Glendale Conference: 1982
Table of Contents
10 Lessons from David
Address—G.H. Hayhoe
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All night climb.
And teach us all high, all man came.
My list is a meeting for Christians, and I believe there are Christians here at all ages and so did the Lords help. I'd like to look at the life of David and see right from his boyhood through how there are many lessons that we could learn. And first of all, I'd like to turn to the 13th of Acts and see what the Spirit of God says in connection with David. Acts Chapter 13.
The 21St verse.
And afterward they desired a king. And God gave unto them Saul the son of Sis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin by the space of 40 years. And when he had removed him, he raised up unto him David to be their king, to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, which shall fulfill all my will. Then the 36th verse.
For David after he had served his own generation by the will of God.
Fell on sleep, and was laid unto his Father's, and saw corruption.
It was particularly those two particular comments that we have about David. It says a man after God's own heart, and then he served his own generation by the will of God. And I'm sure that every true Christian desires that this would be true of us, at least in some measure. David, as we know, was not without failure. God has recorded those things in his life.
That are indeed very humbling. But yet the Spirit of God could tell us that he was a man after God's own heart, and also that he served his own generation by the will of God. And I say again, this is a very important thing for each one of us. We might wish that we lived in different times, we might wish that we lived in a different assembly. We might say it would be easier to be in another family. But you know, God has placed each one of us.
In the very spot where He wants us to be, where we, these two things can be true of us, and that we can live our lives after God's heart that is after His plan, and also that we can serve our own generation.
We don't find David setting up something. We often wish there were things that were kind of set up and that we could fit into them and function with them. But, you know, the important thing for us is to seek to follow the divine direction for the generation in which we live. And God will always have those whom he raises up to serve each generation. We're living in the year 1982 near the end of it. And if the Lord leaves us here, there is going to be still greater changes. No doubt that will take place in 1983.
Is it possible for us to seek to live in such a way that it can be true?
That we are seeking to live after God's own heart and that we are serving our own generation. What a blessing this would be in every home, in every assembly if this were only true. And so I'm going to ask you, and I trust it'll be true of myself, to point the finger at ourselves and just ask ourselves, is this really the desire of our hearts? And if so, how do we act in the situations in which we find ourselves?
For the situations vary in each person's life, but God is sufficient. For everyone of these situations, the Lord Jesus is sufficient. And our lives aren't just an accident, the place where we live, the family that we're in, our whole general makeup is not something that perhaps we might have planned ourselves, but God has placed us there. It reminds me of a dear old man who.
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Later in life left the Lord's table and got away from the Lord. And he was speaking to his son, who was a younger man. And his son has gone happily on with the Lord through his life. And his father said to his boy, Oh, he said, it would have been different if such and such a person hadn't been in our meeting. Well, the reply of his son was a very wise one, he said.
Father, God placed him there. Father, He said, God placed him there. In other words, it doesn't matter what the situation may be. You might think, oh, it would be so different if that person wasn't there, or if such and such a situation were different. But God has ordered these things and He is sufficient. The time in which David lived was not an easy time. The time in which our blessed Lord and Savior walked on this earth was not an easy time.
And if we think it's difficult in 1982 by surely we can count upon the same Lord who sustained David and who also sustained many of His servants, and the Blessed One who walked here as our perfect pattern, going through everything that we could possibly go through sent apart. What an example. What a Savior we have then. Well, just bear in mind then those two things.
And as we look at some of these passages in the life of David, let's think of those two things, that David was a man after God's own heart, and that he served his own generation by the will of God. As I thought about this, I thought about 10 different phases in David's life. And you know, can in the Bible figures responsibility Godward. And I just like to look at these ten different phases in the life of David, and perhaps it can speak to each one of us here.
For as I said, there are Christian young people, there are Christian children, there are Christians who are in middle age, and there are some of us who are a little bit older. And there's something for each one of us. For David lived to be quite an old man, Hester, And first of all to First Samuel, chapter 16. And here we have this young man brought before us.
First Samuel, Chapter 16.
Verse 10.
Again Jesse made seven of his sons, to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, And behold, he keepeth the sheep.
And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him, for we will not sit down, till he come hit her. And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ready and with all of a beautiful countenance and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him, for this is he well, perhaps, as we see this introduction to David, I speak to those who are a little bit younger. Now how would you feel?
If someone came to your house with the express purpose of anointing someone to be king.
And all the others in the family were called in, but you and you were just left to do some menial job. Oh, you say. That would hurt me tremendously. I I feel that way sometime. I think my parents really like my brother and sister better than me. They seem to get all the breaks and I don't get any opportunities at all. And it really hurts me. Have you felt that way? I suppose on this occasion, maybe David felt that way.
But I say again, the Bible tells us that David was a man after God's own heart, and he was being fitted to serve his generation. And that was a very necessary and good training for him. You know, to be always pushed forward and to be noticed and to be given a place of prominence when we're young isn't always the best thing for us. Sometimes those things that put us down a little bit are very good for us.
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I've sometimes said to the young people at Otter Lake Watch, the ones that are poor losers are good losers.
Because you'll find they have a little better character anybody can be.
A good winner, but it's hard to be a good loser. It's hard to go on when things seem to turn against you. And so here, I believe, is a little lesson. The first lesson in connection with our introduction to David was that he was left out. He was unnoticed, and yet God had purposes of blessing for him. How do we take these things? Do we sulk under them? I have known young people who so soft under them that.
Finally they got disgruntled and left home and got away from the Lord. And you find when you trace it back it was because something like this happened in their home. Everybody else seemed to be noticed and they were the left out one. But we find that alone. This point David was left out. Why? We find that God was going to bless him and use him. And I say again, this is a necessary training in God's school. In the schools of men they give diplomas.
And, you know, you can get good Marks and a good diploma and honors and all this kind of thing. But, you know, in God's school there are two great lessons, lessons that we never learn in the schools of men, but the only lessons that are really worthwhile if we're going to be any use for the Lord, and that is our own nothingness and the all sufficiency of Christ. Those are God's two great lessons for us, and they're not very pleasant, but.
It says in Lamentations it's good for a man that he should bear the yoke in his youth. So I look over here. If there's a young person and you're discouraged and you've been left out, your seven brothers and sisters seem to get all attention and you're just not hardly noticed. Remember, God may be training you. God may be fitting you because you'll never serve the Lord well, unless you're content to be left out at times, unless you're content to recognize that we are nothing.
And when the Lord sees with any of us a tendency that we should be exalted, he's going to bring something into our lives to help, to keep us humble. Because it says to this man, will I look even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit and the tremulous at my word. So I just say this, first of all to those who may be a little bit younger in this company this afternoon and perhaps just feeling this very kind of thing, but it's lovely what Samuel says. He said we won't do anything until he comes.
And so David is brought in and it tells us, they said.
We will not sit down till he become hit her. And so we find that the one who was unnoticed becomes the most noticed of all in the end. And the Lord says to Samuel, arise and anoint him. And he had a beautiful countenance. What was his occupation? He was keeping the sheep. He was keeping the sheep. Do you have a care for the people of God? They're his sheep. They're dear to him. The Lord Jesus said to Peter, Feed my lamb.
Feed my sheep and know how the Lord values that, he says to those who have a responsible place in the assembly. Feed the flock of God, which is among you. And so here was.
Sam here was David Rather, who could feel so totally left out, but he was doing a very useful thing. He was feeding the flock, and so he was just unnoticed. But he wasn't unoccupied. He was busy, and he was doing something that was worthwhile.
The Lord will always make a right appraisal on everything that we do. No matter what other people may say or think or do. The Lord always has a right appraisal. He always has the record correctly. So we have this introduction to Samuel, and it tells us that he was anointed, He was beautiful, a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to, and he was now chosen.
Well, is this a turning point where everything is going to be easy? Oh no, dear young people and older ones, we never graduate from God's school. Now, this wasn't sort of a turning point where from this point on, everything was bright and rosy. Oh no, there were many, many more lessons that he learned and that he was learning all through his life. Bible speaks of an old and foolish king who will no longer be admonished.
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We are learning all our lives, and when we come to the point that we're not learning why, then we're not going to be much use because we never fully acquire what God would seek to teach us. We're always, as should be, at least, learners in His school.
Well, let's turn over then to the 17th chapter.
The 17th chapter, and we'll begin at the 17th verse. And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren, and ether of this parched corn, and these 10 loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren, and carry these 10 cheeses under the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare and take their pledge.
Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
The 28th verse, 10 Alive his eldest brother heard, when he spake unto the man. And Eliab's anger was kindled against David. And he said, Why came us thou down, hit her? And with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thy heart.
For thou it come down that thou mightest see the battle, And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?
The 34th verse David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock. And I went out after him, and smoked him, and delivered it out of his mouth. And when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. I servant slew both the lion and the bear, And this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies.
Of the living God. And David said, Moreover, the Lord hath delivered me out of the paw, the lion out of the paw, the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.
And then the last two verses of the chapter. And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul, but the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said unto him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant, Jesse the Bethlehemite. Well, there's some little thoughts here in connection with David, and that is first of all obedience.
And we see here that his father wanted him to go down and take these cheeses and food to the captains of the host and see how his brethren were doing. This wasn't very easy for him in a time when there was conflict, at a time when perhaps his brethren didn't understand and might have felt and did feel a little bit jealous about him now. And yet we find that David went well. I think this is a little lesson too.
And we're living in days where there's not much obedience to parents. The Bible says the character of the last days is disobedient to parents. But you know, God values obedience. And I was struck by reading a remark how in the 6th chapter of Ephesians, 5th chapter of Ephesians, I always wondered why it was that the order was as it was speaking to the wife. First submit yourselves speaking to the.
Child 1St and telling the child to obey their parents and then how the parents should act. Then after telling the wife to submit, then it tells the husband how he should act. And then the same with the servant. It tells the servant to submit and then afterwards tells the master how to act. Wouldn't you have expected the order to be different, the head of the house to be addressed first and then the wife? Well, you know there's a very important little thought in that and that in each one of these cases the first principle that is taught is obedience.
And you know, that's the thing that we don't like very much. We're naturally self-centered. We like to have our own way. As I heard a brother say one time, if we're honest with ourselves, the thing we like most is our own way, but it's the most harmful thing for us. And God orders in our home that we would learn that very, very important principle He or he intends when marriage takes place, that that principle would be that which is establishes the home where there is the recognition of God's order.
Whether it's the husband and the wife or the children and the parents. And so we find here with.
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With David that there's obedience. He might have said again. Well, I don't think my father really thinks much of me because he left me out when all the other seven came, and so why should I take my risk like this? But David was obedient. David went, And let me encourage you, dear young people, to honor your father and your mother. It's the first commandment with promise if David was going to be a man after God's own heart.
If David was going to be a man who could serve his own generation, then he must learn these things in his youth, and we see him learning them. And he is exposed here to a certain amount of jealousy, because Eliab didn't like it, that he had come down and was talking to these other men and counting upon the Lord enough that he could say why the Lord has undertaken for me when I was shepherding the sheep.
And he took care of me when the lion and the bear came, and I'm sure that he will take care of Maine. He wasn't self confident, but he was confident in the Lord herself. Confidence is always a bad and dangerous thing. Peter was self confident but that was his worst fall. But we can be and we should be confident in the Lord. As Dave as Paul could say, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me, so may we learn.
That confidence in the Lord, but not in ourselves. David said, The Lord has taken care of me when the lion came and when the bear came, and I can count upon him to take care of me when I go out against this uncircumcised Philistine. And so we see in this little view that we get of David, we see a quiet confidence in the Lord. We see obedience, as I remarked. And then there was another thing.
In the end of the chapter, and that is that he was content to be unnoticed. This seems rather strange when you read Saul asking who this young man was, because if you read in the chapter before, it tells us that David had come and had played the harp in his presence. How is it that he didn't know him on this occasion? He knew him when he played the harp in his presence, but he didn't know him on this occasion.
Well, I suppose we could say in a in a spiritual sense that many, many people in this world know the Lord as a benefactor. That is, they know him as the one who provides good things, food and raiment and sunshine, beautiful days and health. They know him as that, but.
They don't know him as a savior. They don't know him as a savior. So David had played the harp and King Saul had appreciated this. And sometimes people appreciate nice weather, good days, good health, but they don't know him as savior. We can speak of that in a spiritual sense, but then there's another side to it too, and that is when you do something for the Lord, are you content to be unnoticed? Are you content that?
It seems that when you do it that nobody hardly knows who you were. Even people that you expected would notice it and would appreciate it. They didn't even notice. Have we? Have you experienced something like that? People who were your good friends? And then when you did something, they didn't even hardly notice you. They paid no attention. This was part of God's schooling for David. We need to go through these things, brethren. We need to realize that many of many of the difficulties come in our assemblies and in our homes, because we don't.
See these things in the ways of God with his people.
This was all part of what God could speak of in connection with David, a man after his own heart. We think of our precious Savior when he was here. Did he ever give up in his service of love because of man's lack of appreciation when he cleansed the 10 lepers, and only one came back? When he spoke about going to the cross, and Peter said thus it shall not be to thee. Did anything like that turn aside his love? No, our brother read to us this morning.
Many waters could not quench love. Do you give up because someone doesn't appreciate what you do, or they find fault? Or do you still seek the blessing and good of God's people? That's what David did. He took his life in his hands and went out against the Philistine, not looking for some appreciation from man, but instead counting upon the Lord, the one in whom he had confidence to deliver his people and set them free from the yoke of the Philistines.
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Well, may there be something of this with us. When we accomplish something, may we be content to be unnoticed. That was the snare of Gideon. God used Gideon for a mighty victory in Israel and then he refused to be made their king. But he said, I just asked one thing. He said bring all the earrings and all the jewelry and he formed an effort out of it and set it in his house and it said it became a snare.
To him and to his household. Yes. If you do something for the Lord, don't set up a memorial of it. The Lord always has the record. You can leave it. I've often said, you know, if you failed. Well, God says remember what we were in time past. It would help to keep us humble. But if you've done something for the Lord, why he says forget that because I'll remember that he said I I've forgotten your sins, but you remember them. It'll help to keep you humble.
But if you do something for the Lord, he said, you can afford to forget that. Because he said, I have a record and he has a record and everything is going to be manifested, even a cup of cold water or a thought upon his name. So perhaps we could say that the second thing that we find in David here.
His obedience, A willingness to go out and to risk his own life for the good and deliverance of God's people and content to be unnoticed. How needful these lessons are. Are you going to try and serve your own generation? Here's God's pattern for us, something very blessed.
Know how we need those who love their brethren, who try to serve them, and who try to serve them according to God's own heart.
Then in the next chapter we find here about David. He's brought into the court of Saul, and Jonathan makes a covenant with him. And I just wanted you to notice what it says about David in the fifth verse. And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him and behaved himself.
Wisely if you go down a little farther in the 14th verse. And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways. And the Lord was with him 15th verse. Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him. Then in the 30th verse, then the Princess of the Philistines went forth, and it came to pass.
After they went forth that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul.
So that his name was much set by.
As we noticed in the last chapter, David had been mightily used of God. He had won a great victory up to this time. Saul seemed to appreciate him it as we noticed he had him there in his court playing the harp. And when he had won this victory, he allowed Jonathan to bring him home, and he was given a place in the court of Saul, but tells us in this chapter that the damsels came out playing.
And they said, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his 10s of thousands. And then it says, as Saul I David from that day forward, why did he eye him from that day forward? What had happened? What made him get concerned? Was he not glad that he had taken his life in his hands and delivered the children of Israel? All you know as well as I do What was the matter?
The thing that he didn't like was just what he said, he said they've ascribed thousands to me and they've described they've ascribed 10 thousands to David, and he couldn't stand to see David now in a place of honor above himself. This boy who was unnoticed, not even given any recognition, so that his seven brothers were brought in and he was left out. This boy who his brothers found fault with, his brother Elihib, I should say.
When he came down has now been used of God. And now something springs up, a horrible thing. Thing that has spoiled more homes and families and assemblies than, I suppose, anything else. And that's jealousy. What a horrible thing this was. How can a person behave under such circumstances when something like this comes up? Well, isn't this lovely about him? He's a man after God's own heart. And what did he do? Well, the Bible says if any man lack wisdom.
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Let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not.
And it shall be given him. And you know, brethren, it takes a lot of wisdom to go on and walk the path that is pleasing to the Lord freely from the our hearts, seeking the good and blessing of our brethren. But it's well worthwhile. It's well worthwhile. What is going to count, I say, in that coming day, is the Lord's approval. That's the only thing that will really count. But we find here that when David found himself.
The object of jealousy. He doesn't allow one feeling of meanness or anything to stir in his own heart.
We don't find and as we go on in his life we'll see that there was number, no animosity in his heart to King Saul at all. There was nothing but love and kindness to King Saul in spite of all this. And the Bible says be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Oh, remember that verse? What does that verse mean? If thine enemy hunger feed him and if he thirst give him drink?
For in so doing, now shall heap coals of fire on his head. Perhaps you wondered why? Why would you want to heap coals of fire on a person's head?
Wouldn't that do him harm? Well, I believe the thought is just this. Heaping coals of fire on his head means that by acting kindly, feeding him and so on, you bring him to self judgment. Because fire is a picture of judgment and maybe has those feelings. But your continued kindness to him will make him feel ashamed of himself and he'll begin to judge himself. And we find this actually happened with with King Saul later. He couldn't help but witness the fact that.
David held absolutely no animosity. All brethren, let us never, never carry an unforgiving spirit in our hearts. I've often noticed that when people carry an unforgiving spirit, maybe someone else has done them a wrong. Very definitely Saul had done wrong things. Imagine throwing javelins at him and planning for his death by trying to get him married to his daughter. Just think of all the horrible things that solve plan.
But in spite of all this, why we find with David carrying that spirit of forgiveness through it all. And it's so beautiful to see this. And he just went on in that service of love. And that's what the Lord would have us to do. And so we find that King David was subjected to all this And I say again, if if a person has an ill feeling toward another.
The Lord Jesus said that if we didn't forgive, were delivered to the tormentors.
And you know, I'll tell you this, and I'm sure you know it as well as I do. There's nothing so tormenting to yourself as an unforgiving spirit. If you have an unforgiving spirit to anybody, you're delivered to the tormentors. You're just miserable. Maybe the other person doesn't bother their head about it, but you're the one that's suffering because you're the one that's carrying this feeling in your heart. And every time you see them, you let it stir up again. What about dear David? Every time he saw King Saul? That we have recorded it was always with some act of kindness. And even when he was slain upon the mountains of Gilboa, it tells us that he mourns over Saul.
He didn't sail at last. They got rid of my worst enemy. No. He mourned over him and spoke what he could of him that was well. Well. David was a man after God's own heart. He served his own generation by the will of God. Let's turn over and we'll see this recorded in the 24th chapter.
First Samuel, Chapter 24.
Beginning at the 16th verse.
And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said.
Voice, my son David. And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I, for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded the evil. This is the coals of fire heaped on his head. See the way he saw his feeling now? And I was showed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me. For as much as when the Lord had delivered me into thine hand, thou killest me not. For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go Well awake, go well away.
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Lord, reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day. And now behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the Kingdom of Israel shall be established in nine hands. Swear now therefore unto me by the Lord, that thou wilt not cut off my feet after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house. And David swear unto Saul. And Saul went home, but David and his man got him them up into the hold.
Here's the example that I was Speaking of. This, I believe, is the 4th one. We find that he was first behaving himself wisely. More wisely. Very wisely. To know how much we need this in the situations, how we look back and think of some situations where we acted so foolishly. We didn't ask the Lord. Oh, you say, But it provoked me and I spoke out of turn. Well, we may be very sorry. Words are hard to call back, you know. Let's ask the Lord to help us to act wisely and more wisely.
And then to carry this forgiving spirit. And here, as I say, we find those coals of fire heat upon the head of King Saul. And he's, he's repenting now. And he says, David, I know that you have dealt kindly with me, and I haven't been what I should to you. This brought forth this confession. But it tells us here that when this was all over, David got himself to the hold, that is.
I didn't mean that he actually trusted King Saul.
He forgave him, he loved him, but he didn't trust him. He didn't trust him. And the next time, why? We find that he haunted him again. And David could easily have said the second time. Well, I showed kindness to him once and he doesn't appreciate it. He said he was sorry, but he didn't mean it. So I'm through. No, he didn't act that way. How many times are you to forgive your brother? 70 * 7 And we find with dear David that when the second occasion arose again, he dealt in that same way that spirit of kindness and love.
That is so beautiful. Well, I believe these are moral lessons for us. Let's turn now to Second Samuel and the 5th chapter.
Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone, and thy flesh also. In time past, when Saul was king over us, thou was he that led us down and brought us in Israel. And the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel. So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron and King David.
Made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord.
And they anointed David King over Israel. Now just notice here in the.
17th verse.
But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David, and David heard of it, and went down to the hole. The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Raphael. And David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? Wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto David, Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand.
And David came to bail treason, and David smote them there, and said, The Lord has broken forth upon mine enemies before me as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place bail Paris, and.
The 22nd verse. And the Philistines came up yet again and spread themselves in the valley of Refium. And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, Thou shalt not go up, but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the Mulberry trees, and let it be when now here is the sound of it going in the top of the Mulberry trees.
That then thou shalt be stir thyself for them shall the Lord go out before thee to smite the host of the Philistines. And David did so as the Lord had commanded him, and smoothed the Philistines from Giba, until I'll come to Gazer. Now a time comes in David's life when he's anointed king. There do come times in our lives when perhaps some special honor or position is given to us and.
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David had been haunted by King Saul for a good long time. He had had a very difficult time. But now the time has come that God is going to give him the position that he was to have as king. But, you know, these kind of things may come in our lives too. There may be somebody, you just got a promotion. Somebody has appreciated what you have done in the home or in the assembly. How may I say this, Don't get a swelled head over it. Don't think that you're somebody important.
Because just as surely as we do, the Lord can do without anyone of us if He if we get to think that we're something.
By the Lord will have to bring us down, that no flesh should glory in his presence.
And what I think is so beautiful about King David here, that when he came to the throne, why we find in these first two conflicts that he had, that he asked the Lord directly what he should do and how he should handle it. He was dependent. He didn't say. I've proved myself all through those years. Now I've given this place of honor. I can handle it. I can do it. Oh, how often that spirit comes into our hearts. And the Lord has to let us feel our own nothingness.
At all, if the Lord has in any way given you a place of usefulness where you can be some help to your brethren, where you can be a blessing to them, remember, you need constant dependence upon the Lord for you say, but experience is a good thing.
David went out against the Philistines. He asked the Lord and the Lord said to go and that they would be delivered into his hand. And he went out and there was a great victory. And he could have said the second time, well, Lord help me last time, I'm sure I can handle it. I'll just do exactly the same as I did last time. You know, I remember a little comment that I read in Mr. Darby that I thought was helpful. He said when difficulties arise, experience is a help. But he said let's not lean on it because it's God we need.
It's God we need. And you may say, well I did that last time and it worked, but it may not work this time at all. No set of circumstances is exactly the same. The second time is always a little bit different. And so the second time it came up, he inquired of the Lord again. And the Lord said, you've got to handle this situation in an entirely different way. There was nothing about the Mulberry trees or listening for the sound of the wind in the Mulberry trees the first time, but the second time there was.
Oh, may this be a lesson to us every.
Every time a new and special problem arises in life, let's not think well, I can handle this because I've done it before. Every new situation requires fresh grace, fresh strength, fresh help from the Lord. And just as surely as we think that we can do it, the Lord may have to let us see how very weak we are, because it's only through His strength, it says.
When I am weak am I strong? But it says I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me. So we see that when David became king, he recognized, and this was a very necessary and important thing, that he couldn't hold that position of honor that was given to him without daily and special help for every occasion that arose. Had I say this to each one of my fellow brethren, her life is filled with all these new situations. There may be an entirely new situation that you meet at the office when you go back when the holiday season is over.
Maybe a new situation arise in your assembly that's never risen before. There may be a new situation arises in your home. The Lord is able. He's He's sufficient for every one of those difficulties and situations that arise. May we know what it is to look to him at all times. He's sufficient for every one of those difficulties and situations that arise. May we know what it is to look to Him at all times.
This was what characterized David, that he was looking to the Lord for that wisdom and that help. He was, as I say, a man after God's own heart. He was serving his own generation. What a blessing he had been at this point among the people of God.
And so we find here that the Lord used him so mightily. And now let's turn to the 132nd Psalm.
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132nd Psalm.
First verse, Lord, remember David and all his afflictions, How he swear unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob. Surely I will not come unto the Tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed. I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, and habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. Though we heard of it at a frata, we found it in the field of the wood. We will go into his Tabernacle.
We will worship at his footstool. Arise, O Lord, into thy rest, thou and thy the ark of thy strength. Let thy priest be clothed with righteousness, and let thy Saints shout for joy for thy servant. Davids sake, turn not away the face of thine anointed. Well, here I think we see something very wonderful.
With all that we have noticed about David, now we see something that.
Is very, very beautiful. And that is. He said he wouldn't give rest, sleep to his eyes, or slumber to his eyelids till he found out a place for the Lord and habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. Now that is, we know that the Lord had a Center for his people. We know that the people had become careless, and the ark had been carried and brought down to the country of the Philistines, and then it was returned and it was in the House of obed Edom and.
We see that David began to have an exercise about a place for the art for the mighty God of Jacob. And you know, this is a very important thing. And there are many, many who think, well, how can I be useful? How can I accomplish something great in my life for the Lord? And their whole idea is to do something that they feel is great. That seems to have the word accomplishments attached to it.
But here we find that David gave such prominence, such importance to this he said, it's more important than even my sleep that I should find a place for the mighty God of Jacob. And I wish to say, and and I trust in all humility and that it's a very, very great privilege to be gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus, to be gathered as those who seek to give testimony to the truth of the one body, and to acknowledge the whole truth of God's word.
It may seem to you dear young people, and perhaps some others, For I have lived to see quite a few that were very dear to me, very energetic young people who loved the Lord, who wanted to be useful, but they didn't put First things first. And I believe that to give the Lord His rightful place first of all means, and that we recognize, and that there is His own word to direct us, that we could gather according to His word, and around the Lord Jesus.
Oh, may that dear young people, and may it dear brethren, be ever precious to us.
There may be and there are problems arise in our assemblies and there may be things that have discouraged you as a young person.
And they discourage some of us who are older too, and we see some things that happen and we say I couldn't, I just couldn't take that and oh, how sad it is. They stay awake at night and they don't give slumber to their eyelids. But the whole thing is that how they're seeking a way out of the situation and their own way instead of just saying, well, I want to do what the Lord has directed in His word. And I believe that it's very, very beautiful to see this with David.
This desire that was in his heart, he spoke in a great deal about his attitude toward his enemies, his humbleness and all this.
But here he wanted to give the Lord that place that was due to him. And there's quite a few scriptures that we could turn to that refer to this. But I don't have time. Now. We know that first of all, when he wanted to bring back the Ark, he used a human plan about it, and they put it on the card of us. And the Lord was displeased. And then what did he do? Well, he searched the word and he found out that the Ark was to be carried on the shoulders of the priests.
And when he followed God's word, then the ark was brought up, and it was brought to Jerusalem and put in its place. And so may the Lord grant that if there's anyone here today and you're exercised about doing something for the Lord, have you lost a little bit of sleep to try and?
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Find out from the word of God where the Lord wants you to be and to be gathered to His precious name.
And to be in that path of the truth that is according to his word.
Full May the Lord keep us, brethren. When in the last days the enemy is busy, it's easy to get discouraged. There are many things that happen here and there that do cause a great deal of discouragement. But the Lord is still the same, and I believe that He's faithful, even though we are so unfaithful. I'm not standing here to boast and say we're the people, but I am here to say that God's Word has marked out a path, and that He's willing to show it to us if we're in earnest, He has promised.
If any man will do his will, he shall know as a doctrine whether it be of God.
Or whether I speak of myself. And so I believe if we really desire us, he will show us.
May the Lord grant that each one may desire to be gathered according to His word.
And valued such a place and privilege. Now there's another one in the 51St Psalm that I'd like to turn to.
The first verse, Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions, wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. I don't have time to read this whole Psalm. I'm sure many of us are acquainted with it. There had been a very, very grievous failure.
In the life of David. And we find here David's restoration. He's humble. He takes the low place. And you know there might be failure in your life. Have you taken a humble place? Are you justifying yourself? You know when King Saul sin. He said to Samuel. I've sinned. He had honor me. Now I pray thee in the presence of the elders of my people. He was more concerned with still having a position of honor.
And then taking his true place and submitting to God's hand upon him. And how may I say this, If there has been any failure in your life or mine, may the Lord grant that we'll be willing to get right with the Lord to take the humble place. David had to suffer for this the rest of his life. The Thor didn't depart from his house, but David didn't allow even this to get him away from the Lord in his soul. And let me tell you this, if I may say it, and I trust in a humble way.
If there has been some failure in your life, I don't get so discouraged that you give up altogether. And if the Lord has allowed circumstances that you're reaping in your life, take them from Him, and the Lord will make himself very precious to you. Even in the midst of such situations. David, in all the trials that he went through in his family life, he had many, many, and then he brought them on himself. And yet we see there was submission.
He was drawn nearer to the Lord through these trials, and I believe you might wonder why that expression that David was a man after God's heart.
But I believe that when there was failure, that he took his right place. He was upright. And that's what God's heart is for us, brethren, if we have failed not to just brush it off as though nothing had happened. Not to just pretend that we're like King Saul. We want to have all the honors that were hours before, but rather now that we're content to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. And then the Lord will give us a real sense of his presence. And those things that David learned through all this, I believe that he walked nearer to the Lord.
Even after his.
Failure. And I wasn't the only failure in his life, as we know. There was that failure in connection with the carrying up of the ark. And I believe, too, that when he had his wife Michael, who was held the seed of Saul, that he really didn't seek the Lord's mind about that. But yet we find that in spite of all these things, there was submission in David's life to the hand of God, And many of those beautiful Psalms were written a David had learned.
In the school of God, those lessons that the Lord alone can teach us.
And so I believe we can say that if there has been a failure in your life, or failures, than there are with everyone of us in some measure. May we walk softly, may we walk humbly, May we be content to just allow these things to draw us nearer to the Lord. Count upon his faithfulness, Let us not be like King Saul, who is more concerned about what others thought of them to be consciously in the presence of the Lord.
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But then there's another passage that I'd like to turn to in First Chronicles 22.
Just pardon. I'd like to look at two or three more scriptures here. First chronicles, chapter 22. Now, my son, verse 11. Pardon me now, my son, The Lord be with thee, and prosper thou, and build the House of the Lord thy God, as he has said on of thee only. The Lord give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the laws. The Lord thy God. Then shall thou prosper if thou takeest heed to fulfill the statues and judgment.
The Lord charged Moses with concerning Israel. Be strong and of a good courage. Dread not, nor be dismayed. Now behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the House of the Lord, and 100 towns, 100,000 towns of gold, and 1000 thousand towns of silver, and of brass, and iron, without weight, For it is in abundance timber also, and stone have I prepared, and thou mayest add thereto.
To me, there's something very, very beautiful in this, and that is that. Hello. It tells us that David served his own generation, that we see him laying up a great store for the one who would follow him. And you know, God hasn't planned that we should set up institutions or something like this to be carried on in the hands of man. But he has given us a charge and we find the same thing in Second Timothy.
Where Paul said to Timothy, the things which thou hast heard of me among many witnesses the same commit thou of faithful man who shall be able to teach others also. And all that David passed through, he was laying up for the generation that followed. Are you and I doing that? Some of us are getting a little older. I've started with the youth of David, but now he sees getting older. He's getting to the end of his life. And what is he thinking about? He wasn't like Hezekiah.
You know, when Hezekiah was told that there was going to be difficulty come, and the things were going to be carried away to Babylon, all the comment that he made was good, is the word of the Lord. There shall be peace and truth. In my days he made no preparation for the generation that was to follow, and you know that wasn't the way it was with David. Just think of all this that was laid up, and may I say, and I trust humbly to those of us who are older.
Are we helping our younger people?
To see that these things are precious to us, and that the heritage that we want to pass on to them is something that's worthwhile, something to be valued. And then this lovely little comment and thou mayest add thereto we who are all, who don't have everything but we can pass on something. And then they can add thereto. They can study the word for themselves and become a blessing in their generation. I see something very lovely in this.
In the latter part of David's life that he was thinking of the generation to follow and was laying up all this store, this silver, this gold is timber and everything for the House of the Lord. Not just material things for a personal use of Solomon, but for the House of the Lord. Oh, how beautiful this is. And then if you turn to the next chapter, the 23rd chapter and the 27th verse.
For by the last words of David, the Levites were numbered from 20 years old and above, because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the House of the Lord in the courts and in the chambers, and the purifying of all holy things, and the work of the service of the House of God, both for the showbread and for the fine flower, her meat offerings, and for unleavened cakes, and for that which is baked in the pan, and for that which is fried, and for all manner of measure and size.
And to stand each every morning to thank and praise the Lord and likewise that even, and to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the Lord in the Sabbaths and the new moons, and on the set piece by number, according to the order commanded unto them continually before the Lord. And that they should keep the charge of the Tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the House of the Lord.
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Well, you know, this is something very lovely too, and that is I I really appreciate this fact that it says here that he, by the last words of David, he was talking about people that were 20 years age. You know, that's nice, isn't it? Sometimes when we get older, we tend to move in our own circle.
And just think, well, young people are so different today, and we're living in a different generation. We just don't understand them. There's a generation gap. Isn't this very lovely to see? Here's an old man, and by the last words of David, what was he thinking about? He was thinking about those dear young people and how they could be useful. He was going to pass on, perhaps if the Lord took him and did. But here were these. And it's rather remarkable that if you go back to numbers, you would see that they were numbered 25 years up and 30 years up. But here he drops down to 20.
Because there seemed to be a special need to be lovely if our dear young people were standing in the House of the Lord, that they were really seeking to live useful lives for the glory of God and for the blessing of His people. May I say to you, younger people here don't say I got to wait till I have Gray hairs on my head before I can do anything. Here were these dear young people, and they value the things of God. They valued the House of God and the things that were precious to God.
And may the Lord grant your young people that you will too, and that you will become a blessing.
And now just one more before we close First Samuel Chapter 23 or pardon me, Second Samuel Chapter 23.
Verse one Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse, said the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Israel, and the sweet psalmist of Israel. The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. The God of Israel said, the rock of Israel spake to me. He that ruleth over man must be just ruling in the fear of God, and he shall be as the light of the morning when the sun rises, even a morning without clouds.
As the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear, shining after rain. Hello, my house, be not so with God.
Yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure.
For this is all my salvation and all my desire, although he maketh not to grow.
I don't have time to read all this chapter, but to me these last words of David really touch my heart as I read them. Here we see David at the end of his life because he looked back and say I have won great victories, I've done great things. Now he said I failed, my house isn't so, he said I'm not lowering the standard because he that ruleth over man must be just ruling in the fear of God. He said I failed, but God is faithful. He's made promises.
And may I encourage anyone here to this afternoon who's discouraged all you say. My house isn't so. My life isn't just the way it should be. Well, it's a good thing for us all to own how we failed. But we can count upon God's grace. We can count upon His faithfulness. We can count upon the fact that He's made promises and He's going to fulfill them. He loves his own to the end. Nothing is going to change that faithful love that He has for his own.
Having loved them his own, which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And then what does he do in the end of the chapter?
He talks about his own failures, but what does he talk about at the end of the chapter? All that other people have done, All that other people had done, all those mighty men, Even Uriah, the Hittite, that poor man that had been unkindly treated by him, He puts him among his mighty man. And so we see that at the end of his life, instead of thinking a great deal of himself, his heart is going out for the House of God. His heart is going out for the young people.
His heart remembers all the things that others have done, and he also say a thing about what he did. That record is down in God's own book, and the Spirit of God could comment about this man, that he was a man after God's own heart, that he served his own generation by the will of God. And dear brethren, it's still in some measure, can be done today. You and I can still seek amidst our failures and weaknesses and all that we are. We can seek, still seek to.
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We can still seek to do what is according to God's heart in every situation and serve our own generation. What a blessing it would be in our homes and in our gatherings and everywhere if we just took these things to heart. There's only a little time left and the Lord says Occupy till I come, may keep us in these last and closing days for His glory and for the blessing of His people whom He loves so dearly.
So we looked to him in prayer.
Seven Events in Caleb's Life
Address—N. Berry
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Florida has laid on my heart this afternoon, Beloved young people, is.
To speak of seven events in the life of Caleb.
And then to look into the New Testament and to see how these, in a spiritual way apply to such an one as Timothy.
The young man and then to the apostle Paul of an older one, and then to address my remarks to you. They loved young people. And finally, that Christ might be exalted in all that is said. So let's turn now to the first of these events.
And that is in the book of Numbers.
Chapter 13.
This we could call.
Caleb the Searcher.
He belonged to the tribe of Judah, the royal tribe. He was one of those 12 men that was selected.
The goal to search out the land, as that word should be. Rather than spied out, though they went in unbelief. We can apply it in this way.
That it would be like one of us.
Searching.
Out the truth, the wonderful truth which you and I have been brought not only to know the blessed Lord Jesus as our Savior, that all this wonderful truth of Christ as the gathering center, and that's what the truth of the land brings before us.
Crossing of the Jordan is like the realization that we have died with Christ. They have crossed the Jordan.
And they are now I shouldn't say that they are approaching that land of Israel and so this.
Where these 12 men go off on this search of the land to explore it. Now let's read.
A few verses and Numbers 13.
And verse 17.
And Moses sent them to spy. Or as I said, the proper word I understand is.
To search out the land of Canaan.
And said unto them, Get you up this way southward.
And go up into the mountain.
Now verse.
21 So they went up and searched the land from the wilderness of Zinn unto Reho, as men came come to Haman, and they ascended by the South and came unto Hebron. That's all we need to read for a moment.
They were in the South of the land and these 12.
Men are now going to explore this country, which the Lord had positively promised that He was going to hear them.
It would be approximately 150 miles or so from Kadish Vernia up to Rehoboth, which is mentioned there as one of the cities up in the far north of the land, and in all it might mean a walk of a 250 miles or so.
12 men went out.
Caleb, one of them.
Caleb as he searched, as he went from that one place to another, he saw that beautiful land.
His eye fell on one spot That is mentioned here immediately at this beginning, and that is that land, that part of the land called Hebron. Hebron brings before you and me.
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Beautiful father, that is communion.
We'll come back to it later on, but we will remember that this spot riveted itself in his vision as he searched that land.
Communion, oh beloved ones, this is a wonderful word we're going to see now as we turn into the New Testament. Keep your place here because we will be coming back and forth in numbers. And let's go over now to Timothy, the first epistle of Timothy.
And we will see there the application, the spiritual application of this searcher.
First Timothy.
Chapter 4.
Verse 13.
Till I come.
Give attendance, or as the new translation puts it, give thyself to reading.
To exhortation to doctrine or teaching. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things, or, as the New Translation says, occupy.
Thyself with these things, give thyself holy to them.
That thy processing may appear to all.
Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, or thou shalt save both thyself and them that hear thee.
Well, here with an example of Timothy as a searcher.
And all beloved ones, as I look into your face, young ones here dear to my heart, we're living in very, very dangerous days, difficult days, as Scripture speaks of. There are so many awful wind blowing. It is so important for you and for me to be established in this truth, the truth.
Of Christ as the gathering center of the one body, of the fact that nothing.
Can unify us, but mutual occupation with Christ that we are heavenly citizens, that we are indwelled of the Holy Spirit, that what the Holy Spirit teaches one he teaches every one of us all this wonderful unity into which the Spirit of God would would admonish us.
In the fourth chapter of Ephesians, to follow this would be like searching.
The land, Dear young people, are you and I searching the world? Are we meditating on us? Are we giving ourselves to it? Or are we occupying ourselves with this thing and the next thing? There might have been many things that would have attracted the eyes of these searchers. Oh, the eye of Caleb.
Was caught by that beautiful part of that land, the choice land, part of the land.
Hannah Hebron. So there is the first one. He was a searcher. Now then let's go back to numbers and the same chapter 13.
Here we are now with Caleb as the testifier. He has come back now from the searching of the land.
And it's interesting that these 12 men now.
Now those have been some months, and the great congregation of Israel is waiting for them. Verse 26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and under the wilderness of parent to Kadish, and brought back.
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Word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and showed them.
The fruit of the land. And they told him and said.
We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it flowed with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of.
Then in the 14th chapter and the sixth verse.
And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jeff Uni, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes, and they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land which we passed through to search it is an exceeding good land.
The new translation says is a very, very good land.
If the Lord delight in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it us a land.
Which floweth with milk and honey.
No, the testimony.
It's one thing for you and for me to be well acquainted with the scriptures, and this is important. Second thing is.
That it is important that our testimony be clear and simple.
12 men came back, ten of them brought an evil report and Kelvin Joshua were the two that brought back a true report. Caleb said he spoke according to what was in his heart. Oh, isn't this a so true in our life these days?
That if we are going to be true to the Word of God, the testimony that we give is surely not going to be popular.
Ten of them were opposed, and two men here are the ones that are going to be faithful. Oh, my dear young friend, beloved ones, as they look into your faces now this testimony.
Of the truth that you and I hear week by week in the assembly. Is it getting ahold of us? Does the blessed Lord Jesus become more precious to us?
We're surely going to be opposed, and if we're looking for popularity, we're not going to find it. These two men were opposed to the 10th, and in the Scriptures the majority is always wrong, and here these two were willing.
To stand and tell the truth. And they said it was a very, very good land, a land that flowed with milk and honey. Two characteristics of that are quite interesting. The milk goes through the cow, the honey goes through the bee.
They were pre digested foods and all beloved ones. Isn't it a wonderful thing to know that you and I have the precious Word of God which has been predigested, if we could say that prepared for you and for me. So here they were now as the testifiers. Now let's go into First Timothy again and we will see.
Chapter 4.
And see how this is borne out.
First Timothy 4, verse six. If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine forunto thou hast attained.
Now there was the testimony you noticed when we were reading in Joshua that it said that there were two things. One was that they brought word that is what they heard. The people heard. It also said that they brought back fruit that which would they would see. Educators say that 85% of all knowledge comes through the eye gate and.
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Through the ear here was a case where they heard, and where they saw fruit bearing, as well as the testimony. Now here we are reading about Timothy, and he has admonished there in connection with what he said. But look down now to the 12Th verse, and let us see there the evidence of the fruit.
Verse 12.
First Timothy 412 Let no man despise thy you, but be thou. An example of the believers in Word, conversation, and charity, or love and spirit and faith in purity. Here was the fruit, the evidence that was going to be given in his life.
Let me just digress for a moment in passing in first Peter chapter 5.
Peter is writing to the older ones, the elders in the assembly, and he sat there to feed the flock and to be an example.
To the flock. But here now we have just read where Paul is writing to Timothy, to a young man and he is saying to Timothy, you be an example of the believers. A word for us, we who are older and a word for those of us who.
Those of you who are younger, there was the evidence, the fruit, not only the testimony, but there he was to be.
Showing it out in his life. Some often ask that question, what does it mean? Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers. Well, it just doesn't mean this, that Paul is saying don't let the people push you around because you're a young believer.
But I believe it means this, that the Apostle Paul was bringing before Timothy so that he could pass on to others lofty heavenly truth. And if young Timothy was living out in his life that truth that he was speaking, no one would despise.
I believe that's the meaning of that verse. Let no man despise thy you. Now then, let's go back to numbers.
And we see the third one now. First one he was a searcher. The second one, he was there as a testifier. And now here is a very nice little word.
#13 and verse.
He is very familiar with the fact that 10 have given a different report. And now Caleb comes forward with this beautiful little expression. Notice what it says, beloved ones, in the 30th verse.
Numbers 1330 and Caleb Still.
The people before Moses and said at once, or boldly and possessive, for we are well able to overcome it.
I enjoy this beloved ones.
Caleb here is the third fact. He was a Stiller of the people.
I asked myself this. I asked you in your local assembly. Are you a Stiller of the people or are we disturbing the Saints here? Was Caleb a Stiller? Oh, how lovely a work this was. This is the third one, A Stiller of the people.
In all beloved ones, there is so much these days to disturb us. We are being confronted with events that we've never faced before.
There is so much that will just cause us to become discouraged unless we have our eye on the Lord. It's a wonderful thing if you and I are stillers of the brethren, and this is what.
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Caleb, Was he still?
And Caleb stilled the people. Now let's go into Two Timothy again and see the comparison there.
Second Timothy.
Chapter 2.
Verse 14.
Second Timothy 2, verse fourteen of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord, that they strive not about words to no prophet, but to the subverting of the heroes.
Verse 24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men. Apartment to teach patients.
Oh, this is nice, isn't it? This is so practical for you and for me to bear this instruction and to our heart and live it out, as Paul said there to strive, not about words.
So many opinions are being propagated these days. Doctrines or teachings are really being based on people's opinions instead of on the Word of God. What a wonderful thing it would be if you and I are a Stiller like Caleb was and like the Apostle Paul is admonishing Timothy to be.
Not to be striving about words so easy to allow these things to creep in amongst us in the assembly, but oh, may the Lord just preserve us and may we be stillers of the people and may we be avoiding those things.
Not striving about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. Beloved ones, it's Christ we need not to be.
Getting down into discussions about doctrines and so on.
If we, you and I are clear about the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, and we are seeking to exalt Him in our hearts.
Then there is going to be no room for these divisions and these.
Thoughts of individuals. Well now there he was as the Stiller. Now let's go back into numbers again.
And chapter 14 this time.
Verse 24.
Here's the 4th, 1:00.
A follower.
Very striking the number of times that this is mentioned about Caleb.
Numbers 14, verse 24.
But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and have followed me fully. Him will I bring into the land, where into he went, and his seed.
Shall possess it.
There was now a very remarkable expression. The Lord said it himself.
Caleb wholly followed the Lord.
No, just want to mention this that.
After Israel.
Approached the land.
They believed the 10 searchers. They didn't believe Joshua and Caleb. And the Lord said you will now.
Beloved ones he did. And here were Caleb and Joshua, walking for those 40 years, 38 years, two years to build the Tabernacle, and then those 38 years wandering into the wilderness.
Faithful Caleb, That's all I can say. Faithful Caleb. He went on, he continued on. He was a follower. What? What was he following an idea? No, he was following the Lord. He was following the Lord.
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In Acts Chapter 7, Stevens wonderful sweep of the history of Israel's journey. What does he say there? Did they follow the Lord? Did they worship me? Did they worship the Lord?
No, they didn't. They worshipped. They turned to even idolatry, to Moloch. What about our friend Caleb? He saw all this. Did this discourage him? No, indeed. Why didn't it discourage him? Because he was wholly following the Lord. Oh, isn't that sweet, Beloved ones, This is why the Lord doesn't take us to heaven.
We are saved. We are left here for two reasons, Deuteronomy 8 tells us. One of them is to humble us, and the other is that the Lord would know our hearts. Oh, you and I are on this journey, two beloved ones, but are we following the Lord? If the Lord is the object before us, if He is the one that we are seeing, we're following Him.
It doesn't matter how difficult the situation becomes. I I've often said this, I hear young parents saying, oh, the conditions in the world are getting so terrible.
That we really shouldn't be bringing children into the world. That's just tantamount to saying that if things don't get any worse, we'll be able to manage by ourselves, but if they get worse, we won't. Oh beloved ones, it doesn't matter. One eye alter upon you and me, it's the Lord that is going to take us through. Are we following Him?
And here was.
These these beautiful words about Caleb wholly following the Lord. Now let's go over to Joshua.
The years have gone by now, the 40 years.
Joshua, chapter 14.
Verse 8. Nevertheless, my brethren.
That went up with me. Made the heart of the people melt. Notice that the heart of the people melted. But I.
Wholly followed the Lord, my God. Now there's the 2nd testimony. The first one was by the Lord himself who said that Caleb wholly followed him.
Here now is Caleb himself saying this verse nine. And Moses swear on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy foot have trodden, feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance and thy children's forever, because thou hast.
Wholly followed the Lord.
Now there was the 3rd testimony, first by the Lord, second by Caleb himself. Not saying this in pride, but I'm sure in humility, because he knew in his heart what it would be meaning to follow the Lord. He had his eye put on a goal. He had that land in mind following the Lord and that thought of Hebron in his heart.
And he followed on. And so here Moses now is telling him, is making this reference.
Now let's look over to Timothy again.
And verse first second Timothy, chapter one, verse 5.
Here we find Timothy now as an example of a follower.
When I call verse five, when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Unisi, and I am persuaded that in the.
Also second chapter and the 22nd verse.
Flee off so youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, love, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Here was Timothy, now the follower. Some of you, dear young ones, have had faithful mothers and faithful grandmothers.
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Timothy had such He was a follower of the Lord.
But here he had this lovely.
Recommended, or at least these comments that his mother and his grandmother also were faithful ones. Oh, I ask you, you dear young ones, are you walking in the faith of your mother and your father?
Or we rebelled. Do we consider it a a such an heritage to have Christian parents these days?
Oh, we travel about the country and sometimes we leave homes sick at heart, where we see the parents introducing many things into the home that are just bringing the world into the home. And what do we find the children doing? Happy children. No indeed anything but happy. Or we followers of the Lord. I say this to you parents.
Are we feeding on Christ ourselves?
Are we feeding our children on Christ?
As Elisha did when the pottage was discovered, that there was poison in it, death in it, he could have dumped it out and he said start again, put in new.
Fresh ingredients. What did he do? He took a handful of meal and he poured it into the pot. That's Christ, the picture of Christ fed upon. Oh, you dear fathers and mothers.
Are you feeding on Christ yourself? And if so, are you feeding your children? Are we reading to our children? Don't let a morning go by without opening that Bible. It's nice to read a verse off the calendar, but oh how much more precious it is for us to be reading the Word of God, getting our children familiar with these passages. My memory is fresh, although my mother has gone.
Many, many years ago. But as a child I remember that open Bible on the counter in the kitchen.
You mothers, you have a great responsibility. Here was Timothy who had the faithful mother and and grandmother. May we be preserved and may we be feeding our children on Christ. Now then, let's go on and look back into Joshua again. And we are in the 14th chapter and here's the next one.
The Endure.
Chapter 14.
Verse 10.
Joshua 14, verse 10.
And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive. I think that's beautiful.
Incidentally, those ten other searchers, the Lord destroyed them with a plague at the very next verse in Joshua 14, I think it is in Numbers 14, it says that Joshua and Caleb lived. Oh, isn't that beautiful?
They lived. Who kept them alive? The Lord kept them alive.
Who keeps you and me alive? The Lord keeps us. If it weren't for the keeping of the Lord, every believer would be destroyed by Satan. But the Lord is keeping us. And so here is now that beautiful word, the 10th verse. And now behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years.
See, the 40 years of the wilderness were over, and there now in the land for five years.
Even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness.
Well, there he was as the endure. Now back to Timothy again.
First Timothy.
Chapter 4.
Verse 16.
Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctor.
Continue in them, for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee.
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Now then, there's another verse in Second Timothy.
1:00 and 12:00 Second Timothy 1:00 and 12:00 This is going on now into Pauls life, for the which cause I also suffer these things. Nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him.
Against that day.
Paul, not only Timothy, but here we find the testimony of the Apostle Paul. He could say this now at the close of his days, just before he laid down his pen. This was the last writing of the apostle Paul, and so he could say those beautiful words.
Now then, let's go back into into Joshua again.
And chapter 14, next verse to that which we read before.
Verse 11.
Here we find Caleb now as the warrior.
He's the follower, and he was the Endurer, and here he is now as the warrior. Remarkable verse, verse 11.
As yet, I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me. As my strength was then, Even so is my strength now.
For war, both to go out and to come in.
Now, isn't this remarkable, A man that is 85 years of age and he is as able to go out to warfare as he was when he was 40 years of age. What does this tell us, beloved ones? It's a nice thing, isn't it, to see older ones, older brothers and sisters.
Continuing on, continuing on, the Lord is the strength of our life. He is the one if you and I have Him before us, He is the one that is going to sustain us. Here is Caleb, now an 85 year old man, and he's a warrior still, right on to the end. We need to remember this, don't we? And may we just be.
Reserved in this. Now let's go over back to Timothy.
And see the warrior there. Second Timothy.
Chapter 2.
Verse 3.
Two Timothy 2 and verse 3. Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
Good soldier Jesus Christ. And then now into the 4th chapter.
And the seventh verse here is the Apostle Paul's testimony as well.
Second Timothy 4 and verse 7.
I have fought.
They are the good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. What a testimony that is. Oh, beloved ones, wouldn't that be something to cover in our life? You dear young ones that are here, you might say, well, I have a long life ahead of me. We don't know how much longer we have. We certainly don't believe that we've got very much longer.
Are we fighting that good fight? It's well worth it. I often quote what I remember reading about GV Wigram who had suffering in his back all his life and he said though the path were 10,000 times more rough and dreary, it still would be worth it. Oh beloved ones, this life.
Of following the Lord. It's the only life. It's what is truly living.
You, you young ones, are just getting the winds that are blowing from all sources these days that would cause us to get discouraged and to give up the fight. Here is a man, the apostle Paul, who had an endured and he had been that warrior and he could say at the end of his days, I have fought the good fight.
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Of them all, let's go back now to numbers.
Chapter 14.
Here he is as the inheritor.
Joshua 14, verse 12.
Now therefore give me this mountain whereof the Lord speak in that day, For thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, they were the giants, and that the cities were great and fenced. If so, be the Lord.
Will be with me then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said.
I'm sorry, Joshua. Yes, Joshua, chapter 14, verse 12. Thank you.
Now therefore, give me this mountain.
Verse 12 Whereof the Lord speak in that day, for thou heardest in that day how the Anakins were there, and that the cities were great and fenced. If so be, the Lord will be with me then I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord had said.
Verse 13 And Joshua blessed him.
And gave unto Caleb the son of Jeepuni Hebron for an inheritance. Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jeff Uni the Kenazite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.
Oh, there is the inheritance. Now here's the end of the story.
For this man Caleb, with the Lord faithful, yes he was.
The Lord kept him alive all those years. He had his eye upon that goal of Hebron. He wholly followed the Lord and the Lord didn't let him down. Dear young people, you are hearing people telling you that it's it's not worth it. It's so much trouble to be a Christian. And then even if we are going on, for the Lord to gather to the name of the Lord Jesus.
Right. Oh, I realise more and more how much you are subjected to even other believers. Oh, we need to cleave what purpose of heart of Christ. There is an inheritance ahead, beloved ones. It's Christ to be with him forever in sweet communion. That's what Hebron meant. Well, there was was.
Caleb receiving that inheritance. The inheritance was he brought.
Communion. He prized that above all else. Now let's turn for our last verse, now in Second Timothy.
Chapter 4. Verse 8.
Henceforth.
There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also that love is appearing.
Precious promise, beloved ones, that day of the Lord.
When he will have his rightful place here on this earth. His name is taken in blasphemy and cursing these days.
And Ezekiel, it tells us that the whole earth is going to light up with the glory of the Lord. Oh, beloved ones, the inheritance is waiting for us. And you and I, if we know the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we're ready for that inheritance too. Oh, are we following the Lord? Are we continuing on? Are we warriors?
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Are we following as Caleb and Timothy and Paul did? Now let me give you one last verse, the 18th verse of that same chapter of Second Timothy, chapter 4.
Verse 18.
And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly Kingdom, to whom the glory forever and ever. Amen. Oh beloved ones.
Let's take courage this afternoon. Am I looking into the faces of some of you young men?
That are willing to follow the Lord wholly.
Oh, I can say to you, it's so well worth it. What a joy there is in the Christian life to follow the Lord. There's going to be warfare, there's going to be ridicule, there's all, there's going to be opposition. But this is what strengthens us. May the Lord just become so precious, so attractive to your heart and mind that we won't we, we won't be allowing.
Anything to be standing in the way. And then, beloved ones, one of these moments.
3:10 one of these moments, the Lord Jesus is going to step out of heaven and he's going to call us into that blessed inheritance. What is it? Christ himself, Is it worth it? Yes, indeed it is. May then the Lord just encourage you dear young men and you dear young sisters that are here this afternoon. I'm, I'm here to encourage you to keep on now and the Lord.
Able to keep us, and the day is going to come when we're going to stand before him. Oh, that you and I would cover above everything else. To hear the Lord say to you, calling you by your name. You, holy, follow me.
The Present Testimony
Address—D. Bilisoly
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Exodus 15.
Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord.
And spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and he has become.
My salvation. He is my God, and I will prepare him in habitation. My Father's God, and I will exalt him.
Well, you know dear ones here.
We've had before us in these meetings.
This question of salvation, indeed the Lord is our salvation, the captain of our salvation. You certainly see a song of real triumph here in connection with this Red Sea crossing. And it says that then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song it was.
Entered into corporately and it was a song of great victory. That's obvious.
And the Lord gets the glory in connection with it. But now, you know, we're not living in days like this. We're living more in the days of Judges chapter 3. Can we just turn over to the book of Judges in Judges chapter 4 rather?
We have then this question of the failure of Israel as was brought out in our brothers address, and we see how that God.
Had to use a woman in the case of Deborah here in verse four to stir up the leaders in Israel. Well, whatever means the Lord may use, we certainly need to be exercised by it. And in a day of weakness like this, where there may be a godly sister with a burden on her heart, we should have a ready ear to hear what message the Lord may have for us even through.
A dear sister, but of course we notice the caution.
She didn't want to go out of her place. We see rather that she she dwells in the cottage, or rather she's in her place and they come to her.
And so we see that in his weakness Barrack does not want to go out into the battle alone. And she warns him, she says, the honor will not be to thyself in verse 9. But still God gives them a mighty victory. And we see too that an enemy arises against them that we would have thought was a defeated foe.
The names are the same and.
The connection is the same, it seems, in the book of Joshua. It's the same name, Jabin. It's the same place, Canaan. And why is it that this is rising up again? Well, it's like something that was not really judged. And then it comes back again, as we might say. It rears its ugly head. And so we see that this rises up against them.
But God in his great mercy, when they cry to him, independence.
He gives them deliverance. He gives them deliverance. And so we see in the beginning of chapter 5 the singing of the song of triumph. But you know, beloved brethren.
It is not all the people that are singing.
But we see that there are only two people singing. Doesn't that figure to us the day in which we live, a day of small things? Does God value that testimony even though it's true? Indeed he does. He values the testimony of even 2 and, you know, especially where we're from in the Northeast.
There are a good number of small assemblies, not very large.
Small assemblies and a short while ago two brothers were moved circumstantially.
To a city while it was in true Nova Scotia and it became very difficult for them to come in during the winter time with their families.
And it became especially difficulty, difficult when this one family.
Had twins and so they were really before the Lord. What they should do?
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About it. They were going 60 miles into Stellarton, so they were much before the Lord, and the Lord encouraged them to go ahead in his strength and to establish the testimony in Truro. Well, you know, the Lord showed His approval right away. Just there were only two brothers to carry the responsibility, but the Lord showed his approval.
And immediately he raised up another family.
And gave them that kind of encouragement. Oh beloved brethren, I think the Lord greatly values.
The little testimony hold your place and notice in.
Haggai in Haggai, chapter 2.
There's one verse I want you to notice.
Verse eight of Haggai, chapter 2.
The silver is mine.
And the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. It almost seems as though it's out of its context. We notice verses like that in parts of the Word of God that would almost seem as though they were out of their context. There's a verse like that in the middle of Luke 16. But here, what is it all about? Well, to my heart it says this, that God knows all about values.
We don't need to tell him about values.
They had lost heart in the value of a present testimony, as we have brought out here in Haggai, but we noticed in chapter one that the Lord tells them.
To go up to the mountain in verse eight of chapter one and bring wood and build the house and I will take pleasure in it and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. He knows the value of the present testimony and he wanted them to understand that it was that which would glorify Him and that which he could take pleasure in. And we need to realize that ourselves, Brother, I'm sure that there's many here that will be going back to small.
Gatherings. Now, you know, when we're together in such a large number as this, we can enjoy the singing of the hymns. We can think a little more of the triumph of what we had in Exodus 15. But then we have to go back to the little assembly. So few and in number. But the Lord is just as much there as He is here. That's the wonderful thing to consider.
The Lord's Appearance to Those After His Resurrection
Address—G.H. Hayhoe
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I was wondering if we could just look for a short time at a passage in Marks Gospel, the last chapter. Marks Gospel and the last chapter, and the 12Th verse. After that he appeared in another form onto two of them as they walked and went into the country. Well, it was in particularly in connection with that little expression in another form.
And what I was enjoying in my soul, my trust for blessing to others.
Was the various ways in which the Lord appeared after His resurrection, and how that those to whom He appeared, each one had a different need.
Everyone of us here in this company have a different need at this time.
In our meetings we've been taking up about that blessed One who accomplished the work of redemption. The Lord Jesus is the one who had already done this, that glorious cry. It is finished, His precious blood. He had gone into death. He had risen again, and now he appears to his own, and he appears to his own as the one who has accomplished that mighty work. I trust each one of us here.
Know about that mighty word that we can say the question of our sins has been settled.
We know that He bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that He is delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification, but as we had in our portion in the second chapter of Hebrews, how much we need not only that mighty work, but He is the captain of our salvation, bringing many sons home to glory. Can I say again, each one of us have.
Varied, indifferent needs, and so is the Lord appeared after his resurrection.
I believe we could see how has he appeared to these different ones. He met their special needs.
And He's able to meet the special needs of each one of us here. There are no two of us alike. There are no two of us who meet the same situations in life in exactly the same way. We're all from different families, different makeups. But we have one Savior. And He knows all about us. He knows our frame. He understand that. He knoweth that we are but dust. He counts the very hairs of our head. And he is concerned about everything that.
How wonderful those words He careth for you. He has a special concern for each one, and let us each enjoy this. Just as the High Priest in Israel bore on his shoulders the names of the children of Israel, and also upon his heart and upon his heart. Each one of the names were upon different stones, because each one had a particular beauty and a particular need.
Well, so as I said, it was just upon my heart this afternoon to notice some of the.
Leads which the Lord Madden appeared to his own. Let's turn over to the 24th chapter of Luke.
The 24th chapter of Luke and the 34th verse here they were talking about the fact the Lord was risen. The 34th verse saying the Lord is risen indeed and hath appeared unto Simon. Now God hasn't been pleased to give us any record about that time when the Lord appeared to Simon. It's merely stated as a fact. But I'm sure it's full of meaning to every one of us who know what Simon had done.
On the very night.
Lord Jesus was taken and carried by those soldiers back into Herod's judgment hall. And we know that sad thing that happened with Peter, so self confident, so sure that it would never happen to him, so that he said to the Lord that he was really the best disciple. The Lord had. He said all the others might deny the Lord, but not me. I'm the best disciple. I wouldn't do that. But the Lord had to allow Peter to discover.
Within his heart, and there may have been things that we thought we wouldn't do, things that we thought that others might possibly do, but not ourselves. And oh, how treacherous our hearts were and are. Our brother told us and reminded us of that verse. The flesh profiteth nothing. And so this is very gracious to think that the Lord, as far as we know, the very first thing after he had risen from the dead, even before his appearance to Mary Magdalene.
It seems to me that he probably appeared first to Peter, and why? Well, Peter might have thought, you know, that it was all up with him, but he had failed so badly that now surely the Lord would not have an interest in him any longer. And it might be there someone here who is thoroughly discouraged. Some failure has come into your life, and as you have sat in these meetings you have thought, well, it's all right for other people, but I've made such.
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My life I've so failed that surely I could never be any use. Isn't this very blessed that the very first appearance that the Lord makes is to Simon? Some have spoken about Simons restoration in various phases. That as soon as he had denied the Lord, the Lord turned and looked on Peter and Peter wept. He really didn't feel what had taken place when the Lord looked upon him. But now the Lord has accomplished that mighty work.
Met Simon's sin and yours and mine because he bore our sins in his own body on the tree. Every sin has been fully met. There is nothing. I'm so glad the verse says the blood of Jesus Christ cleanse his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
Because if it were not so, we might think there's something that has been missed, but not so all sin.
And so when the Lord had accomplished that marvelous work, that glorious work, putting away sin by the sacrifice of himself, he first appears to Simon, who, as it were, bring before him a private restoration of which there's no record. And it's something, you know, that has to take place privately in our lives when we have failed and dishonored the Lord. It's a thing that must take place between our souls and Him, and that is to have it out with.
Like Jacob who wrestled all night. And there is no real restoration until we have truly been before the Lord in his presence. Not only judging the thing, but the very pride that causes that failure. Because so often we need to trace back our failures to the root of it. There's something that caused it. self-confidence, pride, thinking we were better than others, thinking we wouldn't do certain things. Well, the Lord.
Peer-to-peer was in a certain form and what was it the form of one of we read of in the 23rd Psalm. He restoreth my soul. What a blessed thing it is to know that there is one who is there at the right hand of God to restore. He's there as our advocate. And so I say before I go on, if there's anyone and you have sat in these meetings and you have sat here conscious of the fact that perhaps you feel.
Haven't been seeking God's will in my life as our brother brought before us. It has been otherwise with me. I've been living kind of carelessly. I slipped and got away. Oh, how good the Lord wants to appear to you in a certain form, and that is as the one who is your advocate, the one who is in glory.
Appearing there in the presence of God on your behalf to restore you. And what a blessing it would be.
In these meetings, if he would appear to you just like he appeared to Simon, and there would be something take place in your soul that you would be truly restored after this. We know that there was a public restoration with Peter, but I don't speak of that particularly at this point, but rather the fact that he was personally and privately restored by the Lord appearing to him in that way.
And so it tells us if we confess our sins, these faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness as He's there is the one who is our advocate. And I believe when it says if we confess our sins, it brings in the thought that we are upright before Him. We just poured out our hearts. We tell Him it isn't that we ask forgiveness because we could say that Scripture looks upon us as being forgiven as far as judicial.
Forgiveness is concerned, but we will not enjoy governmental forgiveness until we have honed it to the Lord. We've had it out with Him, so to speak. So I believe we could say that this is the first appearance that the Lord made to his own. But now let's turn to John chapter 20 first verse. The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark under the sepulchre, and see if the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
Then she run us, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. And now the 11Th verse. But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping, and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre. And see if 2 angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus.
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Lane And they say unto her, A woman, Why weepest thou? Jesus saith unto them.
Because they have taken, she saith unto him. Because they have taken away, my Lord.
And I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing.
And knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus sayeth unto her, woman, why we bestow? Whom seekest thou? She's supposing him to be The gardener sayeth unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabonae. Which is to say, Master.
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren, and say unto them.
I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God. Here we have the Lord Jesus appearance to Mary Magdalene, and I like to think of her in a way of being so lonely. It's true that the other disciples came to the sepulchre, but they went away. They had other interests, no doubt, but with Mary she was lonely. There was no one else that meant so much.
Her and her life as the Lord Jesus and the Lord Jesus, as far as she do, had been taken away. And so there was a great loss in her life. Perhaps there might be someone here and you're thoroughly and utterly lonely. It seems to you that the bottom has dropped out of your life, and all the things that seem to make life to you are all gone. And so it seems to me that this was the condition in which Mary found herself. It's true.
Disciples could go back and they could go to their own homes. But not so with Mary. She was lonely. She had no one else that would mean anything to her, so to speak. And so she stands there, weeping. Did the Lord care? Was he concerned about the fact that she was there, so lonely that everything that meant what was worthwhile in life had been taken away?
Well, he did. And if there's someone here, I say who's like that.
And maybe there has been a feeling of loneliness, sleep come over you. You may have been in the crowd. But there is, as a scripture says, there is a solitary way. There is a time when sometimes we do feel that there is no one that we can really turn to. But there was one. There was a person. And as we had in our meetings, he's a real man. He's a real man, a risen man. And now in the glory, she could talk to a person A.
Who was a real person and tonight, this afternoon you can you and I can look up and say there's a man in the glory. There's one who's touched with a feeling of our infirmities who's concerned about everything. And it tells us here that she didn't realize that it was Jesus and he asked her why we could sell whom seek a cell and she said because.
Whom seeketh thou? She's opposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him.
And I will take him away. Sometimes I think that the reason that we are lonely is because we expected somehow that the Lord was going to turn this world into a garden for us. That after we were saved, it was just going to be a garden. And she supposed the Lord to be the gardener. Did you suppose that the Lord was going to remove all your problems and make everything nice for you in life, just like a pretty garden?
Well, she supposed him to be that, but.
She found out that he's the one who said, Mary, you have been looking for that here, but you're going to have to learn me, learn to know me in a new way. He called her by name. He said Mary, she recognized at once who he was. But the Lord said, as it was brought out today, don't detain me. But I want to tell you about a new relationship and I want your thoughts to be centered up there.
And you know, we have that answer to our loneliness.
There is one and he's gone up there. Did we expect him to make a garden for us down here? Did we expect him to remove all those problems and make life pleasant for us? I think we often have those kind of thoughts that after we're saved, you're just going to turn this world into a gardener. Let's not suppose him to be the gardener, but to know him as the one who's up there, who has gone up and has prepared a place for us, something far better than the best garden in this world.
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Because he said, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and to my God and your God.
And as he said in the 14th chapter of John, I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go away, I will come again, not to make a garden for you down here, but to receive you unto myself, that where I am, there He may be also. What a comfort in our loneliness. There is a place coming. Mr. Darby, in that beautiful little hymn, said, Who shall to me that joy?
Of Saint throng courts declare tell of that constant sweet employee, my spirit longs to share.
We can be lonely even in the crowd, because even people with the best intentions don't always understand us. They don't enter into our thoughts. But there's a man in the glory who does, who enters into everything about us. I say again, He knows us through and through. He counts the very hairs of our head and is concerned about everything in our pathway. And when we get there, we'll be in his presence. And it says his servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face.
And his name shall be in their forehead. Have sometimes said that what every human heart craves is understanding and love. We can find it difficult to find understanding and love in this world. But in those courts above, how? How beautiful to be there. And it says about it, the street is pure gold, like on the transparent glass. Nothing hidden up there.
Everything made known, and we shall know even as we are known.
So what a future before us. Is there a lonely one? The Lord appeared to marry that lonely person.
That one who was weeping, that one who felt the whole bottom had dropped out of her world, so to speak. And now said, Mary, you can't detain me here, but I'll point you up there. I'm not the gardener for this world, but I have gone up there. I'm going up there to prepare a place for you. Oh, what a blessed thing to know him then in that relationship. Well, that's the way I believe that he appeared to.
Marry and then in the same chapter.
26th Verse. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and say us, say us, Peace be unto you. Then said he to Thomas, Reach it as thy finger, and behold my hands, and reach it as thy hand, and thrust it into my side, and be not faceless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord.
And my God, Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. Thomas was full of goats. And you know we don't like to be honest and talk about these that are more like Thomas, and we like to admit that is, we do have doubts.
And the Lord appeared to Thomas in a special way here.
In order to remove those doubts. And you know, it's very blessed to see him appearing in this way.
Thomas had not been present the time before when the Lord Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his own on the 1St Lords day. Thomas was not present and it was very beautiful what the other disciples did. They went to Thomas. They didn't scold him for his absence. They didn't tell him that he was pretty wayward, that he hadn't been there with the rest. They simply went to him and said to Tim Thomas, we've seen the Lord.
We've seen the Lord, and that was enough to touch the heart of Thomas. That was enough to make him want to be there. We'll never continue coming to the family if we're occupied with one another, but if we do see the Lord, if we are occupied with him, it makes it all worthwhile to be there because He is the gathering center. He is the one that we desire to see. And that real thing touched Thomas.
Was it possible that he had missed such an occasion? They had seen the Lord. Well, Thomas hadn't come because he was full of doubt. And as I say.
Maybe look in and we think of has so many doubts that can rise in our minds, doubts about all kinds of things and to get so discouraged about these things that we perhaps become careless. We think, oh, it's no use. I I don't find the help that I would like to get and it's really just going because other people seem to be enjoying the Lord, but I don't and you know, we can get very much like that, but the thought of seeing the Lord.
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Thomas to be there and when the Lord came, he didn't wait for Thomas to say what was in his heart because the Lord knew all about what was going on in his heart. He knows all about what's going on in your heart and mine. He may not like to tell other people, but the Lord knows there's a verse that says I know the thoughts that come into your mind, every one of them. He knows all those thoughts and so.
It tells us that when he appeared, he said to Thomas, preach it at thy finger, and behold my hands, and reach it to thy hand and thrust it into my side, and be not faithless and believe, but believing. Somehow I doubt whether Thomas really did this. I think just the fact that the Lord said it was enough. And he just said, my Lord and my God. And so it is when we have these doubts, and that's why.
Think of us, it could just be some proof, something necessary to assure us so that all these things would be no longer faith. They'd be sight sort of everything cleared up by very good answers given to every doubt. But as far as Thomas was concerned, I say again, I don't very much whether he did put his finger into those marks or his hand into the Lord's side, but he looked into his blessed face and he said, my Lord and my God.
That was enough. He was restored from those doubts and there may be someone here and you're perplexed, you say, or if I could only see. The Lord said, blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed. We have the witness that God has given of the Holy Spirit who has come down to shed abroad the love of God into our hearts to make real those things that we have not seen, and God can and does make those things.
To us. And so perhaps this is another form. Maybe you need that form. Maybe there's been some doubt in your mind. You're ashamed of yourself. I've often been ashamed of myself at doubts that come into my mind. You're ashamed of yourself. But the Lord knows about them. And as it were, he stands before you and he says, I know all about it. I can answer all your doubts. Just just look at me. Look at those marks in my hands. Put your finger in if you wish to. He didn't need that.
Saw the Lord, that was the answer. He appeared. He satisfied that poor Downing Thomas and gave him that assurance and that peace that he needed. And so we can find that in his presence too.
Well then let's turn to the 24th chapter of Luke again, and we'll see another way that the Lord appeared the 13th verse. And behold, two of them went that way that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem, about 3 score furlongs.
And they talked together of all these things which had happened, and it came to pass that while they communed together and reasoned.
Jesus himself drew near and went with them, but their eyes were holding that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these, that she have one to another as you walk, and are sad? And one of them, whose name was Cleopas answering, said unto him, Aren't the only a stranger in Jerusalem, and has not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?
And he said unto them, What things?
And they said unto him, concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet, mighty indeed in Word before God and all the people.
And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and have crucified him.
But we trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel. And beside this, today is the third day since these things were done. 27th verse. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them, and all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
And they drew nigh into the village whither they went, and he made as though he would have gone further, but they constrained him.
Abide with saying, abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them, and came to pass. As he sat at meet with them, he took bread and blessed it, and brake and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him, and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, I did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us by the way.
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And while He opened to us the Scriptures, well, here we have the Lord appearing, and another occasion, and whereas we read those various forms in which He appeared, what was it in connection with these? Well, they, they were perplexed, and we're often perplexed. And the reason they were perplexed was the very thing that often perplexes us. We expected something to happen, and it didn't happen. What did they expect?
Well, they expected that the Lord at that time would have redeemed Israel. He's going to in the coming day.
But they expected that. Then. Have you often been perplexed like that? I have. I expected something to happen. I was sure that the Lord was going to do something and it didn't happen the way I expected at all. It's true that He's still in control and he's going to bring things about and his own way. But they were perplexed because notice the way they're, they're sad and they're saying, we thought that he would have redeemed Israel. Is he going to redeem Israel?
Yes, He is. Has he done it yet? No. How long was about 2000 years since this took place. But he's still going to do it. God doesn't move on our timetable, brethren. We may be expecting things at a certain time, but God's time may not be according to our time at all. In fact, we might even plan something and desire something, but it's important that we desire only His will.
I've often had to say to myself.
It says in first Peter chapter 5, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. But one is often noticed that the verse before is part of the sentence, and the verse before says, Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.
Why is it that that's part of the same birth? Well, let me put it this way.
The reason that we find it hard to cast our care upon the Lord is because we find it difficult to accept things the way He has ordered them. That, I really believe is our problem. And I'm sometimes said to my say to myself, when something didn't work out the way I had hoped it worked. I've often had to say to myself, Now, Gordon, supposing the Lord came to you and said, you don't like the way I've ordered these things in your life, I'll change them.
And I'll make them exactly the way you'd like them. I'll make them the way you think would be best.
It's not my will for you, but I'll change them and make them the way you'd like them. Would I look up and say, well Lord, please do that because I really want them to be the way that I would like them? Or would I hang my head and say, Lord, just give me grace to accept thy plan the way thou has done it?
Well, I believe that's why it says humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God. Is it hard to cast your care on them when you've said that? No, it's the most natural thing on earth. Once you've taken that place and acknowledge that His plan is right and best. As for God, His way is perfect. You'll be surprised how you can leave the care with Him. You can cast it upon him because you have bowed to His hands. These two were discouraged. They were perplexed. They were troubled because.
Things didn't workout as they planned, but what did the Lord do? Well, he occupied them with the things concerning Himself. He brought before them how that all these things that had taken place were according to God's plan. The Scriptures had told this, and it had worked out exactly according to God's plan, not according to theirs. And so their heart burned within them.
They they were so glad to invite them into their home and not only for a meal, but they said abide with us. They wanted him to stay and now he makes himself known. He appears to them.
He answers all the perplexity of their heart by opening the scriptures and showing them.
That their idea and their plan was not the best, but God plan was right and best. We're going to find that out someday too. When He unfolds our lives before our eyes, we're going to see the same. That His plan was best but even now our heart can burn within us as we see and that He is in control and He can enable us to cast our care upon Him.
And now we find another occasion, the 36th verse.
And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are you troubled, and why do thoughts rise? Arise in your heart. Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Handle me, and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as you see me have. And when?
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And he showed them his hands and his feet, perhaps the way he appeared to them on this occasion.
Was to banish their fear. You know, we can fear a lot of things too, Things that haven't happened, but we're afraid they will happen.
Now we can live in a great deal of fear. And they were living in fear too. And even when the Lord appeared to them, they still didn't at first believe that it was really he who had come there. And you know, this is so, I say again with us. But isn't it lovely that He is the one? It says in John's epistle, Perfect love cast without fear. And when he made himself known to them, it is rather striking here that he says.
But he revealed to them that he's a real man. He says, why are you troubled and why do thoughts rise in your heart? He shows that he's a real man. And he says not as in another occasion, my hands and my side, but my hands and my feet. I believe that his side brings before us the thought of redemption, but his hands and his feet bring before us his pathway here.
Those nails in his hands and those nails in his feet were put there by men.
That pathway in which he tried, as we sometimes sing, thy path, unheard by earthly smiles, led only to the cross. And so if you and I have some fear, there's one who thread the past before us, who experienced all the things that we're afraid of.
They came to the Lord on one occasion and said get the oath for Herod will kill Lee and the Lord will reply was go and tell that box I do cures today and tomorrow, but the third day I will be perfect. In other words, the Lord Jesus wasn't afraid of anything that they could do to him. He was walking in the path of obedience to his Father. Truly he felt things. He felt things fully about his.
His pathway here is a pathway for us to He'll never believe us nor forsake us. He cares for us. And so I say the Lord maybe wants to appear to someone. Maybe you're fearing something that's going to happen. You're afraid, but He appears to say peace to you. He wants to banish those fears. He wants you to be assured of His love. And He wants to tell you, I know all about the past. My hands and my feet are here to show you.
That I know all about the past through this wicked world, this world where the Lord Jesus has been cast out. And so how precious to see Him appearing there to banish fear. Now let's turn to another one in Matthew chapter 28.
16 Then the 11 disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
And when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things. Whatsoever I have commanded you and law, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world, or the end of the.
Amen. Well, here we have another occasion where the Lord appears to his own.
And perhaps I could speak of this occasion as bringing before us the blessedness of knowing the privilege of enjoying His presence collectively and enjoying His presence individually. I believe that's brought before us. We have seen in the other scriptures how the Lord appears to answer special needs that the disciples had.
But here was a special need, perhaps a greater need than many, many Christians realize.
Often when people are saved, they are told to go to the Church of their choice, but that will never satisfy an inward need. What will satisfy an inward need? Well, you know, there's no rest for the sole of the foot except in the ark. And until we have discovered how we can be gathered according to the mind and will of God, and according to His Word, they'll actually be no real peace in our souls, no real enjoyment of.
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Presence, isn't it true when you speak to people and they talk about the various places where they go and you might say to them, why do you go there? Would you hear the answer? Well, because I believe the Lord is in the midst. Well, I haven't heard that answer. Usually from people they'll say, oh, it's a lovely group. They're doing a great work and I really enjoy the preacher there. He really gives out a good sound gospel and there's really a lot of.
There's a lot of blessing there. You hear all about that. Why did the disciples come to this particular place? Do we hear of any souls that got saved there? Well, I don't know. Perhaps there were. But that isn't the thing that drew them there. It was the place Jesus had appointed them and that was enough for them. And you know, if, if there's a Christian here and you have just been going to the place of your choice, you're in a group because they're a nice group. Thank God.
Every bit of gospel activity we praise the Lord for, every place where the gospel is told forth in sincerity and truth. But if you want to have peace in your soul, search the Word of God. And just as these disciples had to listen carefully while the Lord gave them instructions as to where He was planning to meet with them, the mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
All they had to listen carefully and they had to put forth an energy to get there.
But was it worthwhile? Yes. What made it worthwhile was not the beauty of the surroundings. I don't know whether it was a beautiful place. And certainly as far as the crowd that were there, those disciples just a short time before had forsaken the Lord and fled. So they were the wonderful crowd of believers certainly thought, why did they go there? It says they went there because it was the place that Jesus had appointed them.
And if there's a dear soul here and you come to these meetings and you're seeking, I beg of you, not to get your eyes on the people, you may think, oh, it's nice to be in a crowd of Christians like this, but you're going to be disappointed. You remember when the Lord Jesus spoke about these things in the 6th chapter of John, and many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. The Lord said to Peter, He said.
To Peter, will ye also go away?
Peter said, To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe in our sure that thou art the Christ. Did the Lord commend him for that answer? Have you ever been surprised the way the Lord answered him on that occasion? You'll notice that in the end of the sixth of John, if you look at it, the Lord's reply to Peter was, Have not I chosen you? 12.
And one of you is a devil.
Why did the Lord say that? That really puzzled me. When I read that, I meditated on it for a while. Why didn't the Lord say Peter? Well, I'm so glad that you're here because I'm here, but the Lord didn't. What was he really saying to Peter? Well, he said, Peter, you've had a disappointment. Quite a few of my disciples have gone back and won't walk with me anymore. But if you're really here because I'm here.
Still, don't look on the crowd, because there's still another disappointment ahead.
Who others the disappointment Paul Judas was in that crowd. And you know, if you just remain with the Saints because you think there's not going to be any disappointment, you're going to be have another disappointment. The Saints are going to disappoint you. I've disappointed my brother in times, but the Lord never will disappoint you. And so if you're there because he's there, by then it's all worthwhile. And so here these disciples came to the place Jesus had appointed them.
And when they thought not one another, but they saw him, they worshipped him. But some doubted. I'm glad it says that, because, you know, if it didn't say that, I would think, well, there's no place for me. Because I'm afraid that my thoughts wander even when I sit down at the Lord's table, and things come into my mind that I wish didn't when I'm sitting right there. Well, isn't it nice that it says, but some doubted because the Lord's showing us.
That is still wasn't the perfect group. They were there because they had come to meet the Lord, and when they saw Him, they worshipped him. And what was His answer to all his doubts? That seemed to rise in their minds? Not only Thomas here, but others too. Why does what does the Lord's answer? All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Any doubt come into your mind? Well, basically it comes from this. We're doubting his power because he could remove every problem from your life and mine if it was his will.
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And if he's left that problem there, he wants us to learn something. He wants to make himself known to us as the dissolver of doubt, the one who can undertake for us in every problem. He may not remove the problem, but if we're just resting on this glorious, this wonderful truth, he has all power. If it were his will, he could remove any obstacle, any difficulty. And if he leaves it there, he has.
Something for us to learn through it. He has something. And I'm sure that as we look back over our lives, we will say that we have learned many, many things of his faithfulness, of his goodness, of His grace through the very things that He has left. Peter, at least Paul would like to have had the thorn in the flesh removed, and the Lord could have removed it. He certainly had the power to take that away if it had been His will.
But the Lord's answer was number, Paul, you're going to have it the rest of your life. I'm not going to take it away, but you're going to learn something through it. And it's going to be a blessing to you and to others. Because he said, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. And so here we find the enjoyment of the Lord's presence in a collective way.
Not because it's a perfect group, not because we don't have doubts and all kinds of things that come into our minds.
But we're in the presence of one who died for us, who is risen again, who is up there, a real man, and all power is given to him. Angels and authorities and powers are made subject to him. What a place to be gathered around such a one, while we waste the time of his return.
Spiritual Warfare
Address—B. Warr
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I'd like to read a few verses in the.
Epistle First epistle of John No, I was.
Out front there a couple nights ago or last night, I forget which, and there were some small kids. Children.
And somebody said, well, they I said, why don't you go in down to the singer said they're too young.
I said, well, I thought there was a young people singing so over there, too young.
So I got thinking about that, you know, and this second, in his first epistle of John chapter 2, we read about young.
Men.
And as I read it, you asked in my Maybe I'm too young.
Because there is a spiritual young, you know.
First John two and verse 13 in the middle of the verse.
I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one.
Verse 14.
Toward the middle of the verse I have written unto you, young men, because you are strong.
And the word of God abideth, and you have overcome the wicked one. Love not the world, neither things in the world.
Any man loved the world of the fathers not in him, for all is in the world. Thus the flesh, thus the eyes and the pride of life is none of the Father. But so the world in the world passes away, and the lust thereof be that doeth the will of God abide forever. First thing it tells us about somebody is young, and it overcome the wicked one.
Let's read the passage in Ephesians Six, well known to us all.
About.
That wicked one.
Ephesians chapter 6.
And verse 10.
Finally, my brethren.
Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the Wiles of the devil. For you wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. And then back in chapter 3.
Of Ephesians.
Verse one for this 'cause I Paul the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you gentiles. If you have heard.
Of the dispensation of the grace of God, which has given me to you word.
Well, in our chapter 6, I really want to speak about chapter 6, but I was thinking of it in this sense, if you have heard.
You are in a warfare.
You know this expression in chapter 3 if you have heard is not if you just happen to be where Pauls doctrine was preached.
It has a spiritual or moral significance.
Many places around read this book they don't hear about the dispensation committed to the Apostle Paul.
Well, I want to tell you there's something special in the Bible given to the apostle Paul that opens up heaven over our heads.
And if you have heard, he could say all haven't heard.
And whether you feel young enough to be in this warfare or not.
If you have heard.
You're in it.
And our enemy has no scruples. He never gives up. If you best him today, he never says you win.
Tomorrow, he's back fighting again.
He never knows, he never has any sense of right and wrong, and when you win, you never really win with him because he doesn't give up.
You know our Bibles tell us, resist the devil.
That sounds easy enough, doesn't it? And he will flee from you. It's been well stated many times. You never fight a conquered enemy and he is a conquered enemy.
And think of what he has to do. He has to persuade us to trade off.
The glories of heaven.
For the miseries of hell.
And is he successful?
Is he serious about it?
Am I serious about it?
I'm important to the devil.
I'm important to God.
Why? Because I've heard.
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And if you have heard.
If you have heard, well, we read here finally. Well, it's the final end of the conference, isn't it? So he would add this last note. May we add it before God, my brethren, if there's someone here to whom I cannot say, my brother.
You know you're in danger, as we've heard in the conference, you're in danger of ending an apostasy because as we heard early in the conference, profession without reality is the road to apostasy.
And in apostasy, in dying or remaining in your unbelief at the coming of Christ, you join a man in the Old Testament named Abner.
And Abner died a fool's death. He said die of Abner as a fool, Dieth. He died right outside safety. He got very close to safety and didn't make it. Oh, if you have heard.
Have you heard? I don't mean to just sit there listening. I'm talking about the spiritual moral sense. Have you heard what's been said?
Because we've had some glorious things presented to us in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have, you're in this warfare and you say, Oh my, I don't. I don't know whether I can say I've overcome the wicked one and I'm strong and the word of God abides in me.
You're in the warfare. And so we're exhorted.
Here to take on the armor of God.
Because our enemy is very subtle and he knows exactly how to work you and work me to make a fool out of us.
Abner won't be the only fool.
Well, we can think of unbelievers, can't we, who are tricked into doom. The the classic one in the scriptures to me is a man named Herod who heard the word and heard the word and heard the word and one day he cut it off.
And why did he cut off the head of John the Baptist?
The devil just worked him right up into a corner and embarrassed him into hell.
He set him up on a fence and all his friends are looking at him and the devil flicked him into hell.
They cut off the head of John the Baptist that sealed his doom. The Lord wouldn't even speak to him when he came before Herod.
Life solemn.
Life serious if you have heard.
Oh, we've heard, beloved. We've heard. Now we're in this warfare. It's a serious thing. The enemy of our souls is serious. Every day he starts it serious. And you're important to him because he rules over in our verse.
12 over rulers of darkness of this world.
He rules over a realm of darkness.
But you represent a light to him, you have heard.
And when you have heard God's word and you say that's the word of God, oh, I take that in without reserve. It's God's Word. You present a challenge to him.
And there comes a time in an evil day.
We know what an evil day is, don't we? We've all read or heard about Job in our Bibles. An evil day came on Job.
Job was, as it were, turned over to Satan. Satan was allowed in on Job.
All but we did like to see him stand, don't we?
We did like to see him stand, just like we can sit and just mourn and just we're shocked at the thought of Hera just in an instant sealing his doom because he was too embarrassed, too proud.
You ever wonder how powerful pride is and how many people are sitting down unrepentant and they can't say I'm wrong because they're sitting in darkness and tied up in the chains of pride and the devil sitting there laughing at them?
You think it's not that strong in you and me? Oh, it is.
Oh, it is.
This so our enemy here, he rules over darkness and darkness is.
Lies. But you've heard the truth. I've heard the truth now.
And so as I come into his realm of darkness, as I am down here in the world, if the Lord so leaves us here.
I represent a threat to him. I'm light in the darkness.
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And these powers, they are called principalities and powers and rulers.
These are God created.
Beings that are in rebellion.
And in their rebellion, they have nothing within themselves to restrain them.
And that's the way they would have us to be.
They would have us to be without self restraint, without any restraint or control within.
So what we're exhorted to be is strong in the Lord, and if we read over these things that would constitute our armor, it's going to talk to us about that which is within.
Now the Lord Jesus comes into this scene. Now if we think like some are led to believe by the enemy of our souls that oh he will bless his own, but he won't. He has no friends.
He's a great deceiver. Even if he could, he wouldn't bless. That's not him. You've got your enemy. You're wrong about your enemy. Unless you can really see what he's like, we really may not know what it is we're up against.
But anyway, the enemy of our souls is so well adept at his own.
Work that he has Wiles.
And if the word of God would tell me to resist the devil, what is he seeking to do?
To keep me from resisting the devil. If I resist him, he has nothing to say to me.
Now we can think about the book of Job and as we say, the devil just swept across Jobs life with terrible we call them tragedies.
Is that a conquered foe? No, no, this is not talking about his outward power to come against you or to come against me.
It's his inward power to deceive me that he's defeated.
You see that outward power He still has, and if God merely lift his hand off of anyone of us, he'll raise the nation against us.
Because that's what he did with Job. Wasn't he raised the Sabians and the Canaanites or something? Two nations he raised against Joke. He could raise this nation to bring the soldiers in on us. That's his world.
But God holds his hand over us and keeps us every day. If he didn't, we never make it through a day. That's the outward power that Satan has. But there is that inward thing and he tells us, be strong.
That we may resist. We start off with the Wiles of the enemy and they're all within. I can resist within and he's defeated. And really, if we stand like the the three in the fiery furnace, you know, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they were there with the Lord, weren't they? They knew how to resist the outward and they won. And God stepped in and manifested his outward power against the enemy.
But our place is like their place.
Someone was messing recently, they said. We don't know if God will deliver us or not. We don't know whether God will outwardly show himself against the enemy of our souls. But we know one thing We're not going to give in.
They resisted from within. Their fate stood firm and God stepped in. And that's with us. We may pass through a day and say, well, we don't know whether God is going to come in and resolve this great problem, but I know one thing, I'm not going to give in.
And then that path of faith we will find, like they found that the Lord was there, and not even the smell of the smoke passed on them. But I want to warn us again. We're up against strategies, stratagems and whiles and tricks from an enemy who has no scruples whatsoever. He'll use anything against you.
And he has one.
Goal in mind.
You know, I've often thought that as he came in on job.
He could kill all of Job's children, he could take away all he owns. But that didn't win the battle.
He had to make Job curse God.
And that was what would win the battle. And when it comes to you and me, what's the battle? How does he win? How do I lose?
Here it says stand.
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If I stand, I win.
Job stood, stood firm, and one the three in the fiery furnace, they stood firm. They won. You want to win?
Then stand against the Wiles of the devil now.
We wrestle not against flesh and blood and therefore, you know, we as young people, we, we are often concerned with macho and strength. And that's not what we that won't work. It's exactly what the enemy would like for us to do.
Is he get occupied with that as though that has merit in the warfare and this surely we have weapons here and we have a, you know, weapon of prayer and we have a weapon of a sword and so forth. But that isn't where he starts. He starts with you, me, you be strong.
You be strong.
And as we're strong, what that simply means to me is I stand in the presence of God.
And draw from him because it's strong in his power.
Now we know someone was pointing out to me recently something I really enjoyed that these are rulers of the darkness of this world, heavenly places. If you read the book of Daniel, and we certainly have time to look at it, but if you read chapter 10.
That Daniel prayed and the angels started fighting.
And three weeks later, an Angel fought his way through to answer Daniel's prayer.
You ever think that Someone Like You or like me could start a warfare, end up in heaven?
Oh, it's a battle. The truths that we've heard, if we want them, we have to stand. And Daniel's prayer stirred up.
Agitated heaven itself.
Job was a man who was walking along and never thought, far as we know, that heaven was looking down on him.
And that he would become the touchstone of a battle of heaven itself.
But you see, that's what's opened over our heads. And the minute you open up glory over my head, there's an enemy to come in to keep me out of that.
So it is serious if you have heard these things are real. So just the thought as we go through these and then we will.
We'll pass on. The rulers of the darkness of this world would tell us that wherever you go, I just had the privilege recently of going out to other countries. But wherever you go, behind them, there are other powers. Behind the President Reagan, there's other powers.
Wherever you go, there are other powers.
And God, of course, establishes rule and authority on earth and tells us to be submissive to the powers that be. But the enemy of our souls comes in, and if he can lead them astray, he seeks to use them to lead you and me astray.
So we must just remember where we stand. We stand in the enemy's world, where pilgrims and enemies world, and we obey the president, we obey his representatives, we obey that before God, realizing all along that there are other powers behind all this.
Now verse 13 take on you the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. We spoke of the evil day and having done all to stand. I don't we shouldn't kid ourselves if my conscience tells me there's part of the army I don't have on.
We should not try to make it up by being over.
Active or overly concerned in another part of the armor. You can't leave off part of the armor and say I'm going to make it up by you can't. You got on the whole armor of God. It's a divine thing that he gives us as we read through it, a few thoughts.
Stand therefore having your loins gird about with truth.
I want to just say what a free thought about this. It's, you know, you got to be honest.
Am I really honest down here?
At the bottom of all my thoughts.
Am I really honest or am I kidding you? I'm not kidding the Lord, and I'm not kidding myself very much.
If you're not really honest, all the way down to the bottom of your thoughts.
That's where the battle begins.
Really. Are you honest? How many people's lives have been wrecked by something down in the bottom of their conscience? They never really faced up to and had out with the Lord, as we've heard things, and that would have cautioned us about this. But lives are ruined.
Simply because of not being honest in the bottom of your thought when you're way back in your own bedroom or whatever and nobody's around and all you're doing is thinking.
Because that's what gird about the loins means. The loins are the most private part of a person. And gird about means you get the truth down there. And whatever would seek to come out of the very bottom of your thoughts has to meet up with the truth of God and let the light shine down there and deal with God about that point of life. And that governs what comes up. I know.
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But that's where the battle starts.
Let us seek grace before God, never to kid ourselves, and never to kid anybody else, to live way down there in the light.
Breastplate of righteousness is simply do that which is right. All these things are practical. We're already saved and I know where I'm going to stand for the judgment seat. That doesn't bother me. But these are practical things. Do that which is right and it will govern your affections.
Because the breastplate governs affection.
It keeps the enemy from bringing something to the affections that would lead us away. And how many of us, you see probably have been tempted or had an experience where I love something too much? I had affection for something too much. It led me away from that which is really first priority.
Featured with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace.
You know, the gospel of peace and the Bible is presented in two ways, peace between man and God and peace between man and man.
Have your feet shodder 2 feet.
Kind of walk in the assembly.
You got to know what it is, the truth of the one body peace between man and man, because he made both one.
Is our peace, who hath made both one and reconcile both in one body to God, Peace between man and man, and peace between man and God, feet shod.
The preparation of the gospel of peace. So we don't just preach souls saved, right? We preach souls gathered.
What greater privilege could you have than to be gathered the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? It all is a part of God's truth and God's blessing. It all is a part of what He has to tell lost sinners.
Above all, taking the shield of faith.
And that's something that's not on me if something's out here. And that's what faith is, it's objective. It's something out there. 2 verses I'd like to refer you to and call out the shield of faith. You probably have others. Shall not the judge of all the earth do, right?
No matter what the enemy of your soul would fire a dart cause you to doubt. I wonder about this. And what about that? I should understand that all, but I know the judge of all the earth will do right?
For we know that all things work together for good, and that love God that called according to purpose.
Shield of faith, all things work to good. Any kind of a doubt or problem would arise and just raise that verse up. And it just not only wards off, it quenches the fiery darks. If there's a power that acquaints these doubts and these fears, just simply looking up to Him and taking His word and using it for my own soul's benefit to guard me against.
The things that the enemy would fire at me.
Helmet of salvation verse seven He takes the helmet of salvation. This is not just the fact I know I'm saved.
But it's that which guards my mind is the saddled assurance that I am saved.
In the power of Christ, who gives me liberty, salvation today from all the problems I have.
Now when I cover over my mind with that, what does it do? It stops me from free thinking.
I just bring it all to Christ.
And really, we have a world full of it's very modern day to be a free thinker, challenge everything, question everything.
But you can't do that. You see, we have the answer to everything.
And we come to this book and submit to it. We bow before it. That's all right, everybody, because I'm deliberately just governances. Well, I don't know about that, but that's all right, everybody, because I'm delivered from this. They say, oh, that's what happened to you. That'll happen to you. You better watch out. Nope, It's all well. You govern your thoughts and you don't allow your mind to run away into preoccupations or worry.
You know where you stand with God today, not just an eternity. You know where you stand today. Where do you stand today? Is there some problem plaguing you that's bigger than God?
Oh no, the guarding of those thoughts would be to know that salvation is I am saved, I'm being saved and will be saved. It's all part of God's work, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
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And that's used. And I would urge each one of us that if you can't go to Scripture and show somebody where you stand.
Need to be in prayer about it.
Why do you say where do you go to church?
Can you go to Scripture to answer that? It's not easy. Oh, why don't you do this or why don't you do that or what do you do this for? You go get you a verse and in the presence of God, you seek a verse for your soul. That's what that means. It's the sword of the spirit. It's the word of God. It's, it's a verse. The Lord Jesus used a verse against Satan and he just stopped everything. And when you don't have a verse, you see my, I don't know how to answer that.
You need to be in prayer about that.
And say be in prayer, because that's where all wisdom comes from.
Deal with God in your soul about it. Say why am I there? What am I doing? Get yourself a verse some of you can go to and say there it is right there.
And don't stop your exercise till you get one that satisfies your soul and something you can show to anybody.
They don't stop your exercise. Keep it up till you get your answer from God. He's there listening. Everything we, we, we think in prayer before him hears it and get it from God. That's where you that's where we deal with this battle. That's how we come up with what we need to fight the battle with praying always.
I guess the one thing that the enemy can do to us is that, oh, well, you don't need to pray about that. That's too little, you know.
You know, don't worry about you're just too busy today. You better get on that school, Oregon. You better go out to work. Oregon. It's too busy. You don't have time to pray.
But like some well stated, somebody said one time he went out without praying and said well I don't have time to pray this morning. So when everything went wrong that day, so next morning he said well I don't have time not to pray.
We need that praying always, because without that, you see, we are not that dependent one. We need to be dependent on Him and never, never think that He's not listening, because He is. Sometimes He waits to see if we really want to know or if we really want this answer. He waits us out. That faith can come into play, but He's always there and always wants us to stand, always ready to give us.
A verse.
Averse to stand on and how many things we have in our minds that are thoughts we've been taught over the years. But I can't go get a verse for it.
But in praying, that's one thing I should pray for. It's my own soul stability.
A verse from God that when somebody standing wants to argue me about, I standing with a smile and said I don't know about you, but I know where I got my verse from.
It is not a subject of contention. It's not something to argue about it. It's the subject of worship. You got it from God. And those kinds of transactions just bring forth, you know, indict a good matter. It brings forth worship before him. And people want to argue about this or that, but you don't have to enter into that. It's that's not a subject for argument. It's year before God. And that's where these battles will come in and praying always.
And with all prayer and supplication.
In the spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for the gathered Saints.
No, you know, we have the truth of the one body.
For all things, may we never allow the devil to bring our hearts down.
To think that we're anything different, we're members of one body, and to pray for All Saints is what we should do as the light of heaven shining in then through us, in a reflection through us on earth. And well might it be said that we challenge the devil's realm of darkness because we're then a reflection of heaven itself as a reflection of man in the glory, the truth of the one body, and the fact that we're just not going to give in.
I'm not going to give up these things.
Stand is just not let the devil persuade you or me that a lie is the truth.
Because the power of darkness is his ability to persuade us that a lie is true.
And he knows how to do it as a master of the art.
Keep us We are in a warfare. It's a serious warfare, yet we have everything we need. There is nothing that we need tonight that we don't have. We have everything we need. Do we want to use it?
Because that's the next step is I get down to my will.
I really want to use it and if it costs me something that I want to use it.
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Because that's where the real battle lies, right in here. Well, shall we pray?
This is my story. This is my song raising my table all day long.
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This is my story. This is my song.
Breaking my danger.
Watching and waking, talking about.
Children watching the cloud. This is my story. This is my love praising my friend.
All day long, this is my story. This is my song.
All the day long.
My yearning heart and rest of God.
'S away. Everybody in the world was not to save you. Was my baby.
When I come to die.
All you think about it.
All the joy of having all the Jesus.
Will break the beginning.
Not adorable.
Hebrews 2:1-4
Reading
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The second chapter of Hebrews.
Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard.
Lest at any time we should let them slip.
Or if the words spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward.
How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?
Which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.
God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will.
For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, wherever we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man that thou art mindful of him, or the Son of man that thou visitest him?
Thou made him a little lower than the Angel. Thou crownest him with glory and honor.
And it set him over the works of thy hands.
Now us put all things in subjection under his feet.
For him that He put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under Him. But now we see not yet all things, but under him. But we see Jesus, who has made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that He by the grace of God, should taste death for every man.
For it became him for whom are all things, and by whom are all things?
In bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering.
Or both He that sanctify us, and they who are sanctified are all of one, For which 'cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.
Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church or assembly will I sing praise unto thee, and again I will put my trust in him. And again, behold I and the children which God hath given me.
Or as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same that through death he might destroy him that had power of death, that is the devil.
And deliver them, who, through fear of death, were all their lifetimes subject to *******.
Or verily, he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Wherefore in all things it behooves him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted. One of the.
Expressions in our hymn. Not exactly found in this chapter, but it is in chapter one.
When he had made purification for sins, he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
They're thinking of this chapter.
As bringing before us the Lord Jesus as the.
Leader or the captain of our salvation. In chapter one we have him as.
Brought before us, as you might say, God speaking.
He is the speaker in chapter one, a divine person. God is speaking in that character of Son.
As one here He was the Son of God and on the God side for man He was not only God speaking, but God accomplishing the work of redemption, atonement, purification for sins. But in this second chapter we have the the thought of the great salvation.
And the Lord Jesus as the leader and captain.
Of our salvation. And so we have him characteristically here as the Son of Man.
What he is as man.
And on man's side, for God, the leader or the captain of our salvation. I had especially that in mind. I mean, not that we wouldn't take up all of the thoughts in the chapter, but I, I was impressed with that thought of the of the Lord Jesus presented here as the captain or leader of our salvation and the great salvation that we have.
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The great salvation that we.
Can enter into now and will culminate when he comes again and introduces us into the presence of the Father. And it's it's a it's a chapter that occupies us, I believe with the Lord Jesus and I trust that we might have him before our hearts in this chapter.
Not only brought before us as the one who accomplished that mighty work of redemption, and who, as you said, in the coming day, will present us there, as it says, behold I and the children which God hath given me, but also His present care through His priesthood. So it's the full salvation, the salvation of our souls, that which He is doing now.
He ever lives to make intercession for us, and in that sense, he's saving us now.
And also that future time when it will be complete and will be in His presence fully like Him. And so it's beautiful to see this thought brought before us. But Himself is the one who has done it, and the Spirit of God would occupy us with Him.
Lovely too to see that in the first chapter.
In the fourth verse.
The Lord has spoken of as Hebrews one and four, being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. And then in our chapter 2 and verse 7, here we find him.
In the in the contrast, thou mayest him a little lower than the angels.
Thou crownest him with glory and honor. We have both sides brought before us. A brother years ago said that he passed angels twice, and so here in that first chapter we see Him in His divinity higher than the angels, and now in the second chapter he has made lower than angels. He has become a man in.
To carry out the work of God in salvation.
I believe the that thought is really contained in the verse 10, not to get ahead, but to point out the expression the captain of their salvation. It's the same word that is found in the 12Th chapter when it speaks of the Lord Jesus as the author.
And finisher of faith, the word author, it's the same word and it really.
Brings out the thought that not only a leader in the sense of leading his people through the wilderness and into the glory, but he is the originator of salvation. That is he. He inaugurated the thing and he's carrying it through. So he has inaugurated salvation, so to speak, and he's the one who's going to carry it through. And so we can understand why in the beginning of the chapter.
He speaks about giving more earnest heed to these things.
Because it is so great salvation. Now, I don't want to to give this as the primary interpretation of the expression in verse three about neglecting so great salvation, because I'm sure that it would apply primarily to those who have perhaps heard the gospel, and it's more especially, of course, to these Hebrews.
Who had?
Professed Christianity and were in danger of giving it up and going back to Judaism.
I'm sure that primarily that's in mind, but I think sometimes that scripture presents things in such a way as to exercise us even though we may not be the particular subject in mind in that scripture. For example, when the Lord had his own with him on that night of his betrayal, he he said that one of them would betray him.
Well, and that could apply only to Judas. Judas. Judas was the only one who was going to betray him.
But it had the effect of causing each one to say, Lord, is it I? It was put in such a way that it would exercise heart and conscience. And I thought that we know that those of us who have this salvation will never lose it, and we will never come into any judgment that is indicated here. But there is the danger of neglecting it, that is, of not really appreciating it. And it seems that this is what?
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Is impressing upon the Hebrews they had been brought into these wonderful blessings a place of blessing now the danger was is that they that they neglected them and that would lead if they were not true believers, that would lead to apostasy, wouldn't it? But it's possible for those of us who are truly the Lords to lose the joy of these things and the.
The practical benefits of them if we neglect them.
And if we are, if we do not take heed to the things that the Spirit of God would bring before us in regard to this great salvation.
Has always helped me in the book of Epistle to the Hebrews to realize that there are actually three classes in view. There are those who are really the Lords, and they, as you are saying, are encouraged and stirred up to hold fast and diligently go on with that which they had received and possessed.
Then there were those who were mere professors, and the warning was given to them.
That the giving up of even the profession was serious and would end in apostasy, which is the third group. And so I believe in understanding these three groups, the first two are addressed, the last one is not addressed but often spoken of. That is, again I say those who are real are encouraged to go on with faith and patience in that path and cleaving to the Lord.
And those who had a mere profession.
And there might be some here today who have a mere profession. What a serious thing to give up even the profession. It would end in total apostasy, and as such there is no hope when one has turned his or her back upon Christ. So he warns the professor that it's a very blessed thing that he has been introduced to all these privileges.
But it's of no personal value unless it's made real in his soul, and he must personally have to do with the Lord to receive him and trust him.
But I believe that seeing this helps us to understand the security of the believer and also to understand why some of the warnings often misunderstood by those who don't understand the security of the believer, cannot understand the 6th of Hebrews and the 10th of Hebrews, which addresses to mere professors. Just like, if I might illustrate, if there's one here. You're sitting under the sound of the Word. Last night you heard the gospel.
Presented. But if you were to turn your back upon all that, it would be exceedingly serious. We would warn such a one about that. Even although he is not really saved at this time, there is always hope as long as he is under the sound of it. And so there are those warnings to the professor Might also just mention here that the new translation in the end of this first verse is not about letting them slip, but.
The new translation reads. It says lest in any way we should slip away.
It's the person who has looked at, and that is the sad effect upon the person. We ourselves should slip away. We can let go of things, but it's the solemn thing that one who has made a profession should slip away and end up and turning his back upon Christ. And that we have in the 6th chapter and 10th chapter. Actually, that word is.
Very important too, isn't it? Slip away, that is.
Usually the way things occur is it when one.
Gets away, it's a slipping away. It isn't something that happens just overnight over a period of time. And I think it's important to see that as our brother's bringing out that we have in the Epistle to the Hebrews, encouragement and warnings and both are needed. And again, I I would say in regard to those of us who are true believers, the Lord knows them that are his where there's a real work of God.
We might slip away from the Lord's things, but we of course will never lose that salvation. And I believe the Lord will restore. We'll never become apostates.
An apostate is one who, as a brother was saying, is a mere professor who gives up the profession. But we are kept by the power of God through faith, just as Peter. He failed, but his faith did not fail. The Lord said he would pray for him that his faith failed not and his faith never failed that Peter failed in his walk, and we might do that. And it seems that the one of the.
00:15:20
Things we should take from the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Is a word of warning as well as encouragement that we can slip away, not that we lose our salvation. And you know the Hebrews where I think one of the things that was leading to their slipping away.
In the in the 12Th chapter, I believe it is the no, the 10th chapter, the not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, and apparently they were losing heart and interest in the gathering together of the Lord's people.
And this is a sort of a slippery path, I believe, when when Saints lose interest in the gatherings, not just the coming together for breaking of bread, but for the ministry of the Word, the Bible reading, and for prayer. Indeed for all of the gathering together of the Lord's people, because the coldness that's in and the the warnings of the Epistle to the Hebrews.
You should take note of that. Not that we lose our salvation, but we can lose the joy.
You're mentioning Brother Johnson about this title of Son of Man.
He's a vicious judge and over in John chapter 5 we have a couple of verses that bears that out, Verse 22 and verse 27.
John 5/22.
For the Father judgeth no man, but have committed all judgments unto the Son. Verse 27.
And have given him authority to execute judgment also because he is the Son of man. I believe that title is mentioned about 79 times in the word of God.
I once read a an article of the.
A. A log of wood that floated onto the coast of Norway.
And it was washed up onto the shore.
And the people became interested in the type of wood because it was so strange.
And they turned it over to the local university and they made a real search to find out where that would could have come from. And they searched and searched and they finally found that it had floated down from the headwaters of the Amazon in the middle of South America. It had floated down the Amazon right across up the North Atlantic and across.
Into Norway.
This is an example of how we can slip away and how far we can slip if that if the cleaving to Christ with purpose of heart is not maintained.
Brother Chapter Brown used to say that.
It's like a car going down a steep mountainside with no brakes.
It's a serious situation.
I believe what has been spoken of is worthy of our serious consideration, both of us, who are the Lords and I think of our beloved young people.
Now I fully concur with what has been said that the.
Gospel is perhaps the most presently before us in this question. How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? And we've heard some stirring gospel messages from that verse, but two, I like what has been said, that as believers in Christ.
We too may neglect the salvation that we have, and the question then would not be how shall we escape damnation? Because there's already been stressed. We have that a security, but we're going to escape the joy of our Christian walk. We're going to.
Lose the testimony, which means we dishonor the Lord.
We're going to lose the encouragement that we might be to another.
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We're going to lose out altogether in our Christian walk. We won't be walking happily. There's no such thing as a happy Christian that has slipped away and gotten into worldly ways. He may deceive himself for a while and have an aura of some happiness, but it isn't genuine.
Down underneath, he's an unhappy individual.
He or she. And so we need to give heed, don't we, and apply this to ourselves.
I I enjoy very much as it's been expressed that Scripture is often thirst in such terms that we may find some individual application to our own good. And I would urge that we each apply this to ourselves as to our Christian walk, not to neglect that wonderful salvation that has been given us.
As an illustration, we might say that.
We could think of one who was living in very.
Circumspect.
Circumstances you had barely enough to get along on and.
Suddenly he was endowed with.
The benefit of.
An endowment from someone who left him a great sum of money which was put in the bank for his account.
And this one reveled in that. The real.
Relief to now have something to add to his pleasures. But of course the time he he forgot that he had that there and he went back to his old way of living poverty.
Very dire circumstances. Well, beloved, that's just a very poor example, but an illustration of what it is those of us who have found Christ as our Savior to give Him up in our practical walk.
We're back in poverty. We've lost the joy of that salvation. And so how shall we escape? If we do neglect, we won't escape. We can't go out in our own strength, and the world won't contribute to our joy at all.
Apostle Peter describes it in two Peter chapter one.
He says in verse nine of two Peter chapter one, that he that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar off and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. And then if we consider the whole chapter as to what the apostle is referring to, I believe that he gives us, you might say, a divine formula for being kept.
And so he speaks of these things to add to faith and.
I understand that those things are given in what they call the error, having done with it something in an existing form. And so those qualities added to faith will give that stability. And so it says verse 9, verse 10. Wherefore the rather brethren give diligence, and certainly it does take diligence to.
Continue on in the Christian pathway. There is so much against this, and we certainly need that diligence and exercise of heart. Wherefore the rather brethren, give diligence.
To make your calling and election sure. That is not that it isn't secure as far as God is concerned, but that is the good of it for ourselves, the personal enjoyment and the continuing on instability. For if you do these things, you shall never fall plain enough, isn't it? And of course then it lays out.
That which should cheer and and encourage our hearts.
Where soul and entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly.
Into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
You were mentioning Brother Gill about our walk. They returned to 1St Kings.
17 verse one.
Concerning Elijah.
First Kings 17, who was of the inhabitant of Gilgal, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand.
00:25:02
Before whom I stand, there shall not be, do, nor reign these years, but according to my word. And then in Genesis chapter 17.
And verse one.
Your stand and then you walk.
Genesis 17 One And when Abram was 90 years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abraham and said unto him, I am the Almighty God.
Walk before me.
Walk before me and be thou perfect first, John.
1/7.
But if we walk in the light as He is in the lake, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sins. God's Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light under our path. We don't need to walk in the dark.
Would include, would it not, that which is spoken in the Old Testament writings?
And connecting it on into the new. Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard. Well, that would include that which was pointing on to Christ, wouldn't it? From the Old Testament writings, And then building on in the second verse. For if the words spoken by angels was steadfast.
And every transgression and disobedience.
Received a just recompense of reward.
Then it comes on into.
The New Testament truth How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation which at the first began to be spoken?
By the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard them.
I suppose too there would be a contrast.
With the salvation that we have now through the work of Christ and in connection to Christ and association with Him, and that which was accomplished in regard to God's earthly people, Israel, they were delivered out of the iron furnace, the House of ******* and were brought through the wilderness and into the Promised Land. But it was a salvation and a deliverance that had to do with.
Temporal and earthly things and the place that they enjoyed as the people of God was still at a distance. They were not able to draw an ear. They was necessary for one to go into the presence of God for them. And so while they had a salvation, they had a deliverance. It was a temporal and earthly, and it really kept a man still at a distance, but the great salvation that we have.
Is that which brings us into the very presence of God in the very holy of holies and in association with Christ and, and opens up to us too the world above, the world to come, and it's associated with the heavenly things. Well, I think that he would encourage these Jewish believers.
By presenting this great salvation throughout this book so as to attract their hearts. And I thought really, this is the way God encourages.
Us we speak sometimes of encouraging the Saints. The way God encourages us is by.
Bringing before us.
You might say this great salvation and this person who is the.
Author the leader of it. In other words, we're encouraged by attraction to Christ and to what God has accomplished and this is really what encourages us. Sometimes we we think of encouragement and we want to be encouraged by circumstances that is would be encouraged by having.
Our difficulties removed, or something of that sort. That God encourages his people, I believe by attraction.
Attracting them to Christ and what God has brought for us in this great salvation. And that's what he's bringing before them.
It tells us in Isaiah that the Lord looks to the one who trembles at His word.
And so here in this second verse, God had spoken in the Old Testament.
And these Jewish believers knew this. The man who picked up sticks on the Sabbath day was stoned to death. It was a very serious thing to look likely upon the fact that God had spoken in the Old Testament, and they were well acquainted with this. But what is brought before us in the Epistle to the Hebrews? If you turn over, brethren, to the 12Th chapter, perhaps we could just mention the 18th verse. For year not come unto the mount that might be touched.
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That burned with fire, nor with blackness and darkness, and Tempest. 22nd verse. But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. And then he brings in the Church of the first born, and so on. And then in the 25th verse. See that she refused not him that speaketh.
For if they escape not who refused him that spake on earth, that was the giving of the law.
Much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven.
I believe this is a very important thing in the Epistle to the Hebrews. And there was not only that voice that they knew that spoke from heaven, and those voice that spoke rather on earth on Mount Sinai when the law was given. And it was a very serious thing to despise Moses law. Such a person died without mercy. But now, and I believe this is very important for us, we need to hear the voice of a glorified.
Christ speaking from heaven. It is this that leads us into the light and blessedness of Christianity. That's what he refers to in the 6th chapter of Hebrews where he says, leaving the word of the beginning of Christ, let us go on unto perfection. When the Lord Jesus was here upon earth, he said, the Pharisees sit in Moses seat all therefore that they bid you observe that observe and do. And if they had followed.
Teachings of the Old Testament, if they had followed the teachings of those who spoke on earth when the Lord was here, they would have remained in the Jewish fold. They would never have entered into this great salvation. But it's hearing the voice of a glorified Christ speaking from heaven that leads us into the full blessedness and liberty of Christianity, I heard our brother chapter Brown say.
He said when I was a young man.
We studied the birth of Christ, the life of Christ, the death of Christ.
His ascension until the cloud received him out of our sight. But he said Christianity begins the other side of the cloud.
Now, brethren, I believe that's very important for us to see this, and this is what is brought before us in Hebrews.
The full place of blessing that we are brought into consequent upon the fact that redemption is accomplished, that there's a glorified man at the right hand of God, That now the Spirit has been sent down and all the blessedness of our position as Christians has been opened up and revealed to us. Not by the words of Christ on earth. Some have Bibles that have the words of Christ on earth in red. But let us.
And let us remember it from our hearts, that the word in the Epistles, the word that gives us the truth of Christianity, coming from a glorified Christ in heaven, is the great salvation that he's talked about, and into which the Spirit of God would lead us in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
And I believe the neglect of this in Christendom has led to a mixture of Judaism and Christianity.
And how many deer souls truly saved are not hearing that voice of the glorified Christ from heaven? They've only followed Christ till the cloud received them out of their sight. And they don't know the wonderful things that have now been revealed with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven.
These precious things of Christianity, this is the great salvation.
And he develops this in this epistle. Even although the truth of the Church is not brought out in its blessedness here in this epistle, it is bringing us into the liberty of Christian position. We need the other epistles to know that. But let us understand where we stand in Christianity, and our souls will indeed be blessed.
The apostle Paul could say all day that be of Asia have forsaken me. There's no thought at all that they had given up Christianity.
But they could not endure that line of ministry. I believe that heavenly character of ministry that was entrusted to the apostle Paul. But, you know, even after Paul made that remark to Timothy, he said later on tikitas have I sent to Ephesus, he wouldn't give up seeking to help the Saints, even though there was that departure in heart perhaps from that most important heavenly ministry.
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I was thinking two of the, you know.
Him that speaketh from heaven in the I suppose in chapter one the emphasis is more upon the fact that when Christ was here in this world, God was speaking. It was He was God manifest in the flesh.
Because it says in the last of these days God had spoken through prophets of old, and now he was speaking in some and that character. But he was God himself speaking here but in.
Now he is speaking from heaven, even though the Lord has gone back, He is speaking from heaven through the Holy Spirit. And so in the Epistle of the Hebrews, the.
Quotations from the Old Testament. The authors are omitted, aren't they? That is, their reference is made to the Old Testament, but the names, for instance, like it doesn't say as David said, because he wants to emphasize that it is God speaking.
And even the Apostle Paul himself does not identify himself as he does in his epistles generally.
This has LED some to even question Paul writing this epistle about. I believe Paul is the author.
But he would he wanted to present the Speaking of God. Christ is still speaking and even though he's gone on high, he's not here, but he's gone on high. He's speaking and the Spirit is speaking. I was thinking of a verse in the.
Chapter 3.
When it says in verse 7 wherefore as the Holy Ghost said.
Now that's in the present tense. It doesn't say as the Holy Ghost said, because it's he's still speaking this today. Harden not your hearts. It's the Holy Spirit speaking. God is speaking. And so the apostle leaves his name out and references to other authors to present that fact that that God is still speaking. How would you?
Brother Hayhoe, how would you?
Understand this expression in verse.
Three, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord.
I would refer to His speaking on earth. We did not. Well, there were no doubt many things. For instance, in the last few chapters of John, where the Lord speaks anticipatively, doesn't he? He says, And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. So there was.
For instance, in the 13th chapter of Matthew, the Lord gave those similitudes of the Kingdom, and in those passages in John why he spoke anticipatively of Christianity.
So that it wasn't any new thing, they could not say, well, what the apostle was bringing before them was.
Altogether different from what the Lord had spoken on earth. It is true that the Lord Jesus did not lead them out as the sheepfold of Judaism while He was here.
Because that could not be until redemption was accomplished, it was proper that they should go on with all that had been given them by Moses.
In connection with those sacrifices, which were a shadow and a type of what he was to accomplish.
But he did anticipatedly speak of that word being accomplished and the blessing that would flow from it. And now as a glorified Christ in heaven, all this fully comes out and the revelation of it. And only those who understand what is written in the epistles could properly understand the 13th of Matthew and what those similitudes referred to, or could really understand those passages where the Lord in the.
1415, Sixteenth and 17th of John anticipates Christianity.
It's by the coming of the Spirit, so he said in those chapters.
That He had many things to say, but they couldn't bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will lead you into all truth. So I believe it's good to see that the Lord did in some measure speak of those things, but they could not be fully revealed until redemption was accomplished. And when He took His place at the right hand of God, then the Holy Spirit is sent down and the full blessedness of it is all revealed.
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And brought out he did also in resurrection say to Mary.
I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God. This was something, too, beyond what was known in Judaism. But the blessedness of it could not be entered into until the Spirit of God came down. Yes, he could. He says that He could speak of it, couldn't he? But it wasn't yet accomplished. I was thinking, too, that we have a little picture of that in Moses.
In Deuteronomy, Moses speaks of the land, and he even viewed the land, didn't he? But he couldn't lead them into the land. Joshua was the one who led them into the land. He could speak of it and view it. So the Lord, when he was here on earth, he began to speak of these things, but the accomplishment and the of it could only be after.
Through the work of the cross and he's going into glory. I think this is important because.
It isn't that we're not brought into this great salvation through if we can use the expression of Christ on earth, on earth the Christ. And just as Moses could not bring the children of Israel into the Promised Land, he had to. He had to die. He could view it and speak of it, but it was Joshua who brought him in. That's a type of Christ as had gone on high, isn't it?
And so that's the way it's presented here. And I suppose that this is one of the.
One of the dangers that he would bring before the Hebrews.
That might cause them to slip away if they lose the sense of the character of that salvation, that it's associated with a heavenly Christ and heavenly things if we get occupied with the affairs in this world and the and drop down to the level that Christendom has made of Christianity as an earthly thing.
Then we're in danger of slipping away and losing the sense of the salvation.
I'm sure many of us would like to have a clarification of the connection between.
That third verse that has been mentioned and the 4th.
Because there are many Christians today that are.
Insisting that there is the continuation even today of these signs and these wonders, but I'm sure many of us would like to have a clarification of that verse three and four, how that it was at the beginning that these signs and wonders were given as a demonstration.
When you call them inaugural gifts, if you want to use that expression, that is, they were gifts.
That were connected with the inauguration of Christianity.
And they were. We find that there are gifts like in Hebrew, or rather Ephesians 4, that are permanent gifts to the assembly.
And then we find that there are gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of God.
Functioning in a way that is in keeping with God's particular.
Testimony at the time, and they're not necessarily permanent.
So that these are inaugural gifts, are they not connected with the?
Beginnings of Christianity. And there also we might speak of them as confirmatory gifts. That is, they were to confirm the testimony of the apostles and the early Christians that this was the continuation of what the Lord began to speak when He was on earth, that they were not striking out on something.
Human and on their own, but they were going on in a continuation of that which began to be spoken of by the Lord. As Brother Hayhoe was saying, it was important to see that the Lord spoke of these things and it's a continuation of it, continuation of it. And these powers, these miracles and tongues and so forth were to confirm that testimony. And so their inaugural gifts and were never intended.
The permanent.
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The difficulty seems to be in that fourth verse.
As the word them is italicized.
Put in by the translators, God also bearing them witness. Well, that seems to confirm, does it not, that that was a time at the beginning when these signs and wonders took place. But I'd I'd like to hear a little bit more about that. For those who profess to have those gifts today do not have them in the same way that we see them in the book of the Acts.
And that's a very important consideration. Now, that is the gift of tongues was not some mysterious thing, but it's very clear on the day of Pentecost that those who were there from all those different nations under heaven heard in their own language wherein they were born the wonderful works of God. It was quite a clear testimony that God was now going to reach out beyond the bounds of Israel.
In blessing to the Gentiles.
And so the sign of it was given very clearly.
And we also find in First Corinthians chapter 14 that it says wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not. So that if those today who profess to have the gift of tongues could do what took place on the day of Pentecost and a number of people from various nations could be gathered together.
Now the message could be given through them in their own language. Then we could say, well, this is what took place on the Day of Pentecost. But there is no group that does anything like that. They use it as a sign for themselves that they possess the Holy Spirit and it's some kind of a communication that they think they have with God, a secret prayer language or something like that.
As though God could not understand their own language and needed something special to talk to Him.
There is no thought of that at all in connection with the gift of tongues. It was clearly a thing that was given.
And again, I say a very important thing in connection with the beginning.
To show the Lord had said to the disciples, go not into the way of the Gentiles and into any cities of the Samaritans, and are ye not?
But going ye rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And he himself said.
I am not sent but under the lost sheep of the House of Israel. But something new took place on the day of Pentecost. It was no longer going to be confined to that one nation, and what more apartment sign could be given them? Tongues. And not a mysterious kind of tongues, but taught languages that were known and spoken in the world. Now it could be abused, and it was being abused in the assembly at Corinth, and it was not.
Be abused but.
That sign remained in the early church because the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. But today those who profess to have it do not have that in the same way that we have it brought before us in the book of the Acts, or even as it was in Corinth, and also as the healing, we can see the miraculous gifts of healing, and no one went away disappointed. It says they were healed, everyone.
Is there any group on earth today that can gather together a company of sick people and everyone be healed? Oh no. They talk about the faith of the person, and the Bible shows us that where these works were done, there is no particular evidence of faith except one instance where it speaks of Aeneas having faith to be healed. But that is the only one. All the others were done in heathen places.
As a sign of what God was doing, to my heart at least the two particular signs that were given were quite significant as showing the place the Lord Jesus occupies. He occupies that place now as head of the body, the Church, and he is going to and He is saving people from every nation and uniting them by the Spirit into one body.
He is also the one who in the coming day.
Is going to bring in the Kingdom, and then it tells us that the inhabitant shall not say in that day I am sick.
And who forgiveth all thine iniquities, Who healeth all thy diseases?
So there will be. And as Hebrews 6 says, the signs were the powers of the age to come. So they were given to confirm the word to show to Israel that the one whom they crucified was their true Messiah, who in a coming day will fulfill all those promises to Israel and bring in the Kingdom and healing from sickness and disease, just as He was able to do when on earth. But they rejected Him as their king, so in a future day.
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He will do that, and so he was also showing that new purpose of God.
And this was the inauguration. And now another thing that I think, brethren, is very important that we should see.
That those who profess to have these signs today associated with all kinds of very evil doctrine in many cases where the.
Sinless humanity of the Lord Jesus is denying, His finished work is denied, and all that is associated with this mixture that we have today, not the real thing, because they're not tongues as we have in the Acts. And those people who profess these things, thousands of them are still sick and are not being healed.
I just add one other thing too, that it's very interesting when you read through the epistles to see there is no thought of healing in connection with believers. In Romans chapter 8 he says the spirit helpeth our infirmities, and we who have the first fruits of the spirit, we ourselves groan within ourselves.
Waiting not for the faith healer, but waiting for the adoption to whip the redemption of our body.
We find when Trophimus was sick, he was left at Miledum sick by the person who probably did more healing than anybody else.
That was the apostle Paul. But a believer sick, he left him there. He had an infirmity himself and he asked the Lord and he didn't take it away. When Timothy was a frail person with a weak body, he said take a little wine. In other words, take a remedy for your sickness. He didn't say, I'll come and heal you when I come, Timothy.
All these things are very significant to us. Now. Some might mention James.
But we have experienced this ourselves, and thank God that he does answer prayer. And many, many dear Christians have been sick, and in answer to prayer, the Lord has raised them up. We recognize that. But that isn't what we're talking about. We're talking about the gift of healing. And so we do believe that God does answer prayer and raise people up. But I think it's important that we should see how this is brought before us in the Scripture.
And I just want to turn to one other passage in Deuteronomy 13, if there arise among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder.
And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods which thou hast not known, and let us serve them. Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams.
For the Lord your God proveth you to know whether he loved the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. He shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and he shall serve him and cleave unto him.
When a sign or a wonder was wrought in Israel, the person who saw it was not so much to be concerned whether the sign or wonder came to pass, but he was rather to be concerned with whether this person who was doing it was leading him away from the true knowledge of God and from obedience to His Word. And brethren, let me say this, if you want to see these.
Professed signs and wonders Today you're going to have to take a first step in disobedience to the Word of God.
You're going to have to go someplace where part of the truth of God is given up.
And perhaps you may find even the person of Christ attacked in that very place. Now you say, well, are they doing it? That's not the question. The question is, are we going to leave the Word of God and the truth of God to see this sort of thing, which in the end only turns out to be an imitation of what God did in the beginning of Christianity to confirm the Word?
I understand that there is no reference to.
Faith healing.
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After the 28th of Acts.
In chronological time prolong the subject, but I we might just mention and touch on a an aspect that is.
Gaining quite a bit of ground among some who one would consider to be true believers and that is that these tongues is a sort of a medium of communion with God that is they reject it as being some public display, but they.
They speak in tongues privately and this is a.
Misunderstanding of the very purpose of tongues. It was never given.
To individuals to enhance communion, to draw one near to God.
Wherefore tongues are for a sign, I believe is as plain as God could make it. Tongues are for a sign not to them that believe, but to them that believe not. And in our chapter here, it was God bearing witness. And that's what these signs are for. It was never intended to be a mark of spirituality. I was never intended to be.
A medium of communion, and that is. That is one of the subtle ways in which it's being.
Propagated and persons who have some desire for.
A close walk with the Lord and to walk in nearness to the Lord might be might be enticed into that, whereas they would not be enticed in these extravagant displays and tongues and so forth. But that's a misunderstanding. Tongues never have any connection with communion. And in First Corinthians 14.
Which is the chapter that is often used they there's a misunderstanding there.
The point in this 14th chapter is that the the apostle is showing the superiority of prophesying that he is speaking the mind of God to his people over any of the sign gifts such as tongues and the.
He uses language. We know, of course, that the expression unknown, which is italicized in our King James.
Should not really be there. It's not so much an unknown tongue at all.
As we see in Acts chapter 2 That they were known tongues that they spoke in. So it's not some mysterious formula that one uses in communion. You leave out the word unknown but the in verse 2. For he that speaketh in a tongue speaketh not unto men but unto God. For no man understandeth him. And that's been twisted to mean that.
There is a type of tongue speaking.
That has nothing to do with speaking to men, but speaking only to God. Well, what he is saying here is that if one arises in the midst of the Lord's people gathered together and speaks in a tongue unknown to them, God understands what he's saying. But the men or the people there don't understand what he's saying if someone were to arise here or speak in the reading here in Arabic.
I may be safe in saying that no one here, but nobody's saying.
But God would know but that it's not that's not saying that he should speak in those languages to God is saying that if one speaks in the gatherings of the Lords people in a in a tongue which he might have, but others do not have, then.
They're not edified. He's not really speaking to men at all. He's speaking a language that only he might know, of course, and God knows what he's saying. But this is not a this is not a scripture to be used that we should speak in a language and only God knows. It's really a word of correction to them, isn't it? That if they do speak in a tongue, he says that he'd rather speak 5 words with his understanding than.
5000 in a in a tongue, you know.
So that he's pointing out that if they speak in these tongues that the people do not know the effect is only that he's as it were just speaking to God and not to men be prophesying would has its place. They there's different forms that ministry can take there. It can take the form of teaching.
It can take the form of of an address in that way that one might be teaching the Saints.
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And it might even take the form of teaching at a reading, but prophesying I take it has is more the bringing the to the Saints into the hearts and conscience of the Saints that the mind of God that is God's particular word to them at that time.
Romans 16, verse 25 Now to him that is of power to establish you, according to my gospel.
And according to the preaching of Jesus Christ, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began.
But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God.
Made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. And if you turn over to Ephesians chapter 2.
Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 20.
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.
The prophets in Romans chapter 16 are New Testament prophets and also in Ephesians chapter 2 and the apostles and prophets where the foundation layers for Christianity. We do not have prophets in that sense today. The foundation has been laid and by those whom God used.
Prophets really, in that sense, were telling about the future.
And the apostles were bringing out the full truth of Christianity, and upon this the foundation of Christianity rests. And there that does not exist today, because the foundation has been laid, Paul said in First Corinthians 3. As a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereupon.
So I believe that prophets in the New Testament are looked at in those two different ways.
Those that existed in the times when the New Testament was written.
And has been have been used of God to lay the foundation of Christianity.
But it still exists today. As our brother was saying, there are those who prophecy and as First Corinthians 14 says, he that prophesieth speaketh unto man to edification, exhortation and comfort. Notice there's nothing in those verses about foretelling the future, but speaking for the up building of the Saints that certification.
Exhortation stirring us up as to our walking ways.
And comfort, because there are many trials of difficulties in the Christian pathway and ministry has the character in the present of bringing those things before us that would either exhort us or build us up, or comfort us. But I say this because there are those who teach that today God is foretelling the future and prophecy.
In the minds of some, is the same as it was in the Old Testament and in the New Testament scriptures.
The result has been that they have added something to the authority of God's Word that as we have it, it's not really complete, but there are actually those who are adding something to the divine revelation. This is not so, brethren. We should be clear about that. And so that prophecy as we have it today is taking what God has given, the foundation already having been laid.
And ministering in such a way as to build upon that foundation that has been laid.
And we need that. I trust we're having it today so that we would be strengthened not by adding something, but by.
Enjoying and understanding in a fuller way what God has already given as the foundation of Christianity. One more question, brother. Hey ho, in connection with the day in which we live.
The part of a sister prophesying.
How would that fit in in our day? And we have the scripture about a woman prophesying with her head uncovered. Is there an application of that in our day-to-day as you see it?
I believe sisters who are in communion with the Lord may speak a word of great wisdom to another sister, sometimes even to a brother.
Occupying still her place, she is used of God to communicate His mind in connection with what the Word of God says. In fact, I believe that the sister can be a great blessing to other sisters in giving them godly advice founded upon the Word of God.
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And if they're in communion with the Lord, they will speak His mind for the given occasion. In days of weakness, God might even use them to speak to a brother. Now, this doesn't mean addressing a meeting, but God used Deborah to communicate God's mind to Barack, and He used Holder to communicate God's mind to Josiah. These were sad days of weakness in Israel's history.
The sisters didn't get out of their place, but they were walking closer to the Lord than the men were.
And God used them in their private way. So I believe there is that sphere of usefulness.
In a private way for a sister, and in a private and public way for a brother, knowing the mind of God and speaking forth his mind for a given occasions. It might serve as a warning just to notice once again in First Corinthians 14 and verse 12.
I believe here in this verse, the apostle puts his finger on the real trouble.
That is, he says, Even so, for as much as ye are zealous of spirits, that's the way it should read zealous of spirits. And I really believe that's what we have nowadays. There's a, a zeal for spirit. But what are the spirits behind this? But there is certainly this activity and a zeal for spirits. But you know, if you take this 14th chapter as a whole, I believe we have in it all that we need.
To answer to these things.
And you have what regulates the part of the sisters. You have what's brought out so plainly that God is not the author of confusion.
And all of these things are regulated in that way. And so I thought of it in this way. In accord with Isaiah, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there's no light in them, just in plain and simple language.
Hebrews 2:5-9
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Hebrews, the second chapter.
Verse 5.
For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.
But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him?
Or the Son of Man, that thou visitest him, thou madest him a little lower than the angels.
Thou promised him with glory and honor, and it set him over the works of thy hand.
Allow us put all things in subjection under his feet, or in that he put all in subjection under him.
He left nothing that is not but under him, but now we see not yet all things put under him.
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death.
Frowned with glory and honor, that he, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man.
For it became Him for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory.
To make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
For both he that sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of one, for which 'cause he is not ashamed to call them.
Brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee, and again I will put my trust in him. And again, behold I and the children which God hath given me.
As much, then, as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same.
That through death he might destroy him. That had the power of death. That is the devil.
And deliver them, who through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to *******.
For verily he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Or in that he for in that He himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.
The verses we had this morning.
The great part and subject was so great salvation, that great salvation and I believe verse five would introduce the one who is the author lead us on to the subject, the one who is the author and leader in that salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ and is brought before us.
The.
That salvation culminates in the glory in the world to come, and we see in the verses that follow how He has accomplished that salvation.
Through the work of the cross and is overcoming the power of the enemy and the way he is leading on in that salvation and leading us through the wilderness, conducting us on to the glory, and it culminates in the world to come that he mentions in verse 5.
The world to come. That's the time when.
The salvation will be on display, as it were. It will be.
There will be a public demonstration of what God has accomplished through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, a public display of that. We know that the the world in which we are living now is described as this present evil world in Galatians 1. And so it is that the world filled with evil and opposition to God.
And.
A hostile scene to the large people. It's not only that there is a great immorality, but what really characterizes this world as being evil is its opposition to to God and to Christ. He has been turned out of it. And this world to come is that world in which everything is of God and God's will is supreme, and where the Lord Jesus is the center.
Well, that's what's introduced here is that.
That world which is to come, and I might mention that in Scripture we have.
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Three worlds brought out.
In Two Peter 3.
We read of the world that then was being overflowed with a flood, perished The world that then was, that was the world before the flood. And that world has been, has perished, has been completely lost. And a new world began, as it were, with Noah and his sons, and that's the world in which we are living now.
And that world began after the flood, and it's it's the present evil world.
But here we have the world to come, the world of which the Lord Jesus is the center.
And where everything is of God, and this is the world.
That we are to be occupied with, he says. This is the world whereof we speak.
Of course we know that being in this present evil world, we would be conversant with what is going on. We know that that when the Lord was here, He was aware of current events in His day, the tower of Siloam that fell upon those men, and so forth. And we are conversant.
With what is going on in this present world, but the that which.
Is of interest to us. Is not this present evil world only God's work in it is that which we would find a real interest and delight in And what God is working in this world? Because you know, when the Lord Jesus was here, he said that that he had to work the works of him that sent me. Because the night cometh and no man worketh. And he could say my Father worketh hitherto and I were, and now he is going back to the glory.
The work of God going on in this world and that is of interest to the Saints. It should be.
But as to the world itself, this present evil world, it isn't really a subject of interest to the child of God. It isn't that which occupies his thoughts and his pursuits and his conversation. But the world to come is that whereof we speak.
And it doesn't only involve the salvation.
Of people because in that end of the ninth verse it says should taste death for everything. So there's going to be a complete change, isn't there, that work on the cross.
Includes salvation of the soul of people, but it also is going to mean a transformation of the whole world. A wonderful display of the power and grace of God, isn't it? And I was thinking, what a contrast.
As we look about in this world today and the conditions that exist and have existed ever since.
The this world began and what a contrast in the world to come, where the power and the grace and the glory of God is in in full demonstration.
In April 6 two. In Hebrew six, it says that those signed gifts had to do with the.
World to come, it says the powers of the age to come. And so that's why they were given, to show that this blessed One who came down and took that place of humiliation is the one who will occupy that glorious place and will have his rightful place in that day. Those signs that introduced it showed that the blessing was not going to be limited to one nation.
But in heaven there will be some from every kindred and tongue and people and nation.
And then that blessing will take place upon the earth, and then to the whole Lord creation. As our brother remark, we have that in the 8th chapter of Romans, where it tells us that the whole creation is groaning. Even the creature itself is suffering under the results of the fall of the first man, and they've been subjected to the results of that and live a vain life.
But in that coming day, when the Lord Jesus has his rightful place.
Now then, the blessing will spread out through the whole earth. The heavenly Saints will be gathered from every kindred and tongue and people and nation.
And as we have in Ephesians one and 10 in the dispensation of the fullness of times.
He will gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven.
And which are on earth even in him. I think if we see this, then we understand even the necessity of those signs to show that this one was the person who's going to bring this all about. It's not going to be like when the law was given, it was given by the dispensation of angels, and angels played a great part in connection with the Old Testament economy.
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But isn't it blessed that in Christianity it's a man?
The Lord Jesus as man who is going to occupy that place. Adam as the first man was placed over the creation and everything fell into ruin.
Sin came in the Lord, creation had to suffer. The Tower of Babel brought in all the various languages. But there's a second man, there's the last Adam, and through him everything is going to be set right, and he is bringing into association with himself redeemed men.
And what a place to think the Lord passed by angels, came down and became a man, has gone up on high, taking the place above the angels, and has associated with himself those who will be occupied in relationship with himself in that place.
What a glorious truth is opened up to us here. Couldn't we say that this great salvation too?
One of the reasons you're Speaking of is a great salvation, that it really goes even beyond the salvation of our souls and takes in that.
That great deliverance that God is going to affect for the whole creation and that's we want to have our thoughts enlarged to think that that God is going to demonstrate in that world to come the his great power and glory that to deliver not only individuals, but as we've been bringing out the this lower creation, everything brought into blessing through the.
Grace and goodness of God. So it's a great salvation.
Well, definitely worried that I had within in the Gospel of John chapter 12 in connection with the judgment of this evil world that was already pronounced by the Lord Jesus before when he went to the cross. I like to read that verse. It's in chapter 12 is what it says there.
Season verse 31 of the 12Th chapter, he says now is the judgment of this world, nor shall the Prince of this world be cast out. And of course, the judgment has been already pronounced, and the only thing we're waiting for is for the execution of the judgment of the civil world, isn't it?
And then I couldn't just say, no, you're not that you're going to rain.
We're going to reign with Christ, and don't we? What a place he has given us is not the place of the Angel any longer, but he's going to be Christ and we associated with Him. What a glory, what a privilege in Second Timothy say if we suffer with them, we shall also reign with them.
That's the place that we're going to have.
Would someone speak a bit about that?
5th verse.
For under the angels hath he not put in subjection.
The world to come.
Would it be in connection with what we have in First Corinthians chapter six? First Corinthians chapter 6?
Says in the.
Second verse. Do you not know that the Saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more the things that pertain to this life?
So we know that, as we remark, the law was given by the dispensation of angels, and God communicated much through angels through the Old Testament in communicating his mind.
But now in Christianity, because the Lord Jesus became a man and has taken his place as man at the right hand of God, therefore man has been lifted above the angels, that is in association with Christ, and so when the Kingdom is set up.
If you turn over also to Hebrews chapter 12.
Hebrews chapter 12. I'd just like to read this as it is in the new translation because I think it makes it a little clearer.
Hebrews 12 and verse 22 But ye have come to Mount Zion.
And to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem, And to myriads of angels the universal gathering. And to the assembly of the first born who are registered in heaven. And to God, the Judge of all. And to the spirits of just man made perfect. What I particularly wish to call attention to was, and to myriads of angels, the universal gathering.
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And if you turn over to Revelation in chapters four and five, you see that the ones who occupy the nearest place to the throne.
In the coming day are not the angels now they are there ministering spirits sent forth to minister to them, who shall be heirs of salvation. But when the Saints are gathered to glory, as they, as the redeemed, will occupy the nearest place to the throne, the angels, so to speak, will not have that place. They will be gathered in, and the government of the earth will be in the hands of man. And so the Lord said when he spoke.
Rewards in the coming day Be thou over 5 cities. Be thou over 10 cities.
What a marvelous thing it is. It hasn't been placed in the hand of angels to govern. Now they are occupying a certain place, not exactly the same place as in the Old Testament, because God is showing through the church the manifold wisdom of God.
But they're going to be gathered in and replaced, if I can use that expression, by men who will be in the place over angels, judging angels in that sense, and having a higher place in the government of the world to come than even the angels.
It was God's thought in the beginning, wasn't it, when man was placed in the garden?
That he would be over this lower creation, and that he would.
Administer everything here for the glory of God and for the pleasure of God.
And we know that the man failed the 1St man. And the world that we find around us today is the world of the first man. But the world to come is the world of the 2nd man. And he's going to fulfill all that was in the heart of God in the thought of God that God had in setting up the 1St man. We know that when the 1St man was set up.
That God really had in mind Christ, and He is going to fulfill all of the thoughts of God.
So angels were not given the administration of this earth, were they? They? It was to Adam that he was. The headship was given over this lower creation, and now the Lord Jesus is going to fulfill it. It's wonderful to see in Scripture that none of the thoughts of God are ever lost. That is what God had in His mind.
And creation and all of his purposes.
Even though the man has been tested in regard to them and there was a time when a man had a responsibility in seeking to carry them out and he has failed, they're all going to be fulfilled and realized in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so this thought of the universal dominion of man is going to be realized in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And as our brother was saying, we're going to share that with him and even.
Angels will be in subjection to the Saints. I believe in Revelation 21 where we have the.
The Church under the figure of a city reigning with Christ in that millennial glory. We see that the angels are are, you might say, messengers, that they're subject to the Saints. And in that sense we will judge angels. They will be those who will carry out the administrative orders, you might say, of the Saints reigning with Christ.
But we don't find angels.
Carrying out spiritual.
Work do we? I was thinking of in Acts chapter 8 when Philip was sent.
To to meet the Ethiopian, it says that, and the Angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise and go toward the South, under the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza. But then when the spiritual work started, the 29th verse, then the Spirit said unto Philip.
Go near and join thyself to this chariot. And so on South, we don't find the angels carrying out spiritual work so much as the physical work doing.
We see, however, that the angels no doubt would enjoy the happier occupation of bringing before the Saints pleasant things rather than carrying out judicial things. What I mentioned in that regard is in Revelation 21.
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In verse nine it says, And there came unto me one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues. Well, you would think by such an occupation.
That that Angel would be very firm and hard hearted. Back in Deuteronomy it says fear thou, him and so forth. But here we see that this very same Angel has the of presenting the bride, the Lamb's wife. He would much rather do that, I'm sure, than pour out those vials, those bowls of judgment.
In Ephesians chapter three in the ninth verse.
Well, I could begin at the eighth verse unto me who am less than the least of All Saints. Is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all the word man is in italics here. It's all intelligences, really. And to make all see what is the administration of the mystery which from the beginning of the world has been hitting God, who created.
By Jesus Christ to the intent, that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places.
Might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God. It also says in Peter.
It says which things the angels desire to look into. And So what are the angels doing now?
Why, they're looking down and seeing a redeemed man like Paul, once an enemy of Christ, once those who persecuted for once a man who persecuted those who called upon his name. Now he is the one who is telling out this wonderful truth that God has found delight in man and that he is going to gather out of this scene a bride for Christ. And as man, he will have that bride.
And the angels looked down and see the administration of this mystery here in this world. They had no part in the proclamation of it. They did at the time the law was given. It was given by the dispensation of angels. But now they see a man who is used of God to unfold this wonderful mystery, and to see God doing this great work. Well, it ought to touch our hearts. Brethren, what is man? Frail man?
Who once rose in rebellion against God to think that God has now become a man in the person of Christ, and has taken his place above the angels and associated redeemed men to be in association with Him. And as we have further on in this second chapter of Hebrews, he is not ashamed to call us brethren. And when it says that we're all of one, it's not the thought they're in.
Hebrews 2 That we're one in the fact of being members in the body of Christ.
But rather the thought of being one in kind, that is, there's a man in the glory, and he wears our nature upon the throne. That is a holy man, one who has that glorified body that he took in resurrection. And to we're going to be associated with him. And now he is there as a man. We're going to be there with him, having his very life and nature.
To enjoy that well, what a what a marvelous place he's bringing this before us in this chapter. And so I say it's not only that we're one that's being united to one another into Christ ahead in the body of Christ, but there's a man in the glory and we're men redeem man to be brought into that place of association with him as men.
Hear the thought of man, is it not? What is man?
Here it's man according to the purpose of God, what God purposed in man it's and God's purpose was that he should be in this place of, of administrative power and authority and head over everything. Here below, it's man according to God's purpose and the Lord Jesus fulfills that.
Now, Joe, we have the expression. Job makes the expression what is man and that God would take an account of him. But there the thought is of man as a weak creature. It's not, it's not man according to the purpose of God, but it's man in his weakness as a Marvel creature here in this scene.
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And then again in Psalm 144, I believe it is.
Again, the expression is found, what is man that thou hast taken account of him. And there I believe it's the thought is that God is going to fulfill all of his purposes. He's going to accomplish everything that he has undertaken to do. And what is man to stand in the way that his man cannot in any way interfere with what God is going to do. So there are various ways in which we can look at man. We can look at man as a as a marvel.
Creature as he is, and that's the view that Job speaks of. Or we can look at man as in opposition to God and we know he is he has his own thoughts and he's opposed to God. But what is man to stand in the way of God's movements? He's going to accomplish all that he purposes. But here we have man not in those ways, but we have man according to God's purpose, what God's purpose was in in.
Having man and his purpose was that man should have universal dominion.
And the Lord Jesus is the one who fulfills that purpose.
I really have never been clear on this myself. The quotation here is from the 8th of Psalms, a literal quotation.
I have heard some expressions here. What is man?
As referring to created man or the Son of man as referring to Christ.
My own after the progeny or the offspring of created men and God visiting in grace. Is that a right thought that the Son of man is not Christ here, but the mankind itself?
Yes. Oh well, I believe it's the it's man according to the fault and concept of God. That is what God had in mind in regard to man. That is the very thought when God thought of man, he had Christ in view.
What is man? I believe this has been answered, but the next question or the Son of Man?
Some have.
Put this forth as being no Christ, the Son of man visiting, but would it not be the mankind in general?
What is, what is man is, what is his offspring, shall we say? Well, I would take it that way. I don't think here is necessarily the official title, you might say, of Christ is the Son of man.
We know, of course, that He takes that place as the Son of man. He takes it in grace because he undertakes the the cause of man.
And he undertakes to fulfill all that God had purposed in man. And in that sense, I believe we can speak of him as the Son of man. He becomes a man in order to not only bring man into blessing, but to answer to God for all that, all that.
Man.
Should be all that God desired in man, yeah.
In the Gospel of Matthew, oftentimes he brought to the Lord Jesus presents himself as the son of a man, whether for blessing or for judgment. For NCC, for the son of a man, he's come to seek and to save that which was lost. And in the 25 chapter of Matthew says when the Son of man shall come, and then he's going to come in judgment and make a separation between the ghost and the sheep. And oftentimes we read the title, the title that he takes.
As the son of man, and I would apply to him that is the scientist that belongs to him and to him alone.
Well, I suppose man would be the, you might say the generic fault, but Son of Man is more representative, isn't it?
Ezekiel is spoken of as the Son of Man. He's called the Son of Man.
I just suggest this thought in connection with it, that when it says what is man, that thou art mindful of him?
It is, as our brother said, man in the purposes of God. But when we look at Adam himself as a man, he was created for that particular purpose, to have dominion, but we know that he failed utterly and brought in the ruin of the whole creation. And so it's through the Son of man that is, that's the Lord Jesus. If it said what is man? Well, why should God have any delight in man when in the representation of.
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Everything failed and broke down, but the Lord Jesus is the Son of man.
He is the one who was born a man into this world, and as we have in First Corinthians 15, the 2nd man is the Lord from heaven.
So the Son of Man will not look at here as an official title is really that which connects with the Lord Jesus.
He wasn't the 1St man, because man was the one placed in that position who broke down. But the Son of Man, the promised seed, is the one through whom all the purposes of God. Originally He had these purposes, but it's the Son of Man who brings in the fulfillment of these purposes.
And he was made a little lower than the angels. Now that's the place that Adam occupied.
Because angels were of a higher order in creation, it tells us that angels are greater in power and might. This is mentioned in the in Jude and so here. This one who was to fulfill these purposes of God took a place lower than the angels.
So when he is saying, what is man? Why, why should God have delight in man? Well, he had a man, the Son of man, the one who would fulfill his purposes. And he takes the place down lower than the angels. And then because of who he is, but he's God and man, he rises and takes a place at both.
The angels and that blessed man is God's man, the man of his counsels, the man of his purposes who will fulfill all his will.
That I think is would fit in with what you were saying. The thought of sees me, the thought of the Son of man is representation. He, he takes that place as man and he represents man as God, as God looks upon his beloved Son and as a man he sees in him all that God desired in man. And so he really man is represented before God in Christ.
And I think that's a wonderful thought because when we look at man.
In the flesh, the 1St man. What a terrible sight we see.
And how Scripture presents him. And we know from experience what man in the flesh is.
But as God thinks of man, he sees man represented in Christ, and one that is.
In whom he can take delight. And so I believe that's what this passage is really bringing before us. It's not the first man and man in the flesh, but it's the second man, the Lord out of heaven, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Son of man and represents man before God. And so he, he's going to fulfill all that God has.
And his purposes for man.
Beautiful to connect this with in the Lord in exaltation in Psalm 80 and verse 17.
Psalm 80 In verse 17, let thy right hand be upon.
The man of thy right hand upon the Son of man, whom thou madest strong for thyself.
Well, if he were going to be the representative man, if he were going to represent man, he would have to, he would have to not only become man, but to take on him the liabilities that lay against man. And this is brought out in this chapter 2. Isn't it how that he takes upon himself those liabilities, sins that which we were guilty?
But I like to to to think of the that God can take delight and pleasure in man now.
But it's only in connection with Christ. This is the second man, and he finds his delight in him as man and in the Saints is associated with him.
Just like that one little comment in connection with the title of Son of Man. We get this in the Gospel of Luke where we have grace reaching out beyond the bounds of Israel. As to Israel, he was the son of David. And so there was that blessing that God had purposed toward them as a nation, but God didn't intend to confine the blessing to that one nation. And the title of Son of Man could include not only the nation.
Israel. But we who don't belong to that nation are not part of it. We are men. And so that title the Lord takes is not only in connection with the place that He is the man of God's counsels and that He will execute judgment, but it brings in the thought, and this is quite often introduced in the Scripture. It brings in the thought of the largeness of God's purposes to reach out beyond the nation of Israel.
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And to save from every kindred and tongue and people and nation.
And so that the whole thought, in fact, this brings in what we were talking about before about tongues that came in because ruin and failure. But all that is going to disappear. God has through that which He was doing on the day of Pentecost was introducing this new thing. And now this blessed One is not presented here as the Son of David, but as the Son of man. For it's mankind that is the thought in being brought into.
I just mentioned this because it's interesting to see the Lord taking that title.
When we see the rejection of Israel, He takes that new title in regard to the blessing of the Gentiles.
Notice in chapter 3 while we're looking at that and John, that in verse eight he says the wind bloweth where it listed thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth. So is every one that is born of the spirit. That's a much broader thought. You see, that could take in all that's not just confined to a certain nation, but there it's brought in its thoughts. So is everyone that.
Of the Spirit, those angels you know, here we speak of His being made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death. Those angels were in such a superior position, and yet we see that at the birth of the Lord Jesus, they proclaim such joy, and they speak of glory to God on high, peace on earth, goodwill toward man. There's not a trace of jealousy.
In those beings. And that's something that's so good to get a hold of for our own hearts because.
We see that the Apostle had to bring that before the Corinthians in a practical way as to the body of Christ, how that God hath placed every member in the body, as it hath pleased him. And so where is there a place for a rival spirit, or jealousies? You see, we see with the angelic beings no trace of jealousy should there be in the body of Christ. Well, it's something to exercise our hearts.
These purposes have not yet been fulfilled.
And as we would go on, not to get ahead of ourselves, but in the latter part of this chapter, we're reminded that while we have such a wonderful prospect of the world to come before us and the elements of those worlds, of that world we, you might say we have, we can enter into now by faith and enjoy in our souls.
But we see not yet. It says in the verse in the verse 8.
Not yet all things put under him and I was thinking of a verse in the 10th chapter.
Where we exhorted there to cast, not away our confidence, which has great recompense of reward. And one would encourage the Saints in this, that while these things have not yet been fulfilled, we know that God is very soon going to bring this world into evidence. He's going to bring it up. He's going to be brought into existence. All right.
Or really, I shouldn't say existence. It's already exists. The Lord Jesus is already in the glory.
And it's about to be revealed, but it's going to be brought to pass and we don't want to castaway our confidence.
We have it has great recompense of reward and I believe that the apostle would bring these things out to to encourage these Hebrews that even though there may be a certain amount of suffering and trial at the present time being in a world that's opposed to God and it is a hostile world through which we pass and yet.
This world is is going to be brought in very shortly.
And we had a great recompense of reward. We see not yet all things put under him, but the Lord Jesus is already in that place. You might say that God has already.
Initiated this world to come. He's already started out. He's already initiated it because he has the man who is the center of it already in the glory. And we know when God began the first creation.
That he created the heavens and the earth, and then when the.
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Earth was without form and void. He made it over for man's habitation, and on the 6th day he made man.
In other words, He began with the creation of heaven and earth, and that worked terminates with the creation of man. But in the world to come, He starts with the man, He starts with the Lord Jesus the 2nd man, and it's going to culminate in the new heavens and the new earth. Of course, we know that the world to come, properly speaking, is the Millennium, but it goes on.
And culminates in that new heavens and new earth.
Where indwelleth righteousness, so God is already set things in order, set things in motion. I believe when the Lord Jesus went up into the glory at the right hand of the majesty on high, you might say that the machinery was set in motion to bring in this world to come. We have in the 28th chapter of Matthew, when the Lord Jesus appears to his own, He says it says that some doubted that his answer was.
All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Then we find again the Apostle Paul Speaking of this in Ephesians chapter one.
Telling us that the Lord Jesus has taken that place above all principality and power and might and dominion, and that he has had over all things to the Church which is his body. Then when encouraging the believers to take their place in identification with this rejected one in Peters epistle, he tells them that this one to whom they would be baptized.
Is head of all principality there it says angels and authorities and powers are made subject unto him.
Thought out to be, brethren, a present comfort to us, that while the Lord Jesus hasn't yet openly taken that place, He is in control. There is no power, there is nothing can happen in this whole universe but what He allows it. And although He hasn't openly taken the place of interfering, nevertheless, greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. And He has all power.
And so that nothing happens but what he allows it.
But we await the time when the Father says to the Son, Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. That time is yet to come. That is what is referred to here, when it says, we see not yet all things put under Him.
But I just mentioned the other because let us not be discouraged, although he hasn't taken that place openly.
He is in control and there's not a thing that moves in this universe that is not under His control. And more than this, He has a special care for His own. That verse is so beautiful. Head over all things to the church, which is His body. And if we have any doubts about the troubles and trials of our pathway, how comforting the Lord's message to those whom He met after His resurrection to tell them all.
Is given unto me in heaven and in earth. This ought to comfort us, and in his time.
He's going to interfere. I've enjoyed this thought in Revelation.
Chapter 3.
That in connection with the Philadelphian testimony in verse seven, that I believe the Lord has given a little sample of the power of the world to come.
He says.
These things, saith He.
That is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David.
He that openeth, and no man shutteth.
And no man opened it.
Well, that he of David, I believe from his quotation, is a millennial expression.
And so he says in verse eight, I know thy works. Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it, for thou hast it should be worded, I believe, a little power. I believe it's just the thought of a little power, a little sample of that power of the world to come. Thou hast a little power and has kept my word and has not denied my name. Something to think about.
The leading feature of that world to come is everything brought into subjection to God.
And I believe it's true that.
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At the present time.
The angels would be learning the manifold wisdom of God.
And in one way in which the wisdom of God is displayed is.
In bringing everything into objection to Christ, you know man has.
Tried all forms of government in trying to.
Bringing the world into order and to bring in the prosperity and peace.
And all have been a failure. But God's ardor is to bring everything into subjection to Christ.
And then there will be peace, then there will be prosperity. Well, that's true in the assembly now.
Among the Saints of God, that is, the basis for peace and joy among the Saints is in subjection to Christ as head and when the the angels observe. This should be a lesson book for the angels as they observe the Saints going on together in subjection to Christ and subjection to God and His will.
Why? There is peace and there is joy. We read in the Romans 14 that the Kingdom of God is righteousness.
A peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, so that the features of the world to come.
Are to be found among the Saints even today in subjection to Christ, God is.
Demonstrating to the angels how He can bring in that righteousness, peace and joy. And it's in subjection to Christ.
But I was thinking also too in the these expressions.
End of verse eight and the beginning of verse 9. But now we see not yet all things, but in verse 9.
But we see Jesus.
Well, we know that.
You might say the first seeing at the end of verse 8 is what we see with our physical eyes as we look about us. We do not see all things in subjection to Christ, just the opposite. But the second seeing in verse 9 is what we see by faith. We don't see this with our eyes, but we see Jesus by faith and.
I was just thinking of a little word of encouragement of the Saints that these.
This second in verse nine is is really what we want to be looking at.
The world to come is what we want to speak about and Jesus now crowned with glory and honor.
As the center of that world is what we want to see. Now of course that doesn't mean we're not we're going to close our eyes to everything round about. We have our we have our duties in this world. We have our responsibilities. We have our lives to live here in this scene. And of course we see physically, we see things, we know what's going on. But if this is all we see.
Then we are. We're going to become discouraged. We're going to become disheartened.
And we're in danger of slipping away like these Hebrews.
And that's why he wants to encourage them to have their eyes set on the Lord Jesus in the glory and and to be conversant with the world to come occupied with these things because there is nothing in this world that will help us along in our pathway. Everything here tends to to make us earthly minded. Everything here tends to occupy us with the things of this world which are all passing away. And so we need.
To not only see that all things are not subject to Him now, but to look up and see the One crowned with glory and honor.
Saying that, we have before us in our portion here the purpose of God in connection with man. He created man to be in that place of headship, but He also created him to be in a place of submission under the hand of God who had put him in that position. And so who could fulfill that?
Position. Well, God himself becomes a man and the person of Christ.
And the Lord Jesus comes down, and he completely turns about all the ruin and everything that has been brought about through sin.
And so, as it tells us, he reigns until all enemies are put under his feet.
Well, death was brought in, we know, by Adam sin. And so the Lord Jesus reigns until everything has been brought into the into the order that is according to the mind of God. Shall I say what he intended? Man in headship, in which the 1St man Adam utterly failed. Who could accomplish these purposes? Why man couldn't the 1St man, and the only man who could was the one who is God as well as man.
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And I enjoy that thought myself, that the Lord Jesus does all this.
And forever occupies the place of man, because that was in the purpose of God.
And God is never frustrated or unable to accomplish all that. He has purpose.
He most certainly will. So the one who is the head for all eternity occupies the place that is proper to man.
And that is the place of subjection. But he is also God. And so when it says here God is All in all.
It isn't the Father merely here, but it's the whole Trinity that is brought before us who could accomplish the purposes of God, Not a creature by himself at all. So the Father had these councils and purposes. The only one who could carry them out was His Son, and the only way they could be carried out was for His Son to become a man.
And he has undone the works of the devil. He has restored that which he took not away.
He has brought everything into order according to the mind and purposes of God. But that purpose is that a man should be the head. So the Father has counseled this. The one who is the head is God and also man, and the power is the Spirit of God. And so God is All in all. And there will be that eternal scene where God is supreme, where His purposes have been.
Accomplished, and they have been accomplished by one of the persons of the Godhead, who has become a man, who is God and also man.
Who for all eternity fills the place of God as well as man in perfection. And thus all the counsels of God are fulfilled. And so a glorious scene is really opened up. The Millennium in that sense becomes the introduction to the eternal state where everything is brought into order. And finally, at the great White throne, death itself is destroyed. And so that this blessed One who takes.
Of that new scene in heaven on earth is God the Son, and God is now All in all, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. And so his posterity, alas, as we know, was like himself, Adam begat his Son in his own image and likeness. But we have been brought into this new position by the 2nd man. And so it says, the new man is created in righteousness and true holiness.
And so there is going to be a company of mankind associated with this blessed One, that one who has been fruitful and through that mighty work of redemption is going to bring many sons home to glory. And there are going to be those who will share in that blessedness. Never be part of Deity, but share in the blessedness of the One who is in that position of headship. And that is what is opened up for.
Now as the captain of our salvation brethren, he's bringing us there for that glorious future. What a what a blessed thing has opened up to us in this chapter when Lord Jesus, and it's so lovely to me that he takes that place. We see Jesus doesn't say the Lord Jesus, but that lowly name that he took here as man. We see him as the center of all this, the captain, the one who's going to bring it all about.
It's that name and it's singular sense, isn't it, for our affections, Jesus.
The one that became a man. You have the same in the 12Th chapter, don't you? It brings us to him, to Jesus the mediator and so forth. That's really lovely to get ahold of for our souls. I think it's important to do as our brother Barry pointed out earlier, that this in verse nine, his sufferings on the cross indicated in the tasting of death.
It should read for all things.
Not merely every man that of course it extends to man would be thankful for that, but for all things, and I think this would connect with the.
Colossians, Chapter One.
The first chapter of Colossians and verse 20.
And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself, by him, I say, whether there be things on earth or things in heaven. So this reconciliation, as a result reconciliation would be the bringing in of conditions, not only as far as man is concerned, but the whole created scene, conditions that are pleasurable.
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To God it will be nothing, that nothing in which God cannot take pleasure, all things reconciled unto Himself.
Whether it be in earth or in heaven as a result of the work, but in verse 21 of that Colossians one and you that were sometimes alienated in enemies in your mind by wicked works. Yet now hath he reconciled? Well, as far as things are concerned, it's future, isn't it? As far as the Saints are concerned, we are reconciled now we are those who are brought into the the blessing that is going to be enjoyed.
Universally in the coming day, we we can enjoy it now he's tasted death for all things, not only us to reconcile us, but as far as the things in heaven and earth, everything brought into to a conformity to God and everything for his pleasure.
This comment because I think it's important for us to realize that when it speaks about bowing the knee in Philippians chapter 2, there's another sphere that is brought in there. It says that every knee should bow things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth. That is all will have to bow them. Eve, Satan and all his hosts, the lost, those who have rejected this grace of God.
We'll all have to bow the knee and we'll never be reconciled. I say this because there is a teaching that everything finally will be reconciled. Yes, all things in heaven and earth, but not things under the earth. And it's a very, very solemn and awful picture that is brought before us that because God is a holy God and that there's only one possible way that the question of sin could be settled.
And that is through the work of His blessed Son upon the cross, that those who have rejected or despised that word will not share in that blessed scene that is to be brought in. There is no possibility of reconciliation in any other way but through the death and blood shedding of the Lord Jesus Christ. If there's anyone here this afternoon who is not saved, what a solemn warning. All His blessedness that is going to be brought in.
By this one Jesus Jehovah the Savior, the one who took that lowly place and tasted death for everything, opened up the way of blessing for the whole creation and all mankind, For the blood is on the mercy seat for whosoever will.
To think that there might be some here who are despising that grace and who will not share in that coming scene of glory.
For there will be no reconciliation of the loss in the eternal state, only of things in heaven and things in earth, brought into the mind and character of God, and blessed according to his own heart, but founded upon redemptions. Work. The Lord Jesus made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, and he tasted death, that we might never have to taste it, in the ninth verse.
There we have the.
The tasting of death is his death on the cross.
Suffering for others in atonement and to.
But in verse 10 it became Him for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
At least I've taken it this way, and perhaps you might correct me if I'm wrong, Brother Hayhoe, but I've taken it that here it's his sufferings, not just in the way of atonement, but it was a pathway of suffering. It was becoming that to God the Father that the Lord Jesus should go through that pathway of suffering.
That he might be that leader.
Of our salvation because we are passing through a scene where the Saints suffer. We are passing through a scene that is.
Under Satan's power and departed from God, and he passed through the same scene before he went into the glory.
He passed through this scene and it was sufferings for him all along the way. We escaped sufferings often because of our unfaithfulness, but for him it was sufferings all the way because he was obedient. He learned obedience by the things that he suffered as he was obedient to God. It brought into his pathway sufferings all along the way. Well, that's the that's the pathway through which he's really leading us, isn't it? A pathway of.
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Of glory at the end, but its sufferings on the way.
I have enjoyed that thought because.
It's wonderful to think, you know, a captain in an army might order his men into an engagement and he doesn't understand what the men are going to have to face. It may be much more difficult for them than he had expected. But isn't it wonderful that if we are called upon to walk in a difficult path, and if there's trial and suffering connected with following Christ, the captain has been in all those things ahead of us, and he'll never order us into an engagement that he doesn't?
Just exactly what we're going to have to meet. He has already been through that storm himself, and as you say, it's not the atoning sufferings in view here. He was alone in that. We have no partners share in that alone He bore the cross, but in His blessed pathway that all of these suffered at the hands of man. He has gone through that in order that He can be a merciful and faithful High Priest and the Captain of our salvation.
In that he passed through all these things before us. What a blessed comfort we have in this.
So everything is taken up in this chapter to show us how completely this blessed One has glorified God, has met our need not only for eternity, but for the whole pathway. Believe it means that He learned what obedience cost. And so in the pathway of the Lord Jesus, there was no question. He always found His delight and joy in doing His Father's will.
But when he wouldn't turn stones into bread when he was hungry?
He still suffered hunger. His obedience didn't remove that suffering, but he still continued to suffer.
And so in his whole pathway, he has marked out the path, but he also knows what obedience costs.
And in that way He was made perfect through suffering. In that way He knows the cost of obedience. Up there in the glory He was ever the Father's delight. There was no suffering in that glorious scene. But He came down here. He knows now what obedience cost. And He has done that pathway, walked it perfectly, and has gone up on high.
And more than this, He has not only fitted us for the glory, but He he can, as we had in Hebrews 4, He supplies all the strength that we need.
For every step in the pathway, yes, we can look at the cross.
In two ways, In that sense, we can look at the cross as a vicarious work of atonement, but we can also look at it as being an act of obedience on the part of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. There is not bringing out so much of the cross is putting away our sins, but across the cross as the expression of the extent to which is.
Sufferings to which His obedience took Him. His obedience took Him to sufferings, even to the point of suffering there on the cross. But He was obedient that took Him there. Of course, He before He was became mad, before the Word became flesh, He was not in circumstances that required obedience, but when He became a man. We know that the place that belongs to man is to be obedient and He fulfilled.
Quickly. And so it was a new, you might say a new circumstance for him. He had never been in circumstances that required obedience, but he fulfilled it perfectly, even though it cost great sufferings. And it's remarkable that that in our verse here that this is the way that we are being LED.
We're being LED along the same way at the captain. He has gone that way and now he's leading us and his.
Desire is that we would, as it were.
Be as he was, that is to be obedient, even though it it is a pathway of suffering.
Hebrews 2:10-
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In the book of Hebrews, the 2nd chapter, we might start with the 10th verse today.
For it became him.
For whom are all things, and by whom are all things? In bringing many sons unto glory?
To make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Or both. He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one.
For which 'cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.
Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
And again I will put my trust in him, and again behold I and the children which God hath given me.
Or as much, then, as the children are partakers of flesh and blood.
He also himself likewise took part of the same that through death.
He might destroy him that had the power of death. That is the devil.
And deliver them, who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bonding.
For verily he took not on him Angel, but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Wherefore in all things had behooved him to be made like unto his brethren?
That he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God.
To make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Or in that He himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.
**** your brother and the end of the sixth verse of our chapter, but I don't think.
It was mentioned yesterday.
And I wonder about the significance of it and these words that thou visited him.
At the end of the sixth verse, what is man? That our mindful attempt are the Son of Man, that thou visited him. And I think many of us here would probably like to have a little explanation of those.
That little question there, that thou visited him.
In the first chapter of Luke, which might give some thought in connection with it.
Luke, chapter one.
Verse 77. To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins.
Through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the Dayspring from on high.
Hath visited us.
We think of who that one is who came down and visited us. He didn't visit us in the form of an Angel, but he visited us in the form of a man. And as God had those purposes of blessing for man, God himself becomes a man and the person of Christ, and in this way he visits man. He comes down to. Someone has said if you wanted to talk to a family you'd scare it away. But if you could become a family and talk to it, then there would be a.
And the marvel of all marvels is that the dayspring from on high, the Lord of glory, came down, and he became a man. What his man? Just a frail being, but God himself became a man. And in this way he visited us, took a place lower than the angels, but because of who this person is, now God has raised him up.
Giving him a place above the angels. He's taken his place above them.
And lifted man in that way because we shall be associated with Him in his coming glory. Lifted man to a place above angels too. But I believe it's he connected with that verse in Luke. It maybe helps to bring out the thought about Him visiting mankind in this way.
Instances where we see that the Lord no doubt was here on earth, that is, visiting or contacting man, there's always an uncertainty whether or not it was an Angel. I was thinking of the three that came to Abraham, but we see that one undoubtedly was the Lord, and then we think of those that were with the three.
Children there in the fire.
And the king says one is like the son of man, but I believe it should be a son of man. He was thinking of an Angel.
And then you have the Angel that visited Manoa, and no doubt that was the Lord, and perhaps it might have been the Lord that visited Gideon. But I just submit that it's a little vague, isn't it? But that there's nothing vague about his entrance into the world as a man in Luke.
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No, in fact in John it's and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Isn't it so that he it's not just?
A while the word visiting is used here, we don't want to get the thought that he just came on a visit. He he, he became a man. He didn't just take the farm as it were or come into a certain condition. He he actually became a man. And in the verses that we read this morning.
We have brought before us the.
You might say some of the reasons why he became a man, because that is really what we have in these verses we've read, is that he.
As we have it in our chapter.
In verse 14, far as much then as the children are particulars of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same. But as he became a man, and he became a man in order that he might be the he might lead the many sons to glory, to be the author, leader of salvation, and he.
He became a man in order to annul the power of Satan, who had.
Who held men in ******* through fear of death and he became a man in order to make propitiation for the sins.
Of the people, and that he might be a merciful and faithful High priest.
All he came into that place in manhood in order to accomplish these wonderful things that are brought before us in these verses that we read. The first being that he might be the author leader.
And our version says Captain of our salvation.
There are these instances in the Old Testament why it was even possible for angels to take a body and come down as those three men who appeared at Abrams tent door, one of whom was the Lord. The two were angels who later came to lot in Sodom saw that through the Old Testament we do find that angels and the Lord appeared on occasion, but it wasn't until the incarnation that that verse was fulfilled. A body has.
Prepared me. And so the Lord Jesus having come down and taken a body, he remains a man for all eternity. And when he rose from the dead and went up, it was said, this same Jesus which is taken from you shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. So those appearances in the Old Testament were simply in the same way. It couldn't be said of an Angel that they had been. An Angel became Incarnate, but it was so that they did.
Occasion take a body. But the Lord Jesus did something very very.
Marvelous as it's brought before us, He took a body and remains a man for all eternity. And in resurrection he's still a man, a man up there in the glory. And this is the implication of all that is brought before us here. The reason that he did it was having taken a body. He took a body not subject to death, but capable of dying. And so that's what it means. He was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death.
God, as God could not die.
Angels are ministering spirits, but God became a man in the person of Christ.
Took a body capable of death, went into death, rose again, and now he's a glorified man. And because he's there, he's the first fruits, and we are going to be glorified too, and have bodies of glory like him. So we mustn't, shall we say, confuse those appearances in the Old Testament of angels and of the Lord Himself with the incarnation and his becoming a man and the place that he now occupies as man as our.
Fulfill all his blessed work that he is fulfilling now and will for all eternity with redeemed men surrounding him in that glory. You couldn't say that those angels who took a body, it's not said of them that they kind of became flesh and blood. That refers, is it not to, to true humanity, but it refers, I believe, to the.
The state or condition in which the Lord took that humanity when He was here on earth, as you say He was not. It wasn't martial flesh.
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They we couldn't, we can't speak of the Lord of death working in the body of the Lord, because he was apart from sin.
But he did take flesh and blood which could be laid down in death, as we know he did. No man taketh my life from me, but I'll lay it down. And now he has taken it again, hasn't He? He's gone back into the glory. He's still a man, but he is in, you might say, a state in which death cannot take part. He's beyond that. He's now a man in resurrection glory beyond death.
Scripture speaks in this epistle to the Hebrews.
Who in the days of his flesh? Well, that's when he was here as a man.
And you might say in a sense with death before him, because he he laid, he was to lay down his life. But now death is entirely behind him, and he's a man in the glory. But here in this portion of the Hebrews, we have him coming into that state in condition in which we were found apart from sin, but a condition of flesh and blood here in this world.
In the abyss of the same Epistle of Hebrews.
Chapter 10 we read in verse 5. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body thou hast prepared. That's the incarnation, isn't he?
In one sense, the Lord Jesus remains the servant forever, as we read in the type of it in the 21St chapter of Exodus. He shall serve him forever. And then in the Gospel of Luke, the Lord Jesus is spoken of as the one who, when we get home to glory, will come forth and serve us. So for all eternity he remains a man, having taken that place, He serves us, ministers to.
US, and to our joy, and as we had in First Corinthians 15.
Even there in that eternal day, it says, Then shall the Son also be subject unto him, that it put all things under him. It was mentioned, and I think it's very beautiful to see that God had a purpose. He had. He had in purpose a scene where a man would be the head of it. And the first man failed utterly and brought in all the ruin. But now there is another man in God's counsels, the only man, perhaps I should say, of God's counsels, and.
That is the God man, the Lord Jesus himself, and he takes that.
Place of the head of the not only the earth as the place where Adam was placed, but because of who he is, he becomes the center of the whole scene that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth. Even in him. This blessed man, because of who he is, he's not only the center of everything in connection with this earth, but of the whole universe. And that's.
With whom were associated. And that's why it's beautifully brought out what he has done.
His present place and then what will be in the future, because for all eternity.
We will be associated with him the place that he has taken and when the.
Kingdom age is over and everything is brought into conformity according to the mind of God.
Then that whole scene will display a man as the center of all God's purposes with those who have been brought, those sons brought home to glory, associated with him in that was too marvelous for our souls to really take in. But the groundwork of it all is laid through the cross.
And His taking care of us as we travel there is his present work now. And all this is brought before us here in our chapter. I might just draw to your attention while we're thinking of it at this time, something I have enjoyed very much in my own soul, and that's in Judges Chapter 6.
Judges, Chapter 6.
Verse 25 And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Take thy father's young bullet, even the second Bullock, you notice the emphasis upon the second bullet of seven years old. And throw down the altar of bail that thy father hath, and cut down the Grove that is by it, and build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock.
Notice it's emphatic. This rock, I believe it's the same rock that we have over in verse 20.
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In the ordered place, all was according to God's order. And take the second bullet emphatically the second bullet.
And offer a birth sacrifice with the wood of the Grove which thou shalt cut. Then Gideon took ten men of his servants. And 10 course would suggest to us responsibility. The Lord Jesus met the full responsibility.
And then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord said unto him.
And so it was, well, we won't read that part, but verse 28. And when the men of the city rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of bail was cast down and the Grove was cut down. That was biased. And the second bullet was offered upon the altar that was built. So there was the sacrifice involved. But it seems like the Spirit of God would bring these lovely pictures before us to emphasize how that the 2nd man.
Glorified him.
The question is asked in respect to a verse in Psalm 34 and verse 7, The Angel of the Lord and campus about them that fear Him. The question is asked, would that apply to us today?
Well I think the 1St chapter in the last verse would answer that question. The 14th verse of Hebrews one, it says are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? And so there is that angelic care, caring for us. And then we also have in our chapter a real man, which of course was not revealed in the Psalms, a real man in the glory.
To whom we can come, to whom we can look as knowing every need, having trodden the pathway before us. So there is that angelic service, as well as the man in the glory who lives for us, our High Priest.
Well, Joshua might have thought that he was the one who was going to deliver the people of God.
That it was necessary that he should realize that the one who was going to deliver them, the one who was going to give them the land.
Was the Lord himself? And so when he says, art thou for us or for our adversaries?
That can be sort of a thought that can come into our minds as though the Lord couldn't do without me.
Well, the Lord appears, and we must take off our shoes and recognize that.
Nothing can be accomplished except by Him. He may use us, but if he who does all the work, and that's just as true now as it was in Joshua's time. A great moral lesson for us. I remember hearing about our brother Heaney who served the Lord in a past generation, and someone said to him, Brother Heaney, when did the Lord start to use you and his service?
And his quick reply was when I found he could do without me.
Well, that was a very good reply. Joshua needed to learn that. We all need to learn that. That when we think, oh, what will happen if I don't do this? Is this man against us or for us? Why we need to take off our shoes and recognize in his presence that he's the only one that can accomplish anything. If we're content to be nothing in his hand, then he might use us. But he is not against his people. But if we're setting up self, he may be against us too.
But if we're humble before him and recognize that everything that's done and can be done is in and through him.
Then he might use us, but he's the one who really does it. I think it's a very beautiful picture. And in that way it's connected here too. He is the captain of our salvation. He's the one who is going to accomplish all those purposes of God and bring every one of his own safely home to glory. What a cheer to our hearts.
And to everyone of us, when we think how we can failing we are. I believe it's the same thought that Peter takes up in his epistle when he says, if the righteous scarcely or with difficulty be saved, where shall the ungodly and the Sinner appear? Not one of us who are real believers would ever get through the wilderness journey if it were not for the priesthood of Christ, which supplies the strength that we need.
And so it's with difficulty all of us feel less. It's with difficulty we get through, but not by ourselves.
But by the one who is the captain, the high priest, it's beautiful. I might say, too, in the Epistle to the Hebrews we have nothing of his advocacy, because the point that is particularly emphasized in Hebrews is the completeness of his work. His advocacy has to do with restoring us when we have failed. But the great emphasis in Hebrews is that the work of Christ is so gloriously complete that the believer is presented in a.
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Standing before God by one offering hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. He's always looked at in that perfect standing, needing help. Now when you come to the Epistle of John, where you have the family, then we have advocacy because we do fail in the family.
But nothing changes our standing that is perfect. And so Christ presented as a perfect sacrifice. It would perhaps spoil that thought of our perfect standing to bring in something of advocacy. But when it's in John that's brought in. But here our standing is perfect. We're going to be there because the work has fitted us to be there. But we need help and we have the captain who is going to bring us through.
It's good to see that those that he's leading to glory are referred to as.
Sons, many sons, of course, and we rejoices our heart to think of the.
Multitude who belong to the Lord and are included in this. Many sons being brought to glory.
But I would suggest that we enter into this expression many sons.
We perhaps are inclined to think of ourselves as just a worthless sinners. In what sense is true? We never should forget what we were and what we would have continued to be apart from the grace of God. But God would occupy us too with with the dignity of the place in which we've been brought in association with His beloved Son, many sons.
And he says he's not ashamed to call them. Brethren, we've been Speaking of the.
Of the place that the Lord Jesus has now as the center of the God's universe. But here we see that He has those who are associated with Himself. He associates them with Himself as his brethren to share that place before the Father. Of course not. In deity we were never brought into association with the Lord Jesus.
As a divine person, but it's in association with him as becoming a man.
When he takes and I might say this too, that are being brought into association with him was not by means of the incarnation are are being united to Christ is after he has accomplished the work of redemption and is raised from the dead and a man in glory. We are associated with him in resurrection and it's the one who has gone through death.
And has been raised from the dead and ascended into the presence of God.
And it's only in that way that we are associated with him. You remember John?
Chapter 20 when Mary found him, the one whom her soul loved, the one that she missed after he was taken away from them and crucified and buried and when she finds him, why she wants to retain him here and now in our King James Version, the Lord's answer in John 22, her when when she takes hold of him is touch me not but literally it means.
Detained me not or hold me not.
She was seeking to have him here as the one whom she had known and enjoyed and loved as a man here in this world. But he says to her, Go unto my brethren, and say, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and my God, and your God, and so indicating to her that she would have him.
And she would be in association with him, but in a new way.
As the one who has ascended, he says to her, I have not yet ascended unto my Father. She would know him as the one ascended up in the glory, the one who has gone through the heavens and who, as we've been reminded, fills the heavens, and to be associated with Him as his brethren. You know, we, we tend to downgrade ourselves and what I mean by that and I I'm not taking away.
In any way the sense that we should ever have.
Of how bad the flesh is. I know that in me dwelleth no good thing that is in the flesh, but on the other hand, that God would have us to enter in and to be in the conscious understanding and enjoyment of the place into which He has brought us in association with the Lord Jesus. He's not ashamed to call us brethren.
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Now I might say too, that we can't turn that around and we would never refer to the Lord Jesus.
As our brother, but he's not ashamed to call us brethren, associating us with himself, because we have been made all one with him before the Father.
I believe, as we were saying before, it's nice to see that there is this oneness in believers in the three different ways presented in the Scripture. It says in First Corinthians 12 by 1 Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, and we have been made one in the body of Christ. And every believer indwelled by the Spirit of God is by the Spirit united to every other believer on earth. And.
The head in glory. But that is not the thought here. That was particularly the ministry that Paul was given in connection with the truth of the church.
So that we are in that position of oneness in John's ministry. It is more particularly our place as being one in the family.
We have been brought into the family of God and so there is a large family.
All those who have been born into that family partake of the life and nature of the family.
And there is a oneness so that you and I who are believers possess the very life of Christ and a Christ who is our life. And as we have in John's epistle, it says he was that eternal life and that he is our life, so that we actually are one in the family and we can enter into and enjoy that relationship as children of God. That is particularly brought before us in John's ministry.
But then there is, I believe, something.
Further that is brought before us here that the thought is rather one if I could use the expression one in kind.
And that is, I am not only a member of the body of Christ, and united to Christ the Head in glory.
I'm not only part of the family so that I can call God my father, but I am associated with a real man in the glory. He didn't take upon him the nature of angels. He took upon him the seed of Abraham so that I can look up and say I'm a man, but there's a real man in the glory.
And he wears my nature upon the throne. And now I am looking forward to the time when.
I, with all the redeemed company, will be around him, not as angels lifted to a wonderful place, but as men. And that is the oneness I believe that He's spoken of here, and that's why it says he's not ashamed to call us. Brethren, this ought to touch our hearts, that God has so revealed Himself that He has become a man in the person of Christ. There's a man at the right hand of God, and he is going to have redeemed man.
Around him with whom he is associated saw that we are members of the body of Christ. We are one in the family of God, but also we are we are men and he is a man. And I believe that's particularly the line of truth that he's brought before us here. So the captain is a man, the one who is our high priest is a man, the one with whom we're going to spend eternity as a man. And what a scene that will be.
When we surround him in all this enjoyment of this blessed relationship and in its fullness.
Well, I believe it's precious to see these different lines of truth that are opened up in the scripture.
The Sun has particularly the thought of dignity. Now we're spoken of as sons in connection with the dignity of our position, but in the relationship it's his children. It's very precious.
Verse 11 That the wake that he has done at the cross is precious blood has been so infinite in his value that he has set us apart, united with himself, sanctified we are sanctified to set apart with himself. How blessed we are, set apart, united with Him as one, sanctified because of the infinite bag of a special blood on the cross. We want to remember too that these these things.
They may sound very.
Elevated, but they're true of us not because of the perhaps we we of our feelings, but this is what God makes known to us as to our association with Christ, even while we're down here. It's not that this is a condition that we will enter into in the glory We're all we're even now of one sort, one kind, as our brother said, as the Father.
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Looks down upon Christ, He sees him associated with many brethren, and they're all alike. They're all alike. And one might say, well.
That that is really elevating us to a position that I'm not so sure we're worthy of. Well, it's he's not ashamed. It's a place he puts us in. It isn't a question of whether we are worthy. It's, it's what he is doing. And God, we're sanctified, we're set apart. It's all of God's work. And he associates us with his beloved son in this way that he looks down and sees that we're all of one, all of one sort.
Not Christ one thing and we another.
But we are all of one sort, and that's why He's not ashamed to call us brethren. And these are the ones he is leading to glory, and these are the ones he's going to introduce to the Father as those who have been given unto them, unto Him. And these are the one, the ones who's missed He would be in and singing praises or leading their praises to the Father, as we have in these quotations that follow in verses 12 and 13. It's all in connection with our.
Being of one sort with the Lord, one before the Father, with him. And the work will be complete when we bear the image as it should read the image of the heavenly one, because it says that He's going to transform these bodies of humiliation like unto His body of glory. That will complete the work, will it not?
Been put very simply, the Son of God.
Has become the Son of man, that the sons of men might become the sons of God.
Connection with this sanctification in the 10th chapter of Hebrews it's brought out what her brother was saying. The 10th chapter of Hebrews and the 10th verse. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all, and then the 14th verse. For by one offering he hath perfected forever.
Them that are sanctified. So it's no question of anything in ourselves at all. It's all through what he has done.
We couldn't be fully relaxed in his presence if we weren't conscious of the fact that we have been brought into this perfect standing before Him.
If we have any thought of worthiness in ourselves or something that we must attain to, then we can't be fully relaxed. If I go to your table and feel I must attain to something before I can really enjoy your presence, I'm not going to be relaxed there. But if I know that I have been fully accepted before and I come and sit there as one who is accepted now I can relax and enjoy.
Your presence and your company. And let us remember, brethren.
We will not have a better standing before God, even in glory than we have right now.
We are already in this place of perfect acceptance. And I say again and perhaps.
This helps to emphasize it. That's why the advocacy of Christ is not brought in, and Hebrews, because nothing is to mar this thought of the perfect place into which we have been brought. We are already accepted in the Beloved. We are already perfected forever, and we need help along the pathway. But the priesthood of Christ is not for our sins. It's to provide the help that we need. It's for our infirmities.
Come here this morning with a headache. Well, that headache may hinder in a certain measure our enjoyment of the Lord. So we say, oh, I don't know how I can enjoy the meeting while we look up to the Lord and he helps our infirmity. The Spirit helps our infirmities, helps us to rise above it. And so instead of allowing that to spoil it, we think, isn't it lovely? I can get that help and be lifted above this headache, not necessarily removed, but lurked it, above it and helped in it so that we.
Enjoy our portion. Are we expecting some difficulty when we return from these meetings? Well, there's one up there who says I'll help you. I'll provide all the grace and help that you need. He's able to save to the uttermost. We spoke a little of this this morning, the uttermost. There can never be any situation so difficult that he can't supply the help that is needed. So the priesthood of Christ is not, as I say, connected.
Our sins but to give us that help that we need along the pathway because he's bringing us home to glory, but he's already fitted us. We're already sanctified and we let me say again, we will never have a better standing than we have right now. Only the Spirit of God lead us to enjoy these things here and now. There is the practical side of sanctification, but that isn't the thought that's brought before us.
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It's the positional thing that which is the result.
Of the work of Christ, and this is what's brought before us here to encourage our hearts.
I think some of the young people might enjoy a little more breakdown on that word sanctification.
Well, it simply means set apart. And so we have been set apart in Hebrews. That's particularly connected with all the ordinances and everything that had to do with the Jewish ritual, because there was always something that had to be done. There was no end. The priest stood because the work was never finished. There was always something being carried on. But this man sat down.
All the work was completed, there was nothing more to be done.
So we have been set apart not only from a world that's under judgment, but from all ritual and everything, nothing of any of the things that we believe that baptism plays an important place in Christianity. The Lords Supper is a great privilege, but none of these things have anything to do with our standing before God. It's all apart from any of those kind of things, just as it is apart from any Jewish ordinances. We're not part of the world. It's under judgment we have.
Set apart. That is our position. Now the practical side of it is brought in in other places. In John chapter 17 it says, Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. Thy may be permitted to use a little illustration. Supposing I went into a store and there's 10 baskets of apples sitting on the floor and I.
Say I'll take this particular basket and I pay the price.
The storekeeper puts my name on the handle. Why that basket of apples belongs to me. Now the price has been paid. Someone else comes in in a few minutes and picks out the same basket. He says, I can't sell you that one. That's all that belongs to another person that's already been purchased. Now he says, oh, we better put that out in the back of the shop so there'll be no confusion. So he carries it to the back of the shop so there will be no confusion.
But it isn't anymore mine in the back of the shop than when it was sitting with the rest. But there was confusion when they're mixed. Now, brethren, our standing is that the price has been paid and we're sanctified by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. But are we so confused with the world that they don't know we belong to Him? Well, he says if the truth of this gets hold of our souls, it's going to separate us from the world. It's going to separate us from all that, even Christendom.
Some value on us having something to do with making us more fit for God. We're set apart from all that. And so when this truth lays hold of our souls, it becomes a practical thing enjoyed in our lives, and we're apart practically from it. But the truth is all based on a fact. The price has been paid. And so the position is one thing founded on the work of Christ, the practical side, as the Lord said, when the truth of this gets hold of our souls.
It makes us a separated people.
We see the place he takes is a man who and in this these verses.
12 and 13.
Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the midst of the Church of the Assembly, while I sing praise unto thee.
Takes that place of leading the praises of his people to to God and then in verse 13 again I will put my trust in him.
Or we know that when he was here.
How he demonstrated that not only obedience, but confidence that he had in in God and perfect trust. And so I was thinking that it says we're all of one sort. So this is has a very practical application to my mind. If we're of one sort with the Lord as a man. This is what is you might say, the kind of man.
That God has found in him and what he looks for in his people that we would.
Be conformed to him in this way at the present time. He so associates himself with us while we're down here. And I think this is the important thing to see that that what he's bringing out here is the association that we have with the Lord while we're down here and he associates himself with us and.
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So that we are all of one sort while we're here. And we, the Lord, would have us to conform to this. We might be those who would.
The giving praise and thanks to the Father as he would lead the praises and then those who would be like himself, putting their their confidence and their faith and their trust in God as we pass through this scene, how he is encouraging these Hebrews that they might not slip away. Encouraging them through this association with the Lord Jesus and his identifying himself with us while we're down here. It's one thing.
To know him on high as our great high priest. But here I think it's emphasizing the fact that he.
Associates himself with us down here. While we are passing through this wilderness, we can we can know the Lord is with us and he identifies himself with us.
And I don't quite get that point. Brother Johnson and 13. And again, I will put my trust in him.
Well, it's a quotation of and I believe it refers to the the, the way in which he was a dependent man and in confidence with God.
As being the the sort that God finds delight in. This is the kind of man that God finds delight in.
6 to 16 Some may help to make it clear. All of us realize that the 16th Psalm is bringing the Lord Himself before us, because it ends in the 16th Psalm.
The ninth Verse. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth. My flesh also shall rest in hope.
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One, to see corruption.
Thou will show me the path of life in Thy presence is fullness of joy. At Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore. But this 16 sum brings before us the Lord Jesus here as the dependent man. And so the first verse preserved me, O God, for indeed do I put my trust. This applies to the Lord Jesus Himself, because as we have been having before us, He took the place of a man. What is the proper?
Of a man it is submission and obedience, and the Lord was the only one who could and did fulfill that place perfectly.
And so in his whole pathway, he was here as the dependent man, counting upon his father, didn't even speak a word he said. He didn't speak a word of himself, only the words that the Father gave him to do, to speak. He didn't do all work, only the works that the Father gave him to do. And so that was his pathway. And now he has gone up there in glory.
And he has marked out the path for us. What was his path? The path of dependent man.
And where did that path lead? Well, it led to the glory. And there he is now.
It says in the last verse, Thou will show me the path of life. In Thy presence is fullness of joy. At Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore. He returns to glory as the one who has fully glorified His Father. And if one can speak in this way, the Father's faces fullness of joy, The 1St man who has fully glorified Him on earth. He has gone back into His presence, but He has not only.
Horrified him in connection with his own personal pathway, but he has accomplished a work whereby many sons can be brought to glory, but he has marked out the path of those sons, and that was the path in which he himself walked. And so it's a joy to our hearts to read the 16th Psalm and think of the Lord in his pathway all through this world as the dependent man and apply it to ourselves and say this is the pathway for us too. This is the path.
Which he is leading us, and so he returns to the Father. He had marked out that path.
He had put his trust in his Father, He had done his will. The cost was great. And when he came to that cross, he would not turn back. He looked beyond the cross to the full fruit of that work in glory. And now that path is here for us, and we are the many sons. We partake of his life and nature. I think it's very lovely. And so in that coming day, I believe he will introduce us to the Father's house with these words.
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Behold, I and the children whom God have given me, so that he will introduce the whole company.
That He has fitted to be there, who have learned in Him the path in which we should walk, who find in Him the help needed for the pathway, and are finally at the end, introduced as those who are the children given to Him of the Father, and now able to enter into and enjoy all the fruit of that work. But as as man, as redeemed men in that glory. I think it's a beautiful picture that is brought before us and as our brother said.
Having learned this, why he raises the praises in the assembly now, Because we're not waiting to be fitted for that place. We're already fitted for it. We have been sanctified. We're to enjoy it now. But he'll more fully lead our praises when we get home to glory. And there will be no hindrance. And everyone will have a harp and a vial full of odors to sing his worthiness and his praise. And that day he's brought in, in our chapter, I believe.
I might just add this if you excuse me.
That in connection with what we've had, that he who sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of one kind of one sort. And So what kind of a man was he? A dependent man. And I think it's in connection with that thought that we're all of one kind. And so we we look to him to see what kind of man.
Really, we are.
In association with himself and that kind of man was a dependent man, as he's been pointed out in the.
In the 16th Psalm again it says I will put my trust in him. That's the kind of man.
That he was and that's what we're, that's the what we're associated with.
Fellowship. Well, I think that fellowship would be more.
You might say what we enter into ourselves and enjoy. When I think of fellowship, I think of thinking of, of having, enjoying things in common. And if I am in fellowship with the Lord and with the Father, we're enjoying things that we have in common. But association, I believe that we are in this association.
Even though we might not be in the enjoyment of it and have the.
Even the understanding of it. But the Lord associates us with Himself in this way, so that association could be true even where even when there might not be the fellowship in joy, wouldn't you say?
The word translated in the Scripture, communion and fellowship are in most cases the same word, and it's just the thought that has been expressed. It's common thoughts. It's a very wonderful thing that you and I can enter into the thoughts of God. We must be first brought into a place of association with Him. But I might be associated with a person and not able to enter into their thoughts. But what God has done, He's not only brought us into this.
But he has given us a life and nature by which we can hold fellowship with him, have common thoughts with him, and that is so very beautiful and precious that this very life that we possess. A turn to John 12. I think there's a lovely thought brought out here.
John 12 and verse 49, for I have not spoken of myself.
But the father which sent me, he gave me a commandment what I should say and what I should speak.
And I know that His commandment is life everlasting whatsoever I speak. Therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. It's particularly that expression. I know that His commandment is life everlasting. I've sometimes said, God will never ask us to do anything as believers, that He hasn't given us a life that delights in doing that very thing.
Now that's what the law did not do. The law gave commandments.
But it says, if there had been a law given which could have given life, then verily righteousness had been by the law.
So God made known his demands for man brought, in a certain sense, a people into association.
With himself. But unless they possessed a new life they couldn't enjoy.
Doing those things that were pleasing to him, but now in Christianity.
The Lord has saved us and he's given us a life and nature that delights in pleasing him. It's the very life of Christ. And we read a verse sometimes and the enemy says, oh, it would be hard to carry that out. And God says, Oh no, the life I've given you once to carry it out is capable of carrying it out, desires to carry it out. His commandment is life everlasting. And this is fellowship. This is communion.
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May I also mention John 17 where it says?
And this is life everlasting, life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God.
And Jesus Christ, whom thou ascent, many think of life eternal.
As simply a life that exists forever. Well, even the lost will exist forever, but they'll never possess everlasting life. But what you and I possess is a life by which we can hold fellowship with God as our Father, enjoy doing the things that are pleasing to him. And just as the Lord Jesus found his delight and joy in doing what was pleasing to his Father, he says, I've given you that life. And when I when I ask you to do something, you possess the life that delights to do it.
And we see too in the.
What follows how that these were being brought to glory, the many sons who have been Speaking of their being associated with Christ. But we have the condition in which they were. We know it was our condition as those who had the sentence of death upon us, and death was that which was before. Man is appointed unto men who wants to die, and no doubt Satan would.
That as bringing souls under ******* and not only that but we see 2IN verse 17 that we were guilty and so there had to be a propitiation made for our sins. We run into under ******* in regard to death and we were guilty in regard to our sins before God and so the Lord Jesus.
Comes into that.
Becomes a man in this world.
Taking upon him flesh, blood and flesh, in order that he might.
Deliver us from that condition of ******* the fear of death, and then to remove those sins from before the eye of a holy and a righteous God to make propitiation. Now you notice I changed the word in verse 17, the end of verse 17. It says to make reconciliation in the King James, but the word properly is propitiation to make propitiation for the sins reconciliation doesn't have.
Reference to dealing with sins. Persons are reconciled. We are reconciled.
And things are reconciled, but sins propitiation that is rendering satisfaction to God for those sins paying the penalty. And also we might just mention in verse 16 that the reading should be it doesn't refer to the incarnation there the words, the nature should be left out.
Verily he layeth not hold of angels, but he layeth hold of the seed of Abraham.
It doesn't refer, it's the IT has reference to His undertaking the cause of man who lay under the sentence of death and in a condition of being guilty before God, and he comes down. It takes a flesh and blood in order to meet that condition and state in which we were found, that He might bring us as many sons to the glory.
Would it be because of the fact that Abraham is the father of the faithful that it says in that 16th verse, but he took on him the seed of Abraham instead of saying the seed of Adam?
Would that be the reason?
And I suppose too, he's writing to these Hebrews and you know, they made the claim once to the Lord Jesus that they were the seed of Abraham. Well, perhaps in the physical sense, they were descendants of Abraham, but they didn't have the faith of Abraham. They weren't doing the works of Abraham so that perhaps it would be a reminder that that Abraham is the father of the faithful and to be the true seed of Abraham.
Would be those who had true faith.
Not just like in the John 8 when they said we we had the seed of Abraham.
Think of all that's embraced in the 14th verse.
We rather spoke as we opened our reading today of.
The one who would relate to man giving a likeness of one who would relate to a family becoming a family, and we think of how a divine purpose.
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Was embraced in the Councils of Eternity.
That.
God himself and the person of the Son should take on Him.
The form of man. And so we have that thought brought before us. We want to enlarge on it because we've already spoken of it. But I wonder if that He would in grace condescend to that place.
The likeness of sinful flesh. It wasn't sinful flesh, but in the likeness.
But then.
It's not only relating to man and bringing communion to man, but the ultimate objective of this transition, divinely done.
Is expressed in the in the latter part of this 14th verse that through death.
He might destroy him that had the power of death.
So we would say that.
The prime, the wonderful, the divine purpose.
Underlying all in our Savior, taking the form of man and becoming man in the flesh.
Was death because as God spirit God he could not die, but death was required that our sins.
Might be atoned for and taken care of. So he took that place. He came as the one who alone could do it and.
I wonders when all is said and done to say, well here was the prime objective.
There's an extremely solemn.
Statement there in Acts chapter 3, Brother Gill that comes to my attention.
Peter here in laying this charge heavily upon the nation in Acts chapter 3 and verse 15, he says and have killed the Prince of light or as the margin reads, the author of life. It's the same thought, the same word that we have as the captain of our salvation. I think one of the writers says that there's only three places where we have this word.
Here in this 15th verse of Acts 3, and also in our portion in Hebrews 2, and also in Hebrews 12, where it says He's the author or the originator of faith. But to me this is a very solemn charge that Peter lays upon them.
That they killed the originator, the author of life. How solemn that is to think of it.
Seems to me a wonderful thing too, as Speaking of that 16th verse, He took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham, as it's been remarked the other translation. He didn't lay upon the hand of his, put his hand upon the angels, but upon men. And when we stopped to think of it, there were many angels who had fallen. There is no gospel preached to the angels, those the angels who sinned.
Are going to be punished with eternal punishment away from God.
And there's no offer of salvation to them at all. But what a marvelous thing that God should have shown his delight in man.
We think of all the rebellion that man has shown against God, his awful course of history preceding the time the Lord Jesus came for, so 4000 years in his open rebellion against God, and finally, as you remark, taking the very originator of life and putting him on a cross. But God laid hold on man, guilty man, and he is going to fill heaven with redeemed men.
Angels who have never fallen will be there to praise Him for his greatness and power.
But there will be no redeemed angels there. Those who sin don't have the offer of pardon. People talk as though God were under some kind of obligation to offer a pardon to man. Oh, brethren, let us think how wonderful it is. He did offer us a pardon at all. We didn't deserve it, and He has. He's more than offered us a pardon. He has brought us into this wonderful place of association.
So that God becomes a man, lays hold upon the seed of Abraham becomes a man.
And now identifies with himself, not redeemed angels. There is no such thing but.
Those from fallen humanity to be in that place of nearness with himself.
And that which is Satan was able to bring in, in his attempt to ruin the human race, the Lord Jesus goes into death. And by the very sword that Satan had used, if I can speak that way, he destroys the power of Satan. Just as David. He went out to meet the giant. And how did he slay the giant? With his own sword? And so the Lord Jesus came. And what was Satan's sword? It was death. He had succeeded in bringing death by.
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Man to listen to him in the garden, and the Lord goes into death, and the very instrument he used becomes the very means by which He accomplishes that work that can bring us into blessing. Surely, as we think of this, it ought to fill our souls with praise that He should visit, redeem, visit man, I should say, and take from among man those who would be brought into blessing and in association with the one who became a man, not an Angel, but became a man.
To enjoy with us that place for all eternity.
He shall see of the travel of his soul, and shall be satisfied. I suppose they could say that there were three purposes in the coming to earth of the Son of God. First, to die for the glory of God.
Secondly, to redeem man, and thirdly, as we have in.
This end of the 14th verse they might destroy him that had the power.
Of death, that is the devil.
Our Life for the Lord
Address—P.L. Johnson
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I'll read first in the Epistle of James chapter 4, James chapter 4, and verse 13 through verse 15. Go to now ye that say today or tomorrow. We will go into such a city and continue there a year and buy and sell and get gain, whereas you know not what you'll be on the Morrow.
For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little time.
And then vanish it away. For that ye ought to say, if the Lord will.
We shall live and do this or that in turn to Deuteronomy chapter 31, Deuteronomy 31, and verse nine. And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests, the sons of Levi, which bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and unto all the elders of Israel.
And Moses commanded them, saying at the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release.
In the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God.
In the place which you shall choose, thou shall read this law before all Israel. In their hearing gather the people together, men and women and children, and by stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn and fear the Lord your God. And observe to do all the words of this law.
And that their children, which have not known anything, may hear.
And learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land, whether you go over Jordan to possess it.
Verse 24 And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book until they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites, which bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness.
Against thee and in verse 28.
Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them. Verse 30. And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended now in chapter 32.
Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain. My speech shall distill is the dew as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass. Because I will publish the name of the Lord. Ascribe your greatness to our God. He is the rock.
His work is perfect, but all his ways are judgment, a God of truth and without iniquity.
Just and right is he verse 7.
Remember the days of old?
Consider the years of many generations passed by Father, and He will show thee.
My elders, and they will tell thee when the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance.
When he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel, for the Lord's portion is his people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him in a desert. He found him in a desert land and in the waste howling wilderness. He led him about, He instructed him. He kept him as the apple of his eye.
As an eagle stirreth up her neck flooded over her young.
Spread of the broader wings ticketh them. Bury them on her wings. So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange God with him. He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields. And he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock, butter of kind and milk of sheep with fat of lamb, Rams of the breed of nations, and goats with a fat of kidneys a week.
And thou tis drink the pure blood of the great. But Yeshurun waxed fat and kicked now at wax and fat. Thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness. Then he forsook God, which made him, and lightly esteemed the rock of his salvation. They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations, provoked they him to anger.
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Verse 19 And when the Lord saw it, he abhorred them because of the provoking of his sons.
And of his daughters. And he said, I will hide my face from them. I will see what their end shall be. For they are very forward generation children in whom is no faith. They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God. They have provoked me to anger with their vanities. And I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people. I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
Verse 35.
To me belongeth vengeance and recompense. Their foot shall slide in due time for the days of their calamities at hand.
And the things that shall come upon them make haste, for the Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants.
When he sees that their power is gone and there is none, shut up or left, and he shall say, where are their gods?
Their rock in whom they trusted, which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings. Let them rise up and help you, and be your protection. See now that I even I am He, and there is no God with me. I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. Neither is there any that can deliver me out of my hand.
Elvis 40.
42 I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my storage will devour flesh.
That with the blood of the slain and of the captives from the beginnings of revenge upon the enemy, rejoice OU nations with his people, For he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land and to his people.
And Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people. He.
And Hoshiya, the son of Nun and Moses, made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel.
And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day.
Which ye shall command your children to observe, to do all the words of this law.
For it is not a vain thing for you, because it is your life, and through this thing you shall prolong your days in the land.
Whether you go over Jordan to possess it, I just point out this expression that we just read in the last verse because it is your life we read in James.
When James says what is your life, but he's talking there in reference to a life that is lived without regard to the will of God. You remember he had said go to ye that say we will go into a city and continue their year and buy and sell and get gain and then he reminds them that a life that is.
Spent in that way.
That is, lived without reference to the will of God.
A life that is lived in self seeking. A life that is lived.
With regard only to one's own desires.
His lack of vapor says, What is your life? It is like a vapor that appears for a little while and vanishes away. Now I know that there is a sense in which that passage in James can be taken as indicating the brevity of life as far as.
Mortals are concerned, for we know indeed that life, as we often seeing at best, is very brief.
We know that even those who live to be a centenarians is really a very short time in relation to eternity. It's really brief and I'm sure that we can gain that thought from it. But I was thinking of of looking at that passage in James in the context.
Now what he upgrades those to whom he is writing about, he have breeds them because.
Of their attitude of going about their daily life and their business and their pursuits without regard to the will of God. Because when he says that you should rather say if the Lord will we shall do this or that, I'm sure that he means more than just using that expression that we often use. And I believe it's proper to use it. I use it. We notice others using it. We say if the Lord will, we will have.
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Or if the Lord will, we will take a certain trip, or the Lord will we will do a certain thing.
But I'm sure that God would have us to see something more than that, to see that.
There should be every day of our life that exercise.
To be living for the will of God, that is, to be living.
In the way that the Lord would have us to live that particular day, every day.
I know that one might say, well I have my, I have my.
Pursuits, I have my employment, I have my housework, I have my schoolwork, whatever it is that one is engaged in that we do repeatedly day in and day out. But even in these things that seem to be very homely, I believe God would have us to be exercised. And I would encourage the young people to be exercised. That every day you seek the will of God for you that day, even though it's something that you do every day.
It should be taken up in relationship to God to begin the day and seek the mind of the Lord and the will of the Lord that we would be doing that which is according to His mind and will every day. I mentioned that and I I speak of this passage because I believe God would desire that His people.
Live a life that you might say has substance to it. Now you know when you think of a vapor.
There's no substance to a vapor. What is your life? It's a vapor. Well, God would not desire, does not desire, that His people have a life in which there is no substance. He would desire that there might be a life.
Lived in which there is not only a joy and peace and happiness on our part, but that which is for his glory and for His honor, and that which is useful to Himself and to the Lord's people.
And I would encourage young people this afternoon as we take up this subject.
And I had the thought of taking up the subject of a life.
That is, that is, you might say, filled with substance for God. A life, that is.
That in which there is something for the Lord and not just for ourselves. We don't want to be like those that James is speaking about, that just say, well, we're going to do this. We're going to do that according to what we desire to do. Such a life is just like a vapor. There's no substance to it. We've heard it said, and I believe it's true that there is such a thing as one being.
Are having a saved soul and a lost life.
God would desire that we would be those who would have a life here that is filled with a substance for Himself and for His glory. Well, with that in mind, I wanted to take up in Deuteronomy what Moses brings before the people of God, the children of Israel.
And we might say at the outset that what we have to say here this afternoon.
Would be directed to those who are believers on the Lord Jesus Christ.
We know that.
The beginning.
The beginning point for everyone as far as having any life for God is by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, those who have faith in Him as that one who was sent from God into this world and the cross of Calvary, suffering for sins, the just for the unjust, the one who gave himself a ransom for all to believe on Him. You passed out of death.
Into life and I'm speaking to those who have life in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Those who have believed to the saving of their souls, we can't speak about living life at all.
Until one is brought out of the region of death. Until one is brought out of death.
Into life. And if you're here this afternoon without the Savior, you may be very much alive as you are indeed in a physical sense, but you are you are in a condition of death. You are dead in trespasses and in sins.
And it said, your life indeed is a vapor, because there is nothing for God.
In the life of an unbeliever, there is nothing in the life of an unbeliever that God can take pleasure in.
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We do not find in Scripture that those who reject the Lord Jesus and those who go on without the Savior.
Bring any joy or delight to the heart of God. We know it's just the opposite.
That even the plowing of the wicked is sin. Those who go on in their self will and rebellion. So we're speaking to those who know the Lord Jesus his Savior. And you may be just a young believer and a young person that God wants you to have a full life for his glory and for your joy and pleasure and happiness. In fact, that's if you look again in that 32nd chapter of Deuteronomy.
And verse 47 he says it is not a vain thing.
For you, he's talking about.
This book, this book of the law that he delivered to them that was put into the ark, this book of the law that was to be read in the ears of all the people that they would observe to do what was written in it. And he's referring to this song that he delivered to them, that he might instruct them by means of this song.
We have a book and we have a song, two things that are given to the people here. And he says it's not a vain thing because it's your life. And I trust that we might take it up in this way, that the Word of God, no part of the word of God is as it were, an empty or a vain thing. We know that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable, every bit of it. And in that regard I would encourage.
Young believers to read all of the word of God. We do not want to be selective.
I mean by that we don't want to say there are certain portions of the scripture. Oh, I enjoy so much.
And others I get very little out of you say, well, I've said that. Well, I'm sure that many of us have said that and I'm sure it's true that there are certain portions of Scripture that we find difficulty in understanding. Other portions we can take in more easily. But none of the word of God is empty and vain. Even the genealogies, everything from Genesis right through Revelation, we.
All and it's a good habit for young people to take up the reading of all the scriptures.
And to take it up in such a way that you know that you're reading all of it, that is, rather than jumping around a chapter here and a chapter there, and perhaps you know that you have read certain chapters in the Bible or not. It's good to read it consecutively all the way through from Genesis to Revelation. And none of it is vain. It's your life. It's really for your life. You might say that in a sense, it's your life blood. It's that which is going to.
Help you along in your.
Christian life as you pass through this scene, that's what he says to the people here now, if you look back in the 31St chapter.
And verse 13 he says, and that their children, which have not known anything, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God.
As long as you live in the land now you see the thought of life is found there again. As long as you live in the land, that.
Verse 13 of chapter 31.
He has in view of their living in the land.
Well, we know that the type here.
The land that they were going to enter into, the land of Canaan, speaks of.
That into which we have been brought now in the way of blessing as a result of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. I'm thinking now of the type of Canaan, not as the future land that we'll enter into in the glory, but that in which we've been brought at the present time.
And especially as we have in the official to the Ephesians, all of those spiritual and heavenly blessings into which we have been brought. And the book of Deuteronomy has in view the people of God dwelling in that land and enjoying that land, enjoying the fruits of that land, living there.
So he delivers to them this book, this book of the law.
And he delivers to them this song, teaching them in this way how they were to live in the land.
So as to enjoy all the fruits of it.
You know, remember when I was first saved, a verse that troubled me greatly was in John four. I heard people quoting it when the the Lord said to the woman, that the one who drinks of this water shall thirst again, but he that drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.
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And I have been saved only a short while, but I found that even after I was saved, the initial joy of being saved and delivered for my sins and in the in the enjoyment of that, that it waned a little. And I found that there were still some desires after the things of the world. And that verse bothered me because.
I said I knew I had taken of the water that he gives, and yet I did thirst. Well, I believe that it's possible for those who know the Lord Jesus his Savior, and they have tasted of the grace of God. They know the goodness of God in saving their souls, but they are not really enjoying the good of the land into which they have been brought.
They have that life and they have that eternal life as that vitality of life, you might say, imparted to every believer.
But they are not in the enjoyment of it. They are not really living that life. They are living.
The life, you might say, according to man in the flesh. And the result is we find that they are thirsting after the things of this world. I believe the Lord means this, that if we are really living in the enjoyment of that eternal life that we have and that we've received into which we've been brought because we've passed from death into life, we've been brought into that which is really life. And if we are.
Drinking of that.
Will never thirst. That's what will really keep us from hankering after the things of this world is in the enjoyment of what we have been brought into like here with the children of Israel to be enjoying the land. But in order to enjoy the land they had to take heed to this book and they had to learn what Moses would teach them in the song. And this is what I wanted to.
Emphasize this afternoon the book and the song. And what does the book bring before us?
I was thinking of an expression in this 31St chapter in verse 24.
And it came to pass when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law.
In a book.
Speaks of that which is written.
You know, when we think of the book of the Law now, I don't want to, I don't want us to think of the of the 10 commandments. We're not thinking of it now as the law as a means of relationship with God or anything of this sort. But I want to think of this book of the law delivered them as being that which expresses the mind.
And the will of God, if we are going to live for the will of God.
As James says that we ought to say, if the Lord will, we are going to live for the will of God. We need to know what His will is. We need to know what his mind is. If we're going to enjoy living in the land, if we're going to enjoy that in which we've been brought, we are going to need to know what his mind and his will is. And this, this book that was written was for that very purpose.
And notice earlier in this 31St chapter.
Verse 11 Says, when all Israel has come to appear before the Lord thy God in the place.
Which you shall choose, Thou shall read this law.
Now I was speaking about reading the word of God.
Now I was speaking more from the individual standpoint.
And we want to do that. Read and meditate in the Word of God for ourselves.
But here we see that it's connected with the gathering together of the people, and it's in the place.
Which the Lord shall choose. That's a very common expression in the book of Deuteronomy, the place that the Lord would choose to place His name. And I believe that this is the last mention of that in the book of Deuteronomy. We know that there were certain things that were took place when they came together in that place. They brought their offerings, their worship and their Thanksgiving, their praise. But here we read of something that takes place.
In that place, that has to do with instruction.
And I would encourage young people to be in attendance at the meetings for ministry in the various gatherings where we would be found.
Not only that we would read the Word of God for ourselves, but we would be found at the Bible readings, the ministry meetings, the opportunities that God gives us to be instructed from His precious Word, the place that the Lord has chosen to put His name there. Sometimes we are inclined to think that the only thing of importance in connection with the place is the breaking of bread.
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But I believe that the other functions too of the assembly.
Are important the reading of the word of God together and as I say, occasions when there might be addresses given ministry and in various in whatever ways that that God would allow ministry to be given in the place and we read in verse 12 That they were to gather the people together, the men, women and children, not just the brothers.
And not just the mothers and fathers, but the children too. They were all gathered.
This place and they were all there to hear the word and I do believe that it is important for young children to be in the place.
Where the Word of God is read, where the Word of God is ministered, where the mind of God is brought out through this one or that one and the Bible readings, how important one might think that little children learned very little. Well, it may be that they're not able to take in all that is said, but you notice here it says here in the middle of the verse.
That they may hear and that they may learn.
And fear the Lord your God.
I believe it has a great beneficial effect for children to be in the presence with the Saints, in the presence of the opening up of the word of God that they may hear.
And I'm sure they learn more perhaps than we are inclined to think they learn. And I would say to young people.
Do not neglect the meetings for the reading of the Word of God, and because we know that it is God's desire that His people be would be gathered together as we have it here in that place where He has chosen to put His name, that they might be instructed.
According to the book, this precious book, and I would use the the book that we have the Bible as answering to this book of the law that Moses wrote. It's what God has written and isn't it wonderful that God has?
Had you might say, consideration for his people that he has written?
His mind, his faults, his will he has.
Written these things that we might have them in the day in which we live, or I think it's a wonderful thing to realize that that God has made available to us. He's put it in a form that is accessible to us. If God had just spoken His word verbally and had not written it, where would we be today? How would we know what his mind and will and His thoughts are? But He's written them. How wonderful.
And we think of I was thinking of some incidences in the word of God where we have writing brought before us that is writing in regard to to God. For instance, in Hebrews chapter 10 where they said there in the volume of the book, it is written of me. Isn't it wonderful that God has written?
In the volume of the book, I believe that would speak of the purposes and counsels of God.
All of God's purposes and counsels, and He has, He has recorded them in this precious book for us. Isn't it wonderful, young people, that we can be brought into the thoughts of God?
What his purposes are, what his counsels are. You know, I'm sure that most of us would if we had an opportunity to have a personal and intimate visit interview with the president.
President Reagan and.
He would, he was willing to open up his thoughts and his minds and, and to make known to us what he really intends and purposes to do in he in the remainder of his administration. I'm not saying what he would just say in a public way, but to really open up what was in his heart and mind, what he intended to do or how interested one might be in that and how privileged you would feel.
That he would open up his mind and tell you what he really thinks and what he is.
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Purposing to do what his intentions are. This is what God has done. He has recorded in this precious book His purposes, his counsels, what he's doing and what he's going to do, what he has in mind. And it's wonderful. It's the things that are written that's in this, as it were, the book of the law.
And I trust that as young people too, we would be interested.
In the thoughts of God, I was thinking too of a verse in John, I think it's chapter the end of John 20 and John says that that Jesus did many signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written that you might believe. Think of that that God has written in a book in order to you might say.
Produce faith, and to nourish that faith, these things are written that you might believe.
Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. That's the way our faith is nourished.
God has been thoughtful for us, and He's written these things in a book that our faith might be nourished, that we might believe. And this is what I would suggest. I think it's Romans 15. It says that the things that were written before time were written for our learning. Think of that written for our learning. And in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 10.
In speaking in regard to the experiences of the children of Israel in the wilderness.
Says all of these things happen unto them for in samples.
That they happened as examples, but they are written for our admonition.
Now those things could have happened and never been written.
They actually happened, but God was careful to write them down. They are written. They are written for our learning. They are written for our admonition. They are written so that we might have light and direction as we pass through this world. It's God's provision for you and me, this book.
Is his provision for you and me as his people passing through this scene that we might be brought?
Into the understanding of his purposes and counsels that faith might be nourished and that we might have light and direction for our pathway by thinking of the Lord Jesus when he was here and I'm thinking now, especially in Luke's gospel.
We know that that gospel presents him.
In.
Is humanity as the perfect man? And I'm thinking of him now as man here in this scene.
And it's really touching to see how that he avails himself. He availed himself.
Of that provision that God has made even for you and me, That is, He availed himself of that which was written.
When he was there in the wilderness and tempted of Satan.
And Satan suggested that he turned the stones into bread. He answered with it is written. Think of that the Lord Jesus taking up that provision because he's quoting from the book of Deuteronomy. He says it is written and we can take up the same attitude when we encounter anything in our pathway that would seek to turn us out of the will of God. That's what Satan was trying to do. You see, the Lord Jesus had come, he says.
Come to do thy will, O gone. And he was living in reference to that will of God every moment.
And Satan wanted to get him out of that pathway of the will of God.
And what did he do? He didn't act as a divine person and smite Satan.
He didn't act as a divine person and set him down, but he availed himself of the scriptures.
He says it is written, he took up the scriptures and he availed himself of that which.
Is available to you and me. Even in our day, we can say it is written.
And that's what should govern us in our pathway. You know, I believe the Lord Jesus.
As he grew up in this scene, he became familiar with the Word of God through meditation. I believe he was that godly.
One of whom, Hassam One speaks that his meditation was in.
The law of God day and night and we read of him after he overcame Satan in the wilderness. When he returns back to his hometown of Nazareth and goes into the synagogue as his custom was, it says that when he had.
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When he had found the book, or when he had opened the book rather, he found a place where it was written. Again, we have that thought of it being written the book when he.
Took the book.
He found the place. Well, I think it's interesting to note it doesn't say when he found the place, place he didn't have to search for it. Oh, you say, well, he's a divine person. I believe we have him viewed there as a man growing up here in this world, independence upon God and with the the law in his heart, the word of God in his heart. And he meditated in that that book.
Day and night. So when he took the book, he found the place.
He didn't have to hunt for it because he was familiar with the Word of God. Well, it's available to you and me. The book that God has given that which is written. But now in the 32nd chapter we have the song.
In Chapter 31 we have the book, and the book is, you might say, if I can use the word more on the objective side, it gives us a certain amount of intelligence.
And I don't hesitate to use that word intelligence. I'm not speaking about native intelligence. I'm not speaking about.
Human intelligence, but spiritual intelligence, and even the youngest believer has spiritual understanding intelligence. When I think of that man in John 9, his eyes were opened by the Lord. All the intelligence he had, the understanding he had, he understood more than his parents, he understood more than the leaders of the nation.
And he hadn't been converted along.
You might say he was just a young believer, but he had intelligence and understanding well.
It's the book that gives us that. But in connection with this song, I was thinking of it as being more on the subjective side, if I might use that expression. That is that which has to do with our with our state, with our condition, with our affections, and with our what is really produced in US. You see, there are things that we can.
Look out to and the things that are true in themselves.
But then the song, I believe, has to do with that which we have the consciousness of.
Thinking of verse in Colossians 3. But he says, let the word of God dwell in you richly.
In all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. So there is such a thing as being taught, you might say, by song.
And in passing I might just make a comment in regard to songs.
You know, I believe that it's important that the songs that we sing.
Would be in accord with the truth of God. Otherwise, how can we teach and admonish one another?
If they're not in accord with the truth of God.
Sometimes.
Songs have a way of becoming favorites to certain ones.
And yet the words are unscriptural. The words do not really.
Convey the truth of God at all, and I believe it's important.
That we would teach and admonish in these songs and hymns and spiritual songs. That's the purpose of them.
In First Chronicles chapter 23, there's a interesting incident noted.
We read there about I believe the number was 4000 quarters.
And there were 4000 that were engaged in song, the service of song and music.
But the number of porters were equal to the number of singers. You might say. Now a Porter is one who is watchful to see that nothing comes in.
In connection with that which is of God, which would not be, would not be suitable. A Porter is one who watched at the door. And so I think we need to have porters in regard to songs and hymns to see that they are according to the mind of God. Well, this song here.
And I'm not going into all of the details of it, but some of the features I want to bring before us.
This song is that which will. You might say it will teach us.
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Some important lessons.
And it will, I believe, if we.
Enter into it. It will have a decided effect upon us in our lives as we walk through this scene.
First of all, and I think this is important, and before we can speak of anything as to our state or condition, because the song relates more to our subjective state, but first of all there is we have brought before us what God is for us. Nobody found that's brought out.
In verse three, because I will publish the name of the Lord, ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the wrong but stability.
His way is perfect, His work is perfect for all His ways are judgment you see before.
He takes up anything as to the ways of the people of God. He brings before them the ways of God and the stability of God, the greatness of God. Because in the course of this song, why He points out the instability of the people, He points out their crooked ways, He points out how imperfect they are.
But first of all, he would engage their hearts. And you know, a song has to do with the affections. Singing is has more to do with the affections than the intelligence. It should be intelligent, but it singing is attaches the heart to things. Singing about them has that effect of moving the affections in regard to that about which we're singing. That's why it's important to have truth there. But this song is going to take up the.
Waywardness of the people, but first of all, God is presented to them.
As to what He is and what He has been and is for them.
All this is important, I believe young persons, we need to be established first of all in the truth of what God is for us, what He is for his people, not only what He has done, but what He is. He is the wrong. There is stability with Him. We've had it quoted in our reading. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever.
And as we have sometimes in our hymns, that how that our.
Our love is OFT times low and we wane and we wander, but He's the same. There is stability with Him. He is the rock and then His ways or His work is perfect and His ways are judgment and the truthful, just and right. How faithful He is. We want to be established in what God is and what He is for us.
Because notice.
In verse seven he begins to relate what God had done for them.
What he was for them as his people.
Why in verse eight he says that when he when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel?
In other words, the center of his thoughts, but his people.
And of course I know that this is a primary reference to his earthly people, Israel. But in the beginning of this chapter he says, Give ear, O ye heavens as well as the earth.
I believe it can apply to His heavenly people, those of us who are believers at the present time.
And the thought is that.
God's interest.
Was in his people, and He arranged everything as to the nations in this world in regard to them.
Everything is, you might say, governed in relation to God's people, and I believe that's true today. God is moving in this world in relation to his people.
In this country in which we live.
We those of us who know the Lord Jesus as Savior, we know that it is God Himself who has maintained the liberty that we enjoy.
It's God's goodness to us, his people. He has maintained that liberty. Someone might say, oh, it's the form of government we have. No, it is. It's because God has been behind it all, and he has. He governs everything with his eye upon his people. He arranges everything.
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In relationship to them.
And notice also verse nine. And this I would have emphasized.
The Lord's portion is His people. Jacob is the lot.
Of his inheritance.
I fear sometimes that we are.
Far too selfish in our thoughts, we think only of what is for us.
We think of only what we receive, but here we see that there is something that the Lord has. He has a portion and He has an inheritance. And as we look about in this world, what is there in this world that you might say that the Lord has as His portion? Certainly He does not have a portion in the governments of this world.
They're not governing in the in the fear of God. They're not governing according to the will of God.
He certainly doesn't have a portion in the, in all of the institutions that man have set up, but He has his portion in His people. He has His portion in you and in me. And I would encourage young persons as you go about every day in your employment or in your school or wherever you are to go about in the sense that the Lord's portion is His people. That's all He has in this world.
That's all he has. Everything else belongs to man in this world, but that which belongs to God is his people.
At his portion and what is he getting out of you? What is he getting out of your life?
Is he deriving pleasure in you? Is he finding delight?
And the way you're going on or you say, well, I'm so concerned about my own problems, I never think of this.
And I believe we should think of this. The Lord's portion is in his people.
In Malachi says, Will a man rob God? That's what we are really doing. We are robbing God of his delight and pleasure in his people.
When we go on in our own way and without regard to His will.
And what is according to his mind and his thoughts? Then we find that even though with all of this into which they've been brought through, verse 14, he speaks of the wonderful blessings that they enjoyed in the land. But verse 15, Joshuran waxed back. That's an unusual title, isn't it? You're sure? And it really means uprightness.
And perhaps it's a reference, of course, to the people Israel.
People of God, but they're called the upright ones. Upright ones, Well, they're not acting like it.
Because if you read the verses that follow, they were anything but upright, but God still says they are upright. And you know, if we may not always act and walk as Saints, but that's what God says we are. We're Saints to the Saints. The apostle writes to the Saints, and that's the way he views us. And if, if our conduct is not in accord, that even makes it more serious.
And I thought of this as I read this, that he is more or less reminding them of what God had made them to be, and yet they waxed back. Well, what does this mean? We learn in this song what God is and what He is for us. And we learn what we are for God. That is his portion. But now we learn something else. We learn what the flesh is.
We learn what we have in Romans 7 when he says, I know that in me that is in my flesh.
Dwelleth no good thing.
This we have to learn.
We have to learn that even though God is for us, and even though He's done wonderful things for us and we've been blessed and we are His portion, we are His inheritance, that there is nothing good in the flesh, that we still have that sinful nature, that it's there and there is a proneness to get away from the Lord.
Sometimes young people think they're the only ones who have that. But you know, the flesh never leaves us as long as we're here. The oldest believer in this room.
Has the same flesh, that same sinful nature that he or she had.
All his life it never, it never diminishes.
No, there's no diminishing of the flesh. It's always there.
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It's always there and there is a proneness to get away from the Lord. That's what we see here.
They got away from the Lord, they took up with idols, they took up with other things. Or there is that proneness.
And so the result of it is that the government of God comes in.
Notice verse 20. And he said, I will hide my faith from them.
The government of God comes in because they gave way to the flesh. They went after other gods, they got away from the Lord.
They found other things to pursue as objects, and then the government of God comes in.
And he hides his face. Oh, perhaps there might be some young persons or others too who have gotten into a condition like this. And this song would instruct us that our losing our joy and not having that communion and fellowship, feeling that God is hitting his face. It's because perhaps we have gotten away from the Lord and have taken up with other objects and we've provoked him, as it were, to jealousy. And now he hides his face. This is.
Government of God Peter says, if you love life and would see good days, Oh, he says, let him refrain his lips from evil and do good. In other words, the the government of God is favorable toward those who walk according to his mind and will. When the Lord Jesus was here, he could look up and John 11 and say, I knew it, that thou always hearest me. And why did he know that God always hurt him?
Because he did those things that were pleasing in his sight. Oh, there was never a time.
In the pathway of the Lord Jesus, that God hid his face from him except.
When he was made sin on the cross of Calgary, the only time, and we know why that was it was because he was bearing in his own body our sins on the tree.
Hiding of the face here is because of the getting away from the Lord and following other objects. That's the government of God. But you know God is good. We see how that he allows the people to come as it were to the end of themselves and I believe that in verses.
36 and 37 why there is an indication that they have come to see that all of these things they were going after were vanities, vexation of spirit, and they've turned back to the Lord. And the Lord says now you see all of the things that they were going after, they didn't, they were of no value to them. And so he comes in and His faithfulness and He delivers them.
And I think that that is brought out in verse 43.
He will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto His land and to His people, when we learn in this song.
The faithfulness of God, how that he will undertake for the cause of his people and when there is a turning to him, even though maybe we have gotten away from the Lord and sometimes the Lord may allow that in order to that we might learn what the flesh really.
Kids, and to learn that the flesh is still there, and we cannot trust ourselves, and we must be kept near unto Him, and that all of these things that the old nature of the flesh hankers after in this world are just vanities after all. And when we find that they're all empty, why then He restores and he undertakes, and He will, as it says here, He will be merciful unto his land, and unto.
His people. So in this song we learn what God is.
For us and to us, what he has done for us and what we are.
To him as his portion in his inheritance. And then we learned the treachery of the sequelness of our hearts.
Proneness of wandering away, and we learn of the government, governmental ways of God.
With us and in His faithfulness in undertaking for us, even though we may have been unfaithful. The book and the Song. The book instructs us. The book gives us His mind, His thoughts, and His will, and the song brings before us that which He would produce in our souls, and all with a view that our lives might not be just as a vapor.
But it might be lived to the will of God, and for the will of God.
But these things are for our life.
The Testimony valued of God
Address—D. Bilisoly
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In Haggai chapter 2, there's one verse I want you to notice.
Verse eight of Haggai chapter 2, the silver is mine and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. It almost seems as though it's out of its context. We noticed verses like that in parts of the Word of God that would almost seem as though they were out of their context.
There's a verse like that in the middle of Luke 16, but here, what is it all about? Well, to my heart it says this, that God knows all about values. We don't need to tell Him about values. They had lost heart in the value of a present testimony as we have brought out here in Haggai. But we noticed in chapter one that the Lord tells them.
To go up to the mountain in verse eight of chapter one.
And bring wood and build the house, and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. He knows the value of the present testimony, and He wanted them to understand that it was that which would glorify Him and that which He could take pleasure in. And we need to realize that ourselves. Brother, I'm sure that there's many here that will be going back to small gatherings. Now you know when we're together.
In such a large number as this, we can enjoy the singing of the hymns, we can think a little more of the triumph of what we had in Exodus 15. But then we have to go back to the little assembly, so few and in number. But the Lord is just as much there as he is here. That's the wonderful thing to consider.
And he's just as much the chief musician as we had before us.
Little assembly as he is with such a vast number here. Oh, we should take courage at this, and remember values according to his mind. The silver is his, the gold is mine, saith the Lord. He knows all about the present value of a testimony. But now we notice as these two sing this song.
They certainly give the Lord the credit. Then sang Deborah and Barrack, the son of Abinom on that day, saying, Praise ye.
The Lord, Praise ye the Lord. Oh, we can always praise the Lord, just as we had before us. We can always rejoice in the Lord. We may not always be able to rejoice in circumstances, but the Lord is the same. He never changes. We're the changing ones so that we can always rejoice in the Lord. Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel when the people willingly offer themselves. And I think it's good to notice.
How the attention is drawn to the willing heartedness of the people. Oh beloved, here this afternoon, do we value the testimony? Is there a willingness of heart to continue on? Oh you dear young people, do you value the heritage that you have and the testimony that by the grace of God you have been exposed to? Are you truly gathered to His precious name?
So it says, Hear, O ye kings, give ear, O ye Princess, I even I will sing.
Unto the Lord I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel. Well, we would like to see more of a corporate response, but we can certainly we can sing as individuals and surely that praise and adoration must arise from our hearts as individuals. And then certainly there will be the collective warship. And we noticed too, as we read on down through.
That.
They admit to the failure in Israel.
There's statements here that indicate failure. They don't hide the fact, and it's good to own up to the fact that there is failure. It is a weak state of things. And if we're a testimony to anything, certainly we are a testimony to the ruin that has come into the Christian testimony. Why is it that more are not gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus? Oh, how active the enemy has been.
In robbing Saints of that precious truth, so few truly gathered to His name.
But we see that there was a turning aside in verse six. It says the highways were unoccupied and the travelers walked through byways introducing other things other than the true pathway, so to speak, that which is according to the word of God. And it says the inhabitants of the villages ceased. They ceased in Israel, that is, there was not a holding to the.
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There was a scarcity, so to speak, and we see that God raises up this dear woman of God. Oh, I think that is so important to notice how that God would raise up a faithful one like this to stir up others that they might be faithful unto God, unto the Lord. And then in verse eight it says they chose new gods. Well, certainly we have that this afternoon. And how these things.
That are brought in certainly would bring upon us the judgment of God, innovations in regard to the truth and all new gods. Then was war in the gates? Was there a shield or a spear scene among 40,000 in Israel? They were just not ready, not equipped for the battle. There was other things that came in that were making demands upon them, the ease and comfort of this life.
I really believe that what we have in here exposes our hearts.
And so we see.
Verse 10.
Well, let's notice verse nine. My heart is toward the governors of Israel that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless you the Lord. Oh yes, the Lord will have leadership. He will raise up those who with exercise of heart will seek to carry on the testimony and will seek to be a help to the people of God.
How that should exercise the hearts of each one of us, that we might be of some service to the Saints of God. Oh, what a worthy thing to do for the Lord in a day of weakness especially. And we see how the Word of God draws attention to this willingness of heart. Oh, the Lord will have leadership in the assembly, and He values the willingness of heart. Bless you the Lord. Don't we bless the Lord when we see that exercise?
Carry on, the Lord will raise up, He'll have a testimony, and through His faithfulness it will be maintained. But oh, then we have what we have in verse 10. We have those that would seek the easier path, that would seek out the comfort of this life, the luxuries, and perhaps there would not be the exercise of heart in regard to the testimony.
And.
There's another point here that I almost dread to draw attention to, and that's verse 14.
It says out of Ephraim was their root against them.
Of them against Amalek. But that's not too good a reading. The other reading says something to the effect that out of Ephraim there was a root in Amalek. Something to that effect. In other words, there seems to have been.
Some link or connection with Amlik? Well, if you follow Amlek in the scriptures you can see that certainly Amalek is the flesh as motivated and activated by Satan. And we see with this tribe how there was more of a tendency towards pride.
And we see what happened, even to the point of a civil war, because of a state of soul.
And all of this is brought to the conscience of the people. And we notice too, that there were those that were of a divided mind. Verse 15. Oh, how ruinous that is to the testimony, when there are those divisions of thoughts, when there's not the oneness of mind, the flowing together, so to speak, according to the mind and the will of God.
And then we see in verse 16.
We see that there's that greater interest in our own things, so to speak, than what really pertains to the Lord's glory. I think we need to be exercised in our hearts about things like that. And they don't want to come to the battle, so to speak, to be identified as they should in the testimony, verse 17.
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But we noticed in verse 18.
How quickly those that are faithful are recognized the Lord values.
Those that are faithful and he draws attention to this fact well.
We noticed too, in verse 24 that the Lord singles out in a special way those that are peculiarly faithful in His service and desire His glory, and they can go on in faithfulness for the Lord without stepping outside of their proper sphere. I think we learned that lesson from jail. She kept her place, yet in faithfulness did she seek to serve the Lord.
Well, brother and I just mentioned this and I feel that we have certainly a lesson here.
Of the value of a present testimony, weak as it may be, still is that which God values. May we be encouraged to go on to His glory.