
And so we're not going to dwell on this very long because I'd like to take up a passage in the Old Testament, but we'll turn back to James again for another verse.
The first chapter of James.
Verse 21.
Wherefore.
Lay a part of filthiness.
The superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness.
Not the engrafted, but the implanted word which is able to save your souls.
Receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls.
Well, we find that.
The Word of God through grace, reaches our consciences. This is brought out very distinctly in the subject of the sower, where the Word was sown in the heart. That's the action of God for the Spirit.
But you know there has to be the receiving of this.
And where the word was not received in the heart.
Received.
By faith there was number fruit.
But where the word fell into plowed ground.
Laying aside all filthiness, superfluity of naughtiness, receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls. There's faith that believes the Word of God.
And salvation is the result.
Because the reception faith is the reception.
Of divine testimony.
And you know there once that.
The Word mixed with faith brings you immediately into relationship with God.
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And so we have, then, the subject of salvation.
Now we'll turn to another verse. We've spoken of new birth. We've spoken of the word implanted to be received by faith. Now we'll read a verse in Acts, the 10th chapter, possibly the 11Th chapter of Acts. This verse has been read to us already.
Verse 13 and the end of the verse send men to Joppa and call for Simon, whose name is surname is Peter.
Who shall tell the words whereby thou in all thy house shall be saved? Are you saved this afternoon?
Are you saved? Can you say I'm saved?
Have you heard words whereby you might be saved?
Because faith comes by hearing. Hearing by the word of God.
And so I ask you this afternoon, are you saved?
Now turn with me to a verse or two in Romans 10, verse 9.
Romans 10:00 and 9:00.
And that if thou shalt confess.
With thy mouth the Lord Jesus.
And shall believe in thine heart, that God hath raised him from the dead. Thou shalt be saved.
Thou shalt be saved.
Now I notice what it says.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.
And with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Oh, how simple and how precious the truth of God is.
New birth, the word implanted.
Believed.
Confessed.
Saved.
Saved.
Now we have something that goes along with this and it's like a continuous chain, you know. So if you'll turn with me to Galatians.
Galatians 4 chapter.
Verse four of Galatians 4.
But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son.
Made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them, that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Now we have.
The adoption of sons. This goes with salvation.
Because.
We are told.
In the.
1St chapter of Ephesians having believed your seal.
Possession.
And so the ceiling introduces the subject of the Spirit of God.
That's the next verse here.
And because ye are sons.
Not in order to be sons, but because ye are sons.
God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts crying.
ABBA Father.
Now those who are sons receive the Spirit of God.
It's because ye are sons that God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son.
Into your heart, crying ABBA father. Now, dear young people, these.
Things are very important for us to notice because there are false doctrines around us.
And they're trying to tell us all the time that you have to have this, you have to do that in order to be saved, you have to have a certain work of the Spirit of God. But we learn here that this is all what God.
Is doing in the believer.
Now when you start thinking about what God has done for the believer.
You begin to think of the fact that Christ was made surety for us.
That's the 7th chapter of Hebrews in the 22nd verse. We won't turn to it because of time.
Then we have the fact that the Lord Jesus became our substitute, that Savior, that precious Savior that hung on the middle cross.
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He hung there. He didn't say a word. Why?
He couldn't. He was bearing my guilt. How could he answer again when he was bearing my guilt? He took all my guilt.
He was my substitute.
That's the 24th verse of first of the 2nd.
2nd chapter, first Peter.
Whose own self there are sins in his own body on the tree.
Now he made atonement, although the word atonement really doesn't occur in the New Testament rightly, but it's rather the thought of ransom possibly or propitiation.
And we have that verse in the 10th chapter of.
Mark that he was. He was a ransom for many. He gave himself as a ransom for many.
And then in the Epistle of John, the propitiation for our sins.
That is, He laid the basis of blessing for our souls with all His work for us.
That's what he did for us.
Well, all of these things that are precious to trace.
But if you'll turn to 1St Corinthians or Second Corinthians 1.
I'd like to speak just a moment of the Spirit.
Verse 21 Second Corinthians one Now he which establisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God.
Notice that past tense half anointed us is God.
Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
Now, dear young believer, this afternoon you have to believe these things.
In order to enjoy them.
You can't have any joy unless you believe God wants you to be happy. He wants your soul to be at rest.
Rest in a finished work, the work that's been done not only in you, but the work that is done for you.
By that blessed Savior who hung on Calvary's cross.
Now we have certain privileges that go along with Christianity.
One of them is baptism.
I put it that way.
What would you think of a soldier that turned up at the mustard one morning without any uniform on?
He'd be reprimanded.
And how about the Christian who doesn't identify himself publicly with Jesus? I'll turn to a verse in the 10th chapter of Acts.
In the case of Cornelius, that we've already noticed in the 47th verse.
Can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
Now I know that Paul baptized the household of Stephanus. That's another aspect of baptism which we're not going to speak of. But here we find a man who is saved by the believing of the Word of God.
Now Peter says can anyone forbid water that he should be baptized?
A young man came to me and he said am IA Christian. I said I don't know, are you?
I said why do you ask the question? What? He said. Someone at school told me I wasn't because I wasn't baptized.
He said will you baptize me? I said yes, I will. I knew he was a believer.
But you see, it took another student to.
To tell him that he wasn't showing his colors.
He hadn't taken his place publicly identifying himself with the Lord Jesus.
And identifying himself in rejection is going down into death and resurrection in connection with a new life.
Now we have another privilege, dear young people, and that's the Lord's Table.
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You know, by 1 spirit we're all baptized into one body.
And the expression of this down here, and I'm sure that you want to please the Lord if you only have these things called you remembrance.
The expression of this truth, which is the present truth.
Is just to be simply gathered to the precious name of Jesus.
And to sit at his table.
There was a young man, Mephibosheth, who was lame on both of his feet, and David invited him to his table and he accepted.
He took his low place. I'm but a dog, he says.
That David seated him at his table and he put his feet under that table.
His crooked feet.
Well, dear ones, you know your feet may be a little crooked, but get them under the table. Get them under the table.
There was another man by the name of Barzillai, I believe.
And David invited him to the table.
But he didn't come. He was an old man.
And he had done many things for David, but he wouldn't come to the table. He said, let my servant come instead. So his servant came.
But now there's another privilege that we have.
Of those who are believers.
And that is, you're going to be surprised when I say this discipline. Oh, you say, you call that a privilege. Turn with me to the 6th chapter of Proverbs.
Verse 23.
This is one of the many verses like this in Proverbs.
For the commandment is a lamp.
Or a candle. The law is light. That's all of scripture. That isn't just some part of it.
The reprobates of instruction are the way.
Of life.
Do you want to miss this privilege?
You know when When Peter.
Set up the.
Shall we say the table?
In the 22nd of Luke, when the Lord said, Go and prepare for us the Passover, that we may eat.
Just after that.
The Lord said to Peter.
Satan have desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.
But I prayed for thee.
Now what happened after that was that after he was converted?
Restored in his soul, then the vessel was empty and he, God could use him on the Day of Pentecost for the salvation of 3000 souls. You want to miss this privilege of discipline?
Oh, how we shrink from anything like discipline. But beloved, it's one of the privileges of Christiana.
Now the time is slipping. I have something else on my heart. We've laid the basis now, as it were, for blessing for our souls.
And I want to talk to you first of all about an Old Testament passage that speaks of a still.
Small voice. It's the 19th chapter of First Kings.
A still small voice. You know this man, Elijah, of whom we're going to speak.
Was a man that got discouraged. He was a mighty man. He was a mighty prophet.
But he's just like everyone else.
That if we get our eyes off of the Lord, we're liable to be discouraged.
And there's not a person in this room. But what? That would be an exception, I'm sure, because if we get our eyes off of Jesus, we might get discouraged.
And we find that Elijah could call down fire from heaven. He could stand before that King Ahab, and say, according to my word, there'll be no rain these years. And then the next thing we see him running from a woman.
Who says she's going to take his life?
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Well, that's the way it is with man, you know?
Man has to have something stable beyond himself to rest on, and the moment he takes his eyes off it like Peter, he begins to sink in the water.
Oh, how good it is for us to have this stability that we've just spoken of in the in the epistles.
Something that our souls can rest on. A work done in US and a work done for us.
Now we find this man, if you'll notice in this 19th chapter.
We'll start with the 9th, 1St because of time.
He came further into a cave and lodged there, and behold, the word of the Lord came to him. And he said unto him, What doest thou hear, Elijah?
He said, I've been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, for the children of Israel, forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with a sword. And I only, even I only am left, and they seek my life to take it away. And he said, Go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord, and behold, the Lord passed by.
And a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and break in pieces of the rocks before the Lord.
That the Lord was not in the wind and after the wind and earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
And after the earthquake of fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire a still small voice. And it was so when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering end of The Cave. And behold, there came a voice unto him, and said.
What doest thou hear, Elijah?
He said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant.
Thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with a sword. And I even I only am left, and they seek my life.
To take it away. And the Lord said unto him, Go return on that way to the wilderness of Damascus, and so on.
Now the point I want to make here is simply this.
Here's a man that isolates himself from his brethren and he finds himself very unhappy.
And we find that at the bottom of the whole thing is simply pride.
Pride, you know, he had said. I'm no better than my father's.
Had he thought he was?
Do you think you're better than your father's?
Oh, Elijah missed the whole point here, because it isn't a question of how good we are. It's a question of how good that one is upon whom we rest.
Where are you trusting?
Dear friend this afternoon.
Where are you trusting?
Here's one who isolates himself and thinks that he's he can't go on with his brethren because of their state.
I, and I alone, am a prophet of the Lord.
Isn't that pride?
It had been all right if God had said it, but not for Elijah to say it.
It is true that he carried a true testimony.
But he got occupied with himself.
There was a time when he stood before Ahab, and he says before the Lord God of Israel, whom I stand.
But now he stands before a woman, and then he runs.
Where am I standing this afternoon, dear friend? Where you standing? Oh, how quickly we can get out of communion.
Quickly we can turn aside and remember going to three days or four days meetings will not keep your soul.
There's only one thing that will keep it, and that's to get into the presence of the Lord Jesus.
That's the only place of power.
It's wonderful to be with your brethren, but remember this to get along with God and then to look at everyone of your brethren as God seized them. Now we're going to turn to another scripture.
In the Second Chronicles 20.
This seems to be a most happy scripture to consider.
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Now we're going to speak a little bit about a man.
Who's at the divine center?
That God has appointed.
It's true that things are not very good among the people of God.
It's true that the king himself makes mistakes.
But you know this King Jehoshaphat that we're going to read about?
Was true to his name just the same. Jehovah judges. Jehovah judges.
You know God sends storms into our lives.
In Job 3713 tells us why.
In Job 37.
3713 it it says that he sends these storms.
Either for correction. That's the rod.
Or for his land, that is to bless his land.
Or for His mercy now we have already witnessed in these meetings the mercy of the Lord in sending a storm last night.
Because we're more comfortable today. That was the mercy of God.
Bonus his mercy.
And so he does send his storm for mercy, but he sends them for correction too.
Now we find there were storms in the life of Elijah.
We find there's storms in the life of Jehoshaphat and there's storms in your life.
In my life.
But the question is, how do we react to these storms that come into our lives?
Now we'll notice in this life of Jehoshaphat something very beautiful.
But notice we'll notice the storm first.
In the 18th chapter, we'll notice a verse of Second Chronicles. Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor and abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab.
He got mixed up with his relations.
There was a marriage in the family and he couldn't stand to see some of his loved ones.
Without taking part with them in this wrong course.
And so the scripture tells us, except a man hate his father and mother, he cannot be my disciple.
The claims of the Kingdom of God come before any other.
And the claims of Christ are first.
In our lives if we're going to be happy.
31St verse.
And it came to pass when the captains of the Chariots saw Jehoshaphat.
That's in this battle that took place that they said it is the king of Israel, therefore they compassed about him to fight, but Jehoshaphat cried out and the Lord helped him and God moved them to depart from him.
Now we find Jehoshaphat in trouble.
The storms come into his life.
But we find that God was able. Jehovah judges.
Had Jehoshaphat made a mistake? Oh, indeed he had. He knew better than to join affinity with a hat.
And now the Prophet comes to him. Notice the 19th chapter.
The second verse or the first verse? And Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, returned to his house in peace.
To Jerusalem, that was God's mercy on him.
And Jehu the son of Hannah and I the seer, went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat.
Thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord.
Therefore his wrath upon thee from before the Lord.
Now we find that the wrath of God has come out against Jehoshaphat.
And it's because of his conduct.
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Now we find that he had joined affinity with those who had separated themselves from the true center.
And here the prophet speaks of them as ungodly. He doesn't say they weren't believers.
He doesn't say they weren't the Lord's people, but the question here is one of government.
And in their ways, they were ungodly.
And so it's possible for a Christian to be ungodly in his ways.
Not put God first in his ways.
Now he was not to have any, He was not to join affinity with these.
Return not to them. Let them return to you, the word of God said.
But he didn't obey the word of God, and now he has wrath on his circumstances down here. The 20th chapter. And it came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab and the children of Ammon, and with their mother beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There come with a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side of Syria.
All they being hazen tamer which is in get eye.
And Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
Judah gathered themselves together to ask help of the Lord. Even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem in the House of the Lord before the new court, and said, Oh Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven, and rule us not thou over the kingdoms of the heathen?
And in thine hand is there not power, and might do so that none is able to withstand thee?
Art not thou art God, who did strive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gave us that to the seed of Abraham, thy friend forever?
And they dwell therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying, If when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, for thy name is in this house, and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.
And now behold the children of Ammon and Moab.
And Mount Cyr, whom thou wouldst not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt.
But they turned from them and destroyed them. Now behold, I say, how they reward us to come to cast us out of thy possessions.
Which thou hast given us to inherit.
Or God, wilt thou not judge them?
For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us, neither knowing what to do, but our eyes are upon thee.
And all Judas stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, their children. And upon Hazel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Mania, the son of Jail, the son of Martinez a Levite of the sons of Asaf, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation.
And he said, Hearken ye all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And thou, King Jehoshaphat, thus saith the Lord unto you.
Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours. But gods tomorrow go you down against them. Behold, they come up by the Cliff of Ziss, and you shall find them at the end of the brook or valley before the wilderness of Giroux.
Ye shall not need to fight in this battle. Set yourselves, stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord with your Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not, nor be dismayed. Tomorrow go, go out against them, for the Lord will be with you.
Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground.
And all Jude on the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.
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And the Levites and the children of the Courthites and of the children of the Korah Heights stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
And there rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Toccoa. And as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah.
And the inhabitants of Jerusalem believe in the Lord your God, so shall you be established.
Believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord that should praise the beauty of holiness.
As they went out before the army and to say praise the Lord, that's the same as Hallelujah, you know, praise the Lord for his mercy endureth forever. And when they began to sing and to praise the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Mount Moab and Mount Seir, which were come against Judah, and they were smitten.
For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir utterly to slay and destroy them.
And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Sere, everyone helped to destroy another.
And when Judah came toward the watchtower in the wilderness, they looked upon the multitude, and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth.
None escaped.
And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves more than they could carry. And there were three days in gathering of the spoil. It was so much.
And on the 4th day they assemble themselves in the valley of Baraka.
For there they bless the Lord. Therefore the name of the same place was called the valley.
A barracker under this day. Then they returned every man of Judah and Jerusalem.
And Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them to go again to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies, and they came to Jerusalem.
With psalteries and harps, trumpets under the House of the Lord, and the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel.
So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest round about.
Now, isn't that a story with a good ending?
You know, it's wonderful to think of the day when we'll hear the shout and we'll be caught away to be forever with the Lord.
But are you going to wait until that moment?
To be happy.
We find here that Jehoshaphat in all of his mistakes he had the true remedy for happiness.
We learned in the third Psalm this.
Thy blessing is upon thy people.
Do you think Elijah was wise to leave the people of God?
Oh, you say? Well, the people of God were serving idols, all right. They were too.
You know, it isn't wise to leave the people of God until God leaves them.
Having loved his own, he loved them to the end, to the end.
Oh, how often a soul will get up and become discouraged and turn away.
But it's pride.
Are you and I any better than the rest?
I'm sure that if we began to examine ourselves, we'd be more likely to stay.
And to be thankful for the consolation that we get from our brethren.
We find here Jehoshaphat. When the prophet came to him, he never said a word.
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He as much as owned that he was wrong. And what does he do? He immediately goes out and begins to teach the people and to bring them back to the God of their fathers.
He took the correction. It's the way of life.
And although God did bring judgment upon that people, and He sent the armies against them, remember this, that God had already made a provision just like He has for you, dear young people.
Don't become overwhelmed just because you've made a mistake and you feel that everyone's against you and God's against you because he isn't.
Your brethren love you, and so does God.
It's a wonderful thing to be able to confess your sins and to be restored again.
And Jehoshaphat.
He gave evidence of the fact.
By accepting the word of the prophet, you'll notice too that God sends two different prophets to speak to him.
He doesn't use the same one.
And you and I better take heed. If God raises up someone to speak to us, we'd better take heed.
This one rose up from the midst of the congregation, and he spoke to his brethren, and he spoke to the king, and the king took heed, and all what a blessing resulted when he took heed.
And here we find Jehoshaphat in the midst of the people of God at the divine center.
Any finding the blessing of the Lord, which makes rich and adds no sorrow.
Adds no sorrow.
And so if you're discouraged this afternoon.
If you feel well, things aren't going as I wish they were, remember this, that you're just a part of the whole failure of the people of God.
But remember this.
Too that God is able for every circumstance.
And even though you may be under the government of God, if you'll read the third Psalm carefully, you'll see David there who was under the government of God.
He was rejoicing in his position before the Lord.
He went into God's holy hill.
Holy hell that is. He confessed that he was wrong. He owned the holiness of God in his own unholy course.
He owned it before God and there was blessing in that third Psalm just like there is here.
Now I did notice one or two points in the third verse. It says in Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the Lord.
Feared.
He feared the government of God.
There was only one way for him to turn, and that was to the Lord Himself.
Now we find Judah the fourth verse gather themselves together to ask help of the Lord out of all the cities.
Of Judah they came to seek the Lord.
The seventh verse.
He brings in the fact of Abraham, God's friend.
Abraham, God's friend.
Is the Lord of friend to you?
Or you always think of him as that one who is. He's the Lord, all right? And I keep my distance.
Or is he your friend? He makes known his mind to his friends you know.
Friend.
When the disciples came to the Lord in the 13th, is it of Luke?
Or is the 11Th chapter of Luke I've forgotten and they said teach us to pray.
You know what he said. Which of you shall have a friend?
And shall go to him at midnight.
The most inopportune time.
Lend ME3 loaves.
I have a need.
Do you think he would turn him away? No, he won't turn you away either.
When we sing that little song, what a friend we have in Jesus, do we really mean it?
Is he just a friend when everything is going smooth?
No, he's a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. He's a friend at all times.
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When you have sinned, yes. Yes.
You will have to confess your sin. That's true.
And the clouds have come, But to our man souls he reaps. But remember this all the way through it. You can have a friend.
A friend.
Now in this ninth verse we find that the king goes back to the provision that God made long ago that if his people found themselves in difficulties and they cried to the Lord, he'd deliver them.
Now this is prophetic of another day when Israel will come back and they'll find themselves surrounded with armies.
And they will cry to the Lord, and He will deliver them.
It doesn't matter if there are myriads, the Lord will deliver them.
The Lord delivered them and also a wonderful thing to have the Lord Jesus.
It's a most wonderful thing to be among the people of God at the divine center.
All what protection?
And what protection for your children, those of you who have children, to be found at the divine center?
To be found under the favor of God in this special way.
How good it is?
And now we find in this chapter also.
In the 20th verse.
The basis of all the joy.
And the blessing that follows.
Believe in the larger God.
So shall he be established. Believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
You know, it says in Hebrews 11 That without faith it's impossible to please him.
Faith believes God.
Faith. Trust God in every circumstance.
And that's one thing about job you'll notice.
Though he slay me, yet will I trust him?
Job had that firmly fixed in his heart. He was going to trust God no matter what came.
You think it pays?
Job had twice as much as he had the beginning. When it was all over after the clouds had cleared away, Job found that he had twice as much as at the beginning. Did Job make mistakes? Did he did?
And so faith then?
Then it says in the 21St verse.
He says to them, Praise the Lord.
Say praise the Lord for His mercy endureth forever.
Now what was he rejoicing in? He was rejoicing in mercy.
This is a good subject for us to rejoice in, dear young people.
Not in our attainments.
No in mercy. Praise the Lord for His mercy. That's what we have here. Divine principles that carry throughout the Word of God we learn here in this book.
Now when they began to sing then is when the deliverance came.
You know that I don't suppose that I've ever read of another battle like this where they left their swords at home and they brought their musical instruments.
But that's what they did.
Their musical instruments and their voices of praise. And when they began to praise, when then the Lord just moved.
The whole host of the enemy, and they began to slay one another.
Oh, it's a good thing to trust in the Lord.
Yes, it's a good thing to be established in our souls and those truths that we had in the epistles.
So that we can have that firmness of conviction.
That we can trust wholly in the Lord. You'll never disappoint us.
Now we notice where the deliverance came.
In the 24th verse we find the deliverance comes at the Watchtower.
The Watchtower Have you a Watchtower?
Have you time to have a watchtower in your home?
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You know, man was created in such a way that he had to be dependent upon God for everything.
And so we're told to watch under prayer.
And Elijah, you know, on another occasion.
When he prayed for rain, he got down on his face before God, and he sent his servant out and he says, you go and see.
If the rains coming.
And he prayed, and this servant finally came back. And he says, I see the cloud the size of a man's hand. Elijah, that's enough.
And he told the king, he said you better go because you'll be overtaken with the storm. And he was.
The blessing of God was so great, but Elijah was on his face watching under prayer.
Didn't he know that God was going to bring the rain? Yes, he knew it, but he watched until it came. He watched until it came. Independence upon God.
The Watchtower in the 24th verse.
And now they gather the spoil. 3 days. The completeness of blessing three is completeness.
And in the 26th verse and the 4th day, they assemble themselves.
In the valley of Blessing, blessing, Baraka blessing.
Isn't that a good place to assemble?
I told you this story had a good ending. You know it does.
And here's the here's the man who had failed, and instead of getting discouraged, he came among the people of God, and he brought the people of God back to the Lord God of their fathers.
And then when the clouds gathered, and the troubles came, and the storm fell upon them, he simply laid it in the hands of the Lord, and there was blessing for the whole company.
Is that the path you're going to take?
Or you're going to make your way like Elijah.
Back into the wilderness alone, because either you and I, beloved, have to go on with the people of God.
In weakness theirs in ours, or we'll be isolated.
In a spiritual wilderness alone, which do you want?
Where there's no joy but all, here they have the whole company that come to this valley of blessing. Blessing.
Shall we sing that little hymn 298?
Joy, joy.
Joy.
To me.
We're the Saints that are gone before.
And bridal rocks will. All the Saints are here and shining in his glory, right? We'll see our Jesus there.
Oh, that will be joyful.
Joyful.
Joyful.
Oh, that could be joyful to him.
For the Lord to the face and to the heart, the Lord no more.
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With sons to God are born.
I will this false replacement.
All the way where you're far.