Address—David Mearns
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I wonder if we could open our meeting this evening with singing. Uh, we've already flung this hymn before, but we'll sing it again. It's #278.
278.
I'll teach us, so the power to know.
A risen life with thee not we may live well here below, but Christ our life may be. Somebody please start for me #270.
5.
Uh-huh.
Alright, yeah. May I know that?
You.
Uh.
Hello.
Nsnoise.
Turn with me, please, to Luke's Gospel Chapter 14.
Luke's Gospel, chapter 14.
Uh, labeled as an address to believers.
And I trust, with the Lord's help, to take up the thought of finishing our course.
Now here in Luke's gospel verse chapter 14 and verse 25, we read. And there was a great there were great multitudes with him. And he turned. And he said unto them, If a man come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters, yeah, and his own life also he cannot mean by the sight pole. And whosoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
For which of you intending to build a tower and sitteth not down 1St and count at the cost?
Whether he have this is our subject now, whether he has sufficient to finish it, lest happily after he had laid the foundation is not able to finish it all that behold it begin to mock him, saying this man began to build and was not able to finish. Or what king going to make war against another king sitteth not down 1St and consulteth whether he be able with 10,000 to meet him that come up against him with 20,000.
Or whilst while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassador and desires conditions of peace so likewise.
Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not, all that he hath cannot be my disciple. Let's ask the Lord for his help.
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Our God and our Father.
We thank Thee most of all for the Lord Jesus.
We're so thankful for the time that we've been able to have together over Thy precious Word. Thou has brought many things before us, hard even to add to what we've had, but we pray our God that Thou grant special grace this next few minutes.
That our time might be for real profit as we look into these blessed pages once more, and to hear Thy voice as Thou desire to speak to us one more time before we separate and go our several ways.
So you would think of each one here again, of us with different circumstances, different trials, by the way.
Various things that stick to come into our lives to interrupt our communion. We just would pray our God for Thy blessing now as we would look into Thy precious word, that it would be for real profit for us, and we'd ask it as we give thanks and the worthy and the precious name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.
Just had a birthday.
My wife always gives me a.
Ministry book for my birthday.
Umm, I usually ask for that. She says all these books and you want another ministry book?
So she keeps giving me ministry books and I'm so thankful for them.
Umm, this year, however.
Uh.
She gave me ACD.
It was a a CD of Beethoven.
Joshua, at least the team will have to cut me a little slack here as I hopped in the van and stuck the CD in a Beethoven.
Umm, my early days, I was instructed. Umm.
In music, and I came to appreciate many of the conductors that.
Compose various and sundry. Umm.
The tunes, in fact.
We are indebted.
The Beethoven for some of our tunes.
I'm not sure he'll appreciate the way we think some of them.
But, umm, it's wonderful to stick in ACD and you know, you hear these various things also. Oh my #223 and I, I enjoy that. But one of the things I thought about.
As I was listening to this CD.
Something I picked up when I was in school, before I was married, as we were in school, uh, the uh, Conservatory of music in at McGill University in Montreal.
There was a piece that Beethoven.
Composed.
At the end of his life, he didn't live very long.
And it was a concerto. It was a Piano Concerto. Now what a concerto is, it's an orchestra that plays.
At the same time as a single instrument. So actually the orchestra accompanies the instrument after the concerto is. And there's violin concertos, there's piano concertos, there's horn concertos, there's there's flute concertos, there's cello concertos, there's all kinds of concertos. And what they are is an orchestra, full orchestra accompanying the single instrument.
So at the end of his life Beethoven, he composed this Piano Concerto.
And what was interesting about this piece on its debut when it was first played?
The the orchestra played and he played the piano, but not only did he play the piano, he also conducted the piece. So you just picture him on the piano playing and conducting at the same time. Occasionally that happens. Takes a lot of skill to be able to do that. Went through the whole piece, 40 minutes of it.
And, umm. The audience gave a standing ovation. He got up from the piano, he stood before the crowd, and he bowed.
And they kept on clapping. I'm gonna add one detail. It's gonna change this whole picture for you.
He was stone deaf.
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He didn't hear a note of it. He didn't hear one note of it.
He's directing with his eyes and with his hands. When the first violence came in, when the horns came in, when the flutes came in, when the cellos came in. Pounding away on his piano, not hearing one note.
Sometimes, brethren.
We have a difficulty.
Deciphering what is a door that the Lord is closing.
And what is the adversary seeking to discourage us?
When I think of this story and it was a it was a great disappointment to him to to come to the point where he started to lose his hearing. And I understand that there was panels around his house and the strings were all broken from his pounding away on these notes and not being able to hear anything. But in his mind he heard it all.
You know, sometimes we get when we have this afternoon the the concept of the sloth and the slug, the slothful and the slugger and and sometimes it doesn't take very much to discourage us from our pathway.
We we've just read a portion in connection with building a tower.
And then a subsequent portion. Let's look at it. It says verse 28. Which of you intending to build a tower sitteth not down 1St and counteth the cost whether he have to sufficient to finish it?
And then it goes on and says in verse 31 or what king goeth maketh war against another king sitteth not down 1St and consulteth whether he be able with 10,000 to meet him that cometh against him with 20,000. We look at that and we think, well, that's a no brainer. We're just not going to do it. But you know.
The name of the Lord is a strong tower.
The righteous run up into it and his faith if we have that strong tower behind us, and that's why we hear, we read about the tower first. If we have that strong tower behind us, it doesn't matter how many are in front of us and we go with a few men, there's going to be victory.
I enjoy the order of this portion, it's beautiful what king goes to make war against another and sitteth not down 1St and consult us whether it be able with 10,000 to meet him that cometh against him with 20,000 or else while the other is yet a great way off. You know that doesn't matter if there's a strong tower that's been built.
The name of the Lord beautiful to consider that. Well, I'd like to look now at, uh, just for a, just for a moment at Acts chapter 20, Acts chapter 20. If we could do that for the apostle Paul, He makes a comment here.
As he calls the elders of the church.
Verse 24 But none of these things move me, neither count on my life dear unto me, so that I might finish my course with joy.
Don't we like that wording?
Isn't that attractive? Finishing our course with joy, You know there are so many.
And have a good start.
And have a poor finish.
And I'd like to look now if we could turn to the.
The Book of Zechariah for a moment in the Book of Zechariah.
We'll look at the UMM at the 4th chapter.
So I want to look a little bit at the just touch in on a few portions in connection with Ezra building.
And we have here.
Umm in Zechariah chapter 4.
The Angel talking with me came again. Wake me as a man that has wakened out of sleep. We've had that before us, haven't we? Verse five. The Angel that talked with me answered and said, No, thou nought with these beasts, speaking about the two old olive branches. The answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but my, my spirit saith.
The Lord of hosts in verse 8. Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, The hands of the rubble have laid the foundation of this house.
And his hands shall also finish it. Thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? Now let's turn over to the book of Ezra, The book of Ezra.
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The 4th chapter When the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel, then they came to Zerubbabel and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build you, for we seek your God as ye do, and we do sacrifice unto him. Since the days of Vaser Hayden, king of Asher with brought us up, hit her but the rubble. And Joshua, Joshua and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, You have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God, but.
We ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the King of Persia, hath commanded us.
You know, the enemy of our souls, he doesn't want us to finish our course. Well, he doesn't want to do that. And it's been really striking, uh, for me to read what transpires here. It says in the fourth verse. Then the people of the land, they weakened the hands of the people. That's the enemy's work. That's what the enemy wants to do with each one of us so that we don't finish.
Our course with joy and then it adds something it says and they hired.
They troubled them in building and they hired counselors against them. Notice this next phrase that really struck me when I read that. I'm actually looking at Ezra in my personal reading right now, and it says there to frustrate their purpose.
Tim said we looked at the concept of purpose last weekend and Dorothy and we did. And here what does the enemy do? He wants to frustrate their purpose. They had a purpose, they had a purpose and it was a fixed purpose.
And they wanted to make sure that that purpose was accomplished. And the enemy too. He saw that they had a purpose. And So what did he, what did he do? He comes in to frustrate that purpose.
So without going through the portion, let's look at the end of the chapter.
Verse 24. Then cease.
The work of the House of God, which is at Jerusalem.
So it's ceased.
Until the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia.
That's a sad commentary, isn't it?
For the people of God to have purpose.
To have that purpose frustrated.
And the work ceased.
Done.
I was thankful for what we had in the open meeting, how we had brought before us that God's thoughts are not gonna be frustrated.
But often in our pathway there are things that are obstacles.
That frustrate our purpose. You know, if if I was a composer and all and I went deaf, I'd say well.
Uh, this is, uh, kind of a silly work to compose a piece of music and then not only that, but to, to conduct it and to play the piano. I can't hear a thing, no.
Beethoven had a purpose and, uh, it wasn't frustrating. And I, I there, there's so many things that come across our pathway and we, we see them come across our pathway and we think it's a closed door and it's not what it is. It's the enemy seeking to frustrate our purpose.
So we don't finish.
Let's umm, let's go to umm the umm, the 5th chapter.
And we redeem the prophet's Hagiah and the prophet then the prophets Hagia the prophet Zechariah the son of idol prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. And then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Chiaofiel, and Joshua the son of Josadec, and began to build a House of God which was at Jerusalem. And with them were the prophets of God helping him. If he went back to, to Zechariah, we'd we'd find and we went to Hagiah. We would find how they, how they.
Sought to exercise these ones to pick up and to work again and they did the, the prophets. They just didn't tell them to do it, though they, it says they worked with them. We see that right here. It says, umm, the, the end of the second verse. The prophets of God were helping them at the same time. And I just, I'm so thankful for those that have encouraged me in the pathway of faith when I've sought to throw the towel in and I've and they've gone alongside of me and sought to encourage me to, to, to carry on with the work and to, to seek to finish my course with.
You know.
A number of years ago when I was in grade school.
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Remember being in grade 7?
And, umm.
And they had a a winter carnival at the school.
And one of the things in the carnival was they had a skating rink. There was was a race with the Grade 7 and.
At that point there was a number of us that had signed up for the race. There was a dozen of us and we were supposed to do 3 loops around the around the rink. Well the whistle blew and the 12 of us took off and umm, back then I could skate and umm I got a fair piece ahead of everybody and was going around and around and when I got to.
The last lap and I looked behind me, I was like half a lap ahead of everyone else. I had this in the bag.
And the finish line, as it came up, I, because I had it in the bag, I thought I'm just going to coast. And I coasted towards the finish line and everybody started to cheer and I thought, oh, this is great. They're all cheering for me. What I didn't know was there was a guy behind me who was steaming up behind me. And as I coasted up to the finish line, he zipped in front of me.
You know there can be a tendency.
In our lives, at whatever stage.
Particularly after there's a victory in our Christian pathway.
To coast.
Nobody ever coasted into the Kingdom.
You don't coast upstream.
It it doesn't happen.
You need fins and scales to get up the stream.
And that's the concept we have of the apostles. They sought to finish his course with joy. It takes energy. We've had so many things brought before us this weekend and I'm so thankful for them.
Let's turn, if you could, with me to, umm, to Second Timothy.
You know, before we go there, let's.
Let's turn back to, uh, second Chronicles.
I just want to look at a number of people that has been have been very exercising to me. Second Chronicles. Let's look at the 13th chapter.
I want to look at a few kings here, not in detail, just to point out two points in each of their lives. Second Chronicles, chapter 13.
This is King Abijah.
Verse four and Abijah stood upon Mount Zemarean.
And he says in verse 10, As for us, the Lord is our God, we have not forsaken him.
Verse 12 Behold God himself is with us for our captain. Now just keep your finger there and go back to First Kings chapter 15.
Just keep your finger in First Chronicles. We'll spend the rest of the time in First Chronicles. First Kings chapter 15.
Where we read of the same king and it says in the third verse he walked in all the sins. First Kings chapter 15 verse three, he walked in all the sins of his father which he had done before him and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God. Now back to Second Chronicles 13.
Here we have a king.
He had a good start.
Get a bad finish.
Look at Chapter 14.
Let's look at ASA.
Chapter verse two of Second Chronicles 14 And ASA did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.
Now turn to Chapter 16.
Chapter 16 and verse 12.
An Acer, in the 30 and 9th year of his reign, was diseased in his feet until his disease was exceeding great. Yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians.
Good start.
Bad finish.
Turn the page.
Chapter 17.
Verse 3.
Jehoshaphat And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the first wave of his father David, and sought not unto Balaam, but he sought to the Lord God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. Verse six. And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord. Now flip over to chapter 20.
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Thinking.
Verse 35.
Second Chronicles 2035 And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah, join himself with Aziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly, And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in the Zion keeper. Then he lies there, the son of Dorava of Mirisha prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou has joined thyself with Aziah, the Lord hath broken.
And the ships were broken. They were not able to go to Tarshish.
Good start.
Bad finish.
Turn the page. Chapter 24 Josh.
Josh was seven years old when he began to reign.
He reigned 40 years in Jerusalem and his mother's name was Abaya of Beersheba, and Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord.
1St 17.
Now after the death of Jehoiada came the Princess of Judah, and mayor obeyed since to the king.
Then the king hearkened unto them, and they left the House of the Lord God of their fathers, and served Groves and idols. Verse 22. And Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father, had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The Lord, look upon it and require it.
Same story, good start.
Bad finish.
Next chapter.
Chapter 25.
Verse 2.
He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord.
Verse 27.
After that time, Amazon did turn away from following the Lord.
I need to sound like a broken record. Good start.
Bad finish.
Next chapter.
Chapter 26.
Isaiah.
Verse 316 years old was his eye when he began to reign.
We're in 50 and two years in Jerusalem.
His mother's name also was Jekyll of Jerusalem, And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah did. And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding and visions of God, and as long as he thought the Lord God made him to prosper for 16 But.
When he was strong.
His heart was lifted up to his destruction, and he transgressed against the Lord his God.
Good start, bad finish.
Isn't this striking?
Like we're not talking one or two.
One king after another, with a good start and a bad finish.
You know, it's not unlike.
A lot of believers.
And I would say this, you know what, what's what was very searching to me was when I was going through the life of Jehoshaphat.
It was last year. I had just turned 60.
Josh got a wonderful life to be more profitable, perhaps, to go through his life and look at all the wonderful things. But it just struck me, this subject of so many kings that had a good start and a bad finish, and when Jehoshaphat turns 60, it all went South.
And I would like to encourage my peers that, you know, I'm so thankful for those who are younger here with real purpose to go on. It takes purpose to go on no matter what age we are.
And we see that with the kings, they'd lost that. And you know what, it's just that that statement that we have in in in the in the book of Ezra, where, where the people were building and things were going were going well. But the enemy comes in. What, what do they do? He he decides he's going to frustrate that purpose.
So then we'll throw the towel in. So we coast the rest of the way. You know, it's just a sad thing that I can see it in my own soul, the desire, you know, live my life and I can coast. We can't coast ever. We can never coast. And we see that with these ones who had a tremendous start and had a bad finish.
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There are those in the New Testament. We could take up the life of Demas to think. Marvelous start, but a bad finish. What does the Lord want for us?
You know he writes there to those dear ones in acts Paul does.
But he might finish his course with joy. That's what the Lord's desire is for us. You know when my dad passed away?
I was with him when he took his last breath. You know, those last few days, I couldn't bother him about anything other than that which was before him and he, he felt bad that I wasn't going to. I thought, wow, I'm just not there.
Man that finished his course with joy I went into.
On his last day, I went into his room and tried to wake him and I couldn't wake him. And as I'm trying to wake him, the nurse goes by outside and says is there a problem in there? I said, yeah, I can't seem to wake my dad up. She said, well, he sure was awake last night. He wanted to know if I knew the Lord Jesus Christ as my savior nursed us, not the Lord. The last words he probably said.
Finished his course with joy.
Let's turn to Second Timothy. They want to turn to before.
We're the apostle running to Timothy. You know, we could look at, you know, the, we don't have the time, but I've enjoyed how the desire was for the apostle to, to write to the Corinthians. He wanted them to finish their course. And he, he sends Titus along to, to complete that which, which, uh, which was started there. But here we find in, in second Timothy and the 4th chapter.
Gives these things to Timothy. You just appreciate, you know, Timothy is he writes to Timothy.
That's interesting you write Timothy a little differently. You write Titus. It's Titus, my son is Timothy, my dearly beloved son. Both of them are different character. Umm, Titus had a work to do in, in Corinth that perhaps Timothy couldn't do Uh, Titus had the the apostle had confidence in Titus to, to, to send him to Crete. Umm, he probably could have done the work himself, but he, he see here's a younger brother that's probably more in tune with, with, with what's going on there and crease. He points at the difficulties, but you know, if this brother he's.
Able to do better than anybody else. And he sends them there. But here he writes to Timothy and he says here.
Uh, let's read from the first verse. I charge the therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and His Kingdom. Preach the word, the infinite, season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned into fables. But watch thou in all things endure afflictions.
Do the work of an evangelist. Make proof of thy ministry. For I am now ready to be offered. The time of my departure is at hand. I have finished. I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. Finished my course. I have kept the faith. Is that what all those kings could say? Had a great start.
A lot of people here had a great start. What does the Lord desire? He wants us to finish well. That's what He wants. He wants us to finish well.
Dear ones, may we finish Well, Let's sing a hymn in closing, I'd like to sing.
Maybe number?
311 We've had such a wonderful time.
Maybe as we depart we could have these thoughts before us #311 while to several paths dividing we are pilgrimage pursuit.
#311.
00:35:35
Our God and our Father, we thank thee for. Our Lord Jesus, we thank thee for thy precious word, and we thank thee for that which we've had before us. And we just pray our God.
That our purpose would not be frustrated.
That we would have fins and scales.
And we would count the cost.
There would be a tower behind us as we would face perhaps.
Odds that are overwhelming.
Help us to be mindful that our table and our God that we might be found finishing our course with joy. Give U.S. special grace as we would leave this place, our God that has been such an Elam for us, such a haven. And now, as we face the various situations in our lives without us tarry, we pray for special grace to go on that we might finish our course with joy.
So we'd ask these things, our God, and as many are traveling, we just would pray for thy mercies, and we'd ask it, giving thanks and the worthy and the precious name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus.
Amen.