Address—Doug Buchanan
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Marella was suggested that maybe we have just a few concluding.
Thoughts of what we've had before us, counsels of God and sum it up. I don't know how to do that, really.
The at the beginning we quoted a verse from Isaiah 4610. I'd like to read it first of all.
I'm going to go rather quickly through some of these scriptures so you can look them up, or else just listen.
Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times.
The things that are not yet done saying my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure.
We have noticed that God began His purpose in eternity.
He had that desire, he originated it, and the wonderful thing is.
That we have come into a place of blessing in it more so than angels.
More so than any other part of the lower creation.
We have noticed that it is all centered from Ephesians one around the Lord Jesus. It was His purpose that His Son come and redeem a people for himself.
Recover that which had been lost through the fall of the 1St man.
Bring it back to us.
At a level where we could.
Reach it.
On the basis of faith, His love and grace, salvation is preached freely.
One of the best known verses in the Bible, John 316 for God Southern loved. That's the greatest love there ever was the world that's the widest extremity that could possibly be shown that whosoever that's all inclusive of everybody should.
Believe, and I whosoever believeth in him.
The most accessible, easiest way to obtain only by faith. Nothing to do, nowhere to go. By faith we receive. It should not perish. That's rescue from the greatest destruction ever was made. But have everlasting life, the greatest salvation, the life eternal, the best possible there ever could be.
That's the wideness of God's plan for us.
We had before us the importance of laying hold of this, lining our lives along with the Lord's plan. That's the path of blessing for you and me. There are many other paths, but all other options really are all proven to be useless after 4000 years of trial of man.
In different dispensation God has brought to us.
This plan fully revealed it to us. We know what our position is. We know what our future is. The first three hymns that we sang all spoke of that beautiful. We can sing about those things, beloved. We can rejoice in it. And as we go home now, to our work and all.
We can carry these things along with this, and I trust that these will be some building blocks to our faith, something to make our lives a little more stable, maybe a few less ups and downs in our Christian life. Not just trusting in experience, but in God's thoughts, because that is what's important. My counsel shall stand. Don't forget it.
You can trust in it. It's unbelief in that.
That always leads us into problems.
Like to read those verses in Ephesians 13 verses?
919 Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself, 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.
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.
And so on. It's hard to know where to stop in these verses. The praise of His glory. Well, God has made known this purpose and counsel in the two parts of it. And I believe it's very important, dear young people, that we always distinguish these two parts and not confuse them. So much confusion has come into Christendom today.
00:05:13
Because of mixing up earthly things with heavenly things.
The things of Israel with the things of the Church. Period.
The natural man with the spiritual.
We need to rightly divide the word of truth, not mix these things up.
Keep them each in their place.
And I believe it's when we mix these things up and start applying what applied to a Jew to us that we become earthly minded.
I believe you when we read in the Book of Revelation, which speaks of the in judgments of the of the time when the Lord's going to come back, there's an expression there. Next time you read through the Book of Revelation, notice the expression them that dwell on the earth.
That's where the judgment falls. Those that dwell on the earth, the earth dwellers, the people that became earthly minded Christians and lost their heavenly hope and lived for this life.
Put it on the priority.
When we do that, young people, we miss Our Calling. We miss the purpose of God for us at this time. Yes, God is going to have an earthly people and He's going to bless them with large families, large lands, riches in abundance, peace, joy on earth.
It's for the millennial time.
And so if we try to get it now, we're going to miss out because the Kingdom of heaven is now being formed.
And we went through Indiana brief the 12 likenesses of the Kingdom of heaven, the first seven in the chapter 13 of Matthew, introducing first the sower. That's the Lord Jesus. He is the corn of wheat that fell into the ground and died, rose again and bears much fruit.
And he has entered into heaven the king.
Now that good seed continues to be sowed to sown. It's sown in the hearts of men, sown in our hearts, and according to the reception, that brings fruit in our own lives. And if it brings fruit in our lives, the King will have it in glory when he comes to reign too.
There are the following three parables given exterior view, An outward view that everybody sees what the Kingdom of Heaven looks like.
The tares and the wheat, the leaven.
And in the three measures of meal and so on. And this is what we see today. The last three of that chapter present the internal view God, what God sees here on earth, the Kingdom of heaven. It's the good, it's the treasure hid in the field that the Lord Jesus saw and loved and wanted and went at all cost to himself, to Calvary's cross to get.
He's got it.
We are that treasure.
Special object of his love and favor brought into his counsels of love and blessing.
Others are going to be in his counsels but for judgment, but we are in his counsels of purpose. A blessing.
The Pearl of Great Price went and sold all that he had and bought it.
That's us, beloved, that that are called into the church, his people, and then the gathering together of the.
The fish and the net, and so the preaching of the King of the Gospel.
Gathers together all these fish when you preach the gospel, you don't need to be.
Occupied first of all with getting converts.
That comes second. First of all, preach the gospel for the Lord Jesus sake.
Glorify him also that souls be blessed #2.
So the gospel gathers many, but they're not all real. In the end of the age, the angels are going to separate and decide who the real and who the false are. That's not our business. We can leave that with the Lord. That's why we don't have to have either alls or calls and things like that and really push people and and force them beyond their own hearts desire and willingness to submit to the gospel.
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Then in the later chapters of Matthew, we have the five last.
Uh, parables, the likenesses of the of the Kingdom there and I would just like to mention.
Where we have in Chapter 18, the forgiveness needed, because we have been forgiven the great debt.
And I just like to read the last verse, the last verse or two of each one of those.
In conclusion, because I think it's interesting to note, notice the last verse. There's a kind of a concluding verse to each one of these parables.
And in the 35th verse of the 18th chapter it says so. Likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye.
From your hearts, forgive not everyone his brother, their trespasses.
We are a group of people, beloved, that have been forgiven. We are in the Kingdom of heaven on the basis of the grace and goodness of God, and we're never more than forgiven sinners in that respect as to our own worthiness. And therefore we should show that character forgiveness to one another.
In the twenty 20th chapter we have the work.
The service and notice the.
16th verse.
So the last shall be 1St and the 1St last for many be called, but few chosen.
What's better, to be called or to be chosen?
Which would you rather be?
Many are called. That's the character of the Kingdom of Heaven. Many are called. Many enter in, but few are chosen. Are you one of the chosen ones? Are you real? Are you one of the real ones?
The great thing here is not how much we bring to God and what we do for God.
But that we lay hold of what He has done for us, to be chosen for something and to go along with it. That's the obedience of faith. That's submission.
Chapter.
22 we have.
The marriage fees.
Verse 14.
For many are called, but few are chosen.
Perhaps ream pretty much the same thing before us.
Our outward dress. Now I'm not speaking just of our clothes that we have, but our outward appearance, our garments.
What we are.
As Christians, as those who enter into the Kingdom of heaven, we are because of what God hath clothed us in.
Who has given us salvation? Who has made us what we are, the Lord?
Nothing of ourselves.
Those are the ones that go into the marriage, are blessed in the place of blessing.
Chapter 25. The last two.
He has the parable, the likeness.
The 10 virgins.
Verse 13. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour, wherein the Son of Man cometh.
It's the Lord's choice when he comes.
We are waiting that moment. That is the end that we are looking for, the Kingdom of heaven really here on earth.
That's not the end, it's the means. Our time here is the means, the real blessing, although we are blessed now and enjoy it, but we don't enter into possess what a Kingdom really is until the Lord comes. And so that's what we look for and if we lose that?
We've lost everything really, because that's, that's the principal thing. That's what the Kingdom of heaven is all about, gathering together people for heaven to be taken there. So we cannot lose the hope of the Lord's return if we lose that.
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We are what Revelation speaks of Earth dwellers.
There are many Christians who are earthly minded Christians, earth dwellers.
Looking for their Kingdom here, trying to live it here now. The good American life if you please.
That's what Satan is using to hinder us from entering in and possessing.
In the fullness of what God's purpose is the Kingdom of heaven.
And then lastly, we have the rewards.
In the talents.
And it says.
In verse 29.
For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance, but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
Cast ye, the unprofitable servant, into outer darkness. There shall be weeping, weeping and gnashing of teeth.
So those two that have now shall be given, if we possess the Kingdom now in practice and walk and fulfill God's purposes, and walk according to God's purposes, we have and we will receive them in like manner when the Lord comes.
And so that servant was given again, according to has he used his talent?
And then it's interesting here the reward is, enter thou into the joy of the Lord.
Isn't that wonderful? Enter thou into the joy of the Lord.
There's joy in the presence of the angels of God over one Sinner that repenteth. We have the part, brethren.
Of entering into that circle of enjoyment there in God's presence.
Where the joy is shared, there's such a thing as those that sit on the outside and view it. There's also those that are on the inside participating. And I believe we are brought into that nearest and dearest relationship. Enter thou into the joy, thy Lord.
Well, we have about 15 minutes I believe, that we could use to pray together and commend ourselves to the Lord now as we go on our way. So let's just kneel.