Glendale Conference: 1965
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1 Corinthians 15:1-9
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We have.
Been called upon to park with two of our number this week.
They've gone to me with the Lord.
And I was wondering if perhaps the morning reading at least.
We might.
Consider.
The future, that is a brother, one of the brothers that was talking at the funeral said this is not the end of the story.
He said this is not the final resting place.
We often see on the little printed notices.
Final resting place.
Well, you and I know that's not true, so I was wondering.
If it wouldn't refresh our hearts, at least for one reading.
To take up the 15th chapter, First Corinthians.
I.
Perhaps we wouldn't need to read the.
Whole chapter just now but.
Saying the 1St.
19 verses.
1St Corinthians 15 and verse one.
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you.
Which also you have received, and wherein you stand, by which also ye are saved, if you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received. How? That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, And that He was buried, And that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. And that He was seen of Cephas. Then of the 12 After that he was seen of above 500 brethren at once.
Of whom the greater part remain unto this present, that some are falling asleep. After that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles, and the last of all he was seen of me also as a one born out of you type. For I am the least of the apostles. That I'm not meant to be called an apostle because I persecuted the Church of God, but by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain.
But I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
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Therefore, whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believe. Now if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, I'll say some among you, that there is no resurrection of the dead. But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen? And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain? Yeah. And we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He raised not up. If so be that the dead rise not.
Whereas the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised? And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain. Ye are yet in your sins Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ, or perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
You know.
Apostle is very emphatic.
As to the gospel that he had preached unto them.
And he insists.
It's the one by which he himself was blessed.
And I suppose the lesson for you and me is that.
Were not to alter to change it to add to it.
To take from it.
Were just to receive it in all the simplicity that we find it right here in the word.
We're living in a day when everything is being questioned.
And how good to be reminded of the simplicity of the gospel.
Christ died for our sins.
That's where we start.
Nice to see too that the gospel mentioned here is the gospel of God concerning his Son. Isn't it in Romans 1?
How precious that is the Gospel of God concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, and declared to be the Son of God with power.
So it's the voice of God to us, isn't it the sinners?
And it's the gospel that saves.
By which also you're saved.
It isn't a question of progress.
It's a finished transaction. As to our souls, we are saved. SAVED.
As to our bodies, that's another question.
We haven't received the redemption of the body yet, but the price has been paid and we are guaranteed that.
In God's own time, we'll have that too.
So when we have to part with our loved ones as we have this week.
This isn't the end of the story, as the brother put it.
The Word of God is full of the truth of resurrection.
The oldest book in the Bible.
Joe told us about resurrection.
All right, Brother Brown.
Maybe it might be well to read that verse. Is that 1925?
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Job 1925.
For I know that my Redeemer liveth.
And that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.
And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.
Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reigns be consumed within me.
As we look into this subject.
It might be well to notice.
That in the chapter that is so much about resurrection, we have no other chapter covering the subject as this one does. But in this chapter there is also made much of death.
Repeatedly, down through the chapter, there's much made of death.
Because it is in contrast to resurrection.
So our Lord Jesus was here as a man.
He lived his life here on the earth.
He went into.
Just the same as.
Others, that is, he was. He experienced death. It's true. He laid down his life. No one took it from him.
But he went into death.
He went into the grave. He was buried.
He was dead.
But of course, he didn't stay there. He couldn't. Death couldn't hold him.
But it was essential that he go through all that experience.
And then?
In the fourth verse he was buried. He rose again.
The third day according to the scriptures.
There was a part of three days.
Friday. Saturday.
And Lord's Day.
That our Lord was there in the grave.
But we can be sure of this.
That he wasn't left there one second longer.
Than it took to fulfill the word of God.
So in his.
Coming forth from the grave, I suppose, actually, if we were to use our terminology.
He came forth.
On what we would call Saturday, it was as it began, as it began to dust toward the first day of the week.
That's Matthew 20.
28.
In the end of the Sabbath.
That would be Saturday, as it began to dusk.
Toward the first day of the week.
That is sundown.
OK, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre, and behold, there was a great earthquake.
Angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and they came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
Then in the sixth verse.
The Angel says he is not here.
For he is risen.
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As he said.
Come see the place where the Lord lay.
Not come see the place where the Lord lies, but come see the place where the Lord lay.
And the stone was rolled away. That great stone was rolled away.
For what purpose?
Why was the stone rolled away?
Well, that the witness would be fully established.
So they could see he wasn't there and that it brother Gill.
Wasn't rolled away to let him out.
No.
Religion they are dead and so they so they lie, but not so was the delivered and pride.
I know that there's an earthquake on both occasions, at his death and at his resurrection.
Two of the greatest events this world has ever known, the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The very foundation of Christianity, isn't it? The resurrection of Christ.
Christ be not raised, we get in our sins.
So how we should rejoice that not only Christ died for our sins, but he rose again?
According to the scriptures.
Remember, I'm sorry. Go ahead, go ahead, brother. I remember a man on the train talking with a Christian and he said.
I'm going to prove that all the miracles that you read up in the Bible never happened at all.
He said Then you Christians will have nothing to rest upon.
So the Christian said to him, well, it's a gigantic task you're going to undertake to prove that all the miracles recorded in the Bible never happened.
He said I wouldn't go to all that trouble if I were you. He said just prove to me that Christ never rose from the dead and Christianity is gone.
How true it is, if Christ be not raised, we are yet in our sins.
And the man was silent. He couldn't prove that Christ never rose from the dead, but we have the assurance of it in his precious word this morning to cheer and encourage our hearts that the One who died for us rose again. He's living for us, and He's soon coming for us.
How precious a thought.
I wanted to refer to that other earthquake you mentioned, Brother Gladdy, in the 27th chapter of Matthew.
And the 50th verse.
Jesus funny and cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost, or dismissed his spirit.
And behold, the veil of the temple is right in twain from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake.
And the rocks rent.
And the greys were open.
Many bodies of the Saints that slapped rose and came out of the graves after his resurrection.
Now I I call attention to a point there that I learned the hard way. I was talking with the 70 Adventist once.
And I had referred to this scripture.
As to the great earthquake.
And the grades opened and the.
And the Saints coming out of the graves.
In connection with our Lord's death.
And he called my attention to the fact that it does not say.
These Saints that slept arose at that time, it says. The graves were opened.
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But it doesn't say the bodies came out of the graves.
The Grays were opened.
And many bodies of the Saints that slept and the roles came out of the grave after his resurrection.
And when entered the holy city, and appeared unto many.
What a tremendous testimony that would be.
Proposing that.
We were to see those two deer ones that.
We have laid away this week.
See them come walking in and sit down and.
In our group here. What a tremendous.
Impression that would make.
Well, evidently these that came out of their graves were such as were known to them, perhaps had died recently.
And it would show that Christ in coming forth from the from the grave.
The assurance, the guarantee that as a result of his work there.
There was resurrection in store for the Saints of God. It was a kind of a pledge.
Of what was involved in that wonderful resurrection.
Christ himself has to be the first fruits of them that slept.
Speaking, brother.
Of the.
Importance of resurrection.
The great English authority.
Greenleaf. I believe it was his name, the great English authority on evidence.
Any lawyer?
Who has been trained in evidence, as they all have been?
Knows about Greenleaf as the author of one of the.
Masterpieces on that subject.
The man was a Christian.
And he makes this remark that from the standpoint of cold evidence, evidence alone, there's no better authenticated fact in all history.
Than the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead.
These things weren't done in a corner. We don't have to apologize for our convictions.
We have a solid foundation.
Be that the case, no wonder the enemy Satan is.
Doing everything possible to take away that fruit, even from the believer. In the days of our Lord, there were the Sadducees. They denied resurrection.
In the days of the apostles, there were those that stated that the resurrection was passed already. We have that in Timothy, and we have it also in our chapter.
The enemy will do anything and everything possible.
To divert our minds and our attentions from that blessed truth of resurrection. No wonder the Apostle Peter.
In the second and third chapters of Acts emphasized that truth, more than perhaps any other truth but this Jesus, whom he had crucified and slain, raised by God.
Important truth, especially for the young people today, and we should lay hold of it.
Large resurrection was spattered in 99.
Well, it's what we call Saturday night. The Jewish day began at sunset.
And the first day of the week began at sunset. That's the way they reckon time.
Well, we we reckon it from sunrise, but that wasn't Jewish reckoning. So according to Matthew here.
You've noticed the reading and Mr. Darby happened, isn't it? Isn't it dusk there, Mr. Darby, as it was at the dusk till the next day after Sabbath came Mary of Magdalene, Yes.
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Pardon.
The first day of the week, very early in the morning, he came under the truck.
That's the king doesn't wait for me. I I had all the thought was to be early on Thursday morning since the Lord. This is this that you're referring to on the 24th of Luke is subsequent to the visitation in the 28th of Matthew. It's a subsequent visitation.
This on the 28th of Luke and the 28th of Matthew was earlier than that.
Well, the Brother Brown, while we're on the subject, how about.
The closing chapter of Mark's Gospel and verse 9.
Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week.
Which chapter?
16 verse 9.
Well, I suppose it's the general statement that when Jesus was risen.
Early the first day of the week, he appeared to Mary Magdalene.
Out of whom he had cast 7 demons. And she went and told them that had been with him as they mourned and wept.
That is, it's not punctuated the same way.
When he had risen, yes.
We have comma after rhythm as to the sense of it, yes.
Now, when he had risen very early the first day of the week, he appeared first to marry a Magdala.
That's Mr. Darby's rendering of it, isn't it?
Now, when he had risen very early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary of Magdalene.
I suppose if we are back on Jewish chronology we would have no trouble with that, would we? No. The evening and the book of Genesis is said. The evening and the morning were the first day.
Another point that sometimes.
We get in difficulty where there's three days and three nights in the bowels of the earth, connection with our Lord's death and burial.
Well.
The challenge has been made, but he was only there. Just a little over 24 hours actually.
Well, again, we'll have to go back, as our brother has just remarked, to Jewish reckoning. When the Jews spoke of the day, they included the whole 24 hours. That was their way of thinking.
So the three days and three nights.
It amounted to that because our Lord was dead and in the grave, a part of three days and Jewish reckoning that took in the day and the night too.
Your thought on the fact that he had not been left there longer than possible to fulfill the scriptures loving and also as we see those dear ones going to his grave, which was very early in the morning as soon as they could possibly go there. That's hearts affection isn't?
And that's our time, isn't it in John.
In John's gospel, it's a long time. Yes, the first day of the week.
Come with Mary Magdalene early. But these things had transpired before that, had they not? That's it.
Wow, not to be late for the subject, but when we when we say that the in the Jewish reckoning, the Sabbath was passed when the Lord rose. Oh yes indeed was so in their reckoning. It was the first day of the week, certainly.
I think that actions are difficult.
In the evening and the morning where the first day goes all the way back to General.
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Yes, does.
Who asked the question about the hours in Matthew 2745?
6th hour we read there. Now from the 6th hour there was darkness.
Overall, Atlanta the 9th hour.
It is the 6th hour. Would that be 12 noon? Yes.
From noon till 3:00 in the afternoon.
Perhaps we see something of the purposes of God in the reckoning of time. For instance, the statement the evening and the morning where the first day. That sounds unusual to us, man's day begins at midnight and ends at midnight. But God's purpose, I believe, suggests that all will end in a morning. The evening and the morning were the first day. Would there not be something suggestive in that?
God's purpose is that all will end in the morning of blessing with no no end to it.
Without clouds.
Brightness of his Lord.
Well, there are plenty of witnesses.
We have them recorded here.
Now we we have no historical account. Do we have the 500 at once?
But we have the statement of it here.
And that doesn't.
In any way lessen the weight of it.
Scene of about 500 breathing at once.
It doesn't say he was seen by the world, does it? No, there's no record that anyone of the world as far as I remember.
That anyone of the unsaved saw him at all.
He was seen of his own.
After his resurrection.
God does not need the world's witness or testimony.
And that's something that's unusual.
Man would have to go by what man says, but in spite of no witnesses of the unsaved of the world that reject Christ.
God has given us the greatest evidence, as you've said before, of the resurrection of Christ and as our brother.
Said in Acts.
The book of Acts, where the Lord Jesus is on high and has received the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit. So the book of Acts gives us the acts of the Holy Spirit. The power of that life was evidenced in many that he was risen.
The mention of the 500 here seems to suggest to a little meditation. We don't know very much. In fact, I suppose we know nothing about them except the mansion given here. But there were 500 who were entitled to the happy name of brethren, but there were only about 120 together on the day of Pentecost.
There were 70 whom the Lord chose to send forth to by two. There were 12 whom the Lord appointed to be with him and whom He might send forth to preach. There were three who had the joy of being with Him on the Mount of Transfiguration and in the Garden of Gethsemane. But there was only one who leaned on His bosom and had the joy of considering Himself the disciple whom Jesus loved.
Well, there's a fair number of us here together today, and I believe perhaps each of us can covet within our hearts the joy of that nearness leading on His bosom and enjoying His love.
Thought too, that at the Cross there was only one that gave witness.
The one who hung beside him, The others had forsaken him and fled. And in Isaiah there's a verse.
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I'll read it in connection with possibly suggesting the thought at the cross of the Lord's.
Own laborers. Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for naughty and in vain. Yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God. Now this is encouraging, because in resurrection there were 500 brethren seen, but at the cross there was no evidence outwardly of any fruit.
Except, of course, this thief.
Who gave witness? But here we see that there was fruit, and it was to be seen in resurrection. Now I think also of a verse in the last of First Corinthians, or the last of this chapter.
That we're reading.
Very encouraging verse chorus.
58th verse And therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord, and coupled with that, that verse in Hebrews that says without faith it's impossible to fleeze him.
Some are falling asleep, some of the 500.
That term fallen asleep is reserved for the Lord's people, isn't it?
That term belongs only to his own falling asleep.
Christ died. Could we sleep? Is that correct? Yes. So the first Christian martyr.
In the acts.
Turn to that for just a moment.
Acts 7, verse 60.
I.
I'd read from the 27th verse.
And including the 60th verse. Read it, brother. Growth, please.
57 through 60.
When they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one of course, and cast him out of the city, and told him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Paul, And they stole Stevens, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus receive my Spirit. And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice.
Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.
And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
How sweet that expression. He fell asleep.
It doesn't say he died, it says he fell asleep.
But before he fell asleep.
He he looks up, he sees the Lord Jesus.
And he says, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. It is not the spirit that sleeps.
It's the body that sleeps.
But the Spirit is with Christ to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
Brother Brown, and you give us a thought in connection with the words of the Lord to the thief, that today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
What is the?
Meaning of definition of paradise.
Paradise.
As.
The the the word itself.
It's a garden of delights.
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Paradise.
And.
To be with him, of course, is the greatest thing that could possibly be desired today. Shalt thou be with me in paradise now?
When death comes in.
There are. Well, let's turn to that passage in lieu.
2343.
42nd verse He said unto Jesus, Lord, Remember Me when thou comest into thy Kingdom.
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I send thee.
Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
We're now in connection with the the rich man.
Let's turn to that in loop. Also, what chapter is that?
Yes.
Now here we have a different term.
In the 19th verse there was a certain rich man.
And 20th verse, a certain beggar named Lazarus.
22nd verse came to pass. The beggar died.
And was carried by Abraham, and carried by angels into Abraham's bosom.
The rich man.
Also died and was buried and in hell or Hades. In Hades he lifted up his eyes being in torments.
For now, in Hades.
Hades, well, Hades is not a place but a condition.
Now our Lord was in Hades.
During the time that he was.
Dead.
Uh, Hades is a condition that disembodied condition.
But now while in this disembodied condition.
There are two places referred to. One is paradise and the other is as we have here with.
This man and the rich man in the 16th chapter.
He was in torment.
Heaps in misery, torment, torment on the one hand.
Paradise, the presence of the Lord, the place of delight.
So that all go into the disembodied state.
But oh, what a difference between being in torment or being as put in Jewish language here in Abraham's bosom, which was of course.
A very tender place in their thinking.
So with.
Stephen here the first Christian martyr.
Well, he as he died, he fell asleep.
He was in Hades.
The disembodied statement Where was his spirit?
But Spirit was with the Lord. Lord Jesus received my spirit.
Perhaps there are four places in Scripture we can think of Indiana which that brought to our attention, and in each case the preeminent thought seems to be there being with Christ. There is a thief which has just been referred to. Verily, I sent thee today shalt thou be with me in paradise. Then there is Stephen, which also has been referred to. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
Then in Philippians one we have the breeding of the Apostle Paul.
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Having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better than in 2nd Corinthians 5, we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. The description of that place, I suppose couldn't be understand by it, understood by us, if it were possible to to describe it.
Brother Hijo, isn't that carried out?
Just what you've said in 2nd Corinthians 12.
The apostle says in 2nd Corinthians 12 It is not expedient for me, doubtless to glory.
First verse I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
I knew, or preferably I know a man in Christ above 14 years ago.
All right, Sir, just put in this side remark. It's rather interesting that that 14 years ago would pretty well fit in with the time that Paul was supposed to be stoned to death.
I know a man in Christ about 14 years ago.
Whether in the body I cannot tell or whether out of the body I cannot tell. God knoweth such and one caught up to the 3rd heaven.
Well, that's paradise, the 3rd heaven.
And I knew such a man, whether in the body or out of the body. I cannot tell how he was caught up into paradise.
And heard unspeakable words.
Now the point there is this I believe.
Paul saw and heard things when he had that excursion into paradise, into heaven.
He found himself.
And new circumstances and condition place surroundings.
And he thought, well, now there are no words that I know to express this. It'll take a different language to describe this.
So when he came back.
He said I heard unspeakable words.
Which is not possible for a man to utter. It cannot be put in words.
It's a different language. I've used this illustration.
If I had gone to.
A lecture by Einstein on relativity and sat there and listened. It wouldn't have meant a thing to me because I have no background to know what he's talking about.
So we haven't the background yet.
To understand what Paul saw, and he never attempted to tell us a thing that he saw, except that he was caught up into paradise and saw these wonderful, wonderful things.
So that we know from this scripture that paradise is the 3rd heaven, the place of delights.
Is that the reference of our?
Our present chapter that we're reading the eighth verse.
Where Paul says last of all he was seen of me also.
Was he not referring there to what he records in Acts?
My.
Tax 9.
What verse do you have in mind, brother?
Well, they saw this. You mean the Stoney?
Yes.
That's that's.
Paul rehearses it in one of his dresses.
What about October 917?
Read it, brother.
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Ananias speaking, brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus that appeared unto thee in the way, as thou came, as have sent me.
I was thinking of Acts 22.
Acts 22, verse 17.
And it came to pass that when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the Temple, I was in the trance and I saw him.
Saying unto me.
Make haste and get the quickly out of Jerusalem, for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. And I said, Lord, they know that I've imprisoned and beaten every synagogue them that believed on me. 21St Verse. And he said unto me to part, I will send thee far hence under the Gentiles. He was in a trance in the temple, and he saw him he saw.
Brother Haywell gave us 4 scriptures as to.
The spirit being absent from the body and present to the Lord, might we add a fifth one, and probably the first one?
And that is in Luke 2346.
Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.
He is the one that has gone in in that way first.
And.
It's important to see that truth, that it was actually his spirit going into the glory, into the hands of the Father. Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit, the pattern for all others.
Another expression I'd like to add to yours, Brother Brown, you spoke about.
In Luke 16 where?
It is. I forget how you put it, but I wanted to add the term the intermediate state.
In that it is the state of the soul.
After its departure until the resurrection.
Body, yes.
I like the expression the 3rd heaven. I wonder sometimes if it's taken to be simply a poetical expression without very much meaning. But the way in which you've brought it out is, I believe, very important and wonderful. We read in Genesis one verse one of the ordering of the at least one heaven, shall I say. Perhaps we could say in the 14th verse of Genesis one we read of the ordering of another heaven making two.
But where do we read of the creation or the ordering of the 3rd heaven? Never. It was uncreated. And when Paul was caught up to the 3rd heaven, he was caught up beyond those two heavens which are described in Genesis 1, into a heaven that never had a beginning, into a home of uncreated glory. Is it any wonder that it couldn't be described in any attempt to visualize?
Or to describe heaven is sure to be far, far short of the reality, and we should thank God for that.
He's able to do exceeding abundant above all that we ask or think. That's lovely if you and I were asked to describe what we would like heaven to be, and we all got together and expressed the fullest fondest wishes of our hearts.
How long would it satisfy us all? We should be glad that we're going into a home of uncreated glory, primarily into his own presence.
The 1St heaven, the atmospheric heavens.
And then we get the starry heavens, which is the immense reach of creation. And then his brother Aho has just brought before us the 3rd heaven, which is really the presence of God Himself.
It's Small wonder that the communists can't see God when they're up in their missiles.
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Pass through the heavens in Hebrews. But in the 6th chapter the forerunner is entered for us, is it not?
Guaranteeing our being there.
Yes, the Scripture speaks of Him passing into the heavens, passing through the heavens, and far above all heavens.
We have been talking of the joy, the glory before us. And it would.
Seeing that there should be no thought of sorrow in death, especially for the one going there. But would someone care to comment about the dear ones left behind?
The departed one has gone to be with Christ, and we rejoice in it, but we who are left behind, we sorrow. Are we wrong in expressing this sorrow? Are we wrong in weeping?
1St Thessalonians 4.
1St 13.
Yes, read it brother.
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
Then the last verse.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words, we sorrow, but we don't sorrow as those that have no hope.
And so, our Lord, at the grave of Lazarus, he wept.
Well, we.
We know that that weeping had a double meaning.
There was his beloved Lazarus in death.
And as a man, he felt it keenly.
He wept.
But I believe it went much farther than that.
He saw in that grave of Lazarus, and we remember what the Scripture says. Lord, by this time He stinketh.
There was not only death there, but there was corruption.
He saw in that a picture of the awful havoc that sin had wrought in this world.
Jesus wept.
So there's nothing wrong about weeping, but we're not to sorrow as those that have no hope for we know that for those who departed to be with Christ, it's far better and we know that we're going to be with them and perhaps today.
Didn't the question of waiting for 50 years, but perhaps today we'll be with them.
The groanings in the spirit there were deeper than the weeping. Were they not yet?
The most delightful example in the Old Testament of the child of God confronted with death of the dear one. And that's in the case of Abraham.
When Sarah, his wife, died in the 23rd chapter of Genesis, we read that Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her, and this surely was appropriate.
For one who had for so many years.
Walk closely with a loved one.
But the morning and the weeping don't persist, and in the next verse we read the third verse. Abraham stood up.
Stood up from before his death, but one has found.
A very happy thought in connection with that, that this is the appropriate attitude of the child of God of whatever dispensation.
We would be callous indeed to.
Have no sorrow at the loss of a loved one, but it doesn't behoove us to weep as others, as we've already remarked. And so figuratively, we stand up and displace the world as Abraham did, that we have something that is a real hope for those of the department. They had a a nurse who ruled with us, stayed at our home for several years.
And she made a remark about being with those that die, she said.
01:00:00
That never.
Two kinds of folks that she hated to be around when they died.
One were Jews.
When there was death in the home.
One was Jews and the other I'll not name, but it was a certain denomination. Tremendous big affair.
She said there was always such hopelessness.
And these two cases that she hated to be there when her patient died because of the hopeless mourning.
Well, how different it is, and we've seen it over and over again among Saints of God that know and love the Lord and know the truth, how the Lord sustains them in these hours, and how they rise above the sorrow and rejoice in the consolations of Christ.
Have a very precious words in the 21St Revelation, the first few verses among those things, Paul was not unable to tell us much about heaven. He couldn't explain it to you in a different language. We wouldn't understand it. But in the 21St chapter, the first few verses of Revelation gives us some things that we do understand that we might understand more about them. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the 1St heaven and the first earth were passed away.
And there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bright adorn for her husband. And I heard a voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them. That's very precious. And they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from her eyes.
There shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. Oh, thank God, These are some of the things that we experienced down here, and we know what they are. We felt the pain and the sorrow of them. But in that glory hole that we're going to be with Christ, where God will reign, will be like Christ with them and like him, there'll be no more tears, no more sorrow, no more death. We can understand those things, can we not?
And at a more fully into the joys of that home that were soon going to enter the Father's house.
There's been a remark made often warning us of those who speak about soul sleep.
Something like we said to warn all of us as to something that sounds like this, which we enjoy. That is not right.
Forgotten what that strong doctrine was about Souls.
Well, there are many.
False brands of Christianity.
That teach soul sleep, which is the individual is completely.
Unconscious.
There's no heaven, there's no hell. It's just.
They're put to sleep and they don't know anything. That's a common doctrine among the the sects that have given up the truth of the word soul sleep.
The subject as to sleeping.
Refers only to the body.
In the end of James chapter 2, perhaps verse 26.
It says that.
The body without the Spirit is dead.
That's the physical body without the Spirit is dead, and to that only does that expression apply.
To sleep or put to sleep in Jesus.
Another thought is that.
It is the very opposite of the thought of Haiti.
Hades is the state of the Spirit without the body, Death is.
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The body without the spirit, they're just the opposite.
Are the two brought together in Revelation 20 verse 14?
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. Is that the body and the spirit being reunited and cast into the lake of fire?
Brother Brown.
Doesn't refer to the end of both. That's it.
Yeah, the end of both.
This is for the dead. This is the resurrection of the dead. But the resurrection of life would always be out from among the dead, would it not?
I was, of course referring to the unbeliever. I just wondered if it referred to the body of the unbeliever and the spirit of the unbeliever. Is that right to be united?
And.
It speaks not of the person, but of the thing.
Death and hades, it's absolute cessation. There's no more such thing from then on.
They have been emptied. It's all over with.
Corruption was only spoken of the body too, is it not?
That's wonderful, the way the apostle.
Speaks of himself in this eighth verse. Last of all, he was seen in me also.
As one born out of due time.
An abortive.
In other words, I had no right to this place of favor. I had no right to be.
To be born into.
Such a wonderful privileged position.
God had taken him at his word.
Over and over again. He certainly never would.
But God had mercy on him.
And so he calls himself the least of the apostles.
Not need to be called an apostle.
Because I persecuted the Church of God.
The apostle never forgave himself.
For his horrid conduct.
In his opposition to the Lord Jesus and to the truth of the Church.
The truth of the Gospel.
He never forgave himself and the older he got, the lower he got.
So he takes the little place here.
The least of the apostles, not meat to be called an apostle.
Because I persecuted the Church of God.
Is the thought here the same as in Ephesians where he speaks of pre trusting that is the church being gentile and character. The apostle was among those that were called out before the nation comes into blessing. Is that the thought or is it simply in in Ephesians he got there ahead of time.
That is.
He's a sample of those that are afterwards going to be brought into blessing, only he got there ahead of time.
The 12Th verse of the first chapter of Ephesians.
Might read the 11 to get the connection in whom also we have obtained an inheritance.
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Being predestinated according to the purpose of him, that worketh all things after the council of his own will.
That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted or pre trusted in the Christ. Well, when he says we there, he's referring to the Jewish believers and classing himself among them.
And they are to be brought into blessing in the coming day.
So in the 13th verse he speaks of the Gentiles, in whom ye also trusted after you heard the word of truth.
But Paul was a sample.
Of what would finally come by and by to the Jewish nation. But he got in ahead of time. He pre trusted in Christ.
That's first Timothy One. This is my brother Brad.
Verse 16.
Albeit for this 'cause I obtain mercy, that in me the first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering for a pattern to them that should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting.
Yes, in this verse that you just quote brother.
It is for the Christian of this age. I was wondering if our brother Lundeen's.
Question and our brother Brown's answer if they don't really match.
So I was wondering if it connected with with the apostle here in our chapter as one born out of due time when there's any connection in the thought.
The margin says an abortive.
Which is one born ahead of time.
But Paul in sovereign grace was given to, though he were the chief of sinners, to be brought into the blessedness of what it is to be found in the Church of God, before Israel comes into their blessings as a nation. Soccer and grace in both cases. In the Apostle who was a Jew, and then afterwards the nation. Sovereign grace in both cases.
But in Ephesians he couples, does he not, the portion of the Jews who pre trusted with the Gentiles, whereas in the Colossians he more or less takes them up on the Gentile ground that is brought into blessings Gentiles.
For by the grace of God, I am what I am.
Well, I believe every St. of God here in this room can say that.
Whatever there is in US.
That's pleasing to God.
It's by the grace of God, I am what I am. We haven't anything to offer of ourselves. It's all of grace, sovereign grace from start to finish.
Otherwise we would be out on the highway of sin, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another, serving divers lusts and pleasures.
Oh, where may we not have been apart from sovereign grace?
All things cometh thee, and of thine own do we give thee.
The impossible doesn't say I will be what I hope to be, but I am what I am. That's a present possession, isn't it?
And His grace, which was bestowed upon me, was not in vain.
Well, we can praise Him for for in whatever measure that grace is wrought in us.
And transformed us. And it's a process that goes on as long as we're here.
It's a daily process. It was very, very special though, in his case.
Special grace bestowed upon him that wrote that, but he also writes a word for the rest of us in two Corinthians 6 verse one.
The same thought.
Are we there?
As well.
Well, fellow workmen, is the thought.
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Together with you, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
Is that not a word for my conscience?
When I think of the wonderful grace of God that has been bestowed upon me.
How can I live in appreciation for this grace?
If every Christian took this truth to heart, it would surely have an awakening effect that we receive not the grace of God in vain to our lives.
In any measure.
Rise to that wonderful grace.
He was not mixed with faith in the fourth of Hebrews. That was the difficulty with the Jew. And the exhortation there is to those who now have received further truth, the light now of what those types meant. And so the warning goes out today of the very same thing. And if the truth is not mixed with faith, and I take that to mean that if we hear truth this morning and we don't act on it.
It means that we haven't received it by faith.
Because faith manifests itself in that way. Does it knife in a light down here and it has that property that it can manifest itself. It's faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, and that's being mixed with faith and not receiving it in vain.
The result was the apostle says is Iguan in verse ten of our chapter in the middle of the verse.
But I labored more abundantly.
Go ahead.
But the grace of God which was with me, showed it all with the grace of God.
I've enjoyed the three scriptures that Paul uses in connection with the grace of God as he contemplated the grace of God is still upon himself. We have this scripture in First Corinthians 15.
As he contemplated that grace, he could say, I am the least of the apostles.
First hand, by the grace of God, I am what I am. As to his laborers, not himself, but the grace of God which was with me.
In First Timothy chapter one, as he contemplates some grace, he could take the 1St place the Chief of Senators and that when we come over to the third chapter of the seasons, he goes lower still.
Unto me, verse 8.
Verse seven rather for the connection whereof I was made a minister that's in connection with gospel according to the gift of the grace of God-given unto me by the effects of working of his heart unto me, who are less than the least of All Saints.
Less than the least of All Saints.
Is this great, given that I should preach under the among the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ?
Grace that keeps us humble. You can't go lower than that. Less than the least of all. Saints can't go any lower than that. What would you say about being the chief of sinners like the hire?
You say that's higher, brother, you cannot go higher.
He's #1.
That's very striking that in each case where the grace of God is spoken of, he is spoken of in such low and humble terms. What a lovely thought that is. If we become occupied with humility in itself, it will only result in a very subtle form of pride, will it not? But if we are conscious of the matchless grace of God in that measure, humility will be seen in its in its true way.
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And I suppose that in glory will we not always be conscious of the fact that we owe it all to His matchless grace? What a day that will be when all that which we lack so much now, which we've been considering here as displayed in the apostle. Someday we're going to be fully and completely and eternally conscious of the fact that it's all the result of His wondrous grace. I'd like to think of Jonah and the whale's belly on the bottom of the sea.
Salvation is of the Lord.
He had to go way down there to learn it, but he learned it. And so, as you say, Brother Hayhoe.
When we get there, it'll be all of grace.
Salvation is of the Lord.
And we can't say thanks be to the Lord for saving my soul, and thanks be to me for having the good judgment to accept the salvation when it was offered. There'll be no discordant note like that in the glory above.
Jonah went down to the bottom.
Also, it may be applied to the Lord Jesus Christ in the low.
Lowest place that he took.
#70.
Well.
Sovereign grace for Jesus.
Me.
1 Corinthians 15:10
Reading
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Lord, we rejoice that thou art gone to sit upon thy Father's throne.
Thy path of shame and suffering, all thy heart shall grieve and mourn no more.
Lord, that now we wait for thee to come and take us to Thy Father's home. Oh, what ecstatic joy it will be to spend eternity with Thee. 216.
I don't think we got very far in our chapter this morning. May I suggest, if it's the mind of the brethren, to read on through the 28th verse?
Ten first.
1St Corinthians 15.
And verse 10.
By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whither were I or they? So we preached, and so ye believed. Now with Christ be preached, that he rose from the dead.
I'll say some among you, that there is no resurrection of the dead. But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen? And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain? Yeah. And we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ whom He raised not up. If so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised? And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain. Ye are yet in your sins.
Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ, or perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as an atom all die, Even so in Christ shall all be made alive, but every man in his own order, Christ the first fruits.
Afterward they that are Christ, that is coming.
Then come at the end, when he shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death, for he hath put all things under his foot, under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is accepted which did put all things under Him, and when all things shall be subdued unto him.
Then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be All in all.
I.
Might we endeavor to clear up?
A matter that some were not clear about. A statement that was made this morning by the two of us.
And it was certainly not as clear as it should have been put and maybe someone can help on this.
But it was a matter of the verse in Revelation chapter 20.
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And verse 14.
Let us read from verse 12.
And I saw the dead small and great stand before.
God or the throne?
And the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which are written in the books according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades.
Delivered up the dead which were in them.
And they were judged every man according to their works.
And death in Hades were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death.
Now.
I believe it's clear to everyone that.
All these that stand before the Great White Throne.
Are cast into the lake of fire, there to suffer eternally.
But this expression.
Death and Katie's is somewhat explained in verse 13.
That.
Death and Hades delivered up the dead which were in them.
The contents that were in either that state.
Or.
Those that had died.
Thus.
And they were cast in the Lake of Fire.
Well, one brother said that he thought that it looked like teaching annihilation. Well, I replied to him, no such thing, but it does teach annihilation of death and Hades. No more such thing exists throughout eternity as death, physical death.
Physical death and no such thing as a disembodied spirit in the new heaven and new earth for eternity. That part I think is clear enough. There still remains this other question that the Holy Spirit.
May I ask, does that and Haiti cease?
Does death and Hades cease? Cease. How could there be any any physical death in the new creation?
How could there be any disembodied spirits in the new creation?
The eternal state I think everybody allows. There can be no such thing, do you not, brother?
The question might rise, though, of those who were holding by death, and they are then raised for judgment, are they not?
When they stand before the throne, that's what settled that.
But that still remains, that there are three kingdoms mentioned in Philippians, there are two in Colossians. That is, the things in heaven and earth will be reconciled, but the things under the earth will have to bow, as we have in Philippians 2, but they will never be reconciled forever.
And so there is such a thing, though, as the the judgment and the eternal death in that sense, on all those who here have spoken of us in the lake of fire.
One other verse that was read a little while ago in this portion that our brother read is verse 26 of our chapter in Corinthians.
The last enemy that shall be annulled is.
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Death. There will be no more physical death for all eternity. No more physical death there will be the second death, which of course is the punishment of the wicked forever.
Isn't it remarkable that so early in the church?
Such serious heresies. Such serious.
Blunders.
Arose as.
Christ be preached that he rose from the dead house, say some among you, There's no resurrection of the dead.
How early error crept into the church.
And the apostle Paul.
Was called upon to meet it over and over again.
So that there's never a time when we're not to be on guard about these things.
Here the question was.
If if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead house, they some among you there is no resurrection of the dead.
Well, in another case they were teaching that the resurrection had already taken place. Well, both of these are errors.
But they came out in the early church.
And not necessarily that those that were teaching these errors were not saved.
But they they were blundering, they were stumbling around.
And the apostle uses great pains to get things straightened out.
Now, if after all has been explained and the atmosphere has been cleared.
Then if such say, well, I don't care what the apostle says, I still say that there is no resurrection of the dead.
Well, then you have positive hope and evil, and it has to be dealt with.
But Saints of God can get dreadfully mixed up.
And it takes what Paul displays over and over again. It takes patience to deal with such and seek to get them straightened out.
You are mentioning this morning the seriousness of this error of the fact that death were not the dead were not resurrected. I believe the Sadducees held this doctrine that there was no resurrection. Is there any record of any Sadducee ever coming to the Lord?
It seemed to me, yes, they came to the Lord. But the Sadducees who did not hold this doctrine, I don't recall.
That any ever came to the Lord.
What we might call a modernism today.
Suppose we could say that every error is serious error. Some errors seem very serious when we first hear them. Others seem to be of much lesser importance. But every error is really serious because in some way or other it reflects upon the person or the work of Christ.
I heard of.
Preacher in Ottawa years ago who gave a talk on the fact that there was number personal devil and a couple of days later a brother who knew him met him on the street and said I was very, very grieved Sir, to hear about the terrible attack you made on the person of Christ.
Oh, he said. I made no such attack, he said, indeed you did. If there is no personal devil, could you please explain to me the temptation in the wilderness?
With what was the Lord Jesus tempted if there is no personal devil? And so I believe every departure from the truth, every error, no matter how it may seem to stand alone, actually is something to be guarded against. And I believe, brethren, that that's why we should value so very, very highly the wonderful privilege of the assembly Bible reading, the privilege of being corrected by our dear brethren, no matter how slight.
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The departure from the truth may seem to be. I must confess. I hope I am not out of place in saying this, but I used to find fault with my dad when I'd come home from meeting. I would get after him for having been far too critical of a some brothers comment. Hi David, Father, he didn't really mean what you were trying to correct him for. Well he'd say son, even if anyone might have taken something out of it, it's well to be corrected and guarded.
And I think, brethren, that it's so very, very much A cause for Thanksgiving, that we're privileged to be together as gathered around the Lord Jesus with the Spirit of God, free to bring the truth before us, so that I believe it can be said with great Thanksgiving. And I trust with you humility.
That in visiting among the gathered Saints of God, I've never heard false doctrine. And I have visited in a number of places where perhaps they've never, never, never had the privilege where having right now. But they have the assembly Bible reading, however weak it may be. And by the grace of God, sound doctrine is maintained. When I say I've never heard it, we might hear an inaccurate statement. By the grace of God, it's corrected.
I suppose there are those things that we may not be united in judgment about.
That couldn't be considered basic error, because if it is, then that necessitates doing something about it. So.
Meat commendeth us. Knock to God, for neither if we eat or we better, neither if we eat not are we worse.
We have to.
Make allowance for difference in light and.
So rather than have been happy to go on all these years.
Happy fellowship, but.
I've never known of a time when they were.
100% agreed on everything of you.
And we would bring up.
Some subject here this afternoon and be dogmatic about it. We could spoil our Bible reading.
Is that right? The apostle, though, from the beginning of our chapter, is very much concerned about the doctrine of resurrection. That's fundamental. And a brother asked me since the morning meeting.
Do the Saints understand what it means to believe in vain in verse?
Two to my capture.
The apostle says.
In verse one I preached unto you all that which I received.
And where you stand by which also ye are saved. Now here's an if if ye keep in memory.
What I preached unto you.
Unless.
Ye have believed in vain. Now the verses.
That we are taking up this afternoon the beginning in verse 12 and we are going on to verse 19.
Shows that if.
Christ has not been risen.
Then is the gospel name.
The whole point is that the very truth of the gospel presents a dead and a risen Christ.
And if you don't believe that, well, you don't have anything that's worth anything. It's certainly a vain gospel to believe that that isn't true.
I was thinking of that when I brother Clarke mentioned the Sadducees. He said he do not recall that any of the Sadducees came to Christ. Well, what point would there be and they're coming to Christ if they didn't believe in the resurrection. We have these seven points brought out here in connection with though if there's no resurrection from verse 14, if Christ be not risen, then number one is our preaching vain #2 and your faith is also vain.
#3 Again, we have found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God, and He raised up Christ, whom he raised not up. If so be that the dead rise not.
00:20:11
For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised? And then in verse 17. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain for the second time. Yeah, yet in your sins #5 and #6 then they also which have fallen asleep in Christ have perished #7 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But the next verse. But now is Christ risen from the dead?
What a blessed and precious statement, the very foundation of all our blessing.
And then I think.
I'm sorry.
Go ahead. Verse 17 might sum up these verses you read in a way to answer that in verse 2 about believing in vain. Verse 17 would be the interpretation of that thought. And if Christ be not raised in your faith, that is the gospel in your faith is vain. And then in the end of this chapter.
It speaks about.
Our labor is not vain and it's based on resurrection verse 58.
Always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
That's because of resurrection. We are going to.
Be glad of how we've labored for the Lord.
We will try to hinder the Lord resurrection, didn't they? They said so. The last error, the worst, the 1St to explain what goes to error you see.
At the end of March 27.
6430 command therefore that the sacrifice he made sure I mean the third day left his second coming night and seal them away and stay under the people he's risen from the dead. So the last error that we worked in the first.
I suppose the error all the way through, as far as they were concerned, all the way through his teaching, was that he was.
Presenting himself as the one who he was.
He was presenting himself as the Messiah, as the Son of God.
And.
Now.
In the end here.
He's going to pretend the disciples are going to make a pretense that he rose from the dead. That'll that'll draw people deeper Into Darkness than ever. I'm talking now the language of the Pharisees and Sadducees. It was bad enough to have him teaching error when he was alive, but now they're going to teach that he rose from the dead and that'll be worse than it was before.
By farming at the they're very conscious as told them that there's true Messiah that they put today and the far worse too for that thing one now to race in the dead 200 but a blow that would be to have this 1/2 with the true Messiah, the very one that they're looking for. They put them to death, but now to have him raised the dead or what the things that would be forced to do the same one rise now.
00:25:02
And they're going to look at him whom they appears in the coming days.
Well, thank God for that statement. Now is Christ risen from the dead?
The first fruits of them that slept.
That's a solid foundation truth.
We might call attention to the fact that.
Versus beginning at the 20th verse and running through the 28th constituted a parenthesis in the chapter.
So that if we leave out the parenthesis, then verse 29 would join on to verse 19.
By man came death.
When Adam sinned, he brought death into the world with all our woes by one man. Sin entered into the world, and death by sin. And so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
The Lord Jesus in fifth of John.
In the 5th of John and the 28th verse.
Marble not at this for the hour is coming, and the witch.
All that are in the graves shall hear his voice.
And shall come forth they that have done good unto thee, Resurrection of life.
And they that have done evil under the resurrection of judgment.
There's the universal pronouncement.
As to resurrection.
And the Lord is the one that's going to order it all.
A resurrection of life and a resurrection of judgment.
There's more than 1000 years between those two resurrections, isn't it? Yes, there are.
And also to comment on that verse.
Less than he might be deceived by the doctrine of works. It isn't.
In the 29th verse it doesn't say because they have done good.
That they will come forth, the resurrection of life, but they who have done good, which.
Merely brings before us the character of those who have divine life. They are now.
Changed from evil works to good works, and this is characterized them, but it isn't because they've done good that they're coming forth to life now. The 24th chapter of Acts.
And the 14th verse.
But this I can pass under thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my Father's, believing all things that were written in the law and in the prophets.
00:30:09
And have hoped toward God, which they themselves also allow.
That there shall be a resurrection of the dead.
Both of the just and of the unjust.
Now, that's not saying that these resurrections take place at the same time.
But there is a resurrection of the dead.
Whether it's the justice or the unjust.
There is no such thing as a general resurrection, as we often hear today.
Again, often notice the Apostle Paul so frequently in his epistles contending for the doctrinal truth.
As we have read these verses, we have seen his staunch insistence upon the truth of the resurrection.
And we're in a day, too, when we must earnestly contend for the truth.
Dear brethren, and.
It's good for us to profit by the Apostle Paul's.
Example Here he didn't merely contend with a statement that this was what he believed, but he spoke with authority, bringing before them the words of truth.
I don't mean to infer that we should go out seeking a quarrel with any.
But we're told in Peter's epistle to be ready to give an answer to those that ask of us.
Our young people particularly are confronted today with much that would oppose truth, whether it be evolution or other subjects.
And is a happy thing if one is conversant with the scriptures so that he can.
Leave his hearer with the substance of what is authoritative, and not merely leave the the impression that he has left an opinion. So Paul spoke with authority, didn't he? Because he knew of what he spoke in the 20th revelation. I think this is already been referred to, though I don't think we turn to it.
Revelation 20, verse 4.
And I saw Thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.
And.
I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God.
And those which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands.
They lived and reigned with Christ 1000 years.
Now we get definitely three classes in that verse.
Those in the earlier part of the verse representing the.
Elders.
And then the next class representing those that are beheaded for their testimony in the first half of.
Of the last week of Daniel and those in the latter park those who are.
Market in the second-half.
But they all lived that as they were raised.
And reigned with Christ.
Now in the fifth verse, the rest of the dead lived not again until 1000 years were finished. They weren't raised for 1000 years afterwards.
Now the last statement. This is the first resurrection. That's the fourth verse. This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy, as he that hath part in the first resurrection, on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him 1000 years.
Now there would be no point in saying this is the first resurrection if there is no resurrection to follow.
00:35:04
So there is a first resurrection, and there's a second resurrection.
The first resurrection.
Includes not only all the Old Testament Saints.
Who have died?
But also all the New Testament Saints that have died or been put to sleep.
Plus the living and remaining ones.
But even.
At the close of that seven years of the 70th week of Daniel.
There will be the resurrection of the two witnesses, that witness in the city of Jerusalem.
After their testimony of 12160 days.
They will be raised.
And then after that in Revelation 20, verses 2:00 and 3:00.
You may have your Bibles open yet to that.
Why, there you see, right after Satan is cast into the lake of fire, I beg your pardon, Into the bottomless pit.
And the bottomless pit. Then you see this, what our brother read in verse 4.
So that all of the godly remnant.
Of that 70th week, the first half and last half, as our brother put it, will also be included in the first resurrection.
In the 11Th chapter of John's Gospel.
In the 24th verse.
In connection with what our brother Growth has pointed out a moment ago, that's we should notice that.
What Martha says, what she knows, she's instructed further when the Lord speaks to her. But what she knows up until that time?
Was simply that Martha said unto him, I know that he shall rise again. That's your brother in the resurrection at the last day.
But the Lord could tell her now, something that she didn't know before.
And that is that I am the resurrection and the life.
He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
Now resurrection was taught in connection with Israel as a nation in the 12Th chapter.
Of Daniel and also there was the line of things set forth by Ezekiel telling forth the restoration of that nation and then we do have a few hints like was read this morning in the book of Joe but I don't believe there was a general teaching of revelation of resurrection in the Old Testament and.
Not surely that which had to do with life and incorruptibility.
These things have been brought to light through the gospel, and what we have primarily in our chapter today has to do with what is new in the teaching.
The word of God, is it not?
But in the Daniel 12 verse two that you referred to, some will be raised to everlasting life and others to everlasting.
Punishment.
There it is, the return of the tribes from.
Being scattered amongst the nations, the Gentiles that is on earth, a program that takes place, a regathering all of God's people and then there will be their separation of those that enter into the life of the Kingdom.
Blessing on earth, which is of course different than the subject of our chapter 15 as the resurrection out of the grave and dead and.
That other one you referred to in Ezekiel, probably 36 and 3736, for instance. Again, it's the same thing. It has to do with those that are living on the earth but are buried, you might say, in the dust of the gentile nations. They will be ferreted out.
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And gathered back and united with the tribe of Judah.
In that coming day, in the beginning of the Kingdom, Director of the Brown yes, Daniel 12/2. And I think this is what Brother London meant.
Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame. An everlasting contempt. Well, actually, he's not Speaking of those that were physically dead.
But as far as their national existence were concerned, they were lost among the nations.
And now, at this time, there's going to be a marvelous awakening.
And some are going to awake to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
But it's not those that are dead and in their physical graves.
But the nation that was in that physical state?
And so also the passage that you've referred to in Ezekiel, you're talking about the valley of dry Bones there, aren't you? Yes.
It's a national thing, isn't it? Yes.
Well, maybe we can get along with our chapter here.
This 22nd verse if we're not going ahead too far.
Possibly has been used of the enemy to suggest that.
All are going to be made alive in the sense of being blessed. But that isn't the thought, is it? It's the fact that although it is true, it's the statement that everyone will be raised, but some will be raised for judgment and it'll be eternal death. And so we can't use a verse like this as his men would do to to speak of finally, everyone will be saved.
Might it be that the apostle here in that verse?
Is looking at it from the angle of faith.
For as an Adam all die.
Well, we we don't have any doubt what that means. Even so in Christ.
Shall all be made alive.
Perhaps he's limiting it here in his thoughts.
To believers as an atom all die. Even so in Christ shall all be made alive, every man in his own order. Christ the first groups afterwards they that are Christ at his coming.
That is, there doesn't seem to be any room there to bring in the thought of the.
Of the unsaved.
Then cometh again, when he shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put down.
All rule and all authority.
So perhaps he only has in view believers.
In those verses.
You think that might be allowed, Brother Brown? I think the whole chapter addressed to the Saints.
Amongst which some of them said like in verse 12.
How say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
So the subject seems to be, as you say, concerning believers and those that are in Christ.
I was thinking of that first as the two heads walked across Adam. The first head he brought in death twice. The second head brought in life a contrast one with the other. Do we have a similar thought in Romans 517?
If by one man's offense, death reigned by 1.
Much more, they which receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteous shall reign in life by 1.
That last part.
As an add of all diagonals, so in Christ will all be made alive. I'm just asking you questions.
Operations each one.
That's correct if they're not.
Romans 517.
Yes.
Now there's another verse.
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Helped me to turn to it, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord. That's what I want. Thank you brother. And verse 11 probably about yes. Now here it's different.
2nd Corinthians 5, verse 10.
Well, perhaps we read from the ninth verse, Second Corinthians 5, verse 9, Wherefore we labor that, whether present or absent, we may be acceptable to Him, not accepted of him, but be acceptable to him.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
That everyone may receive the things done in his body according to what he has done, whether it would be good or bad.
Now there I believe it's universal because he says in the next verse, knowing therefore that.
Terror of the Lord.
We persuade men.
But we are made manifest unto God, and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. That's different from what we have in our chapter. When when you say universal, no doubt some of the Saints will wonder just what you mean by that. Do you not mean that the that the term the judgment seat of Christ is a general term? But when you consider the believers coming before us, it is a review of their past works, whether done.
That we're done, you see, whether they're good or evil, Second Timothy 4 would give you the judgment of the living and the dead. And then?
That those are two sessional judgments, aren't they?
Yeah, living one, yeah. But then we have the the judgment seat in the sense in which the believer will be brought before. But here the terror of the Lord would have to do, would it, not looking on to the last, but both on earth and in judgment when he sets up his throne. And also in the final judgment of the great white throne would be the dead.
Now, I'm sure that some of the Saints in their minds will wonder what we're putting forth here. There's a little illustration that may help in First Samuel, the end of Chapter 7 I believe it is.
First Samuel Chapter 7 and verse 15.
Now you notice I say we have a little sample that might convey a thought as to what we have before us if we make the application carefully. Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. Now Samuel was the one that was doing the judging and he went from year to year. Wasn't always, it wasn't only one, one occasion in Circuit 2.
Of four different places and he judged 4 different people, that is, you know, in these four places.
Bethel and Gilgal and Misbah, and in the end, verse 17, Rhema.
And He judged Israel in all those places. Now in John 5, the Father hath committed all judgment unto the Son.
Because he is the Son of man, He took the low place, and God has appointed him to be the judge of all. In the Revelation chapter 5, who is worthy to open the book of judgment to execute the judgments That must be Well, there was only one that was found worthy. Who will be able to do that?
So here in Two Corinthians 5-10, if we think about the Saints.
Then we know that we appear in the glory when the when the Lord will review all of our past, we who are in glorified bodies like the Lord Jesus.
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He is going to review these things and how well we will praise Him for His grace that bore with us and His faithfulness in everything and how good that He will command and reward.
Those that have done well, every man shall receive praise of God. First Corinthians chapter 4 So we if we can find it to that which refers to the Saints, that will be an occasion and a glory.
But if we think of Christ judging the living nations, Matthew 25, when he gathers them together and separates the sheep and the goats.
That's another occasion. And then of course, we do have that great white throne judgment and other judgments in the Book of Revelation. But all are in His hands. Therefore, in one sense, it's all the judgment seat of Christ. Am I wrong in that, Brother in the 14th chapter of Romans?
We get an unusual expression there that is one that we don't ordinarily use.
Romans 14, verse 10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou said it, not thy brother?
For we shall all stand before the judgment seat. Now the King James version reads Christ, but the better version is God. We shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.
Now if we go to Revelation 20.
We'll see a change there that's important.
The 12Th verse of Revelation 20 I saw the dead, small and great stand before God. Now the correct reading there is before the throne.
Before the throne. Not before God, but before the throne.
Well, here we know that we all stand before the judgment seat of God, but.
The Lord Jesus lets us know in the 5th chapter of John.
That all judgment is committed under the sun.
But he is God, so there's no difficulty there, if we remember that.
So that the.
Whether it's the.
Ungodly or whether it's the Saints being manifested as Brother Brown has been bringing out.
In the third chapter, First Corinthians.
It's all before the same one and we're all going to give an account.
Of the deeds done in the body, not only of what we've done since we've been Saints. It isn't only that, but our whole life will be reviewed to the glory of God in that day.
Now in that first reading, Romans chapter 14, verse 10, it might be helpful to notice that the apostle is concerned in our attitude towards others.
Who may be not so well talked as ourselves, but that we should go slow and be charitable in our consideration of others.
Let everyone be fully persuaded in his own mind, and whatsoever is not a faith is sin. So we must bear with one another because we are going to be held responsible for our attitude towards others.
The judgments mentioned in Revelation, Brother Brown.
That you mentioned as to the seal judgments are really distinct, are they not? They're more of a vengeance, as that is, they're more of a prepared preparatory, preparatory judgment before the vengeance judgments.
The our standing before the judgment seat of God or the judgment seat of Christ.
At we accept that.
In a different way than the solemn.
Judgment of Revelation 20 because we'll have nothing to do with that.
That's.
There will be no saved people.
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In that number there, but with us it's it's all gone into detail. Of course, it's specially servants that's before the apostle in this third chapter.
First Corinthians.
But the principle is the same for all of us.
The 13th verse. Every man's work shall be made manifest.
For the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire.
That's fire is judgment. That is discerning judgment.
The discerning judgment of God and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. Now he's speaking about servants here in a man's work abide which he has built. Therefore he shall receive a reward. Then a man's work shall be burned. He shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved yet so as by fire.
So it's a solemn thing to bring before us in connection with our work for the Lord.
To be sure that in our building we're not keeping up a lot of wood, hay and stumble.
But we're building upon that foundation, Gold, silver, precious stones, not wood haze double. Wood Haze double will make a great book, Tremendous, tremendous bulk.
The gold, silver and crisis stones may not look very big, but when the fire tries everything the wood hands double is gone in smoke, and only that that's real remains.
But it's not a question of salvation, but of reward. So.
Uh, God is pleased to pass us through this review and.
We will be rewarded for what was of him and what was not of him is to our loss.
I suppose we will have the grace run at the same. Burn it up, Lord.
Amen. I was thinking of the.
Judgment seat of Christ. It's nice to know how we are going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ. We are going to appear there as the fruit of Christ's perfect work at Calvary. And so it isn't the thought of being judged there at all, is it? Some people seem to think that it's a matter of judging their sins, but that's been settled once and for all at Calvary. When the Lord created this, this earth, he didn't turn around and judge it. He pronounced it very good.
Well, if he didn't judge the first creation in that sense, he certainly is not going to judge the new creation, is he?
Well we get the resurrection and then the 22nd verse Adam all die. Even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Referring not to believers, every man in his own order, Christ the first fruits afterwards they that are Christ at his coming. That might be right now.
Now we go on to the end.
Then come at the end, when it shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father.
When he shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power.
For he must reign till he put all enemies under his feet.
And the last enemy that shall be destroyed, or an oldest death.
So it goes right on then to the complete victory of Christ as he reigns in power.
For God.
Hath put all things under his feet, but when he saith, all things are put under him, his manifest, that God is accepted, which did put all things under him.
And when all things shall be subdued unto him.
Then shall the Son of Man.
Himself is subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be All in all. Now that's the end of the parenthesis.
And in the end of the parenthesis, the sun takes that place.
Of subjection is man and the glory above, identifying himself with the redeemed.
That God may be All in all.
That's as a man.
01:00:00
But never.
For one moment, does he abdicate?
His deity, not for a moment. He's still God, he's still part of the Godhead, but he takes that subject place identified with His, redeemed for all eternity. What is the dispensation of the fullness of times mentioned in Ephesians? One Brother Brown.
See.
10th verse, first chapter of Ephesians, That in the dispensation of the fullness of times, He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, which are on earth, even in Him. That's the Millennium.
You don't doubt that anymore? No, but I wanted to bring the point out so to be clear as to what these periods refer to. We read them often and it's good to know.
God's purpose running through time is to eventually.
Glorify his son, his head.
Over all things above, in heaven and on earth. And in the first part of that tenth verse, the church is not included. The church comes in on the 11Th verse.
In whom we also have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him.
Who work with all things after council. His own will.
But it's at the same time as it, not the inheritance. Yes, indeed.
Might we glance at another thought in verse 24 of our chapter?
Then.
The end.
Joanne, he gives up notice. He himself gives up.
The Kingdom to God, that temporary thousand years of mediatorial government of the Kingdom like no one else ever did, all lost because of death. So the headship of government shifted to others. But here is one that goes through it all. And then when that is all accomplished, He gives it up.
That mediatorial ruling.
Of the nation's on earth, this old earth.
I think it's important to see how he does that. It is not taken from him, but he has rendered all his service.
His stewardship in that sense, in perfection.
This is the beginning of the eternal state, is it not?
It has to do with the end and the introduction to the other, when God will be called and all. Would that be it? It might be confused though, sometimes with what we have in the 14th verse of Matthew 24. Not that I want to suggest going into that at all, but just by contrast, there we have something that has to do with the the end of the age, the present age, but that will introduce the millennial day.
But what we have in our chapter is the end, is it not, of that millennial day introducing the eternal state?
Does not verse 25 of our chapter refer to the Millennium?
My Land. Verse 24. The End.
Verse 28.
So I have all three brought before us.
It's a wonderful thing that all this blessing is going to be brought in through the One who loved us and died to redeem us through the 2nd man. All that can be said about the 1St man is for, as in Adam, all die. And then when you turn from that, you seem to open up a very wonderful picture of blessing and all that blessing is through the 2nd man. Perhaps it's stretching the scripture a little bit.
Just on our way down here yesterday morning, we were reading about Gideon and of how the people of God were oppressed by the Midianites. And God purposed that there should be a deliverance of victory. And it seems that it was introduced by a sacrifice. And the Angel told Gideon to take by Father's Bullock, even the second Bullock of seven years.
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And we fought and thought about that for a while, and it seemed to suggest that setting aside of the 1St as though there could be no victory whatever.
From the 1St.
I could think of no other reason why he would specify which of his father's bullets were to be.
Put upon the altar, take thy Father's bullet, even the second bullet of seven years, indicating the perfection of the sacrifice. So it's wonderful, is it not, to realize that this wonderful scene of blessing that lies ahead both in heaven and on earth is going to be brought to its fruition in the second man, our Lord Jesus Christ?
The first man was driven out, wasn't he? And the 2nd man is set up and exalted.
The time is nearly up. One would like to say a word about this 29th verse because we were asked about it this morning.
And we suggested that it goes back to the 19th verse. If in this life only we have hope, in Christ we have all men most miserable.
Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead? If the dead rise not at all, Why then are they baptized for the dead? And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
I protest by your rejoicing, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord. I die daily. If after the manner of men I fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me if the dead rise not? Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Well, what shall they do? What you're baptized for the dead.
Well, the figure is this, that it's, uh, it's like as if it were in the battle.
And in the in the front lines of conflict, one after another is falling.
Before the enemy is being smitten and the soldiers behind are rushing in to fill in the gap. And so that keeps up all through the the day of battle until the battle is won.
Well, why should we? If there's no resurrection of the dead, why should we?
Follow in the footsteps of men like Stephen and men like Paul and men like Peter.
A man who gave their lives were martyred for Christ. Why should we step into the Christian ranks?
If there's no resurrection of the dead, no let's let's forget it. Let's eat and drink and have a good time.
Because baptism is what puts us outwardly into the ranks of Christianity. Baptism is what makes us Christians in one sense. It puts us into the ranks of those that profess the name of Christ. Well, if there's no resurrection of the dead, it's all an empty thing. Let's forget it. I believe that is the force of that 29th verse.
We have the little book that someone read called The Martyrs of the Catacombs.
You get one of the chief characters, a true story of one who was appointed to expose.
That people as to how to get at them, well, he went he went there with that intention, but God reached his soul and his heart and he he saw.
God's hand in it all, and he preferred to be identified with them. He too was baptized as much as to say, I prefer to be in this losing.
'Cause as far as this world is concerned, it was a losing cause. They were taken into the amphitheater and either burned at the stake or the lions turned loose upon them.
And he had witnessed these things along with the high authorities, and he intended to help them. But God won his heart and made him one who was willing to fill in the ranks and to risk his own life. As Paul says here in the next verses we're going to have before us in our chapter.
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Our lives are in jeopardy every hour.
But he gladly went forth in that cause.
Well, it does not mean what we know of.
Great, big powerful denomination teaches that.
You can be baptized for your unsaved relatives, your unsaved dead, and.
And get them into heaven too. It doesn't mean anything like that whatsoever.
Recruiting, that thought of recruiting, you know, recruiting soldiers to take the place of others that have gone down.
Visible expression of the one body is to be maintained.
Isn't it true that in this expression.
Even the Father in the 24th verse that we had here.
I would suggest.
Christianity. That is what the Lord Jesus brought about in a very special way through his death.
Adding something.
We know the Father now, and we have in Ephesians 3.
Every family is named in connection with that Father in heaven and earth, and so it isn't simply a man brought into relationship again, knowing God is Creator. But he brings in here the thought of Father and added thought, is it not? Which suggests Christianity in all its fullness.
I've enjoyed that same thought, Brother London too, in connection with the advocacy of Christ.
Any man sin, we have an advocate with God.
No, with the father, that is. He hadn't ceased to be father because we've missed the path. He hadn't ceased to be father.
#64.
Oh, bright and blessed scenes where sin can never come.
Cite our longing spirit wings from earth where yet we roam, And can we call our home our Father's house on high, and the rest of God our rest to come, our place of liberty.
All.
Gospel
Gospel—A.C. Hayhoe
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We turn together to the 23rd chapter of Luke's Gospel, Gospel of Luke, chapter 23.
I'm going to start reading.
With verse 20, but before reading the scripture.
Which speaks to us.
Of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I'm going to read 3 stanzas of a hymn that we sang, many of us at the closed.
Of our meeting this morning.
What we're going to read about in Luke.
Tells us something.
Of the treatment of man in this poor world as far as the Lord Jesus Christ is concerned. But first I'm going to lead, not that which has now passed, but something that speaks of the present and the future.
We're going to lead to one whom this world put to death, whom they crucified.
But for him we sang this morning. Part of it read this way, reads this way. Behold the Lamb with glory crowned. To him all power be given.
No place too high for him is found, no place too high in heaven.
He fills the throne, the throne above. He fills it without wrong, the object of his father's love. Theme of the ransom song.
To him whom men despise and slight. And we're going to read about how man despised him and slighted him.
To him whom men despise and slight, to Him big glory given the crown is his, and His by right the highest place in heaven. 23rd chapter of Luke.
And verse 20.
Pilot.
Willing to release Jesus fake again to them.
But they cried, saying crucify him, crucify him.
And he said unto them the third time, Why? What evil has he done?
I have found no cause of death in him. I will layer for chastise him.
And let him go.
And they were instant, with loud voices, requiring that He might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed.
And Pilate gave sentence. It should be as they required.
And he released unto them.
Him the sedition and murder, was cast into prison whom they had desired, but he delivered Jesus to their will.
And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one.
Simon a Cyrenian coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.
And there followed him a great company of people and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them, said, Daughters of Jerusalem, sweep not for yourselves, or weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. We hold the days are coming into which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bear.
And the path which never gave sucks then till they begin to say to the mountains.
Fall on us under the hills, cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, watch will be done in the dry. And there were also two other malefactors LED with him to be put to death. And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him.
The malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do, and they parted his raiment and cast lots, and the people stood beholding the ruler. Rulers also with them derided him, saying He saved others.
Let him save himself, if he be the Christ, the chosen of God. The soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar, and saying, If thou be the King of the Jews, save thyself. And the superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew. This is the king of the Jews. And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be the Christ.
00:05:23
But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God?
Being thou art in the same condemnation, and we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, But this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, Remember Me, will now cometh into thy Kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto you, unto thee.
Today shall thou be with me in Paradise. And it was about the 6th hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the 9th hour.
The sun was darkened, the veil of the temple was rent in the midst, and when Jesus had cried, with a loud voice he said, Father, into thy hands I commit my Spirit. And having said thus, he gave up the ghost. Now when the centurion saw which was what was done, he glorified God, saying, certainly this was a righteous man.
There is no scene in the history of the world.
Or in the history of the universe.
That compares.
With the scene we have brought before us.
In this chapter.
Here where we find.
The holy, spotless, sinless Son of God.
Nailed to a cross with two criminals, 2 malefactors, one on either side of him.
I think we can properly say that we have right here that which is the center of two eternities.
The hymn writer is, put it that way, the center of two eternities.
Yes, in the counsels of God.
God had before him the time when this blessed man, his beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ, would come.
From glory down into this scene to die on Calvary, that you and I, poor lost sinners, deserving nothing but death and judgment, might have an eternity of blessing with God on high in the glory.
Now the time has come for that blessed One who came to die.
To give up his life. That you dear friend, dear Sinner friends.
Might have life.
And taking up the chapter I would like to.
Speak of four different prayers or requests that we get in this chapter.
I've enjoyed having them brought to my attention.
And.
That the first request or prayer we get in the 21St verse.
Where we find the multitude trying out crucify Him, crucify him.
Here we have the prayer of hatred, the request of hatred.
A little further on, we have another prayer, one that's still future. It hasn't actually been prayed yet. We read of it and we'll look at it in more detail in the Book of Revelation, but here there further on in this chapter, we're told of a time coming when there's going to be a prayer on the part of multitude to the mountains to fall on them.
And to hide them from the face of the Lamb, that's a prayer of fear.
Then a little further on in the chapter here, we read of the third prayer. It was one from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A prayer of love, and the words were there. Father, forgive them.
And then a little further on in the chapter, we read a fourth prayer, the prayer of faith.
And Oh dear friend, if you've never uttered that prayer face, I trust that God will bring you tonight to have faith in the Blessed One that we want to bring before you. Now, your words would not be the same as the one that honored this malefactor that uttered the prayer, but nevertheless, it would be.
00:10:21
Faith expressed in the same person that prayer of faith was Lord.
Remember Me when thou comest into thy Kingdom.
Well, going to the first prayer or first request.
That prayer of hatred.
21 we find first of all, I didn't read the whole chapter in order not to take up too much time, but in this chapter we have brought out.
How?
Everybody, one by one, we find those who were either against the Lord Jesus.
Or turned against him. We find in this chapter that that.
The chief priests were against him.
We find the scribes were against him. We find that they encourage the multitude, the people.
Against him.
Find that Herod was against him and finally Pilate, although he acknowledged them three times, Pilate said. I find no fault with this man. Finally he delivered him, however, to be crucified.
Dear friend.
This is a very solemn picture that we have brought before us, but you know when we read of the chief priests.
We read of the of the scribes and then later the multitude, all against that blessed One, the Lord Jesus. It only speaks of your heart and mind by nature.
Well, finally we find here pilots having said he found no flaws in him. It was on a day when it was their custom to release a prisoner and he suggested that Jesus be released.
In keeping with that custom.
But you know what their preference was.
They fed away with this man Jesus, the one who all through his life here had shown that he was the blesser. The one that gave hearing to the death sight, to the blind, speech to to those that were unable to talk, the one who healed the lame and cleanse the leper. That's the one they say away with this man.
And they said, release unto us Barabbas.
Who was Barabbas? He was a murderer. Is it any wonder we see the moral downtrend in the world today?
I don't live in the Los Angeles area, but I was shocked.
1000 miles from here to here and read of what happened in this area not too long ago.
In the Watts area.
But friends, the trend is downward.
And one reason it's downwards. The one who was here, who had come, who could have introduced peace on earth.
They sat away with him. Release unto us, Barabbas. We'll take a murderer.
But Pilot knew he was guiltless, Pilots found no fault in him. And so the verse we started with tonight, verse 20, pile up. Therefore willing to release him fake.
Again to them.
But they cried, saying crucify him, crucify him.
Well, dear friends, that's what this world has done to God's Son.
They've nailed him to a cross. They crucified him. This is a prayer of hatred, and that prayer was carried out, that blessed one, this world crucified.
Are you standing on? Whose side are you on tonight, dear friend?
The world had crucified him for Have you taken sides with the Lord Jesus Christ yet? Oh, I do hope that before the evening is over, if you've never done it, you take sides with that blessed Savior tonight.
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Well, they cried, crucify him. Crucify him.
They were.
Pilate says the third time it says here, Why? What evil has he done? I found no cause of death in him. I will therefore chastise him and let him go.
What Pilate said was true. There was number fault in him. He was the sinless 1.
But verse 23 says they were instant with loud voices requiring that he might be crucified.
And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed, and Pilate gave sentence. It should be as they required.
That isn't that sad? Isn't that sad? In another scripture, we find what was.
And one of the other Gospels, I think, was the final straw in bringing Pilate to do what he knew was absolutely wrong.
They said if you let this man go, you're not Caesar's friend.
Well, Pilate was a delegate of Caesar.
He was ruling in this area under Caesar at Rome.
And he wanted Caesar's friendship.
And perhaps, the dear friend, that's why you have never taken sides with Christ. Is it the friendship of this world that you want? We're going to see how this poor world is going on to judgment.
Well, if you let this man go, you're not.
Not Caesar's friend. Oh, if he had to choose between being true to Christ and losing his status with Caesar, he couldn't do that.
But you know he made a wrong decision, friend.
He might have had a standing with Caesar for a little while.
For what's the standing going to be when he stands before this blessed man at the great white throne that we may look at?
Referred to in Revelation 20.
He'll realize then that he made an awfully sad mistake.
But then it will be too late.
And dear friend, if you stand before that great white throne, it will be too late for you. Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. May your heart be open now to receive this Blessed One.
Well, it says in verse 23 they led him away to crucify him.
And it says that.
In verse 27 there followed a great company of people and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him.
But Jesus turning upon unto them, said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
Why did he say that?
Ah, there's a day of retribution coming.
The world had its way of Calvary, but God has his answer to what took place there.
The Lord says in connection with that day of retribution. Notice the 30th verse.
Then shall they begin to say to the mountains fall on us.
And to the hills cover us.
When is this going to be? Well, in the Book of Revelation we read of a day of tribulation ahead for this poor world. It will be after the Lord is called all his own homes. And dear friend, he might call us home at any moment, those that are his. That's why I say, don't put off this solemn decision of turning to Christ and trusting in Him. Tomorrow may be too late. The Lord may have called his own home before tomorrow arrives. He may do it during.
Meeting and then it's too late and after the Lord takes his own home.
There is a day of tribulation coming in this scene and we read about that in Revelation.
Starting with the 6th chapter, and I'm going to ask you to turn just for very briefly, to Revelation 6, where you have this prayer uttered.
Revelation, the 6th chapter, toward the end of the chapter.
I'm not going to read is the 12Th verse starts the occasion, but I'm just going to read starting with the 15th verse.
The kings of the earth and the great men.
The rich men, the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondsman and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us. Now there's where you're going to have that prayer actually uttered. Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that set us on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.
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For the great day of His wrath has come, and who shall be able to stand?
Oh, this must be a very solemn time. Here you find even the kings, the great men, the rich men. What good in the Day of judgment will it be to have riches in that day? What good will it be to have status, even that of a king in that day? They recognize that day is coming. They think it is come. Actually, it hasn't come yet.
This tribulation.
Period. The tribulations brought on by the Providence of God, or in the Providence of God, are such they believe it has come.
The actual moment is still future. That moment does come. Turn to Revelation 20 with me.
Verse 11.
I saw a great white throne.
And him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. Notice the 12Th verse. I saw the dead, small and great friend. Death doesn't end at all. Notice this verse. I saw the dead, small and great stand before God. Another rendering says before the throne, and the books were opened.
God's keeping records. The books were open, friend. He has a record of everything that you've ever done.
More than that, a record of every sinful thought, our lustful desire. He's keeping a record, but thank God he has another book. It's mentioned individually that says in another book was open, which is the Book of life.
Oh, friend, is your name in the book of life? It's important for the be there. And if it isn't there, you can have it entered there tonight if you trust in the Savior that we seek to bring before you. And it says, and The Jets were judged, were judged out of those things which were written in the books.
They may have prayed earlier to the mountains to fall on them, but this scripture says heaven and earth went away.
Ah, there will be no resource. Even the mountains can't hide them from the face of him that's on that throne.
No, they're going to be judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their work. Notice the last verse. Whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire.
Isn't that solemn that's going to take place?
Oh, I ask you in all earnestness, my friend, is your name in the Book of life.
Thank God mine is. I know it's there. There are many others here in this room that know it's there. But how about you? Is your name in the book of life?
Oh, there's one way to get it there to be sure it's there, and that's to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
It says whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire.
You might say, well, just what is the Lake of Fire?
Well, friend, I'm not going to try to give you a detailed definition of it.
But I can tell you this from what we get elsewhere in the Word of God.
There's one thing about a lake. It's something that's confined.
Something that's a place of confinement.
Isn't like a river that's flowing.
There's no outlet. If you wind up there, it will be for eternity.
And another scripture tells us that in that place there's weeping and wailing and massing of thief. I hope that isn't your portion.
Thinking of not going to tell you in detail what it's like, I don't feel capable of it, but I'm going to tell you a story that I thought was very striking. It's a story about a story about a connection with a Scotch preacher, one who was a very faithful man and often preach the gospel and.
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On one day he was passing by.
Of factories where glass was manufactured Now you know where you have glass manufacturers, it has to 1St be molten in terrific heat. Well he was passing by this factory and he saw a door open and he walked in and he started through the factory a little bit the first thing you know he was standing before the.
Cavernous opening of one of the furnaces.
And he stood there, and he stared at the seething flames.
As though hypnotized.
And he finally exclaimed.
Oh, what will hell be like?
The Stoker of that furnace was standing a little to the side in the shadow and heard him make that comment. He was not aware in making it that anyone was around as anyone heard his words.
Several weeks went by.
And on one Sunday evening, this Stoker.
Came to the little Chapel where this preacher often gave the gospel.
After he had finished his sermon or his gospel address.
This soaker that heard his comment before those flames, before that tremendous heat in that furnace, the Stoker came up to him and reminded him of the incident, the time he was there at the glass factory and he said, you know.
Every time that I've opened the furnace.
Since then I thought of your words.
I came here tonight to take Jesus as my savior.
Because I don't want to find out what hell is like.
Dear friend, I hope you won't find out what hell is like.
But you will, unless you are trusting in the Savior that we are bringing before you.
If you've never come to him, won't you come to him tonight?
There is only one savior.
And He's that one we were singing about. There's now a dear loving Savior on high in the glory. He died for you, my friend, and He loves you, and He wants to save you.
Oh, she come to him.
Well, that Stoker he said he didn't want. I don't want to find what hell is like.
That's a true story.
Ah, friend, I hope you don't find what it's like, but you will, unless you're brought to know this savior we're seeking to bring before you.
Back to the 23rd chapter of Luke.
It says in the 31St verse.
After the Lord says how they're going to pray to the mountains to fall on us the 31St, the 31St verse says if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the drive?
You know, dear center friend, if you're without Christ tonight, you're one of the dry trees.
Yes, you are.
The Lord Jesus was the green tree.
In him there was life.
Freshness, fruit for God, A green tree.
If we were to turn back to the 53rd chapter of Isaiah.
We have in the end of the first verse that says, to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
Ah, Christ Jesus was the arm of the Lord. To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Yes. You know, in business. I spent quite a few years in business and business we often say, well, so and so He's my right arm. I can get things done through him. He's a real right arm. Well, you know, friend, God is get this. 23rd of Luke shows us where God is it where got things done.
The work of atonement was wrought through that blessed One who was the arm of Jehovah.
But it goes on to say, Speaking of Christ, he shall grow up, that Christ shall grow up before him.
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Before God as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground.
You know a tender plant has life. You go through the desert and you can find out what dry ground is, especially in the summertime, and it can be dry and then you don't see a green tender plant growing. No, everything is dry. This poor world was a dry, barren scene as far as God was concerned. Nothing that fully answered to to hit the desires of his heart. But here was one that grew up before him as a tender.
As a root out of a dry ground. And there was ever in his life that which God could look down upon with delight, He could say, I do always those things which please the Father. And now at the end of the journey, at the end of his life, he says, if these things be done in a green tree, he was the green tree. And yet even he was suffering here, going to that awful cross of shame.
Oh, he says, what should be done in the dry.
We've cut trees out in our backyard. We saw them up and let them stand for some months to dry out. Then they're ready for the fire. The dry tree is prepared. Yes, it's ready for the fire.
Our friend, without Christ you don't have life. You're dead in trespasses and sins.
And.
You're fitting material, as it were, for that lake of fire that we read about.
Oh, dear friend, to these things be done in the green tree, what should be done in the drives. What an awful thing to wake up in a lost eternity and cast into the lake of fire. That place where the worm dieth not in the fire is not quenched. Verse 32. There were also two other malefactors LED with him to be put to death, and when they were, come to a place which is called Calvary.
There they crucified him.
What a statement, my friend.
There they crucified him.
I said I wanted to speak of four prayers, but here I'd like to just bring before you 4 words.
There they crucified Him. Who was He? The Lord of glory, the Creator. They put him to death.
On a criminal's cross.
There's no fact, nothing that's ever happened in the history of this world as solemn as what we have recorded in those four words. There they crucified him. And friends, God hasn't forgotten what took place at Calvary.
Through his heart has gone outgoing, out in love today that the Sinner might be brought into blessing. But if you don't accept the invitation, if you don't offer, then it's going to be judgment at the end.
For God is not God has not forgotten what took place, and that's why some are going to say to the mountains fallen as.
Hideous from the wrath of a lamb.
Oh, but how blessed. How blessed.
The 34th verse we have our third prayer here. Then said Jesus.
Oh, what lovely words, friend, Father, forgive them. Just three words there.
Those are the three that I especially bring before you, Father. Forgive them.
Oh dear friend, I want to tell you tonight, God would delight to forgive you based on the work of the Christ Jesus for you on that cross. There's forgiveness for you tonight. You may be. I don't know what category you're in. You know this world has some.
That are seemingly better than their neighbors, upright and moral people, but they're still sinners. They're the up and outers. And then there's some who are the outright down and outers.
I don't know where you come, whether at the top of the ladder or the bottom of the ladder in between.
But I can tell you this, no matter how far down the ladder you may be, there's forgiveness for you if you'll trust in this blessed Savior that we're speaking to you about tonight.
Father forgive them. That's a prayer that's been many times answered.
Many here can say, well, I know that I'm forgiven. I know that the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses me from all sin. The Word of God tells us the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. That is all. A trust in Him. Are you trusting in Him? There's nothing that can wash your sins away but the precious blood of the Lord Jesus.
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That blood that was shed here at Calvary.
When he died for you and me.
Father, forgive them. What a blessed prayer.
He was praying for his enemies. He was praying for those that hated him.
We read in another scripture that Christ died for the ungodly. Friend, I don't care what your life has been, I can say to you Christ died for you.
And he offers you peace, pardon, forgiveness, and eternal blessing. Will you have the offer? It's free. The gift of God is eternal life. We read the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. You can't buy it.
Nobody is going to be in heaven and when they get there safe, look at me folks, I made it, No.
The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. It's offered to you tonight. What are you going to do with the offer?
Well, his prayer, that lovely prayer. Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. And they parted, His raiment and calf lost, the people stood beholding.
And even after that gracious, loving prayer, it says the rulers also with them derided him, saying he saved others, let him save himself if he be the Christ, the chosen of God. They didn't believe he was the Christ.
No, no, they said. Well, yes, He may have healed others and saved others, but if he's the Christ, why he'll just come down from the cross and save himself?
Friend. Nothing could then be more wrong. He couldn't come down from that cross. You know why?
And then I'm going to reverse it and say he could have come down. Both statements are correct. It wasn't the nails that held him there. As far as the nails, he could have come down from the cross.
But.
As I said, he could not come down. You know why we sometimes think himself he could not save.
Love stream too deeply flowed.
Oh, he had to die because he loved you and me. That's why he had to die.
That's what held him there. It was love. Love for you and me. He came to die.
The apostle Paul could say the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. And dear friends, thank God I can say that the Son of God who loves me and gave himself for me. And I see many faces here in the audience that I know they can say it too. Oh, dear friend, I tell you he loves you too. Will you trust him?
Doesn't such love like that speak to your heart?
While going on.
It says the soldiers also mocked him.
Yes, everyone, all, all those about him were against that blessed Savior. Now we find the soldiers, they mocked him.
If we were to turn to the end of March, the 15th of March I think it is, we find that both the malefactors reviled him, both of them, they insulted him.
You'd think they'd at least have a little human sympathy, wouldn't you? Because they were on craw, they were nailed to a cross, too. All the natural heart is enmity toward God. And both of those fees, we learned in March, cast the same reviling comments in his face.
Thank God one of them changed his tune. One of them got converted. That's what we're going to read about next. Oh, it's a wonderful thing when one turns around and that's what conversion is, the turning to God, to the Savior. Those in festival night that we read of how they turn to God from their idols, we find a turnabout here in this chapter. It's on the part of this feast. One of the Thieves 1.
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Originally reviled the blessed Savior, insulted him and cast these insulting remarks in his face. Notice what it says here in verse 39. The first of all, I skipped 2 verses. The soldiers said, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. Oh, how many if Satan puts in the hearts of souls today?
If thou be the King of the Jews, friend, he is the Kiwis, their king. They rejected their king, but he's coming back to reign as king.
I wish we had time to turn to the second Psalm and see some of the things we read there about him coming back to reign as kings. Yes, that Blessed One is going to rain not only as King of the Jews, but also as King of kings and Lord of Lords. He's going to be king over all the kings of the earth and Lord over all who exercise lordship.
Well then they wrote this superscription in both Greek and Latin and Hebrew. This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Yes, the learn a Greek, the martial Latin, Roman, and then the religious Hebrews, the three languages represented. This is Jesus the King of the Jews, our friend. That was the charge they brought against him. But he is the king of the.
He was the king of the Jews, and he's coming back to reign as king of the Jews.
Well, one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him.
Saying if thou be the Christ, there's that same if friend, you have a lot of ifs. Are you another iffy person? If this if that, forget all those ifs and just believe what God says. Take God at his word.
These ifs led many into that lost eternity that we were speaking about.
They won't. There are no more ifs when they get into hell, but it's too late then to realize that they were wrong.
If thou be the Christ saved myself. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God bring thou art in the same condemnation.
And we indeed, justly, oh, how wonderful this malefactor who had insulted and reviled him, as we learned in March 15. Now he's there's been a change. You know, I like to think that perhaps what spoke to his heart was the Lord's Prayer. Father, forgive them. Because the way he speaks from here on would indicate that he realized this was the Son of God.
And when he said father.
It was the Son speaking to God the Father. Father forgive them. I believe that God works in his heart and gave him to realize that this was the Son of God and all. What a change you know when 1 Comes converted, what a change it makes.
All this can truly be a turn about. You know the word converted comes from a Latin word. The end of it convert the vert means to turn. And here was one miss Thief he turned about now.
And it says that dost not thou fear God? You know we learn in Proverbs. I think it's the 9th chapter. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This poor thief.
Oh, now we find there's the beginning of wisdom, the beginning of knowledge. We also fear the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. We also get in in proverb well.
Dost not thou fear God? That is, don't you realize we have to do with God?
Friend, do you realize you have to do with God? I hope you learn it now.
And not and not when it's too late. Not when you're before the Great White Throne that we looked at in Revelation 20.
Just not thou fear God seeing the art in the same condemnation. Notice what he says. But we indeed justly oh, he says we're getting what we deserve. And they were they were criminals. No question. We indeed justly. But this man oh, I like, I like what he has to say about my Lord. This man has done nothing amiss. That's true, my friend. He was a sinless 1.
The Holy One.
The one who knew no sin, the one who did no sin, the one in whom was no sin. This man has done nothing amiss. Oh, I love the words of this poor piece here, when all the world was against him.
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He had been denied.
By a false friend. First shaken he had been.
He had been.
Betrayed by a false friend, denied by his true friends, forsaken by his disciples and followers, rejected and all seemed against him.
And at this very moment, when outwardly it might seem that they were right, because here was one dying on a cross.
At that moment we find one man coming out and taking sides for the with the Savior, saying, as it were, this man here is the one. One man who has done nothing amiss when all the world seemed against him. He stands up for Christ.
Oh, won't it be wonderful to see that thief in the glory, the one who stood up for the Savior when all were against Him?
This man has done nothing amiss.
He said unto Jesus, Lord, verse 42 Lord, Oh I like that the first word is Lord.
You know in Romans 10 and nine it says, if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, Jesus is Lord.
Have you ever confessed him as your Lord?
You don't have to do that now.
In the day of grace, or you'll have to confess him as your Judge. In a coming day, if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Friend, that one verse is all you need to show you the way.
At one verse is all you need.
If you carry it out to be sure that your name is in the book of life.
If thou shall confess with thy mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead.
That's all you can do. There are two things. Confess them as Lord, believe that he died for you and rose again. And then the last part of that verse is God's part says thou shalt be saved. God's the one that takes care of that.
Well, this poor thief, his first word is Lord. Oh my friend, if you've never done it, confess him as your Lord tonight.
And receive him as your Savior. Lord, Remember Me when thou cometh into thy Kingdom. Now I said this was a prayer of faith.
Here is a man dying with his hands outstretched on a criminal cross.
And he speaks of him coming in his Kingdom.
By faith, he saw that man as the one who is going to come back as king.
Oh, there's faith for you, you and I. It doesn't take near the faith on our part that it does on his.
Here was one right at death's door, as it were. And he says, when you come as king or keep me in mind, Remember Me.
We know we have on wonderful testimony and witnesses we get recorded in First Corinthians 15 the fact that he rose from the dead, that he is the risen one. Ah, dear friend, there there is one tomb that's empty because that blessed 1 rose from the dead.
There are plenty of so-called gods, heathen gods, that are worshipped today and worship, laying in a tomb. Nobody could ever worship the Lord in this day, in a tomb. On the third day he rose again. He's a living, risen one, thank God, and he is coming back in his Kingdom.
But you know, the Lord not only answered this thief's request, this thief's desire, but he gave him something more blessed than he asked. Notice what it says Jesus said unto him, verse 43. Verily or truly, I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
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Oh yes, with me in paradise that piece body was going.
To be laid in the ground to return to dust.
But his spirit was to be with the Lord that very day. He wasn't going to have to wait till the Kingdom.
There is going to be the Kingdom this day, Should thou be with me in Paradise. Paradise speaks of a place garden of delight. And so that poor thief, and he was a poor thief. I wish I had time to make a rather extensive contrast between him and a rich fool. And our brother mentioned the other day in one of our reading meetings.
We won't take the time to turn to it, but in the 12Th of loop we root of a reread of a rich man.
Who laid up his treasures and he had to build greater barns. He's going to build greater barns to hold the mall. And he said to himself, take thy knees and eat, drink and be merry and so forth. But he got a message. The Lord sent this message to him, Thou fool, this night shall I soul be required of thee. This night shall thy soul be required of thee?
Oh yes, he was a rich fool.
He was rich, but he died of bankrupt.
And every every rich man who dies without Christ dies eternally bankrupt.
Here was a thief that was poor, he was bankrupt, but he's going to be eternally rich because in receiving Christ as his Savior, he received the true riches.
If we had time we could look at some of the scriptures that speak of how how Christ is blessed the believer with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.
Yes, that rich man in the 12Th of Luke, he died a bankrupt.
And here is a poor bankrupt thief, as it were, but it will be rich in glory.
We sometimes sing of the Lord Jesus, rich in glory, thou didst stoop.
This is all I people's hope. Thou was poor and here's where Christ was poor. Dear friend, thou was poor that we might be rich in glory. Lord with thee, friend, I want that to be your portion. I want you to be rich in glory, to share that coming scene of glory with his blessed Savior. And let me tell you.
If that isn't your portion, you're going to spend eternity in hell in the Lake of Fire.
Moses, Obadiah and Lot
Address—C.E. Lunden
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
I'd like to speak of a few examples.
In the Old Testament.
We might discover.
Just what the Christian life might be.
And what it might not be too.
The first passage we'll read is in Luke.
Likewise also, as it was in the days of law, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built it. But the same day that lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
I believe it should read Just all Destroy all.
Well, at the beginning of this, then we as in considering a lot.
The end of his course does not sound very good.
And you know, you dear young people, some of you are just starting out in life and you'll have to consider the end of the course.
How it's going to turn out.
Because God wants to do us good in our latter end.
And we might notice a few things the way that Lot starts his lifeout in the 13th chapter of Genesis.
We're not going to read all of it, but just notice.
A part starting with the seventh verse.
There was a strike between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle.
Now that's the way that Lot starts his lifeout when he separates from Abraham.
Abraham was a man of God who lived.
Up in the plains, away from all that would defile him. Down here he lived in separation and Lot had that privilege.
But we find there was strife there.
And it wasn't on the part of Abraham.
Because we learned that Abraham told Lot, now he said Lot. You just choose what you want.
And I'll take the rest. Isn't that a lovely spirit?
You know the man of God can afford to do that because.
God goes before him and orders his way. He doesn't have to fight for anything down here.
But poor LOC.
Notice what else it says of him.
Ten first Lot lifted up his eyes.
And he held all the plain of Jordan that was well watered everywhere.
Before the Lord destroyed Sodom, Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as our come as desor.
Well, Lot sees something with his natural eyes.
Well, we've already had the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes.
Before us here.
That which would satisfy the natural man.
And the wisdom that comes simply from the natural senses.
And so we see that lot is on the wrong course at the very start.
He was in a bad state of soul where he wouldn't have allowed his herdsmen to strive with a herdman of Abraham.
And so he sets his course.
The 11Th verse.
And lot chose.
All the plain of Jordan.
And life journeyed east.
And they separated themselves.
One from the other. Isn't that sad?
All dear young people, you know the only blessing you're going to get for your soul is to go on with those.
With whom God has placed you.
This was a fatal mistake for Lot.
He separated from Abraham, the man of God.
Abraham had been made the depositary of God's counsels in connection with the blessing of man on the earth.
And Lots separated himself from him. But Lot made the choice, and he made it according to the dictates of the natural heart.
The 12Th verse.
Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent towards Sodom.
But we're not going to say too much about a lot. It won't be too profitable for us, perhaps.
But when we look down at the end of his life.
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There's a long gap between. Nothing is said about that life, he goes on in Sodom until finally we learned that he lives there, He has a house there.
And then we learned that he has a place in the gate of the city.
There's the pride of life.
Lot succumbs to all three. He finds himself under the power of the enemy.
And what is the end of it all, as we read in Luke's Gospel?
The judgment of God comes and destroys it all.
Well, dear young people, is this the pattern of the life you'd like to live as a Christian down here?
The only place we actually learned that lot was a Christian, and that is that he was a believer.
Is in Peter where he's spoken of as righteous or just?
There is a slight indication in the Old Testament he had unleavened bread.
But he doesn't live the life Abraham does. And when Lot ends up, it says.
Of his life and everything, all the efforts that he put forth.
Destroyed all.
How sad that is. But what did it say of Abraham?
Abraham was old and well stricken in years, and the Lord had blessed him in all things.
What a great difference between these two, all that we have in connection with these two men that started out together.
But now turn with me to the Book of Kings.
And we'll see if we can find something better in the way of a life of faith.
First Kings, the 18th chapter.
And it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying.
Go show thyself unto Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth. And Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab, and there was a sore famine in Samaria.
And AAB called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, for it was so. And Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took 100 prophets, and hid them by 50 in a cave, and fed them with bread and water. An AB said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, unto all brooks for adventure. We may find grass to save the horses and mules alive.
That we lose not all the beasts.
So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it. Ahab went out, went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him, and he knew him, and he fell on his face, and said, Art thou that, my Lord Elijah? And he answered him, I am Go tell thy Lord, Behold, Elijah is here.
And he said, What have I sinned, that thou which delivered thy servant in the hand of Ahab to slay me as the Lord thy God liveth, There is no nation or Kingdom.
Within my Lord has not sent to seek thee, when they said he is not there.
He took an oath of the Kingdom and nation, that they found me not. And now thou sayest go tell thy Lord, Behold, Elijah is here.
It shall come to pass as soon as I'm gone from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord should carry thee whither I know not. And so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me.
But I, thy servant, fear the Lord from my youth.
Was it not told my Lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord?
How I hidden hundred men of the Lord's prophets by 50 in a cave, and fed them with bread and water, and thou sayest go, tell the Lord, thy Lord, Behold, Elijah is here, and he shall slay me.
And Elijah said, as the Lord of hosts, liveth, before whom I stand.
I will surely show myself unto him today. So Obadiah went to meet.
Ahab and told him and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
Now, I'm not sure that this is a young man at this time, but I believe he was a man who had faith.
Obadiah.
But we noticed that this faith was.
I suppose a little picture of the 7000 that hadn't bowed the knee to bail.
This man was not rendering a positive testimony publicly like Elijah was.
But he feared the Lord greatly and from his youth.
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Well, shall we inquire, is this the kind of a Christian life we'd like to live?
A life that's hidden in our own hearts, trusting the Lord, but a life that's hidden so that no one knows it outside.
What was it that what caused him to to hide his testimony?
The fear of Ahab.
And the fear of man brings a snare.
Why did he fear Ahab?
Because he had a good job in Ahab's house, that's why.
He had a good job at Ahab's house.
But he was afraid to open his mouth.
Isn't that solemn?
You know, there are two things that stand out quite prominently in Luke's gospel, and one of them is.
That is, as to the path of the believer and the snares.
Our associations.
Our connections.
And then also our habits.
Are we going to allow our associations and our habits to hinder a clear testimony for the Lord Jesus down here? Is this the kind of a life we want to live like Obadiah?
So that there won't be one bit of testimony for our blessed Savior publicly.
Yes, it's true. He knows our hearts and you have heard Christians say that.
Well, he knows. He knows what goes on in my heart. Of course he does. He knows that. He knows all these things that Obadiah is trying to tell Elijah.
And, you know, we wouldn't have to try to tell about what we did.
If we confess Christ publicly, would we?
Obadiah had to. Was it not told you what I did? Haven't anybody told you? Of course not. Who would know it? Who would know it?
His testimony was hidden.
There's no question what he was real.
Surely he was real and he was considering the servants.
The prophets, and he was bringing them bread and water, things they needed when they were being persecuted. And what a wonderful thing that is. What a privilege. Now we must have looked down on Obadiah this afternoon.
Because we've come a step further than with Lot, I'm sure.
Lot had lost his testimony completely in utter worldliness down here.
But here's the man that had a testimony, but it was a hidden one.
And God.
Reminds us of that, in fact.
Elijah's reminded by the Lord himself.
When he spoke of himself being the only witness, oh God says I have 7000.
And dear young people, don't forget God values your testimony, whatever it may be. Even though it may be in weakness, God values it.
But.
How much better to be out and out for Christ?
And to then render a testimony down here.
For the Lord Jesus.
I believe it tells us in the last chapter of Revelation of that coming day.
In the Kingdom.
When we'll have that blessed name of Jesus written on our forehead.
Oh, how good that will be.
But we'll never have the privilege up there that we have here.
Of having it written on our foreheads in rejection.
Oh, how the world hates that name of Jesus, but we have the happy privilege of carrying that name on our foreheads down here in this Dark World.
They know how much better it would have been if they had but had just a little support from Obadiah, or I should have said Elijah had had a little support from Obadiah.
Yes, Elijah had to carry that testimony alone, that outward positive testimony.
But now let's notice something in connection with it too.
We find that they were going to all fountains of water.
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All fountains of water. Is that the way that you and I should be doing as Christians?
A fountain here and a fountain there.
You know what? Boaz told those told Ruth? Going out to glean in other fields.
No, he doesn't want us to go to all the fountains of water. We have provision for our souls in Christ.
And in the place where he has appointed, where he might find our souls refreshed and encouraged and built up.
And fortified against this Dark World through which we're passing.
Yes, gathered to his precious name.
But we notice also in the sixth verse they divided the land between them to pass through. AI went one way by himself and Obadiah went another way by himself. Is there any happiness in this kind of a path?
Oh dear fellow Christian, dear young people, is this your choice of the Christian path?
Or you say it's better than locks path. I grant that.
But is this your choice of a path to go through this world?
Well, we know that.
Something took place with Obadiah and I think we should notice it.
16 first.
So Obadiah went to meet Ahab. Oh, I thought he wasn't going to do it. I thought he was afraid of his life.
He was.
Why he said he will slay me if I go and tell him that you are here.
But under the powerful presence of a man of God.
He breaks down the Spirit of God working through Elijah.
He breaks down and he does exactly the thing that he said he wouldn't do.
Isn't that nice to see that?
Yes, repentance isn't simply an action. Oh.
It's the state of soul. And it should. It should be that which characterizes us, at least sobriety, self judgment.
Considering our ways all through our life down here.
And when the Word of God has spoken to us, we should take notice of it and act upon it.
And I don't know about the subsequent history of Obadiah, but I'm sure if there was real repentance with him.
There was a coming out in public confession for Christ.
So we say again.
Would this be your pattern for the Christian life? Are you satisfied with this?
Now we'll turn to Hebrews.
And see if we can look a little further whether there is anything in the scriptures.
In the way of example that would help us.
Hebrews 11.
On the 24th verse.
By faith Moses, when he was come to years.
Or I believe it might read When he Became Great.
By faith Moses, when he became great.
Refused.
To be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
Now the word here that I'd like to press home is refused.
We have seven points here I'd like to call attention to in connection with this man's life.
The first thing he refuses.
You know, all of us, at least most of us here, have been brought up in some kind of connections in a religious way.
And.
I'm sure that in the providential ways of God, in many cases it's been a blessing.
I know in my own case it has.
Although I've had to, by grace act upon this verse.
Refused.
Oh, how many things there are in the natural life in a religious way.
That have to be refused if we're going to walk with God.
You know, tradition is one of the strongest things that can tie us down.
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And some never lose it, some are always tied to it, even though they may be the children of God.
And so the first step here with Moses was that he refused something.
And that is, he refused to live a lie.
He wasn't the.
Son of Pharaoh's daughter was he?
No, he belonged to something far better than that.
He belonged to the people of God.
And so when he became great, he refused to take that title.
But what was he doing? He was giving up everything.
That was of worth in this world.
As far as this world is concerned.
Yes, he was giving up everything.
Here was a man who was in the line to become one of the Pharaohs. Perhaps we don't know.
But that term might indicate it when he became great.
What a possession he must have occupied in the House of Pharaoh.
He had come in in a very special way.
He belonged to that daughter of Pharaoh, but he refused to maintain that connection.
He refused it.
Now I suppose he could have reasoned and said here I'm in this special place, I'll be a help to God's people.
I can do things in this position that I have.
For their good that no one else can do.
He might have reasoned that way. You know how many children of God reason their path through this world?
But not Moses.
And you know, there's something remarkable about this.
Now that the Spirit of God calls our attention to.
23rd verse.
By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hit three months of his parents.
Because they saw he was a proper child.
And they were not afraid of the King's commandment.
In connection with Moses, we have a background.
And I like to refer to this.
Because I can think back in my own days to my mother and her particular interest in setting before me the things of God.
Yes, what a privilege Moses had, and what a privilege you, dear young people, have to be brought up in the things of God.
Yes, he had a background. He knew it wasn't right for him to take his place in that palace.
He knew it wasn't right for him to go on in that position when the people of God were suffering.
Down here. And so he takes his place right alongside with them. He refused.
To be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
The next verse choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin per season.
Well, we have now is choosing.
How different this choice is from lots?
Lot chose just the opposite way.
Lot shows out which his eyes could see.
There's nothing said about a mother behind it either, but that doesn't excuse him.
No, because he had all the instruction from Abraham.
But here is a man who chooses. He weighs things.
And he decides in favor.
Of the people of God, what could He have had otherwise? The pleasures of sin.
But dear young people, notice that word for a season? Just a season, and then it's all over.
You know, in the eighth, in the eighth chapter of Romans.
We're told about.
If you live after the flesh.
Ye shall die.
And that's eternal death.
If you live after the flesh, you shall die if your life is according to that.
Pattern. If that's your life, the flesh, you'll die, and that's eternal death.
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Choosing rather.
To suffer affliction along with the people of God.
Than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
Well, that was his choice.
That's the second point we have here.
Does this kind of a Christian life and interest you at all?
But would you rather be like Lost or would you rather be like Obadiah?
One thing we notice here is that.
We have brought before us the energy of faith.
It takes it takes energy to take a path like this. But what kind of energy? The flesh? Surely not.
Behind all this, there must have been something in the life of Moses that enabled him to take these steps. 1 by 1.
There must have been purpose of heart to follow the Lord, for He never could have taken these steps.
There must have been that communion in the presence of God.
Or he never could have taken those steps.
Can you imagine Moses in his own room in the palace, dropping to his knees?
And crying to his God.
And those moments when he was deciding what he was going to do.
Because he must make a decision.
The end of his life would prove either blessing.
Or sorrow, one of the two.
And I'm sure there are many sessions in that palace on his knees before his God, before he made that decision.
But he made the decision.
And he didn't make it in his own strength either.
Esteeming the reproach of Christ Greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.
Yes, there were treasures in Egypt.
But the reproach of Christ was greater riches.
We learned a minute why there were greater to Moses.
And then it says.
Now I'd like to press home that word of steaming as steaming.
That is, I could just picture him weighing these things.
Carefully.
What are they worth to me?
Am I going to take up the present as everything or am I going to look ahead?
To the end of the path.
Esteeming. Regarding.
The reproach of Christ.
Greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.
Now one of the reasons that he had this before him, it tells us and the rest of this verse.
For you have respect unto the recompense.
That word reward may be a little confusing. I don't think it's an original. But he had respect unto the recompense. What are you going to get out of it, dear young people?
We've already noticed in connection with the life that Lot lived when he got out of it.
He was saved, so is by fire, but his whole life efforts were left in Sodom.
And even some of his children were left there.
All the price to pay.
It's one thing to have your house burned up.
It's another thing to have everything that you've gained down here to be lost.
To be burned up.
But it's quite another thing to lose those dear children.
And that's the end of a path like that.
Lot passed by phase. He first took Egypt.
That's the next step for Shift Egypt.
He wasn't going to stay around Egypt either.
He wasn't going to allow Egypt to be the attraction for his life. He forsook it completely.
Oh, how many would would separate from this evil and that evil and still leave themselves available?
For other things.
And all how we have to judge our own hearts continually, lest it be so. But here is a man.
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That God used for blessing to his people. He forsook Egypt completely.
He hasn't. Were Bernie's bridges behind him? You know it took space to do that.
Because he was left without resource out in the wilderness, there was number resource for God. And I believe this is a lovely picture of what it means to be a man of God.
A man of God is one who is willing to burn all his bridges behind him, to cut the thread, the rope that ties him with his former position.
That's the man of God, just for Christ's sake.
One is willing to put his whole truck for his whole path.
In the hands of his blessed faith.
That's a man of God.
Thy faith he forsook Egypt.
Not fearing the wrath of the king.
Now what is the rest of the birds say?
For he endured.
Or he persevered.
But how did he persevere? We're told plainly how it was that he persevered.
As seeing him who is invisible.
Yes, Moses had a.
He had a view of something as far off.
He looked down to the end of his path.
He could see the end of the road.
And through all that was around him that the enemy would put up before him, he looked straight through it all, and he could see him who was invisible.
It was by faith.
You know, faith is something you can pass through everything.
And can lead the soul right into the very presence of God.
Nothing else cares.
But faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
And Moses had faith, God-given faith.
But you know, these hearts of ours are so made that they have to have an object.
And here we see the secret in the life of Moses.
He had an object for his heart.
Yes, he could look through it all and he could see one ahead of him.
There was Christ.
He didn't see Christ with his visible eyes, but he saw him by face.
He saw the one of whom the Prophet spoke.
He saw the one of whom was spoken at the very beginning of Genesis.
The woman's seed that would bruise the serpent's head.
Moses by faith he can look down through the ages, and he could see one who was going to take his place.
And bringing them to blessings that he would get in no other way. And when everything down here was gone, burned.
Destroyed Moses would still have something.
Recompense.
And so he has his eyes fixed on an object.
But you, dear young people, have that today which would bring you into a fuller, more blessed knowledge of the Lord Jesus than Moses ever had.
Because you have the completed scriptures that set before us, the mystery Christ in the church, all the blessedness that will come through association with our head, the Lord Jesus. And so we have set before us in the New Testament.
In detail way that which has to do with the recompense and all the blessings.
That is found in Christ as a result of the work on Calvary's cross. He endured. He persevered of seeing him who was invisible.
Well, he has an object for his heart.
And that's the only way we can persevere or endure.
Is to keep that heart fixed on the object.
We know soon after the flood.
The whole world turned to demon worship and Abraham was called out of it.
And he was called out of an object. God was his object.
Well, we know the history of Abraham, how blessed it was, but he had an object.
And here we have Moses. He has an object.
We're to look not at the things which are seen, but the things which are unseen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal. And yet how apartment we are, how ready to turn our eyes to the present things to be taken up with present things as objects.
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I thought you know about the vessel and each one of us are seen as a vessel.
Something to be filled the vessels in the second chapter.
John's gospel were to be filled with the water, nothing else.
And if we fill our lives with this thing and that thing, there won't be much room left for Christ, will it?
But how good it is to have them filled with strife?
And then to have that pure object for our soul.
To look ahead, occupied with those things that are not seen, which are eternal.
Which we find in and with Christ.
Now the last point we have here is in the 28th verse.
We've noticed first of all that he refused in the 24th verse.
That he chose in the 25th verse.
He esteemed the reproach of Christ, greater riches, and the 26th verse.
And he had respect under the recompense.
And he forsook Egypt. He endured a seeing him, Him who was invisible.
And now, through faith, he kept the Passover.
And the sprinkling of blood as he that destroyed the first born should touch them.
Well, you know, this usually comes first.
Especially in the feast in the 23rd Leviticus, the Passover is first.
And that's the basis of all blessings.
But I suppose we have here something that the Spirit of God would remind us.
Of where Moses rested his soul.
First he tells us about the energy Moses had.
In his life of faith down here. But this is where he rests his soul.
It's the precious blood of Christ.
He doesn't simply speak, you know, of the the Passover itself.
But he adds the sprinkling.
That is, there was the actual application of that truth practically in the light.
It's one thing, you know, for the animal, the lamb to be slain and the blood to be poured in the basin.
Yes, it's the precious blood, all right.
But each one had to take that and had to apply it to his own doorpost.
That faith.
That's individual faith that would lay hold of the truth of God and how beautiful it is to bring this in at the at the end of the history here of Moses as a man of faith.
The Spirit of God would leave us with this thought that everything depends.
Upon that precious blood.
And the application of it to my individual heart and conscience.
Dear young people, are you resting on that precious blood of Christ?
What does it do for you? Notice.
Lest he that destroyed the first born should touch them.
Here is the man that is going to be sure that there won't be any judgment.
Poor lot, his whole life came into judgment.
It's true, he was saved so as by fire.
Here's the man who's going to be sure that everything is covered up.
Because, you know, atonement, God only suggests the thought of giving God complete satisfaction.
But it also speaks of covering.
Another wonderful thing to have it all covered up in the precious blood of Christ.
Everything.
Yes, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses from all sins. If there any of you dear young people here this afternoon that are not sheltered in that precious blood.
Remember Moses?
It's the basis of all that we have before him, before us here in his life.
Now, dear young people, which kind of a Christian life would you like to live?
Any of these three are available to you as to the principles of them, Would you like to live like Lot did?
Like Obadiah.
Or like Moses.
Oh, how blessed at the end of the road.
To be in the enjoyment we see Moses on that mount of Transfiguration.
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In that glory, a little picture of what's coming.
We don't have Obadiah's name written in Hebrews 11.
All you say there's many names not there. Yes that's true. But Obadiah's name is not there.
That Moses.
Yeah.
And God wants us then to be in the full enjoyment of the blessing He has for us.
And was Obadiah happier than Moses? I'm sure he wasn't. He was under the constant threat of death all the time.
That is after his mind. But Moses walked through this world superior to the circumstances because he endured is seeing him who's invisible.
Luke 12:31-48
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Luke 12 and verse 31.
But rather seek ye the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.
Clear not little flock for his, your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.
So that you have and give arms, provide yourself bags with wax not old a treasure in the heavens that faileth not where no deep approaches, neither master, neither moth corrupted. But where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Let your loins be heard it about, and your life burning. Keep yourselves like unto that man that wait for their Lord, when he will return from the wedding, that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.
Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching. Verily I see unto you that He shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meet, and will come forth and serve Him. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them, so, blessed are those servants.
And this know, that if the Goodman of the house had known what are the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also, or the Son of Man cometh at an hour when you think not.
Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all? And the Lord said, Who then needs that faithful and wise steward, whom his Lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat and juice? Easy.
Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing.
Truth, I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he has.
And if that servant say in his heart, my Lord delayeth his coming, and shall begin to beat the men, servants, and maids, and maidens, and to eat and drink, and be drunken, the Lord of that servants will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in Thunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
And that servant which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and didn't have things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. Corunta. Whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required, and to whom men have committed much of him, they will ask the more.
I suppose the one of the verses that stands out prominently here before us.
Is this 34th verse?
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
And it sort of serves as a little key, does it not, to the passage.
The chapter as a whole perhaps would take up the thought of the inheritance.
And.
What goes along with it?
It's more perhaps the Kingdom side of things, but still do we not have the Lord Himself before us here as the object and His coming and that's the believers hope is it not the coming of the Lord as we were having yesterday?
The resurrection side of things, but here also his own coming.
To take us home, be with himself. I know that that truth isn't developed here like it is in in Thessalonians, but at least it suggests to us this line of things.
To our hearts is coming.
In this passage we have his coming in connection looked at in three ways. That is.
I believe it's first.
Like those that wait for their Lord in the 36th verse.
And then in the 37th, watching.
And then finally we have in the.
43rd verse. The Doings.
And all these three things are in connection, are they not, with his coming?
And he had just been.
Speaking in the previous verses.
About that being taken up too much with.
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Earthly matters.
Seek not but she shall eat, or what she shall drink. Neither be in doubtful mind for all these things to the nations of the world. Seek after your Father knoweth the immediate of these things.
Then in the 16th chapter.
Or you have a similar line of things before us, that is.
Stewardship.
In the 16th chapter.
And the ninth verse.
Make to yourselves friends. I'll read this a little differently. Read it as it's in another translation.
Make yourselves friends with the Mammon of unrighteousness.
That when it fails.
He may be received into the everlasting habitation.
He that is faithful in that which is least.
They also in much.
That is in place of.
Being disturbed.
As they were.
In the verses that we've read here in the 12Th chapter.
Our large warning them against being too much occupied with those things. Seek nothing, what you should eat, your drink and so on.
Where to make to ourselves friends with the Mammon of unrighteousness, that is, all we have done here is to be used with a view of the future.
It's the opposite of living a selfish life.
We use the Mammon of unrighteousness.
Built in different and other things related to it.
We use it in such a way.
That we're sending it on ahead.
Standing it on ahead.
There it is going to be transmitted into the current point of heaven. We're laying up a deposit against the daily coming that is the.
I believe the basic truth in that May 1St of the 16th chapter.
Is living not for the view the present game?
But in that future reception into the abodes above.
And we find that they have sent on a deposit ahead.
In verse 12.
If you have not been faithful.
In that which is.
Another.
In this subject of stewardship that we all.
To do well, to learn because we.
Are naturally so selfish.
We forget that all we have is really.
That of another in one sense.
If you have not been faithful.
In that which is another's.
We have the tendency to go after possessions for ourselves.
And in the chapter we have before us this morning, we had that parable of the rich fool.
Who only thought of possessions for himself?
And then the Lord says in verse 21 of our chapter.
So is he that layeth up.
Treasure for himself.
Now the word of God is a mirror.
That reflects our naughty tendencies. So he that layeth up treasure for himself.
And is not rich toward God.
I thought it well to bring out this verse 21.
In contrast to verse.
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34 That our brother pointed out as being more or less of a key to what portion we have before us for where your treasure is.
There will your heart be also.
I remember hearing a brother speak on this verse that you just referred to. If he have not been faithful in that, which is another man.
Who shall give you that which is your own? And it was really very impressive. He pointed out to us that absolutely everything that we can look upon or rest our hands upon is in reality another man.
And is entrusted to us as stewards, so that actually we're not entitled to save anything that we possess, that it is really our own. For someday we'll have to give an account. But what can we call our own for it mentioned in this verse? Who shall give you that which is your own?
Would it be right to say that those spiritual possessions which are ours in Christ?
Our only in joy in relation to the way in which we look upon those things which are really another man. If I look upon these material possessions as my own and feel that I'm entitled to use them as the man of the world uses them, I'm going to be very barren in the enjoyment of those possessions which are really mine, and mine forever.
That's a wonderful thing, Ephesians. One would tell us that we're blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, but we don't enjoy those possessions if we're trying to make the most of that which is another man.
Do we not find that principle in the 31St verse of our chapter?
And the first part of it.
But rather seek ye the Kingdom of God.
We put First things first. We need not worry about that which we have in the preceding verses, God's providential care for His own as well as others.
But if we have the glory of the Lord before us, and of God in all our ways, well then all these things shall be added unto you, and we know nothing wrong, nothing left out. Is this not a principle that runs all through the Word?
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and Matthews and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
And I think the Kingdom of God and use this way, and Luke possibly carries a special force too, in that it it would suggest the moral side of the truth and the more permanent side that is what is suggested to our hearts and enrollments. It's not meat and drink, but righteousness.
Peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, the possession of the believer. Now who has Christ?
Character, yes, we lost everything through the fall and if we're even to enjoy.
The natural things here now, it's only as we realize that they are Christ's and we are in Christ. Otherwise it's still the old man, is it not?
In First Timothy, the last chapter, we get a very practical word along the line of stewardship.
Charge them that are rich in this world now. He's not talking about the outside, he's talking about the Saints of God.
Last chapter of First Timothy in the 17th verse.
Now notice that he doesn't say charge them that are rich in this world to give it all away. I didn't what he says.
That they may be not high minded. That would be the tendency if they were rich, would be to be high minded.
Nor trust in uncertain riches.
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Some of us know a brother, a dear brother in Christ.
Who not very long ago was a millionaire.
Well, we understand that.
It all vanished. He lost it all uncertain riches.
Trust not in uncertain riches, but in the living God who giveth us richly.
All things to enjoy.
That they do good.
That they be rich in good works.
Ready to distribute. Not ready to accumulate, but ready to distribute.
Willing to communicate.
Now here we're back to our line of things again, laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come.
That they may lay hold on what is really life.
Eternal life is not the reading proper here at all that they may lay hold on what is really life.
Oh how wholesome the instruction of those 3 verses.
The apostle said to the Corinthians, What hast thou that thou hast not received? So that statement proves that everything they received came from the hand of another.
And every blessing we have comes from the loving hand of God, doesn't it? Through the person and work of Christ.
And the earlier verse in that chapter on stewardship, the first first brother, 1St Corinthians 4.
I.
Goes with it.
Verse 2.
I remember our brother Walter Potter remarking and I think it's very expressive.
That the emblem of a Christian is not the closed fist.
But the open palm?
That's that's Acts 20, verse 35.
The words of the Lord Jesus Christ, who said it is more or less to give than it is to get or receive.
It's interesting too, isn't it, to realize that God doesn't put these instructions before us as things to be obeyed simply because God said we ought to. But it is not the principle that there is a real blessing attached to it. That is all The instruction of Scripture comes from a heart that loves us and loves us deeply.
We often see as a little model be content with such things as he has, and we're inclined to think, well, I must try to be contented because the scripture says I ought to be.
But that's only half the verse.
The verse goes on to say, For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Oh now, how easy it is to be contented. We have himself with the promise that he will never leave us nor forsake us. Contention comes easily to the one who realizes that I believe that faithfulness and stewardship will come easily the one who sees a purpose behind it.
Where was that verse first found, brother?
Banking of Hebrews 13. I don't. Is it not a quotation from Joshua?
Yes, I had forgotten. I think it is, isn't it? Quotation from Joshua.
In first chapter were they ending the land I was?
Thinking of that side of things that we have had before us and.
In these meetings.
That is the heavenly things.
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5th 1St.
There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. I will not failing nor forsake thee. Be strong with good courage. In front of this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land which I swear unto their fathers to give them. Well, I mentioned it, because all this is in view now.
What's the other side of our side of the cross, the believers side of the cross? We've lost everything. We've given up everything because the old man is gone. But we have a, we're in a new position entirely now and we have everything. Even the present things that we have down here we have is associated with Christ and that's the way we should view them.
It's a minor correction.
That was first in Deuteronomy. Moses said that that's not 31831 eight. So Joshua had learned we don't have anything from his predecessor, right?
In our chapter here in the cuff blue.
Let your loins be girded about your lights burning.
If the loins are girded.
It means that we're taking life seriously it.
The opposite of carelessness.
It's the opposite of justice, relaxing and going with the current.
The loins are girded. Well, we learn another parts of what that girding is to be your loins. Gird about with truth.
And your lights burning.
The Lord expects us to go through this scene.
Positive testimony.
We don't light a candle to put it under a bushel or under a bed.
The bushel would speak of.
Being taken up with businesses, things of commerce, life.
The bed would speak of taking things easy, carelessness, indifference.
But it's to be put on a Candlestick.
Let your loins be girded about and your lights burning a positive testimony.
And then?
As Brother London said, we first have waiting.
Then watching and then doing.
Be yourselves like in the man that wait for their Lord, when he will return from the wedding, that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.
Well, can we not get a lesson from that?
Open unto him immediately.
If we, if we knew the Lord, were to return today.
Or perhaps to make it a little clearer, supposing we knew that the Lord would be here, we'll say a week from now.
Would we have to do a lot of house cleaning?
Not only literally, but in the affairs of our life.
Would there have to be a lot of straightening out done if we knew he was coming a week from now?
Here the exhortation is.
Wait for him with the sense that he may come any moment, so that when he cometh the knocketh, we may open unto him immediately.
They're we're not to be found with a lot of inconsistent things.
That we'd be ashamed of if he came now. Isn't that the point?
In this 36th verse have the thought of readiness Yes, and watching in the 37th verse of expectation.
Yes, expectation I.
Someone told me Brother Charles Hayhoe and his prayer said. Lord, keep us listening.
And I thought, well, that's nice, Lord, keep us listening.
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Listening for the shout.
I was visiting a very dear old cat brother in New Brunswick. He was very hard of hearing and I tried without success three times to communicate with it finally way, he said. Never mind brother, I'll hear the shouts when it comes.
But the difference between the expressions here and what we have in Exodus 12.
Explained in this wise in Exodus 12 The lines were also herded, but there was the shoes on the feet and the staff in the hand.
That was preparation for the wilderness journey, wasn't it? And the anticipation of a walk through desert scenes and saw their feet were prepared for. As to the walk here in our chapter today, the shoes are not mentioned or the staff, but it's the light burning.
The difference we see when it's not that here the Holy Spirit contemplates.
The child of God looking for the Lord's return, and as we've already mentioned, thus manifesting in the burning of his own light, that he is a child of hope and reality.
And his life so burning, as the Lord himself said, that men might see and glorify God.
The shoes waiting at the father's house, won't they? The rope and the ring and the shoes are all there. New pair of shoes though, yes. And what does that suggest to us?
Tell us, well, isn't it the liberty that there will be as we, as we reach the Father's house, there'll be the full liberty of children in the father's house?
And in Ephesians Father, on this thought, chapter 6.
Stand therefore having your loins dirt about with truth.
And having on the breastplate of righteousness.
And your feet.
Shod with the preparation.
Of the Gospel of peace.
That our walk.
Might be such.
That it would commend that gospel of peace.
Two of the most holy men were told to take their shoes off.
Moses and Joshua was it?
And then in Luke 15 we find that the four wicked prodigal had shoes put on his feet.
Moses could not stand before the presence of God on the basis of the law that could give him no standing at all before God.
But the poor prodigal, he stands before the father on the grounds of grace alone, and so he has shoes put on his feet.
In the 33rd of Deuteronomy we have a verse that speaks about having your feet dipped in oil, which I suppose would be a spiritual walk, a walk in the spirit. If we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the spirit.
Brother Hanho, I believe that some time ago you gave a little illustration from a brother's life in northeastern Canada on the 31St of, pardon me, the 33rd verse cell that she had regarding a fisherman.
Well, I think that was intended to be an illustration of the verse. He that had no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.
His lovely thought, but.
Well, the thought was suggested to me as I observed the testimony of this dear old man, who had been for years a fisherman in Lawrenceville.
Fisherman there have certain rights.
When they go and let out their net, which is quite a chore, the Nets are a mile long. No one is supposed to come up tied and put out their Nets and thereby hinder them from being successful. However, this year man was a real submissive child of God, and no matter how often his rights were trampled upon, he never became annoyed. He never stood up for his rights. He just hauled in the whole net and go up.
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The Lord always took care of the dear man, and when the time came that he could no longer go up with his boat, he used to delight to go up and down the village with the word of God, and bring the Word before the neighbors. And I thought if I saw him do it, that man has spent a lifetime.
Buying this sword, he then had the power to wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Among his dear neighbors, and not one of them could point the finger at him and say, Remember what you said to me that night? Remember how angry you got at me when I abused your privileges? I felt that that was an illustration of sailing our garment.
To buy sword, we can't expect to have the liberty and power in using the sword of a spirit unless we're willing to count the cost. I think that was the illustration, was it? Yes, it was brother, But it is.
Having the feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
And in this 37th verse, isn't there a touching?
Thing there.
Blessed are those servants, and the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching.
Verily, I say unto you, he shall gird himself.
And make them sit down to meet and will come forth and serve them.
Wonderful to think, the blessed Lord Himself.
In the glory above.
Is still the servant, and he's there in service to us.
It's so wonderful, we wonder how it can be true.
And yet that's the promise that he's made to us.
Is that the thought of that that in the Exodus 21 as to the the Hebrew.
Bondservant that had his ear board the door post.
The servant forever.
In keeping with what we had yesterday at the closing verses, that is where the Lord Himself.
Delivers up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, and then He's. He takes his place as man with his bride forever.
I like that because in that very illustration it says I love my master, my wife, my children. That's rather surprising. We might expect him to say I love my wife.
Would the thought be the Master is the one who gave him that bride, and that's the preeminent love of all scriptures. I love my Master.
That's the thought, although it's the possibly more the individual in John, but I believe we have that thought, do we not in the ninth, in the 17th chapter, we don't see that the believer there associated with his sins at all. He's seen as a gift from the Father to Christ, those men which thou has given me, and it's a very precious thought that.
At that point in John, the believer is seen and not identified, not identified any longer with his former position.
But as a gift from the Father to Christ.
Speaking of this.
37 verse and it's being reminded of Lawrenceville, our brethren on the Atlantic Coast.
Reminds me of.
Story that I enjoyed.
Some years ago. Quite a few years ago now.
A number of our brethren there were fishermen.
00:35:02
Made their living that way.
Some would leave on a vessel, a fishing vessel at the beginning of the week.
Didn't come home and kill Saturday.
Well, some of them were.
Coming home on a Saturday and.
The captain finally got within a couple of miles or so. Sure, he got out his binoculars.
And.
He looked.
Toward the.
Where they landed.
And he saw a number on shore waiting, and among them was his wife.
He mentioned that in the first mate he said he'd like to have a binoculars amount. He'd like to look.
He took the glasses.
And of those who are waiting, he saw there was his wife.
Well, one of the other fishermen asked for the use of the glasses.
He looked, but he didn't see his wife.
Well, the men all finally got the land and.
Those whose wives were waiting, they greeted them affectionately.
But the one whose wife, who didn't see his wife when he looked, he trudged home.
And when he got home, he found the door open and he walked in. His wife was.
Sitting down reading a book.
And she said, well dear.
I've been waiting for you.
He said yes, but the captain, her wife, was watching.
The first mate, rather his wife, was watching the first mate.
When he looked, he saw that his wife was watching.
Lord would have us not only waiting, but He would have us watching.
I remember a little occasion that occurred at home. I won't identify which of the family was involved in it, but.
I usually reach home at a certain hour and I always watch the upstairs window for the little face watching for daddy. And this day I was detained and I was about 15 minutes later than usual.
And I thought, I'm going to see an anxious little face watching this time, but there was number face in the window. And when I came in, the little one was very happily playing with some toys on the floor. And I said, I didn't see your face at the window. They looked up with surprise. Oh daddy, I just stopped watching.
I just stopped watching, you know, I just could hardly speak. For a minute. I thought what a sad thing that would be. Beloved brethren, beloved young people with always heard of his near return.
Perhaps we have been waiting and watching, but things around have become so attractive. There's little toys perhaps too, and we might just stop watching before he comes.
I'm sure, though, that none of his people will miss the blessing.
But there is this encouragement for our hearts, isn't there?
A special encouragement here in connection with watching and what a little thing when we think of what he's done for us and here to see him coming.
In service, serving his people again.
That's in keeping with the last verse of the hymn which we sung in the beginning of the meeting. All kindle within us a holy desire, like that which was found in thy people of old, who tasted thy love, and whose hearts were on fire while they waited in patience.
Faith to behold.
We speak of serving party when our heart was here on earth, He was ever serving.
He came not to be ministered unto, but the minister.
00:40:02
Always serving.
I am among you as he that serve, yes.
Then he's gone on high and we know that he's serving up there. He's our priest and our advocate.
Busy with us every day. He's the servant up there.
And so in this coming day, as we learn from our chapter here.
He's going to make us sit down to meet and gird himself and come forth and serve us.
As the brother called our attention a moment ago, his ear has been bored through with the all is a servant forever. Well, blessed be his name.
We can think of it, and our hearts well up in gratitude at the prospect.
Of seeing him.
We must remember here, though, should we not, that He's always spoken of as the Lord and.
He's he's the one who came down to serve the Father. He's is God's servant.
Though He is the Son of God, we must never speak of them in that way as our servant.
He's he's the Lord in this chapter is enough.
It's nice to see at the end of the Gospel of Mark where the Lord servant character is particularly dominant.
Very close chapter. The Lord had to send it again, but it says the apostles went forth, the Lord working with them.
Let's tell the servant in that capacity one day and in our 37th verse here.
Gird himself make them sit down to meet, and will come forth and serve them.
But I asked a thought when he will return from the wedding verse 36.
We don't have the truth here that we have in the epistles, do we?
We haven't come to that yet. The truth we have in Ephesians and Colossians, for instance, the mystery Christ in the church. And so this is left in a general way, isn't it, in view of those truths?
Quite moral.
For the heart, rather than giving details, it's parabolic language from verse.
35 to verse.
46 It's parabolic language, and the Lord states that in verse 41.
And Peter said unto him, Lords, speak as thou, this parable unto us. The Lord had been speaking, but in parabolical language, so that it is not specifically.
A prophetic like it is in Matthew.
Are the truths of this sort is moral?
With regard to your remark from the London, I was thinking of Isaiah 42. Behold, my servant.
In whom whom I uphold mine elect, In whom my soul delighteth.
God ever found his delight in His servant, His beloved Son, did he not?
It's rather interesting in what you refer to of the gliding that.
The children of Israel were set aside as being God's servants. But beginning in that chapter you call our attention to in Isaiah again, He takes up his people in that way, and he refers first of all to the Lord Jesus as His servant. But then as it goes on to the 65th chapter, you have the servants mentioned over and over again, especially in that 65th chapter.
And so his people will be restored in that day.
As his servants again, I believe it's a.
It's a lovely thought in connection with the people like Israel who had gotten so far from God.
00:45:00
That he's going to restore them into that place as servants again.
And then we have also.
In the Book of Revelation, in the last chapter, that expression His servants shall serve him.
We know the Church has failed. We can't ever speak of in a day like this, but what? There's complete failure, but still is the day coming when he speaks of his, His servant shall serve him, and that day, of course, that'll be in the glory.
I just mentioned that because.
It shows his attitude towards his people and when in that coming day, when he does go forth as setting up the Millennial day and restitution of all things, his people will be with him in service, will they not?
In the 42nd verse of our chapter here.
The Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward?
Well, there's a difference between faithfulness and wisdom, isn't there?
Faithful and wise.
And how we should in our little service that we may seek to do for him.
How we should covet.
To be not only faithful.
But to be wise.
And that can only come.
As a result of dependence.
If there's.
The going on in self judgment and independence.
Then we can hope for wisdom.
But if it's only faithfulness.
That is just keeping busy.
And we want to be faithful. We want to do the thing right.
But we need discernment, do we not?
Faithful and wise steward.
Whom his Lord shall make ruler over his household.
He wants those qualifications to be found in the one that he makes ruler over his household, and such an one will give them their portion of meat in due season.
That discernment will enable him to give them what they need at that particular time to give them their portion of meat.
In due season, I believe that's something to exercise us.
As to our little service for him that it might be in due season.
You mentioned Brother Brown.
The need of dependence.
And it made me think of a verse in the 50th of Isaiah. Even the Lord himself, as the perfect servant was the dependent man was me. I was thinking of Isaiah 50 and.
Four, speaking here of the Lord Jesus.
As a man.
The perfect servant says, The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary. Now this occasional thing, it says He waken us morning by morning he wakeless mind the air to hear. I believe a better rendering says to hear is the instructed 1.
So he was ever dependent on God as the.
Man, there was that dependence daily, looking to him daily for guidance, wasn't there?
And this wisdom is connected especially with the household here, isn't it the need of wisdom, perhaps in Matthew, the added thought in the 25th chapter in connection with the more the gospel line, the good and faithful service. But here particularly it's wisdom connected with the faithfulness, is it not in the household?
Lack wisdom comes from above, doesn't it? That's why I think of this verse in Isaiah 50, that I should know how to speak a word in season.
Well, that has to that has to come from. We have to look to the Lord for the wisdom for that, don't we? That's James, isn't it? The only way we can get wisdom is on our need, yes.
00:50:15
Revelation 311, The brother asked for a comment.
I come quickly. Hold that fast that thou hast, that no man take thy crowns that it, brother.
Well, it's the address to Philadelphia.
And in the 10th verse.
Thou has kept the word of my patience.
I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall try, which shall come upon all the world, to try the earth dwellers.
I come quickly. Hold that fast that thou hast, that no man take thy crown. It's an encouragement to Philadelphia.
To go on in the testimony that God has entrusted to her.
It has a triple character.
That is little strength keeping his word and not denying his name.
Those are the three things that characterize Philadelphia. Little strength, keeping his word and not denying his name.
Well then, because they've kept the word of his patients.
He's going to keep them out of that hour of temptation that's coming on the world.
And he said, I'm coming quickly now hold what you have, that no man take thy crown.
They couldn't take their salvation, that's for sure.
But the reward of faithfulness to the truth.
Living in a day, aren't we, when there's a danger of giving up? And so let's hold that fast.
We see.
So much giving up around us and there's such a danger I've enjoyed in connection with speaking to the young people connecting this with a first and second Samuel 23 with this from my that it connects with the holding fast.
Yes, the Second Samuel 23.
Verse 11.
And it says here we have in connection one of David's mighty men.
You have the 9th and 10th verses give you 2 very nice ones too. But it was the 11Th that I had in mind. Is Shama. After him was the son of Aggie the heroite. The Philistines were gathered together into a troop.
Where was the ground full of lentils? Now these lentils could be fooled for the people of God. The Philistines would rob them of that food.
But now it says of Shaman verse 12.
He stood in the midst of the ground and defended it.
He was going to hold it fast.
It says he slew the Philistines and the Lord wrought a great victory, but those Philistines would have taken away that food for the people of God, and Satan would rob us.
Of our portion and our blessings.
Thank God, wherever there is that purpose of heart that Shama had, it says he, he, he stood in the midst of the ground and defended it. Well, the word in Revelation 311 hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Shama had his crown. He held fast, and we're encouraged to hold fast. I have a short quotation here from.
JND that I believe it might be optimum to read it.
Connection with Philadelphia.
Philadelphia is never gone till Christ comes.
Has the promise because she has kept the word of Christ, patience to be kept from the hour of temptation which is coming on all the earth, and the promise that Christ is coming quickly. I trust there will be a much more decided Philadelphian testimony.
This is not what I quarrel with, but the corporate pretension to be it now.
00:55:03
I think that it's very, very good way to put it.
In connection with the.
The encouragement, we have an encouragement after each of these parks that is the 1St 2IN connection with his coming.
Waiting and watching.
And then the last one.
His coming, the doing. In view of his coming, there's a special reward. I believe in each case they may be a little different in this way, that the one who's waiting will open the door for him. That is, he'll be ready to open the door.
And the one that's watching?
He'll come forth to serve.
And that makes me think of that scripture in Peter Two Peter and the.
11Th verse of the first chapter. I think it is in connection with the abundant entrance.
It's that state of soul that is in readiness and in the enjoyment.
Having gone on day by day and has been brought up to that point in the realization, in the soul of what it means.
To be found at that place.
To be seated at the table and have the Lord wait upon his people to be in the enjoyment of the fullness of the blessing that the gospel of Christ brings. But this last one, the one who is doing, the one who is busy, it seems to me it's a result of the other two he's had. The Lord before him is coming and he's looking on to the inheritance here.
And so there's a special reward for doing.
It says here blessed is that servant 43rd verse Whom is Lord? Notice the expression Lord the Lord.
When he cometh shall find so doing of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.
Well, that's an encouragement, isn't it?
We're going to be with the.
The people of God, we're going to reign with Christ over it all.
It's the inheritance that's in view.
As we have in Ephesians one in whom you have received an inheritance.
What will our thoughts be as we sit down and are served by him, and our memories perhaps recall a few years in which we were privileged to be engaged in any little form of service to him? What will our memory recall to us as we sit down and.
Receive that service. Look back upon the little time that was invested to us here.
What a joy it would be, and perhaps our memories might be able to recall at least some little opportunity given to serve him while we were here. We won't be able to have those opportunities much longer.
I was thinking as our brother was speaking last night of the pleading of the Lord even to remember him. But the language of Jeremiah 2 and verse two. We don't want to digress by turning to it, but I believe it reads like this. Thus that the Lord I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousal, when thou winneth after.
In the wilderness, in a land that was not so, it sounds almost unbelievable that the Lord would be able to faith that the thing of Israel is dear people, we would read their history and wonders where such a thought could come from. The love of thine espouses when thou went after me in the wilderness, in the land that was not so.
And yet, I believe it is that day when he greets us and welcomes us personally into his presence.
And find that His delight to serve us. We're going to be overwhelmed at the language of His heart. But I wonder sometimes if we're going to recall with a certain feeling of lack.
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How we were utterly undeserving of it all.
What you say, brother? Hey all that every believer has a servant's responsibility.
Believe that's true, every believer. That would include brother and sister alike.
Appointment to every man his work. And the solemn part of this passage we have before us this morning is, that there are those, as we notice in the following verses, from the 45th on to the 48th, who have made the profession of being the Lord. Because we have the Lord before us here, there are those who made the profession of being the Lord.
And now, what will be the end of their course?
And I don't believe we should evade these scriptures we have from here on.
And the force of them for our for our hearts. Should there be anyone here that has simply made the profession.
Of following the Lord.
Is not real, has not embraced the truth of the gospel in his own heart, hasn't received Christ as his Savior, and yet he's going on in an outward way as taking the place of a believer. What's the end of it? We're told here exactly what will happen, and there's a day coming when God is going to judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to Paul's gospel.
As an important principle and that 48th verse.
For us, I agree with what our brother London says.
He's talking in those verses about the unsaved. But here is an important principle.
That we do well to heed the 48th verse, the latter half of it. For unto whomsoever much is given of Him shall much be required, and to whom men have committed much of Him, they will ask the more.
I believe that.
No company of Christians.
In the history of the Church of God on earth.
Has ever been so marvelously favored as have gathered Saints.
In the past century and 1/2.
As we go back over the history of the church.
We can see how that failure came in from the very start.
And very soon, darkness pretty well settled over the scene.
Well, even in the apostles day.
The Apostle.
Went here and there ministering the truth.
And he ministered it in in its fullness, as then known.
But the word of God was not completed.
Paul couldn't say to those at Ephesus or wherever he might be Corinth.
Now will you open with me to Luke 13? He couldn't do that.
No, he couldn't.
It was a different condition.
But you and I live in a time when the Word of God has been completed.
And in the marvelous ways of God, the marvelous mercy of God.
The truth.
In all, its fullness has been restored to us, and I believe we're living in the most favored period we could ever have chosen in the history of the Church on earth.
Well, to whom much is given of him shall much be required. Oh, how solemnly responsible it makes his brethren.
Realize that we have been so richly favored what response it should have in our ways and walk and life. How there should be that answer to the goodness of God.
Would you connect that Brother Brown with Chapter 11, Luke 11 and verse 35 with the difference in the setting of the truth?
Luke 11, verse 35.
Take heed, therefore, the light which is in thee. Be not darkness.
01:05:01
Well.
We have to be guarded in the use of that verse. Light never becomes darkness. Never.
So take heed. Therefore, the light that's in the be not darkness.
Would be where one is professing to have light, and actually the thing he's professing to have is light is actually darkness.
You take the Jehovah Witnesses that are so diligent in peddling darkness from door to door.
Why their diligence puts us to shame.
Peddling darkness, they want to come in and bring the darkness and darken our minds and our souls.
Well, take heed that the light that's in thee be not darkness, that is, that that professes to be light is darkness. That's that's a terrible condition. But light never light never becomes darkness. Now the verse 3036 following. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the hole shall be full of light.
As when the.
Bright shining of a candle or the lamp does give the light.
Is there a lot of danger of our of a believer lacking the appreciation?
Of the truth, that's what I had in mind.
And that.
There should be the.
The attitude of being receptive to the light.
Yeah, Brother Brown, I heard two of those false teachers speaking to each other. I have overheard the conversation, one said to the other. When were you brought into the light? I stuttered at the sound of it, But that's just what you've been Speaking of. When were you brought into the light? That's what they consider it to be, but it's totally dark.
We've been came out of Rome. They think they've got light the system. That's why they say that.
We've been Speaking of watching and waiting.
And our 45th verse says, But And if that servant say in his heart, my Lord delayeth his coming, we are in danger of getting into such a position when we turn to second Peter, the third chapter.
The first part of it.
The second epistle, beloved, I write unto you, and both which I stir up your pure mind by way of remembrance.
That he may be mindful of the words which had spoken before by the holy prophets and the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior. Chapter 3. Thank you.
Knowing this first that there shall come in the last days scoffer walking after their own lusts and seeing where is the promise of his coming.
I was thinking that if we are doubting the promise of his coming.
And the delaying of it as we get further on in chapter 3 here, it's the scoffers that are bringing this doctrine to us, bringing this questioning. And if we are perhaps becoming a little ensnared in it as well, if we turn to the first part of this third chapter, that it's our minds need to be stirred up in the way of remembrance by the Holy Scriptures and the words of the apostles.
And I'm sure we've seen in our illustrations brought before us this morning.
That what keeps us going on in this besides the doctrinals. Part of it is the hearts affection for Christ. Brother Hayhoe Speaking of his child looking hearts affection. The illustration given of the lives of the fishermen, it's the hearts affection. I'm sure it's a teaching amongst us that this is all that can keep us right from going on, watching and waiting in these last days.
In regard to this chapter, you called our attention to Third, Second Peter.
It's important to see in that fifth verse why this ignorance.
For this they willingly are ignorant of. It's a deliberate thing.
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These these scoffers, these false teachers.
They close their eyes to the truth. They're willingly ignorant. They want to be ignorant. They don't want to believe the word of God.
I suppose the reason for that is revealed when scripture says after their own lust, shall they heat to themselves? Teachers having itching ears. I must admit I used to be terribly puzzled when I would meet these men that seemed to be so sincere and we're so unable to see the truth of God. I couldn't understand how God would allow sincere man seeking for the truth to fall into such error.
Sure, I was totally wrong, because no man with a burden, conscience, seeking for light will fall into that kind of error. I believe the scriptures presented plainly after their own love, they have rejected the truth. They want to live according to the dictates of their fallen nature, and they accept these errors because of those lies. Don't you think there's?
A principle in this.
Bind them in bundles to burn them.
That these corrupt apostate doctrines.
Are gathering together in bundles the definite apostate those that that will have nothing of the truth of God and so they're gathering in these bundles these apostate integral.
Bundles such as Jehovah Witness and Christian Science and Unity and.
Oh, there are numbers of them.
So that.
It's nearing the end, and the nearer we get to the end, the more these apostate beliefs.
Will take the floor.
When Billy Graham had his big meeting out here three or four years ago.
The Jehovah Witnesses made it a point to have their meeting at the same time.
And Billy Graham never got as big an audience as they got.
They outdid him in numbers.
Right. While he was here, supposedly we're having one of the greatest campaigns he ever had.
But the Jehovah Witnesses had more than he had.
You might also include the modernists.
All of the voluntary religious societies which have and are drifting into that which is not the truth of God, they have been throwing overboard all the fundamental truths. And I in my own thoughts, I allow that the bundles that are to be burned are all the religious.
Voluntary societies.
Besides those that you mentioned, I have in mind the wheat is the real that'll be caught up into his garner, but the tears are those privileged professors that have had no heart for the truth, but they've turned to everything else.
How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?
I believe that behind it is really the thought of apostasy. Is it not giving up as we have in the second of Hebrews now, that corresponds with what we have in this 47th verse?
And that servant which knew his Lord's will.
Question of his not knowing. It's a question of his neglecting and giving up.
That servant which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himself.
Neither did, according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes.
For unto whomsoever much is given of Him shall be much required, and to whom men have committed much of Him they will ask the more. I suppose this principle applies both to the saved and unsaved in the sense of what is required, is it not?
The light that's known in the soul is going to be tested.
By God's own character, whether it's real or whether it's false as to it's being received.
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I'd like to ask Brother Brown if this portion we've been going over has not been rightly considered being parabolic as a contrasting.
What is real and you might say, the church?
In the faithful and the wise steward.
With the one that is rated as an evil servant who says in his heart my Lord deletes is coming.
In Second Peter chapter 3, the first verses are read in which it shows that they will say that's outward say, where is the promise of his coming? They boldly come out with it, but even those in their hearts.
That say my Lord Duluth is coming is the character of the mere professor. They're not true believers and that's 45th verse. They're not born again people.
That is in that verse.
Now.
We can all have thoughts that come to our minds at times as to why the Lord has delayed His coming and so on, but that's not what's that verse, it's unbelief.
In the.
49th verse I am come to send fire on the earth, and what will I have to be already kindled?
That is, there's.
The manifestation.
Of his approval.
Of that that is pleasing to him, and the manifestation of His judgment in that.
Which is contrary to him already. Now that will come out in its fullness, of course, when he comes.
And then he goes on and speaks of what awaits him in the 50th verse. I have a baptism to be baptized with, and harm I straightened till it be accomplished. He's looking forward to the cross.
If I remember rightly that 50th verse.
Is referred to more often in J&D synopsis than any other verse in the Bible.
I have a baptism to be baptized with and harm I straight until it be accomplished.
The Lord ever had the cross before him.
Including the atonement in this verse, Yes.
Would that be a match number 7/16/21 From that time forth again Jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many things, and the elders and chief priests, and be killed and be raised again in the third day? Yes, yes.
Being straightened, is that the thought that the the full truth and blessing couldn't come out until that moment? Yes, exactly.
In the very first verse, going back just for a moment, perhaps we have a thought that should.
Exercise each of our consciousness.
It's put in a in a general way, is it not? Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?
And the Lord's answer was, Who then is that faithful and wise steward whom his Lord shall make ruler over his household? Who then? And so it's left open, is it not for the exercise of each one?
To see whether the Lord is speaking to them like Peter was here.
Is He speaking to me in this through them, showing the commendable character of the One who is busy seeking to please and serve the Lord, in contrast to the heart that lives an indifferent life?
Thinking of how many mistakes Peter did make. But there was one thing about Peter that his attitude towards the Lord was just this. As he went through, he was waiting.
For the Lord to open his path for him and.
I'm sure we all make many mistakes, but this is the right attitude, is it not?
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They will be waiting upon the Lord for our pathway.
And See How They do