Address—N. Berry
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We joy in our God.
That's the highest joy that there is.
Joy and God. I think it's Romans 5.
And we sing of that love.
So sovereign. There's the word sovereign.
So sovereign, that means it just comes. It comes from God, Entirely, wholly from God.
Nothing to do anything in us that ever drew out that blood.
So sovereign and free, which did his heart move?
When lost, our condition all ruined, undone, He saw with compassion.
And spared not his son that was his son, that was always.
With him, Son of God in heaven.
So #135.
Michelle said that he.
Asked me if I like trains because I have a picture there. Well, this is an illustration of of train that I want to speak about this afternoon.
2 tracks never go together.
Always the same with the park. Train can't operate if the track suddenly come together, can it? Or if they go farther apart, train falls in all they always have to be maintained in a straight line and in parallel. And that is what the Bible teaches us now.
So let's look at Two Timothy 2:15 to get that verse.
That tells us this. Second Timothy 2:15.
Study to show thyself approved unto God.
A Workman that needeth not to be ashamed.
Rightly dividing the word of truth. Rightly dividing or dividing in a straight line the word of truth.
Now there are two tracks. See, one is God's side entirely.
The other is our responsibility, the responsibility of every person in this world to hear the gospel and then, as believers, to walk in the truth.
One side our responsibility, the other what God?
Has done what he has promised and what he has fulfilled entirely. Not only I will go ahead for a little while on this side and then we'll have a little intermission of 5 minutes or so and then we'll go ahead with this side. I want to make a break because I don't want us to be confused between the two lines of truth.
No, I I guess I learned it from the Gospel tent in Nova Scotia, but I like to try to take basic fundamental truth concerning the person of Christ and the Godhead and say it in a simple, a simpler way as I can so that younger ones can grasp these very important truths.
When you build a house you don't start putting the windows on 1St do you guys?
Right. They have got to get the foundation and then the pillars, the columns, and then you start to fill in the detail. Now that's the same way it is with the truth. And you, dear young ones, they're here. We need fundamental truth because the very foundations of Christianity are being undermined. They're trying to break it down. And you and I need to have these basic things brought before us and get.
Get a hold of us so that we will be preserved and then the building will will stand firm. When somebody says something that isn't right, maybe at school or so right away you say it's not right, it's not right. Now you have to have the truth to be able to say that you don't learn a lot of bad things and study all the bad teacher the cults and so on and say, well, the more I study them and the better I'm going to be able to understand them. No, no, no.
No, we don't do that. We learn the truth and then our ear is tuned to the Shepherd's voice. So that verse says rightly dividing the word of truth. Very important for us to understand the difference between these two. Many groups of Christians don't understand them and I would go so far as to say.
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Maybe I could be contradicted, but I would believe this that it is only in the assembly.
Gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that we hear this these two lines of truth.
This is what was known as Calvinism. John Calvin lived a long time ago and he taught just this side of truth. He thought the Scripture was saying God does everything.
God does everything. One man I met down in the state of Maine one time, he said if God wants me to smoke, he'll make me smoke. Now he was getting Calvinist doctrine. He was getting that Calvinist doctrine, and it was not right. God wouldn't make anybody smoke.
Now on one side.
He was right, He was right. God does everything. And that's what we will look at for the first, this first part of the meeting. We're going to look at what God does from beginning to end, and he does everything. And the other side, we will look later on at men's responsibility and oh, here comes along another evil, and that's called Arminianism.
Arminianism and to be very frank, open Brathanism is a continuation of Arminianism because.
The emphasis is always laid on men's responsibility, but oh, how wonderful it is to learn that the two are absolutely necessary in order to understand. This gives us our perfect position before God.
Absolutely perfect position. This side is our state of soul. Just like a thermometer, it's going up and going down.
And if I am enjoying the Lord, my state of soul is is high, I'm warm, my heart's warm, and I get cold. Why? I begin to lose my discernment and my joy. But this one can never change. This depends entirely on Christ. This depends on my Christian life and how obedient we are to the truth that we know.
Doesn't depend on how much we know, but it is how much.
We are walking up to the truth that we do know.
No, I would just like to quickly go over some promises that God made in Exodus chapter 6. Seven of them.
I'd like to illustrate these points from the Old Testament because it's so much easier for us to understand when we see seven points here in what God was going said he was going to do. Now we know, we know very well that those children of Israel, they just made a mess of everything and they were disobedient and they 4 footed it all.
No they didn't. They got into the land, see on one side and their responsibility. They just disobeyed and not one man that was over 20 years of age.
That started out on that journey to the land of Israel. Ever got there? Everybody over 20.
After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, they're all dead. Then God took all their children who were grown up and in they go to the land. So the ones to whom the promises were made, they they lost them. Now that's the same as you and me, as you and I as a Christian now, unless you and I are walking, are living in the truth that we do know.
We're not going to grow and we're not going to learn more. I'm not going to lose my salvation.
That I'm going to lose the joy of this side. The more I enjoyed this side, the happier my state of soul is on the sack. Now here are the seven promises quickly to go over over them. Exodus chapter 6, verse six. Here's the first one.
There are there are seven I wills, as you will see.
Verse 6 wherefore say under the children of Israel, I am the Lord and now here's the first I will. This is the I will of deliverance. I will bring you out from under the ******* of the Egyptians. There is the first promise he makes the promise of I will. I'm sure you younger ones going to school. You know the difference between I will and I shall I shall is the future tense I.
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Is the determinant of tense, and only God can really say.
I will, I will, please say I shall. That's future, but I will now. When God says I will, he will. He's sober. That's that word, sovereign.
He can do what he wants. He's perfect, perfectly good. That's what righteousness means, perfect goodness. And so there's the first one.
Second one in the middle of that verse. Here is the I will of liberty. I will rid you out of their *******.
There's the second one, he's going to rid them. Notice the outs there. We'll see the ends later on. Now the third one is.
I will redeem you with a stretched out arm.
And great judgment. There's the I will of power. God says that he can carry it out. Nobody else can. There's the third. Here comes the fourth, verse 7. Here is the I will of intimacy. I will take you to me for a people. Wasn't that beautiful?
God says I will, I will take you to me for a people.
And he shall know that I am the Lord your God. There is the next one. You'll know that I am the Lord your God.
There was the the I will of the relationship verse 8 and here is the I will of blessing. I will bring you in. We saw the out before now here's the end always has to take us out of what we're in before he takes us in I will bring you in unto the land concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.
Here's the last one. Here is the I will of inheritance and I will give it you for an heritage.
When he made that promise, not one of the most fulfilled, they all the people in the responsibility, they all fail.
Now let's look at 7:00 or so of the not I wills, but I have in Ephesians chapter one.
Ephesians, chapter one.
We just go over these things quickly now.
Verse 12/13/14 Verses Here is the Godhead speaking now, the Godhead, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. 1St 6 verses have to do with the work of the Father. They end in a doxology of praise. From 7 on to the end of 12 is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It says in whom seventh verse we have redemption. That's the work of the Lord Jesus. It also ends a doxel in a doxology that we should be to the praise of his glory, and then 13 and 14 are the work of the Holy Spirit.
Three persons of eternity, the work of the Holy Spirit also ending with that doxology unto the praise of His glory. There's the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit having completed now having completed the promises that God had locked in his heart. Far more so than Exodus 6 because they were talking about a promise into a land.
Oh, it's beautiful to be like, to enjoy the thought that Mister Ballot. I think maybe I mentioned it.
The other day some other country, but God took his left hand from behind his back, and he gave man the earth, the world, and Satan in. Through Satan's influence, man lost the world. He didn't patch it up and give it back to man again. As Mr. Ballard said, he brought his right hand from behind his back, and he gave us heaven.
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Now that's the difference between Exodus and Ephesians. He has brought us now into heavenly blessings.
He's not saying to you and me, I will. I will take you up there. No, he says. I have, I have. It's a completed work. Let's look at them quickly now.
Verse 3.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath now, that's the Father. Blessed us with a few spiritual blessings. No, all spiritual blessings, not mercies. I can lose my mercies. I never can lose my blessings. Getting ahead well in business isn't a blessing. That's a mercy. And every mercy I often say is a potential snare.
So blessings we never can lose. They are spiritual and we have the mall and forever and they are this side. God having done that, the Father. Now let's go down farther.
Verse 4.
According as He hath hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him.
In love everybody, one in this audience who has put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. You were chosen before God made the world.
Isn't that wonderful? Before the world came into existence, He chose you. How could you lose that salvation?
How can you lose? You were telling him before he made the world, and you're going to be in the glory after. The world is this world is gone, glory to glory.
That's the second. Here's another one, verse 5, having predestinated on us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself. Oh, there is the next thing. Now just a little word on predestination. A lot of people say oh, I was predestinated, but it Scripture never speaks of a person being predestinated. The word predestinated is you can break it down.
Pre, which means before and destinies, that's the place you see to which you're going. So it was known before, not the people, but where we're going. Maybe the other couple of weeks ago we went to a bus terminal and there were a lot of buses there and they all had different names on them. The bus wasn't the important thing, but it was where they were going that was the important thing and the bus driver could go up there.
Little handle and change the names quickly, you see, and the destiny has changed now. That's what this verse is referring to. It's the position or the condition to which the elect and that looks back are going to find their resting place. Our destiny is determined beforehand and that is nothing less than the glory.
Now then, verse 6.
Wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. Notice they're all in the past tense Has made us accepted in the beloved. Oh, isn't that a beautiful thing? I used to work for a big company president, had a magnificent office almost the size of this room, all paneled in in cedar and a lovely big fireplace and oriental rugs and magnificent desk.
On some Hollywood Call me on time, he called and the secretary said wait.
For a few minutes here at the desk, while I was waiting at the secretary's desk, two boys came prancing down the hallway, making a little bit of a noise, but they were jumping as they came along. And they walked right by me and right into the president's office. And he looked up and he said, oh, hello, boys, they were sons.
That's what it means to see you and I have acceptance in the beloved. Who is the beloved? Oh, it's Christ. It's Christ. He's the one who has access and he has gone into heaven. And I don't need to worry where I'm whether I'm going to make it or not because I'm accepted in the one who is already there. You see, this is all the sovereignty side, all that you and I have. Are you enjoying that blessing?
That's this side.
Not going to get anymore by enjoying them, but you're going to find happiness and you're going to be finding fulfillment in your life and you're going to be living for God's glory. But that's the other side. So there we are. There is one. Now here's another one, verse seven, first time that sin is mentioned now because here we are dealing with the work of the Lord Jesus in whom we might have redemption. As I say that boy, what's the same?
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We have, that's good. We have redemption. We have, we don't. We can't lose it, but we have it. We have redemption through his blood.
And then it says wonderful forgiveness of sins.
And then fellow one time said to me, if you can show me a verse in the Bible that says that God will forgive me my sins, I'll accept it. I showed him that verse.
He's saved now, Postman. He's saved. There it is. Forgiveness we have. Forgiveness of sin present. Possession. No. Another one.
Verse 90 It is a beauty. Verse 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which he hath purposed in Himself, the whole secret, that God, the Creator of the vast cosmos, the whole of the creation, He had a secret locked in His heart, and He didn't tell it for a long, long time. He didn't tell it to the Old Testament Saints.
He only revealed it through the person of His of His Son the Lord Jesus to Paul the Apostle. The full mystery of God's purposes and will. And God says that He has given it to you and Domina.
Isn't that something?
Are we rich?
Now there's another one. Yes, verse 8. Now here's a nice one too. We're in the hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence abounded. That doesn't mean that to say speaking reverently just gave us a little cup full, you know, it's not quite full. And he says, and I'll be careful. No, it's abounding. It's pouring over.
Overall, more and more and more, it's more. There's more over all the time.
Have a wonderful day. Does that fill your heart with with with joy this afternoon. That's what I'm here for to fill our hearts with Christ and to realize that he is the one who has satisfied the heart of God forever and God says I've just given poured out to you like to tell the story of the the rich men in the Middle East when they want to entertain another sheep and they invite him into.
Beautiful tent and it's got beautiful oriental rugs on the floor and they seek the man in a special seat and they give them a a cup and a saucer there a couple of saucer and then a servant with a long pull doesn't get too close. You've got there some tea there. And he takes that pull and he pours the teapot, the tea into the.
The cup and they start to fill up and it goes over the top and into the saucer, keeps on pouring into the magnificent oriental rug. Ruins the rug.
Doesn't matter because the man wants to let that other fellow know how much he is welcome there. That's what God has done to us.
He is abounded toward us, no limit, joy unspeakable and full of glory. First Peter, chapter one. Oh, it is wonderful. And he's abounded to us, to us not having anything to do with how you and I live. I want to emphasize that. Nothing to do with our life at all. He has done all that.
Now let's have a look at one or two more verse six, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance.
An inheritance one time years. They go way back in the old days of just when the depression was starting in 19.
30 or so 29 I worked at Eaton and.
A young fellow in the advertising department where I was, there he had a proposition made to to go on a world cruise for a year.
And all the different ports in the world going to have a nice white uniform. And so they said you pay a certain just a little amount, $100. That's quite a bit in those days. But anyway, you're going to go on this trip. So he paid the money and he was talking about this for days and days and weeks.
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About this wonderful trip around the world that he was going to take.
Is to meet the people at 10:00. Windsor station in Montreal went down there at 9:00 to make sure he got there on time, wasn't late like we are for the meeting sometimes and down he goes and.
Waited to 9:30 and 10:00 and nobody turned up. 11:00 that had a party in his home for him the night before. 12:00 nobody came there. The whole thing was a fake.
Went back to his home. There he was brought his big kit back there. Came back Monday morning to find his to to see to see if he could get his job back here. In the meantime, the boss had been away on his holidays. When he came in on Monday morning. Why he had found that Leslie had quit his job and he said no job. That boy was out of work. The depression just struck and that his even his life.
Was ruined. I saw him afterwards. He is an alcoholic.
I never forgot that story. But we were never going to miss our inheritance. We have it. We have it. No disappointments in the Christian life. Oh, it's a wonderful life to be enjoying these things. There. We have those beautiful things. And then it speaks of the 13th verse, the work of the Holy Spirit in the middle of the verse.
In whom that's Christ.
Also, after that, he believed you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Got the stamp right on us. That's the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, we're sealed guarantee, absolute guarantee seal. Never can lose it. Now. Those are some examples of the blessings that we have.
That we never can lose, never can lose. Let's go over to another one in Second Peter chapter one.
The 1St 4 verses of second Peter chapter one.
Are this side.
Sovereignty, particularly 3:00 and 4:00.
Every believer has these, never can lose them. We have them.
So we just read verses 3:00 and 4:00.
Two Peter chapter one, verse 3.
According as his divine power.
Half has given.
Unto us that's all, believers, a few things that pertain unto life. Is that what it says, boys?
What? Oh, that's right. Oh, are given unto us all things.
All things that pertain unto life. And what's the next word? Godliness.
Well, that is not only salvation, but that is the ability to live the Christian life.
He has given us fully equipped us now, fully equipped to live the Christian life, not only salvation life, but godliness. He's given that ability to every one of us. Am I living a godly life? If I'm not, it's because not because I can't help it, it's because I don't want to. I only sin because I want to sin as a Christian, not because I can't help it. Because you and I have been given this full power now.
Live a life of godliness for His glory.
That's what he's given us, and you and I are going to be responsible. And let me say this, that hearing these things in the assembly since we are children, I've heard it all my life, since infancy.
Oh, I'm much more responsible than somebody in a, in a church that only hears 1 little side of this. We are very responsible. And it's so important too, to remember that when you come into a meeting and you're not listening and something is being said there, you're held responsible for what you should have been listening to. It's very important to listen when we come into the meeting. Very important. Don't get into the habit of counting.
Lights and the flies flying around don't do that. That is a bad habit. When you go to school, get into the habit of listening and you don't need to work nearly as hard, but listen because we are responsible. But that's the other side. But here, now we have all things pertaining to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him that have called us.
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To glory by glory and virtue.
Verse 4 Whereby are given there it is, are given, not might be given, not conditional at all, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises. Who isn't that language? That's exaggerated language, not a word of it. It is a fact exceeding great and precious promises. Who says that? God?
Who does he say it about? You and me?
Do we believe that?
Our life shows, whether we believe it or not. There we have.
That by these precious promises.
Ye might be partakers. Oh, look at this, the divine nature. God has made you and me a partaker of his very nature. God's nature. I have it, you have it, if you're a child of God.
Having been made that we might be partakers of the divine nature. Here's that word having again having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Those are sufficient, I think, for the sovereignty side. Lots of other scriptures, but these two I wanted to just emphasize, well, our time is gone, we'll stop now and let's sing 166.
We've seen how the Lord has drawn us.
Now what are we to do? What's the hymn say, boys?
Call it out when you see it.
See it John 166.
No, that's one thing.
Right, that's it. Run.
Run. That's energy, and if you just dawdle along, it's not so good. But when you run.
Song of Solomon says that he has drawn us into his chamber and now. And so now we run.
All right, now let's sing 166 Lord, thou hast drawn us after thee. Now let us run, and never tire. Thy presence shall our comfort be thyself, our hope, our soul desire, our present Savior, while nor fear, nor sin can come if thou art near, and so on, 1/6, 6:00.
You know that brings before us the responsibility side to run now.
So we will look at scriptures that are going to bring this side before us, but we all have to remember that though this is full responsibility for you and for me, I can only go on in that responsibility if I am enjoying this side.
Now let's look at Joshua Chapter 1, Old Testament first. I always like to get illustrations for this truth, these truth, this truth.
From the Old Testament.
They're just replete with these illustrations.
Hidden there. That's why we can't read the Bible too fast. Read it slowly.
Not read too much at one time because it's so full.
After we haven't eaten for a while, we don't sit down and eat 10 meals, do we? No.
So it's better to eat slowly and regularly and chew the food well, and that does us good. Now here is a verse, verse 3, Joshua one, verse three. I have to misquote the verse in order to get the point over quickly. I'm going to misquote it and see who of you young ones can see the mistake that I made.
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Joshua chapter one, verse 3 every place.
That the soul of your foot shall tread upon that will I give unto you, as I said unto Moses.
Ah, that is right. Now, that's a strange thing, doesn't it? Isn't it? To read every place that the soul of your foot shall tread upon.
Obviously the correct thing would be that will I give you, but it doesn't say that.
What does it say?
Every place that the soul of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you.
They were entering the land now.
They had to put their feet on the ground, but when they did all they discovered that God had already given to him. Now that's Ephesian truth.
Enjoy this side. I must put my foot down on this side. I must be walking in this too.
I can't just be saying, Oh yes, that's nice that what they say there in the meeting, but.
Or it is, as you and I are living this truth, living it day by day. You bought younger ones. Here you may not know very much of the truth. And here would be one of the older brethren. He knows a lot of the truth. I'm not referring to an older brother here. Maybe I'll use myself. And here I might know quite a bit about the truth, but I'm only walking into up to half what I know.
And here is a young person that just got saved recently.
And they don't know very much of the truth. They only know about that. But they're living right up to that much of the truth. But what they're living in is much more than what I'm living in. Who's the happier person?
This little fellow or this old timer?
That's right, because he's living up to what he knows. One time my brother said to me, Oh my. He said, you must be very happy. You've been saved a long time. And I said I'm only saved a year. Oh, I told him it doesn't depend on how long we're saved, it's how much you and I are living what we know now, you boys and girls and older ones, we hear a lot.
Meeting sometimes.
Oh, it is nice to hear it, but it's only made good to my soul when I walk in it. Luke 818 says, Take heed how ye hear. To him that hath shall more be given.
I only have the truth I'm walking in.
And then it says, And he that hath not from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have. See, I can lose not the blessings, they are secure forever in Christ, but I can lose the joy of it.
No, every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon. If you walk in the truth that you know, you're going to get more and you're going to discover that the Lord has given it all to us. Ephesians chapter one. I'll give you another example farther on in this book.
Joshua 11.
So Joshua took the whole land. Now this was the general Joshua picture of Christ, and they took the whole land. That's the land that had been.
Belonging to these Canaanites and others. Joshua Chapter 11, verse 23. So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses.
Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes, and the land rested from war. Chapter 13, verse one.
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Now this follows after.
Now Joshua was old and stricken in years, and the Lord said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth very yet very much land to be possessed.
Now that seems like a contradiction, doesn't it? They took the whole land and there now Joshua, end of his life. The Lord says a lot to be possessed yet.
What would be the answer to that?
Just like we were talking and speaking about in the first chapter.
And I put my feet down, foot down on, and walk in the truth.
Then I possess it.
But if I just hear the meeting and say, well, that's really nice and go out and and live carelessly or live like you used to live before I was saved or drifting into the world or TV attracting my heart or allowing that in the home and so on. Oh, that's not enjoying the Lord. That's just bringing the world into my home. And so here it says that they had all the land.
Now the Lord said to Joshua.
There's very much land still to be possessed. Ah, that's the thing, isn't it? That's this side. Are we possessing it? Are we making it good in our own souls?
Then if we are, then we're going to learn more.
I must be walking in that truth in order to.
Learn to learn more, otherwise I'm going to lose what I thought I had. Now let's go over to the New Testament and we'll see in Colossians chapter 3.
The responsibility side.
Verse one. Colossians 3. Verse one.
If there's the responsibility I mentioned last night or the other night, when we get the word if, it's always responsibility, no ifs there in those early chapters of Ephesians, That's the position, that's God's side. But when we get an if it's the wilderness side, it is your and my life here on this earth.
So if either now it doesn't mean to say that some Christians have been risen with Christ and some not, but it's almost like since.
Since if he then be risen with Christ, Oh, here's that seeking, here's responsibility.
Here is that diligence that is, we'll see in a few minutes in another years. Seek those things which are above.
Where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Seek those things. Is that what you're seeking? Is that what I'm seeking? Or am I trying to get a bigger job, more money or whatever it might be, a better education so I can hold a better job? Sometimes those things are just nothing but a snare. And what happens to us end up with a handful of ashes and so on.
Never happiness.
Why mine's not occupied thinking about?
Heavenly things. Now it doesn't mean to say you get up in the morning and don't bother with school because but I think of heavenly things. So to spend the morning reading the the Bible, No, it doesn't mean that, but it means to set our our thoughts.
Our goal, our goal, our objects. What does our object in life?
Is it to live for the Lord's glory? Oh, then you and I are going to be guided into the right job and everything is going to be nice because as I often say, when the Lord gives us a job, we can do it easily.
There's no effort to do it because in Second Timothy 2 tells us that he has prepared us when we are willing to separate. So there it says.
Where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Your affection or your mind, the margin says on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead. Dead. That's what God says now about us. We're dead.
And your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. And then the fifth verse.
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I like to use this illustration.
Follow the A ship becomes a captain of a ship.
And he comes on board and he finds that there's a bad crew there on that ship.
So he calls the first mate and he says bring the the crew up, give one.
So the first meets as well, They're a motley crowd. Do you want them by groups? Yes. You divide them up into groups and bring up a group at a time. So up come five fellows. Here they are, verse 5.
Mortify therefore your members, which are upon the earth. Here's the first one, fornication.
Uncleanness too. Inordinate affection, evil concupiscence and covetousness, which is idolatry. There are five members of the group. Filthy bunch of guys. So you look at them and say get rid of them, get them off this ship. They are filthy and they're corrupt. Get them off so they're no longer on the crew. Get off, put them off.
Say the first mate, bring up another crew. All right, brings up another group. Here they are.
Verse 8 But now ye also put off all these there another group.
Here's #1 what's your name? Anger.
Two graph 3 Malice 4 Blasphemy 5 Filthy communication out of your mouth. Although they're not quite so bad, are they? Not quite so bad sometimes.
They get angry. Does anybody get angry here? Yeah, I guess we get angry now. That is one of that old crew. That's the old life that I had before I was saved.
Well, what does it say? Get him off the ship? Get him off. Put him on.
And the other one, Wrath, that is a bad temper, isn't it? Sometimes you say, well, I can't help. I was born with a bad temper. Put that fellow off the ship. He's a member of that old life that we used to have, that we were born with, and get them off. Get them off. Next one, Malice, that's a kind of a smoothie.
Now what's he do? He doesn't talk very much, but he thinks.
And he doesn't say what he's thinking, but he's thinking bad things about others. Ever do that?
Have you think bad things about another brother or sister? That's malice. That's not saying anything, but it's thinking bad thoughts about others. Got to be careful. Get that fellow off the ship, get them on, judge him and get them off. Don't let him come back on again and so on.
Blasphemy. Serious thing, isn't it? Blasphemy.
Saying bad things, almost like railing.
Has to do more of that. God may be thinking about wrong things, blasphemy, very bad thing. What's the last one there? Filthy communication, out of the mouth, bad, dirty stories and so on. Not maybe doing them, but of the communication, just saying that things.
All those things have to go off, you say to the first mate. Is that all the crew noise says I've got one fellow. He's a kind of a handy man from the crew there. I'll bring him up. Let's see, what is he? So here he is.
Verse 9 Lie not one to another. Oh.
He's the worst of them all, isn't he? He's back. He's singled out here in the Scriptures.
It's easy to not necessarily tell a lie, but sometimes to infer a lie and.
Incurred to live what isn't right.
And yet be inferring that we are. How easy that is. Off the boat that fellow goes.
Off they go, there's eleven of them gone. So now you say bring on the new crew. Here they come. It doesn't have them divided now up into these divided groups, but here they come. Verse 12, Count them as we go along. Put on, therefore, here they come as the elect of God.
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Here's #1 holy and beloved bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering. What a crew is coming on.
Forbearing one another.
Forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel against any, here they are. Seven of them, I think. Nice number, isn't it? Seven all on there. Does that characterize us?
Does that characterize us in our assembly life? Does that characterize us in our daily life at school or wherever we are?
There's the new crew. That is our new nature now. That is what God has given us.
And here comes responsibility now to put them on, put the others off first, just like we saw the turning out and then the turning in. God always does that cease to do evil, learn to do good. So.
There are some of the points and then.
Just enclosing on that connection, then you might say, well, I want to have a logbook now and I want to have a whole set of rules for this new crew. What are the set of rules for the new crew? This here they are.
Verse 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts.
To the witch also you are called in one body, and be thankful. Now here are the written rules that would apply to the running of the ship. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. The comma is in the wrong place, I understand, and here's the way it should be in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing, admonishing one another. The comma should be after the word richly.
The Word of God, Christ, dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing.
One other in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing with grace.
In your hearts to the Lord.
There's one member of the new crew that I forgot to mention. I just see him there in verse 14 and above all these things, put on love.
There's a nice fellow, he'd be kind of in charge of the crew a little bit, and there he is. Love. I understand that that thought is a little bit of an overcoat. In other words, the whole thing is to be characterized by love. Is that characterize you and me in our relationship with each other in the assembly? Love. That's what the new nature is. That is this lived out in our life, though.
Not not just talking about these things, but living them out. This is what is going to be honoring to the Lord and a blessing to your soul and mind. If we live in it, you can't say, well, I don't have the power. I'm I'm working on it all. We have to remember this side. He's given us all things that pertain him to life and godliness.
Now let's go over to Second Peter and continue on with those verses.
Because the sharp break takes place in second Peter chapter one, verse five. Very different.
Sharp contrast.
Verses three and four this side verses 5 on to around 14.
This side man's responsibility. So here we are now #5.
Verse five of first chapter of two Peter and beside.
This the translation says and for this very reason.
What? What is that? Well, on our chart, it helps us to see it.
How am I going to be able to walk in this? It's right beside it. It's right beside it for this very reason, because God has given us all these things now for this very reason.
For this very reason, responsibility. So what does it say?
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Giving now doesn't say gave it now. It changes to the present imperfect tense giving, going on and on and on, day by day in our living Christian life. Now giving a little bit of diligence. Is that what it says, boys?
Oh, do you find an all? Who can find an all in the?
4th.
Who can find the gnaw in the third verse?
But to say that an all in the third verse.
Got her, John.
Or what?
You're right. That's it. He has given us in his past tense. There, you see it says has given us all things, all things. Now that's this stuff. Now this side says beside this, giving all things, no diligence. Oh, he doesn't want us to fall asleep, does he? He doesn't want to in our Christian life. He doesn't want sleepy Christians. He wants diligent Christians. Diligent.
Giving all diligence now, then we start to build, adding to your faith. Faith is the foundation of evidence.
So we add 1 by 1. We build now like blocks.
Giving all diligence add to your faith.
Virtue. Virtue. That's truth.
And to virtue knowledge, you can't just be dashing around with lots of energy with like virtue and so on, but it has to be guided by the truth. One of the boys that got saved in the gospel 10 years ago, where he was very diligent and he read the scriptures and he was reading Darby's writings and he made tremendous progress. And then we left one area and we went to another.
And he said next year, oh, I think I want to go back to that first place and stay there and try to help them. Well, I said to him, John, there are no, there's no assembly up there and you're going to be isolated. There wasn't any groups of Christians that we knew of for 100 miles. That was Stellarton, Nova Scotia. And so he said, no, I want to go there. Well, I said, don't put service before worship.
Well, he said no, but I feel I should go there. Next thing he went. Wasn't very long until he was feeling the loneliness and he started to go to some of the group of Christians who were there.
Still a believer, but away from the Lords table now.
You never can put service before worship.
And if a job comes along, just let me say this and pass it. And I hope I'm not preaching at you, but if a job comes along for some of you brothers, and it's going to take you farther away from the assemblies or the assembly, don't, don't hesitate. But the Lord 1St and He will honor him that honoreth me, I will honor. It's in everything. It's our daily living. You sisters here in your home, put the Lord first.
Do what is right according to the word of God and you will count on the Lord may have problems in our homes that are in our family relations and so on. Put the Lord first at all costs, all cost, and the Lord will bless God.
Add to your faith virtue for virtue, knowledge, it must be according to the word to knowledge. Temperance, that's our bodily relations, body, soul and spirit are here in these verses. And so temperance, that is a very important thing, isn't it? Temperance, not abstemiousness, but temperance in all things. The Lord is at hand, Paul says in Philippians.
Temperance not to be extreme in the assembly.
Don't get ideas and start to push them and push them and push them. That's not temperance.
Be subject to one another, older brethren, be subject to them. You'll be blessed in your life, you young brothers tendency these days. Throw over the restraints and the teachings of the older brethren. The great mistake. Add to your faith, virtue, virtue, knowledge, knowledge, temperance. What's the next one? Temperance, Patience.
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Oh, patience.
Just telling.
For the water, the table, the reversing Colossians that speaks of just like a launching pad for these missiles that they or whatever they call them, they send them off into space and it, it requires tremendous power to get them up. Notice. Just hold your place here and I'll give you that verse.
Colossians.
One and 11 here's the launching pad.
Strengthened with All Might.
Almight, there's another all again, strengthened with all Might according to His glorious power or power and glory. There's the launching pad. Now what's going to come off here unto all patients?
That's how important patience is in your life and mind. We get impatient easily, don't we?
Now God is telling us that that mighty power is going to lift that.
Object and what is it? Patience with long and long-suffering.
With unhappiness? No, it doesn't say that at all. What's it say? Right. Joyfulness. Yeah. Oh, isn't that love? He wants us to be joyful. We're not going to be joyful if we have this, but we're going to be joyful if we are walking in this.
So what else after? Let's go back to Peter there.
Patience to temperance. Patience to patience godliness.
Godliness. Honest dealings in our work. Job starts at 9:00. Don't get there. 5 past 9.
That's not what it says here. Godliness is doing a good job for your boss not to be going around talking to, even preaching to other people during the time we're at work. That's not godliness. That's stealing from the boss because he's hired you to do 8 hours work. Do that 8 hours work and then you're going to be living a godly life and then your testimony is going to be good when you speak to another soul.
About the Lord, they're going to be diligent in your work. So there is what it says, godliness and to godliness, brotherly kindness. Here's another block on the top. And brotherly kindness. That's so important. That's this sign. That's your responsibility and mine. In the assembly, in the home, we talk nicely to each other. Husbands and wives, are we snapping at each other? That's not what this is saying.
This is application, personal application, family application.
Application, business application, it's how we live that is going to determine now how much we're going to be living for his glory and how much we're going to be be learning more of what he's telling us and how much happier we're going to be. And then it says, what's the capstone love?
Divine Love.
That's the top base faith capstone love.
Oh, how lovely.
Word of God is gentle and yet houseward.
One other verse in John.
1317.
Get one of you boys to read. You haven't read any verses?
Right, we did good and lively now.
Right, notice the if there two its emphasis if you know these things.
What is that referring to these things? No, no, no these.
You know these things.
Happier ye, does it say that?
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Well, it says that, but what else?
Yes, that's it. There's the happiness. Not knowing them doesn't make us happy, but the doing of them. That's this stuff.
The doing of them, knowing of these things, you see, they're so involved together, they're they run on like the lines of a railroad track. You can't do without one without knocking the train off the track. And the Christian life is a balanced life. Our assembly life is a balanced life. It's a peaceful life.
1St Corinthians 14, verse 32 or so it says God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the assemblies of the Saints. Does that characterize the assembly? Oh yes. If there doesn't, there's something wrong. I need to judge my heart. If there's something wrong in the assembly, don't look at the problems. Judge my own heart. Find out what's wrong in my heart that I'm the things that I might be going on with. Judge those.
And what does it say in Proverbs? He that confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
If we are going on with things that we know don't please the Lord on this side, confess them to the Lord.
Confess them quickly and then we're going to go on in communion, in the joy.
Of God.
Nothing more. Wonderful days are getting dark now. Lord is, if he doesn't come soon, we're going to be in awful, difficult days. You can just feel it. Troubles everywhere. Violence, increasing filth and corruption, drugs and all these things. You young people know more than I do about those things. It's getting worse and worse every day.
Is the answer to go into seclusion to pull ourselves?
Into a monastery? No, no, it's to be drawing strength from the Lord day by day. I heard it's just her one time saying well the world is getting so bad that.
It really shouldn't be bringing children into the world.
That's as much as saying if it doesn't get any worse, I can manage, but if it gets worse, I can. It has nothing to do with that at all. It's the Lord. He is well able. That's what Joshua said when he came back from the searching of that land. He said we are well able. Oh beloved ones, may we not be depending on ourselves. May we realize this is.
Absolute position for us Hebrews 10/14 says, For by one offering he hath perfected forever.
Made perfect forever. Are you enjoying that?
Them that are sanctified. We are standing in all the perfection of Christ. If you and I are enjoying this now, oh, we're going to be going on for his glory. Your life is going to be a life of fulfillment, of peace and tranquility and joy and happiness. And there we are going to be going on and happy fellowship with one another. May the Lord preserve us and may the Lord.
Give us the grace to keep our eyes.
Singly and upon him until they hear his voice.