Address—Doug Buchanan
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Could we open our meeting this afternoon with hymn #22 in the appendix?
22 in the back of the book.
The Holy.
1.
In the circle all my life.
I have four things on my heart to speak of.
They are, I believe.
In a general way.
The four things.
That the Lord was pleased to recover.
To the gathered Saints.
Nearly 200 years ago.
There are many more than 4.
But we're going to.
Reduce it down to four.
I feel like that we are in a situation similar to the Apostle Paul.
When he was on that voyage to Rome near the end of his journey.
And the the Great Storm.
For 14 days.
Tormented them and.
Threaten them.
Because they had not obeyed Paul's word.
And as they drew near to shore.
They realized that they had.
Stop the boat.
And they cast out four anchors out of the stern.
Because if they continued, they would dash on the rocks.
This has often been likened to a picture of the Christian testimony at the end that threatened to be destroyed.
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And I believe those 3-4 anchors that were cast out.
Were cast out of the stern to hold the boat.
And I believe that the Lord.
Through his people.
Revealed.
For particular truths that would be helpful to preserve the Christian testimony, and these have been handed down to us through the years.
And by his grace.
We are the responsible people to hold fast these things.
Young people, you have a tremendous heritage.
That most Christian young people.
Don't know anything about or very little about.
If we turn to Second Timothy, chapter 2.
As the introduction.
Paul writes to Timothy.
Near the close of his life.
N inverse 13.
This is our theme.
First Second Timothy, chapter one, verse 13 Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in faith and love.
Which is in Christ Jesus.
An individual.
Word to hold fast.
Mr. Darby says an outline.
It's my desire.
Two.
Encourage our hearts.
Not in a doctrinal way.
Not to give a exposition of what these four truths are, but to name them in a way that I hope we can understand them, and that.
It would be a help.
To hold fast.
What we have?
Because much truth is being given up today.
And I believe that.
These four things.
Will keep the Christian testimony.
In its feebleness and ruin, in an outward way that we see it today.
In Revelation chapter 3, we have a similar word.
Given to a collective group.
The Assembly and Assembly in Revelation chapter 3.
And verse 11.
The last words to the church in Philadelphia before he speaks to the overcomer.
Revelation 311 Behold, I come quickly, hold that fast which thou hast.
That no man take thy crown.
Is it worth while to go on for the Lord young people?
There's much to discourage us today.
We've been through troublous times.
Some of our Christian friends that we loved most.
May not now necessarily be with us.
These things test us.
Is there something worth holding on to?
Has the Lord given us something of value?
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There's another analogy in the Old Testament when there was a time of recovery when Ezra and Nehemiah.
Went back to Jerusalem and Ezra in particular was giving given those treasures of the First Temple.
Furniture of gold and silver of great value, that had been carried away captive to Babylon, which God in his mercy preserved, and when the remnant went back to re establish a testimony in Jerusalem.
Those treasures were weighed out to different individuals that carry them all the way back.
And they were responsible at the end of the journey to be weighed in again to give the same treasure that had been given to them at the beginning of the journey.
I like to think that we are in that kind of a situation too.
We have treasures, not physical treasures, not monetary treasures. We have spiritual treasures.
That cost much.
And did not give up.
Will the next generation.
Be handed the same treasures that have been handed to you and to me. This is the challenge before us. This is the this is the subject of holding fast that I want to impress upon our souls.
Most all of us have seen.
Some of our peers.
Whether young people are old?
That have sold out spiritually, at least in part.
Some things that they once enjoyed in their souls.
May the Lord impress upon us.
To hold fast.
Both individually.
And as a feeble collective testimony gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus.
The first.
Truth that I want to speak of.
MMM.
Is justification by faith.
Most of us remember that Martin Luther.
Got a hold of the beginning of this truth in his soul.
But most of the reformers did not get hold of the.
Wide full spectrum.
Of what deliverance from sin is.
And our ancestors.
Met together.
Dug deep in the Scriptures, the book of the Romans is a is quite a profound book.
I used to think I understood it.
I'm beginning to doubt that I see it all clear in every sense of the word.
Yes, I know my sins are forgiven.
I understand a little of the two natures. I understand a little of the difference between being.
Justified from my sins and having justification of life as to a new nature in Christ.
These are.
Wonderful foundational truths.
Or in some a truth of justification. Sometimes it's referred to as redemption.
You know, if you doubt your salvation.
You really can't be a worshiper in the full sense of the word, as we were this morning. You cannot draw near to God in full assurance of faith, as we did this morning.
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As to your eternal destiny or as to your relationship with God right now, where you sit in your chair, if there's something in your life that's troubling in you and on your conscience and bothering you.
You can't enjoy full fellowship.
You may have broken the brain. You may have partaken.
The justification by faith is a very important thing to hold.
There's a.
I have four questions that I'm going to ask.
During the course of these four things.
Not with the sense necessarily of answering the question, but to provoke.
Your interest and thoughts?
And these are not new questions. These are questions that have been asked over and over. In fact, I was asked one of them this week by a young man who used to be gathered to the Lord's name.
And he got away from the lower.
Got into the world.
The good American life, if you please.
And the Lord put his hand upon him.
At this moment.
He's in the hospital.
Cannot walk.
But there's been a measure of restoration in his soul.
And he came back to me.
The place place where he was brought up.
He lives far away from the meeting now, can't go.
It looks like the Lord may take him home.
The first question is how do you know you cannot lose your salvation?
Justification by faith will this turn to a couple of scriptures before we go on to the next one.
Romans, chapter 3.
Verse.
24.
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Chapter 4.
Verse.
24 at the end.
Jesus our Lord. Well, let's begin at the beginning of the verse. Romans 4/24.
But for us also to whom it shall be imputed.
If we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Chapter 5. Verse 18. Verse 17.
These are all verses that have to do with justification.
For if by one man's offense death reign by one much more.
They which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by 1 Jesus Christ.
Therefore, as the offence of the one judgment came upon all men to condemnation.
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Even so, by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men unto justification, justification of life.
And one more in chapter 8, verse 3.
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin.
Condemned sin in the flesh.
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled.
In US who walk not after the flesh.
But after the Spirit.
There are two parts to justification.
When the Lord Jesus died, He not only dealt with our sins.
He also dealt with the sin nature.
And as a believer in the Lord Jesus, it's a good thing to enjoy both.
And be at peace with God concerning your sins and know that you stand in perfection of Jesus.
That the righteousness of God is yours if you are in Christ.
And it's also a wonderful thing to know that the end of that old Adam nature came to pass when Jesus was crucified and we no longer look for good in it.
In ourselves and that the power to walk the Christian life comes by faith.
In Jesus through the power of the new life by the Spirit of God that dwells in US.
Justification.
You cannot lose your salvation. What you can lose is you can lose the joy of it.
And there are consequences to those who walk carelessly, and the enjoyment of your salvation will become less precious.
Hold that fast.
The second point that I want to speak about is the.
Holy Spirit.
Dwellings.
In the assembly.
Individually, in believers and collectively.
As a leader and a guy, I understand that you have in the meetings here yesterday and the day before.
Romans.
Uh, chapter 12.
First Corinthians chapter 12. Sorry. Thank you, Bob. And uh, I believe that there's much there about the Spirit of God.
A question that has often been asked us is this.
Why do you not have a preacher or a minister?
The gathered Saints are different.
Because.
Those believers began to understand the implications of what the of the Holy Spirit down to indwell.
The body of Christ.
The church. The Assembly.
And that he is still present and active, and the power to carry on individually and collectively.
There were two signs that were given.
On the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit of God came down and baptized into one body.
The assembly.
There was the rushing wind that filled the house.
There was also individually over each one.
Those two signs represent the two ways that the Spirit indwells.
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In this day, the Lord Jesus referred to it in John's Gospel chapter 14. We might just turn to it to see it.
John's Gospel, chapter 14.
And verse 16 John 1416.
And I will pray the Father and He shall give you another comforter, that He may abide with you forever.
Even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive.
Because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
In this verse is mentioned the two ways in which the Spirit of God dwells.
With us and in US.
Holding the truth of God in connection with the presence of the Spirit of God means that we be submissive individually and collectively to His guidance.
Over the course of my lifetime.
As gathered to the Lord's name I have seen.
Different ones.
Attempt.
To set themselves forward.
Beyond the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
For A cause, A good cause.
But I believe.
It was not through the energy of the Spirit of God.
As in the book of Acts, you see the Spirit of God.
Filling those believers and acting in and through them.
To establish the Church in the beginning of its history.
I fully believe that where there's a group of believers.
Give the Holy Spirit His true liberty to guide and direct. He will guide them into all truth. I have seen it over and over again. It's when we impede, when we quench the Spirit, or we grieve the Spirit that the limitations.
Or if we get ahead of the Spirit of God that is has been done in our own strength, seek to do things, they may even be good causes.
And some of my good Christian friends.
That I have been near to over my short life. I have seen some of them.
Go astray.
They are no longer gathered.
And I believe.
It was because they did not wait on the Spirit of God.
There was a zeal there.
But it wasn't according to God and the guidance of the Spirit of God. The truth that we must hold is submission and obedience. The Spirit of God guides us through the Word of God.
It's the Spirit of God that baptized the believers in the beginning, and this is an anchor to hold us and to keep us.
Wear too much dependence on a minister, a preacher or a gifted man.
Takes away from the guidance of the Spirit of God. The people of God will suffer.
There will not be the same growth.
That doesn't mean that there's liberty for anybody and everybody to participate.
No, we must be submissive.
An obedient.
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You know, it's amazing to me in in the little that I've read of church history to see how that.
Or even just in the Word of God, how God began.
The Christian era with just a few people.
That were obedient.
They didn't have a they didn't get together and have a campaign to to form a cause to start a new religion.
It was the spirit of Goth that guide it.
And the Spirit of God is here with us today.
Hold that truth.
Do not infringe on it.
Do not quench the spirit.
And He will guide you in your life.
This is one of the four anchors.
This is one of the things that's different about those gathers is the Lord's name.
I've had people come and when an explanation is made about how we meet and how we wait upon the Spirit of God, more than once in my life I have been told, well, that won't work.
They're half right.
It won't work if we turn everybody free to do what they want.
Under those circumstances.
But if each and every one of us are submissive to the Word of God and to the Spirit of God.
It will work. It has worked. There is a testimony still to that truth.
I'm thankful for it.
The third thing that I want to speak of.
Is the truth.
Of the church.
As the one body.
United to the Lord Jesus Christ, our Head in glory.
Ephesians chapter 5.
This is not new.
This is.
This involves much.
The realization and appreciation of this truth.
Had fallen by the wayside.
During the Christian testimony.
And it wasn't just a intellectual understanding of these verses that we read that was recovered.
Nearly 200 years ago.
It was an obedience and a going on.
In the reality of the truth of it.
An owning the headship of Christ, to whom we are united as members of the one Body.
Ephesians 5.
Verse 29.
For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord, the Church.
For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they too shall be one flesh.
This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.
This truth was revealed to the Apostle Paul the very day he was converted.
On the road to Damascus when he was persecuting Christians.
And the Lord Jesus smote him down there with the great light.
And when Paul asked who he was that spoke, he said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecute.
And Paul realized in his soul that the Christians that he was persecuting were livingly linked to Christ in heaven.
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And he felt it.
What a wonderful place to be.
You know this truth is I'm thankful that many Christians outside of those gathered to the Lords name also enjoy to a certain point.
The truth of the one body.
Especially in the expression of it between ourselves.
And we enjoy it with them too, when we meet them on the street or wherever.
There's nothing like going off to a foreign country and then you meet a Christian and immediately there's that bond.
And you feel it. You may not even speak the same language, but there's a bond.
What I feel the Lord, the attack that is being made.
Because we have an enemy, you know?
That would seek to destroy.
The testimony.
Not so much because of ourselves, but because the enemy hates Christ.
And the closer we walked to Christ, the more we are going to be an object.
Of attack from the enemy.
We are being attacked.
As to holding the truth of the one body continuously.
First Corinthians, chapter one.
I'm going to read a series of verses.
In First Corinthians.
Chapter One.
Verse 2.
Unto the Church of God, which is to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be Saints, with all that in every place call upon the name.
Of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.
Chapter 5.
Verse 4.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together.
In my spirit, with the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Chapter 10.
Verse 15.
I speak as to wise men. Judge ye what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not communion of the body of Christ?
For we, being many, are one bread and one body, For we are all partakers of that one bread.
When the early brethren got a hold of the truth of this again.
They began breaking bread as members of the body of Christ.
Have you ever been asked what denomination do you belong to?
Have you had difficulty answering that?
In order to give a good answer or in order to understand the answer.
You really need to understand the truth of the one body.
There is one body.
There all will always be one body.
In God's eyes.
And our brethren.
Went back.
To that basis that groundwork and began breaking bread.
On that basis.
Owning no other name.
The name of the Lord Jesus.
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And that's a good name to have. You don't need to be ashamed of it.
It's just that people don't understand it.
I want to say one word about.
An improper balance, An improper emphasis as to the truth of the one body.
We are not.
No. How am I going to say this?
The fact that you are a member of the body of Christ and I am a member of the body of Christ along with everyone else who has believed in the Lord Jesus and has been sealed with the Spirit of God.
Those are the ones that compose the body of Christ.
What we need to hold is not our relationship.
With one another as members of the body of Christ.
The most important part of the truth of the one body that I believe we need to give particular emphasis to is our relationship to the head of the Body of Christ.
Not our relationship with one another.
I hope you are understanding what I'm saying.
It's a wonderful thing to receive believers to the Lord's name.
As gathered to his name, and to receive all who are indeed members of the body of Christ.
But it isn't the fact of receiving all such members, though the door is open for them all, that makes us a testimony to the truth of the one body.
And I believe this side of the truth is sometimes too much emphasized.
Rather than our relationship to Christ as head of the body.
That's what makes US1 body. That's the part of it we need to take particular care.
Owning.
The Headship, the Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Head of the Body.
And when we are right in our relationship to him.
Our relationships were one another will fall in line I believe.
In their proper order.
Don't invert that order.
So they answer, what denomination do you belong to, or what church, or what name do you go by?
Is.
We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ.
To the only church that he has formed.
And we meet in his name alone, and putting any other name of a creed, of a place, or a doctrine, or a famous person.
Detracts and takes away from the place that the Lord Jesus should hold as the head of the Body of Christ.
And there are many other truths that stem from this as to meeting together as believers.
Members of the body of Christ.
Now the last of the four that I want to speak of is.
The truth about the Lord's company.
Actually, this is the one truth that.
Those early breads that recovered some of these things that we are appreciating here that mean a lot to us.
And that have held us together as a as a people of God here on earth.
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The desire of those early brethren was to study prophecy.
And as they began getting into the scriptures, they did begin to understand the prophetic scriptures and become enlightened in a great way.
And the truth of the Lord's coming, the two parts of it, became known to those brethren.
The difference between the rapture of the Saints and the Lords appearing.
Was understood. The difference between Israel's earthly blessing and the Church's heavenly blessing was understood.
And it's so important for us to understand.
These things.
This will be an anchor that will hold us in these last days.
The truth, the prophetic truth, has been revealed in a remarkable way.
Not only among ourselves, but Christians meeting in many places have got a hold of many of these things.
But I see something going happening now.
That there is a great endeavor to intellectually understand prophetic things.
Why do we have discussions about?
Pre Trib, mid Trib, post Trib rapture.
Why is there confusion?
Why is there doubt about these? Why is it that people are not seeing eye to eye real Christians?
Can you answer the question?
How do you know that the Church will not go through the tribulation?
Now I could read some scriptures.
And we might read a couple of them. Let's turn to 1St Thessalonians.
Chapter One.
This truth of the.
Lord's coming was specially revealed to Paul. Only to Paul.
In this book of Thessalonians he gives it but notice in chapter one.
They in the verse.
Uh, beginning with verse 9.
For they themselves show.
Of us, what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how you you turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven.
Whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us, or our Deliverer from the coming wrath.
As a better translation reads.
Did the Thessalonians?
Believe in the Rapture.
At this point.
Were they looking to go through the tribulation?
Had they been doctrinally exposed to the teaching that we have?
I don't believe so.
But in the simplicity of their faith and believing in Jesus, they did not believe.
That they would come.
Now perhaps that includes all other judgments too.
But if we turn over to the 4th chapter here, we there we find that the Apostle Paul got it as a special revelation.
The Lord's coming before.
His appearing to gather his own out.
Before the judgments.
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And chapter 4 and verse 15.
For this we say unto you, by the word of the Lord.
That we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent or go before them which are asleep, those who have died. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God.
And the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you, for yourselves. Know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say peace and safety, then the sudden destruction cometh upon them, and so forth.
You have here the two parts to the Lord's coming.
His coming for his own, and then his coming with his own.
A wonderful anchor to the soul.
We are being attacked.
On this truth.
Not just that we would intellectually give up what we say we believe.
But all truth is only our truth if we take it into our souls and enjoy it.
And in the measure we do walk in it, the enjoyment will increase.
And in this way, yes.
We are being attacked.
It involves.
Understanding the difference between earthly blessing and heavenly blessing.
What has Cod called us to?
Blessing on earth. Though they are looked at as mercies. Our blessings are heavenly. Our hope is the Lord Jesus coming from heaven.
The enemy of our soul is dressing up this world to become very attractive.
And to make us earthly minded.
And if I sell out heavenly blessing in my daily life and begin enjoying and get occupied in my soul with the good things of earthly blessing.
I will be a loser.
I am not enjoying practically the Lord's coming.
And so this is a way to hold fast.
And so there's much involved in this subject.
The prophetic understanding.
Of Our Calling. It's a wonderful thing to know that the Lord is coming and to walk in the good of this.
And I believe.
That it is intentionally put in scripture.
That the times and seasons do not refer to the rapture, they always refer to the Lord's appearing.
The second part of his coming first, the Lord Jesus is coming to gather his own and take them to heaven. The dead in Christ shall be raised.
We will be changed. The believer. Every believer.
Afterward, the Lord is going to come back.
To begin his dealings with earth again, there's going to be a great day of manifestation and appearing and the heavenly company also are going to be put on display and that's going to be for those who are not ready. The Lord is going to come as a thief in the night. And Bob mentioned last night how that there was a there is a warning to Sardis of the Lord coming as a thief in the night.
That's the part of the the church, the false church, that's going to go through the tribulation.
Beth, Solemn.
To think that there are those who profess to be Christians.
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But are like the foolish virgins who didn't have oil in their lamps and they did not go in when the bridegroom came. Like the wise, the key is to have the oil in your lamps.
Being a testimony is not enough. Having a lamp is not enough. You have to have the oil.
The Spirit of God, you have to be born again. You have to be saved.
Don't give up the truth of the Lord's coming.
So these four things.
Art can be anchors to our souls. It's interesting that when Paul and those on board, there were 276 of them, you know, they I noticed something today I hadn't noticed ever before, and I was. This is in Acts 27 to close.
When they cast out the four anchors, that held them fast. As long as they left those four anchors attached, they didn't.
They didn't crash the shore. They didn't shipwreck.
It was when they pulled up the anchors.
They tried to make it to shore. The shipwreck took place.
I believe as long as we hold the four anchors.
The testimony will be intact.
In the measure that we give it up.
Things will fall apart.
There was another thing that they did and this is the part I never noticed before.
They cast the wheat.
Into the sea.
Little insignificant thing we say. Well, why did they do that? Well, they wanted to lighten the ship, no doubt, but it was their food.
What does wheat speak of?
Wheat is the heavenly food. Wheat speaks of the Lord Jesus, the man in the glory.
You give up the enjoyment of the man and the glory.
You may make shipwrecked in your life.
Spring.