YP Sing Address—S. Froese
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I wanna start in Ephesians chapter five. One verse there.
While we're turning there.
You may have heard.
Some of the brothers in the meetings over time say some quotes from an old brother, Harry Hayhoe, and I want to give you one, he said. All the exhortations in the New Testament are based upon what we already have. Now, I may not have said that exactly how he said it, but that's how it means something to me.
All the exhortations, that is when God.
Tries to get us to do something. He doesn't give us to do that on our own. He already has given us what we need. Now let's look at this verse in Ephesians 5. It's the first verse.
Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children.
Now I'm speaking just to the believers. If you're not saved, you're not one of these children. But if you are, you're a child of God. You have that relationship with a living God.
A dear child, isn't that nice? I am a dear child of God. All his children are dear to him and so.
You give your chil if you don't have children. Most of you, but I give my children.
Instructions that I wouldn't give the neighbor kids.
They're not my kids.
But my kids are my kids, and they're dear to me.
And so the relationship that I have with God.
He tells me some things to do in that relationship.
Now, umm, really? That quote from Harry Hayhoe is my point, but let's go to Matthew chapter 25 for an illustration of that. I think it illustrates it pretty well.
And then I got, uh, a little, uh.
Some facts to tell you about something that I read about and the, the Golden Gate Bridge relates well to this story, I think anyway, uh, Matthew 25 and let's see.
Verse 14 For the Kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
And under one he gave 5 talents, to another two and to another one.
To every man according to his several ability, and straightway took his journey than he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same and made them other five talents, and likewise he that had received 2.
He also gained other two, but he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his Lord's money. After a long time the Lord of those servants cometh and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received 5 talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou delivered done to me 5 talents. Behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
His Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant.
Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou delivered son to me two talents.
Behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His Lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.
Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee, that thou art and hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strode. And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth. Lo, there thou hast, that is thine. His Lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant.
Thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strode. Thou Artest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers.
And then at my coming I should have received my own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath 10 talents. For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance, but from him.
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That hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye, the unprofitable servant, into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Three men.
All given something and I'm going to speak of it as.
Men before God I I'd get all confused if I try to make the the, uh analogy. Other than that God is given to us.
How do we view God?
Do we view him as a loving father?
If you do if, if you have that relationship and you know it and you enjoy it.
You're going to act differently than the person who's afraid of God. Now that's different than the fear of God. The fear of God is, is his holy respect because the God that we have to do with.
He's great, He's wonderful, He's way beyond us. And so the fear of God is right. But to be afraid of him is to demonstrate that we don't have a right relationship with Him. If I'm scared that God's after me, I'm going to act way different than the person who knows him as their own father.
I asked my kids and their son in the Sunday school class one time if you're in trouble.
Who would you rather have to meet, your father or somebody that you don't know?
And every one of them said I'd rather meet my dad because they know that he loved them. But somebody you don't know? Oh boy, that's scary. Well, I told you I'd tell you about the Golden Gate Bridge. I had heard that when they built the Golden Gate Bridge. And I suppose everybody knows about the Golden Gate Bridge. Big Bridge 22, uh, main supports that are about 750 feet high.
The road beds I can't remember exactly but it's a couple 100 feet high I think.
You fall off of it, you die. It's cold water, and when you hit water from 200 feet up, it's like concrete.
Uh.
I had heard that they had built a net under that roadway while they were working on it, and so that I wouldn't be just telling things that I'd heard, I went and got a book from the library and sure enough, they had built a net under that bridge. As soon as it was, the superstructure was up enough to put a bridge.
Net under it. They ordered this net. It was made out of 3/8 Manila rope and it covered the whole area underneath where they were working. They would move it along.
As they were working.
They demonstrated to the men by taking 400 LB weights and throwing it into the net. The net would go way down, but it would catch it. It was designed to do that. And so the men that were working on that bridge when they were working, say on a girder that was fairly narrow if they slipped.
And they fell. They were OK. They got some rope burns. It wasn't fun exactly, but quite a thrill.
And they were able to work up there without the dread that if they fell, it was 200 feet and smack it was it.
You are done and so.
What I'm getting at is if you have a relationship with God as your father.
And you know your position with God, how you stand before God, and you're enjoying it. You're going to have confidence. You're going to be able to take a risk.
Those first two men, they were given 5 talents and two talents. When you invest something, you're taking a risk, and we really know that nowadays, don't we?
I've got a customer that just ordered a a big job and we're committed to the job. And he said, you know, all the money I was going to pay you was out of stocks that aren't worth anything now.
So we'll see. The Lord will have to work that out for us. But, uh.
Anyway, you take a risk when you invest. When you step out to serve the Lord, you take a risk. You might blow it, right?
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And if you think God is mean and hard, you're not going to take that risk. You're not going to stick your neck out to be embarrassed or make a fool out of yourself. You won't do it.
This guy that had one talent, how did he view God?
Hardman.
A mean, demanding God.
No.
What we've heard here at this conference is the opposite of that. A God who loves us.
Our Father.
Now you may have accepted that, but it is important, I believe, to be living every day in the good of it, to not just go through life as though, well, I'm saved, I'm a Christian, and you don't think anymore about God and his love.
If you don't think anymore about the wonderful position that God has put you in because you believed in His beloved Son.
If we don't think about those things, that's no way to grow in our confidence in God.
But to meditate?
In the epistles I'm going to say Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians in particular. Maybe I'm naming those because those are the ones that have affected my life most, and maybe you'll find help other places too. But take those books. Read what God has said about you as a believer in Christ, and believe it and live in the good of it. Rejoice in it.
And you can have confidence as you go through.
Tomorrow.
Today, whenever you can have confidence that you can stick your neck out, you can take a risk to do something for the Lord.
And it's worth it because if you mess up, he's not there to jump on you.
He's not there to say you did it bad. No, that's not our father.
Well done, thou good and faithful servant. You'll never hear that if you think he's a hard man.
But if you go out in confidence, and even if you don't, do it just as perfect as you thought, it ought to be done.
He's not picky either because he's gonna give me a reward. I'm gonna get a reward just because I believed in his son.
It says every man shall have praise of God.
If you get there, you're gonna have praise of God.
Your only way to get there is through Jesus Christ.
If you have him as your savior.
You have God as your Father.
And you can know.
Every day that he's on your side.
Let's close prayer, our Father.
We give thanks for the Lord Jesus Christ.
For that great price he paid.