Address—G.H. Hayhoe
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This afternoon on some scriptures that have to do with God's will in our lives.
And there are 4 scriptures that I would like to read. First of all, the first one is Isaiah chapter 53. Isaiah chapter 53.
And verse 6 All we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
And then would we also turn to John chapter 6, John chapter 6, and verse 38?
For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
And then in Proverbs chapter 3.
Proverbs, chapter 3.
And the fifth verse.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
And then in Psalm 143.
Psalm 143 and verse 10.
Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God.
Thy spirit is good. Lead me into the land of uprightness.
Well, as I remark, dear young people, I'd like to speak a little bit about doing God's will and these 4 scriptures that we have read bring before us the blessedness of doing His will. The reason I began with Isaiah chapter 53 is because that is what we are all naturally prone to. It tells us they are all we like. Sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to His own way.
And as one brother put it many years ago, he said, if we're honest with ourselves, we know that what we like best of all is our own way. And yet we know that our own way gets us into so much trouble. As we look back over our lives when we chose our own way, Oh, what a way it was. If God hadn't intervened in grace, we know that we would have ended in a lost eternity. But always thank Him that He.
But our own way. Oh, what a sad thing. And yet God thought of us in that condition, and I'm glad the verse ends in the way it does, because it says the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. For actually sin is lawlessness, as it tells us in First John. Sin is doing our own will.
And independence of God, it all began away back in the garden of.
Eaten. When God placed Adam and Eve there, He gave them a command, but they chose to do their own will. They chose to listen to the tempter, They chose to partake of that which God had forbidden. And we know the sorrow that came upon them, and the sorrow that came upon the human race. And we know that sin is going to head itself up in the end by that man of sin. And the Scripture says of him, the king shall do according to.
According to his or his own will, unbridled self will will be the final climax of man's sin.
But isn't it lovely to turn from that dark picture? And yet we know it fits us so well because that's just what we're like by nature. To one the second man, the last Adam who came into this world to not to do his own will, but the will of him that sent him, oh, what a contrast and what a pathway was his. As one person said when he read the Gospels, the thing that impressed him was this.
Here is a man who never did one thing to please himself. How wonderful the Lord Jesus here in this world. He came not to do his own will, but the will of him that sent him. And all I say again, what a pathway of love it was tells us that He went about doing good. We find Him despised and rejected, but oh and blessed compassions of his loving heart going on.
Unmoved by all the attempts of the enemy, by all the indifference of Satan going, all the indifference of man, I should say, going on in that pathway of love in obedience to his Father's will. And where did it lead him wasn't an easy path, although it was a path indeed where he found the joy of doing his Father's will. But it was a path.
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Uncheered by earthly smiles that led only to the cross.
All the fruit of that work that He did is all going to be in resurrection, but His pathway here was one of doing His Father's will. We think of them there in the Garden of Gethsemane. And there with an awful load of judgment before Him, He said, not my will, but thine be done. Oh, what blessed submission to His Father's will.
And we wrote in Proverbs in the 3rd chapter and there it says.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to thine own understanding. Though when we're young we like to think for ourselves. And do I suppose that perhaps that's the reason we read about the Lord Jesus going up to the temple at 12 years of age? Because that's the turning point in a young person's life.
When they enter their teens, there's a sort of a change takes place.
And we begin to, as people often say, to think things out for ourselves. And what do we find with the Lord Jesus? At the age of 12? He said, Wish ye not that I must be about my Father's business, the Blessed One. When he came to that age, what was his will? It was to do his Father's business, to do his Father's will.
There are some here that are just turning from 12.
To 13 and perhaps you've said to your parents, well, I think for myself a little bit now and you have had that feeling coming up in your mind that you would like to just go on your own way. Well, I warn you that to go your own way is dangerous. It leads to much sorrow, much trouble. Many a person has brought a lot upon themselves because instead of seeking.
The will of God. They have gone on in their own way. Well, it says.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Why does it say trust in the Lord with all thine heart? Oh, because here's a person that you can have perfect confidence in all that he says and in all that he asks you to do. You'll never have a friend like him. Dear young people, some of your friends may give bad advice at times. Some of your friends may not be able to help you out in the problems. But here's a person who invites you.
To come and pour out your heart before him. Just tell him everything and he'll never give you bad advice. He'll always tell you the right thing to do. Trust in the Lord with all thine hearts. That's our affections. We love Him because he first loved us. And then it says, and lean not unto thine own understanding. Did you ever say, well I see things differently. I hope you'll never see them differently from God's.
I hope you'll never say that. When God says something in His Word, well, I look at it differently because that's leaning on our own understanding. It's so important that we say, well, this is what God says, His Word. He's my best friend, He loves me. My Savior died for me. So I don't want to lean upon my own understanding.
And then he invites us in all thy.
Ways acknowledge Him and he shall direct thy paths. Very often when big decisions come in life, we would like to be directed. We would like to know the Lord's mind in these big decisions. But notice that verse says, in all thy ways, is God interested in the smallest things of your life?
Does he care about the little things that seem so unimportant? Perhaps?
Yes, he cares about the smallest detail of your life. There isn't a single thing in your life that he's not interested in because he counts the very hairs of your head. You haven't got a friend like that. There isn't a friend that you have, no matter how much he thinks of you that ever counted the hairs of your head. But he does, because he cares. He loves, he knows he cares nothing. This hope condemned.
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He does the very best for those who leave the choice with Him. So what an encouragement this is. And if we don't know His will, let us never think it's because He's unwilling to show us, because there's His word. In all thy ways. Acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths. Now that is, He doesn't say might, but he shall direct thy paths. He does want to give.
You a happy pathway through this world, and if he wants to give you a happy pathway through this world, then he wants you to come to him and find out. You know, they gave us directions about how to get to the motel, but you know, we have to read them pretty carefully. If you don't read them carefully, it's very easy to get a little confused and make the wrong turn. But God not only gives us directions, but isn't it wonderful He goes with us.
Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age. I love that because very often when people give me directions, there's a little too many turns for me to remember and so I get a bit confused. But nothing is nicer than when the person says, well, I'll get in the car with you and then I'll show you the way. Isn't that just what the Lord Jesus says? He says that He'll not only show us the way, but He also.
Because that he will abide with us and never leave us. Never. Even when we make bad turns, he still doesn't leave us. It tells us in the 10th chapter of John that he goes before us and the sheep follow him. But then in Isaiah, where we find that self will at work, it says, Thou shalt hear a voice behind thee saying.
This is the way walk ye in it When he turned to the right hand.
To the left when we didn't follow, when we ran ahead of him, he still followed us and he saw us make that bad turn. And he says, I'll tell you when you make a bad turn. And so he says the voice behind says this is the way. Walk ye in it. I've had friends do that for me too. They saw me make a wrong turn. They told me about it. And so I was able to correct it. Well, that's the kind.
Friend, we have trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Then this verse that we read in the 143rd Psalm, it says, Teach me to do Thy will. Notice those two little words to do, because I think we very often say, well, I want to know the Lord's mind. But when he makes it known to us and we begin to count the cost, is there not a tendency for us at times to hold back and to say, well?
Now that's a little too difficult. I wouldn't mind if it wasn't quite so hard, but it's going to be too difficult to do His will. And so we hold back. So we've noticed here, the one who came down from heaven to do His Father's will, He did it at all costs. He would rather die than disobey. He invites us to acknowledge Him and now hears this little prayer, this beautiful prayer.
Teach me to do thy will.
Not just teach me thy will, but teach me to do thy will. Oh, what a lovely thing that there is the privilege of doing his will in our lives. And then he says, for thou art my God. I think that's a beautiful expression. I think of Paul in prison, forgotten by many of the dear believers.
Only the Philippians thought of him and his imprisonment, and he writes.
Back to them and I've enjoyed that little expression. My God shall supply all your need. He could have said God shall supply all your need. He didn't though. He laid to heart those blessed words of the Lord Jesus. I ascend unto my Father, and your Father to my God and your God. And so he could say, my God is rich. I can't repay you, Philippians.
But my God shall supply all your need.
So he says here thou art my God. And then he says thy Spirit is good. He is seeking your good and mine. He is seeking our blessing. He is prepared the best for us for all eternity. His heart will not be satisfied with anything less than the best. I say the best for every one of his redeemed ones for all eternity, and He's doing the best.
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For us now, according to our state of soul, He wants our best, He's seeking our good, and then he adds, lead me into the land of uprightness. I believe this is a very important scripture, a land of uprightness. There's a great deal of.
Lack of uprightness. There's a great deal of perhaps not being totally truthful, There's a lot of perhaps cover up and that sort of thing. But it's important, dear young people, that we should be upright. An upright person doesn't mean a person that is perfect, because none of us are perfect, although we have a perfect savior and a perfect standing. But what does it mean to be upright?
Well, Simply put, it means that we don't pretend.
Be what we're not.
We don't pretend to be what we're not. And God delights in uprightness. When the Sinner is upright, he confesses just what he is. He doesn't tell God that he's better than he is. He says this is just what I am. I'm a Sinner. I'm a lost Sinner. He's upright. And when you and I go through our pathway here, I believe it's very important that we should be upright. And I don't think any of us, if we're really upright, can lift our heads very high.
We can if we're hiding something because we think nobody knows. But we can if we're really upright because we're really upright. We're pretty well acquainted with what poor failing things we are, even at best.
Oh how important. Then lead me in the land of uprightness. May God give us that spirit of uprightness in all our ways. For I read these 4 scriptures because they bring me for us. What?
Our natural hearts are wanting to have our own way. The perfect example God has given is blessed Son who came to do His own, to do not his own will, but the will of the Father that sent him. And then how He would have us to acknowledge Him so that He could guide us. And then the willing heart, the desires that He would teach us the way that He would lead us in the path that is pleasing to Him.
Well, and I'd like to turn to a few scriptures that have to do with decisions that come in our lives. First of all, I'd like to turn to John, chapter 15.
John, Chapter 15.
And verse 16.
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, He may give it to you.
Well, as I said, I'd like to turn to a few scriptures that have to do with decisions that we have to make in life. But I thought it was fitting that we should read this passage first, because here we have His decision in choosing us, and that's the grand starting point in Christian life. When we think of it, if we were left to ourselves, we would never have chosen Christ.
Our willful, stubborn hearts.
Wanted our own way. We were part of the crowd that sat away with him. Crucify him. But isn't it wonderful, dear young people, that he should have looked down? I don't think I'll ever get over the wonder of why he ever chose me. Why did he pick me out? Certainly not because I was any better than anybody else. And I believe that for all eternity.
That we're going to never cease to marvel and wonder that He chose us.
And so here the Lord speaks to his disciples and says, ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. Isn't that wonderful? May that get hold of your soul. Do you know the Lord chose you to be a companion in the glory with Him? Sometimes in school you may be chosen to do a certain job. They usually choose you because you have certain qualifications so you feel quite pleased.
That you have been chosen. But the Lord didn't choose us because of any personal qualifications. We were sinners, we were at enmity with Him. And yet, wonder of all wonders, he have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. Oh, may this get hold of your heart and mind. When Paul Saul of Tarsus was saved on the road to Damascus, it was said of him.
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He is a chosen vessel to bear my name.
Before the Gentiles and before the children of Israel. Oh, how wonderful it is to be chosen. We all like that feeling, but it's so blessed when it's such a great person who has chosen us. You might be chosen, as I say, to do some assignment at school. You might be chosen in the office where you work to do some assignment or some task. But oh, to think that you and I have been chosen for glory.
Chosen to be part of the bride of Christ, chosen to share all that's in His heart of love and all its blessed fullness as far as can become communicated forever and forever. Such is the wonderful grace that has picked us up. And so in speaking all those decisions that we have to make in life where we need to bow our own wills to His, isn't it wonderful at the starting point is His will.
As tells us in James chapter.
One of His own will begat he us that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. And so I say to you, dear young people, if you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, if you have put your trust in Him, his thoughts sink down into your heart. You belong to Him, He's chosen you. He's not going to let you go.
No failure on your part is going to change his purposes. He'll never have one of his.
Up there in the glory and look at that person and say, well, I'm sorry I chose that person. He wasn't just what I wanted him to be. No, the 53rd of Isaiah says he shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. I've heard Christians say, well, I'm afraid the Lord's disappointed in me. Never.
He'll never be disappointed in you. He may be grieved.
But He knew all about us and loves His own to the end. Nothing's going to change His heart. We often become disappointed because someone that we relied upon didn't turn out to be what we had hoped. But not so. He knew about us. He loves us, and that love is an unchanging, inalterable love. So here we have the first one. His will in exercise in choosing us.
Now I'd like to turn to the 22nd chapter of Luke, the seventh verse.
Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat. And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you bearing a pitcher of water.
Follow him into the house where he entereth in.
Then the 19th verse. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you.
This do in remembrance of me likewise also the cup after supper saying this cup is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for you.
We're here now, He has saved us, He's brought us to himself, He's chosen us, He's ordained us to bring forth fruit. That is, that there should be produced in our lives of that which is well pleasing to Him. And now I've thought of this scripture 1St, and there's seven different ones I'd like to speak about, but this one here first of all, and that has to do with worship.
Remember when the leper was cleansed, the thought that came forth in his heart that one out of the 10 was that he wanted to return and give thanks to the Lord for what he had done for him. And dear young people, if you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, I'm sure there are stirs in your heart right now, a desire to some way express your thankfulness.
Some way you can tell him in a little way.
How you appreciate what He has done for you. Well, the Passover, as we know in Israel's history, was a reminder to them of what God had done for them in delivering them from the slavery and ******* of Egypt. They were slaves there and that lamb, and God told them that He was going to take them out, that He might bring them in. And so they weren't any better than the Egyptians and if God was going to take them out.
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It must be in a way that acknowledged their guilt and also His provision for them as a guilty people. And so we know the story well how the Passover lamb was slain and the blood was sprinkled on the lentil and the side posts, and how God said, when I see the blood I will pass over you. And God told them at that time that He desired that they would continue remembering that occasion.
All through their generations, 1500 years had passed and it was still precious to the Lord that they should remember the night of their deliverance out of Egypt. And now it's almost 1900 years have passed and the Lord has instituted a way that we can remember Him. Look back to Calvary and in the simple way that we sought to do this morning.
Remember him in his death.
For us.
Or the disciples could have decided for themselves about where this Passover should be prepared.
But it seemed that they were in harmony with the thoughts of the Lord, and they didn't want to do anything according to their own will. There was no question in their minds that they should keep the Passover. The Scripture had made that very clear. But to be where the Lord would have them to do it was something more. And so when the Lord said, go and prepare us the Passover.
He didn't give them instructions until they asked.
And I've sometimes said that David never asked Jonathan to accompany him to The Cave of Adullam. If affection on the part of Jonathan didn't make him desire to be with David, why David didn't ask him? And dear young people, the Lord wants your heart to respond so that you really want to be where he is, that you would ask him like the disciples, Lord.
Where wilt thou that we prepare, and so without choosing?
On their own at all, they received definite instructions, directions from the Lord as to what He would have them to do. Isn't this very nice to see, this spirit of waiting upon him and seeking His will? And so they asked the Lord, Where wilt thou that we prepare? Perhaps I hear someone say, oh, that was the Passover, that wasn't the Lord's Supper. But didn't the Lord know that that was going to be the place for the supper?
Would be instituted. This was the very place where the supper was instituted. And So what an important point it was that they should ask him about this occasion so that they would have definite directions from him. Because in that very spot he himself was to institute the Feast of Remembrance with just a couple of little thoughts. And that is.
There was the man bearing the pitcher of water.
Then perhaps that brings before us the way the Lord guides us. I believe the man would.
And how God said, When I see the blood, I will pass over you. And God told them at that time that He desired that they would continue remembering that occasion all through their generations. 1500 years had passed and it was still precious to the Lord that they should remember the night of their deliverance out of Egypt.
And now it's almost 1900 years have passed.
And the Lord has instituted a way that we can remember him. Look back to Calvary, and in the simple way that we sought to do this morning, remember him. I believe the man would represent to us the Holy Spirit of God, and the water would represent to us the Word of God.
And so that's the way God guides us. He guides us by his word and through the Holy Spirit. And so are you and I seeking to be guided by his Word. Sometimes I've heard Christians say the Lord led me to do this or that. But you know, when you have a definite Scripture, then you can say the Lord led me because you have his word, and the Word and the Spirit are always in harmony.
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But He'll never lead you contrary to His word. And if you think the Lord is leading you, and yet you are going contrary to His word, it can't be the Lord leading you by His Spirit, because it was the Spirit of God who indicted this word. Holy man of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, so this word was indicted by the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit guides through the word.
So there was the there was a man.
Bearing the pitcher of water. And they followed him. What simplicity. And dear young people, I just asked you.
Are you really seeking to be followed by the Word? I know you are often disappointed in people. You're probably disappointed in me. And sometimes we get disappointed in things that friends may do. But the Lord didn't tell them to follow someone of the disciples. Now he said to follow this man bearing the pitcher of water and to the place where he brought them. And so I just ask you.
If you would desire to remember the Lord Jesus, follow the direction of His Word. Ask God by His Spirit to make it clear to you, and don't deviate from the directions of His Word. As I say, there may be disappointments at times, but He is not a disappointment. It's the Lord to whom we are gathered, and unless we see the Lord in the midst, we won't be preserved. That's the only thing that'll keep any of us.
It's only his presence that will.
Keep us, Peter said, to whom shall we go? He didn't say where, he said to whom. It was a person whom he saw, and that was what kept him there. There was another disappointment coming for him. Judas was going to prove to be a disappointment. And sometimes we have disappointments, but Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever.
So here we find them asking the Lord, Where wilt thou?
He didn't choose a nice company. He didn't choose a place where there was a lot of activity. They didn't choose a place where they liked the preacher. Now they just followed his directions. And I'm sure that if you and I seek to follow the direction of his word, he's still willing to show us today, he says in his word.
He says, If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, and whether I speak of myself. So here we find the disciples going to the place where the Lord would have them to be, and the Lord in the midst, the Lord instituting the feast at all. How happy they must have been, as that little occasion was over, and they went out to the Mount of Olives.
To feel well, we just followed His directions, we just went by His word, and that's what gives peace in the soul is the light of His precious word directing our pathway.
Now there's another passage, and that's in connection with service in Galatians chapter 6.
Galatians, chapter 6.
And the fourth verse.
But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another, for every man shall bear his own burden.
Well, we've been speaking about worship, and of course that must come first.
When Leper was cleansed, he returned to give thanks to God. He returned to fall down at the feet of the Savior. But then, now there's service for us. When Paul had acknowledged Jesus as Lord now, then he was directed about what the Lord wanted him to do. And it's very important that we follow this order.
But in rejoicing in the knowledge of how he would have us together.
To remember him, isn't it important to think that he also gives directions as to service?
God gave full directions in the Book of Exodus about how the Tabernacle was to be built, and Moses was distinctly told to follow the pattern that was showed to him on the Mount. But then when we come to the Book of Numbers, we find service brought in, and in that place where the Lord had been pleased to vote safe with His presence, then there was a service to be performed.
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And it tells us that these Levites who?
Represented the first born delivered on the night of Israel's deliverance from Egypt. They were brought to Aaron and to his sons, and it tells us that everyone was appointed to his service and everyone was appointed to his burden.
Angelo and Saul of Tarsus was saved. He said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do now? Dear young people, I really feel that this is important. I feel that there's often a possibility of going all through life and never finding out what the Lord wanted us to do. Just sort of drifting along, perhaps through grace, gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus, but never discovering.
That the Lord has some little pathway of service.
That he wants you to fulfill and wasn't interesting of all those thousands of Levites.
That every one of them was appointed to a particular part in regard to the Tabernacle everyone.
And we read of a man named Archippus in the book of Colossians, and he evidently was not carrying out what was appointed to him. And Paul had to say, say to our kippus, take heed to the ministry that thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfill it.
He had to say to Timothy, neglect not the gift that is in me, and we must first of all be before the Lord and asking him to show us just what that little service may be. Now I don't say that it has to be to be on the platform as our brethren were remarking in the meeting yesterday, and it's very important.
It doesn't really mean that it has to be one that puts you in the public eye.
I am quite, I feel quite sure that the judgment seat of Christ, that when the rewards are given, we will find that those who fulfill the hidden work for the Lord may receive far more reward. Because I'll tell you this, the more your service puts you in the public eye, the more danger there is of having wrong motives in doing it. But when it's a little service that nobody knows about but the Lord, you really have to.
Before the Lord to carry on when nobody knows and nobody says thank you, Nobody appreciates it because they don't know you're doing it. But the Lord has a book of remembrance. Dear young people, the Lord has a service for you. He has a niche for you to fulfill. No one can fulfill it better than you. Just as in our natural bodies, if you lose one hand, the other hand can take over, and you can get through life with one hand.
But not as well as with two, and many assemblies are suffering a lack, because there are those who are not fulfilling what they might do in their little part for the Lord.
So it says that every man prove his own work. Wasn't it nice for a Levite when he went and picked up the pins to say to himself, this is what I was asked to do and I'm going to seek to do it just under the Lord. And he watched the other one who carried the ark, and he didn't say, well, I wish I was doing that because he wasn't chosen for that work. He was doing his little part just as much as the one who carried the ark was doing his.
Because the greatness of the service.
Is not whether it's a public thing, but it's doing his will, doing his will. How May God grant, dear young people, that each one of you will ask the Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And notice there were two things here, a service and a burden. And if I am speaking about the Levites, a service and a burden. And here it says.
Every man prove his own work, and every man shall bear his own burden.
So it's so in our lives. You have a service to do. You also have a burden to bear. Maybe things at home aren't just altogether what you'd like them to be. Maybe the assembly makes a burden upon you. Never mind. The Lord appoints the service and the Lord appoints the burden, and he gives grace for whatever the service is and whatever the burden is. And I don't like to speak of myself, but I sometimes.
To my wife, we don't need to ask ourselves if we can do this. We just have to ask, does the Lord want us to do it? If he wants us to do it, then he'll give all the strength and all the grace that's necessary. Isn't it lovely? No man goes to warfare at his own charges. If the Lord calls you to a work, you don't need to wonder whether you can do it, because he'll never call you to it unless you can. He'll give you the strength.
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All there may be discoveries of self within that we may.
That are very humbling. But isn't this lovely? Then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another? When Paul came to the end of his path, he had the rejoicing of feeling that he had fulfilled the service the Lord had appointed him to do. He finished his course with joy. How may the Lord give us then, dear young people, each one? I'm not going to try to choose a service for you. I can't. If I did, I might be mistaken.
But the Lord is the Lord of the harvest. He'll show, He'll show you. So I'm just going to read this again. Let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another, for every man shall bear his own burden. Then perhaps there's a matter of business. Let's turn over to James. James and the 4th chapter and the 13th verse.
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 ye know not what shall be on the Morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For the tiat to say, If the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that.
Well, I just wanted to apply this in connection with our business.
Bible tells us to provide things honest in the sight of all man.
Many young people have to choose where they're going to locate in regard to their business or occupation. And you know, it's a big decision. It makes, it has a great effect upon our lives where we settle down, a place where God wants us to be. I, I enjoy reading in the epistles when it mentions so and so of Thessalonica and so and so of Corinth. And that is, they were in these places and they were a blessing.
In that location.
Well, here I just want to say to you, dear young people, I know as you get older, many of you have to make a decision what line of work you're going to follow and where you're going to settle. And so when you're thinking about what line of work that you're going to settle in.
They asked the Lord. It tells us here that we ought to say, if the Lord will, do you want his will? We say, I like that line of work. Be sure you ask the Lord if it's his will. There might be some things that you and I could get engaged in that are not God's will for us. We can get our lives badly mixed up, you know, because we find out afterwards that we didn't wait at the post of His doors. We didn't stand.
Still. And ask him, Lord, what is thy plan for my life? And so here we find that even if it's going into such and such a city and buying and selling and getting gain, it's not wrong that we should make a livelihood. It's necessary, we're told, to labor and work with our hands. But it's very blessed to be directed of the Lord in this. And he cares, He's concerned.
And so this verse tells us, if the Lord will, we shall live. So that is, that we should seek His will in connection with the occupation that we choose the calling in life. We have a similar thought in First Corinthians 7 where it says that every man abide in the same calling wherein he is called with God.
That is to be able to have a job where you can honor the Lord.
You don't have to get mixed up with something that dishonours the Lord, as you might say, well, I have to do it to provide a livelihood. Well, do you think the Lord doesn't care about how you provide a livelihood? Of course He does. The King's heart is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water. He turneth it whithersoever he will. Do you know that God is the one who controls the heart of your employer? He can bring you to a person that will be favorable and kind.
And.
The sooner your Christian exercises, oh, it's a wonderful thing to know that he's interested even in buying and selling. He's interested in our livelihood. And then let's turn back to Genesis and we'll see something about our location. Genesis chapter 13, I think it is Genesis chapter 13, the 10th verse. And Lot lifted up his eyes and behold all the plain of Jordan that it was well watered.
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Everywhere before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan. And Lot journeyed east, and they separated themselves, the one from the other. And Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent towards Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord.
Exceedingly.
Well, here we find a choice of where he was going to live.
Lot decided on his own. He didn't ask the Lord how different from Abraham, who sought the Lord's guidance. For in the end of this chapter the Lord told him to lift up his eyes northward, southward, eastward, westward, to walk through the lands. And he had given it to him. But not so with Lot. Lot had an eye for prosperity.
Lot was a get along well person. Lot decided that he was going to live where it was bad.
For him financially and in the way of success. And so his whole decision seemed to have been based on this and he didn't seem to consider whether it was God's will.
I believe that perhaps he thought that, Oh well, if I get down to Sodom, maybe I can help change things there a little bit. Because the Bible tells us that he sat in the gate of Sodom and perhaps he thought he could improve conditions down in Sodom by going there. But the mistake that he made was that the place that he settled was on his own will and not the will of God.
That was the whole thing with him. Well watered plains.
Success, getting along, looked like the garden of the Lord to him. So this is the way the decision was made in his life about where he was going to live. And let us ask ourselves, is that the way we decide things? I've heard young people say sometimes, well, I'd like to go someplace else, but I think the Lord wants me here.
That thrills my heart to hear a person say that, and perhaps they've got a job with a little.
Money, perhaps they've got a job where things are a little harder. And yet they say, I think the Lord wants me here, dear young people, to be where the Lord wants you. He doesn't put all his lights in the same place. When I came to Montreal, I'm glad that all the lights were not just in the center Of Montreal. I'm glad that there were lights along the highway and on back streets and everywhere. God has his lights in different places.
And if he wants you to shine for him in a lonely, out of the way place.
Perhaps you're in a gathering and you say, oh, I wish there were two or three brothers. It's even hard for me to get away. But you don't leave that place because you feel the Lord wants you there.
Well, lot made he had the wrong motive in making the wrong decision. He decided to go down there because of the well watered plains and all. What were the sad results that came? We all know only too well it was a lost life for as I've often said in the.
Scripture says you can have a saved soul and a lost life. A lost life and poor lot, he had a saved soul, but he had a lost life because he located in the wrong place. He went down. He didn't go all the way to Sodom at first, but more and more. First he was a tent dweller and then he had a house and he was living right inside him. Oh, may the Lord guide you to your young people.
What important?
Decisions are made in youth.
Let's turn to Genesis. And now we have something about a subject that is quite important to us when we're young, and that is the choice of a partner. Genesis chapter 2224. I should say, pardon me, Genesis chapter 24 and verse 2. And Abram said unto his eldest servant of his house that ruled over all that he had. But I prayed he thy hand under my thigh.
Then I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou take not a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell.
But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. And the servant said unto him, For adventure, the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land must I needs. Bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest. And Abraham said unto him, Beware that thou bring not my son thither again.
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Well, here was a very important time that came in the life of Isaac.
And we see how this servant was sent. And I believe the servant is a picture to us in this chapter of the Holy Spirit of God, because we know that the Spirit of God is down in this world now gathering out a bride for Christ. And so he has brought before us in this chapter as a servant who was choosing the bride for Isaac. And dear young people, I hope that you will use this servant too.
That is, I hope that you will have.
The direction of the Spirit of God in these important, so important decisions that are made. The girl or the boy that you marry is going to make or break your life, going to change your whole life for better or for worse. Because we have an effect upon one another and it's impossible for us to live through in company with one another without affecting one another.
How lovely that verse in Ecclesiastes that says.
Because 2 are better than one and a three fold cord is not soon broken. Wonderful to have a companion chosen by the Lord.
And also to have the Lord with you all along the pathway, because you had the companion that He chose for you.
Well, here we find that this momentous time came in the life of Isaac. He was to have a bride. Maybe it's come in your life and you're thinking of having a a friend, a partner, a wife or a husband. No, what an important decision this was and God has given us this long chapter.
It's 67 verses. Oh, it's so important, you know that God devotes 67 verses to this and tells us all of these.
And I suppose any of us that have fallen in love, we know about all the details and how important they seem to be and how we look over them. Well, God has given all his details. And I don't intend to go into all the details, but we see how the servant went in obedience. He went to the well He sought for the qualifications that his master had told him, and he found the right one who was to be the bride for Isaac. And it says.
That she became his wife and he loved her. So it is when it's the right one, there is reality. There's love. And it does take love, you know, to go through life as you know, it takes real love. And so here it is. There was a choice. But you say, isn't that strange? Isaac didn't choose the girl at all. Well, I hope, I hope you young people, that the friend that you have, the partner that you have, will be the one.
Lord chose by His Holy Spirit, that'll be just the right one for you, because He's the only one who can choose the right partner for you in life.
Well, also, I just mentioned here that the servant said, but what if the girl won't come? Well, he was told that he was not to bring Isaac down to that land of idolatry again. And sometimes it's difficult for young people. When I come to conference, I can't help but think of all the young people who were here. I know some go home very happy and I don't know, some go home very disappointed. Go home very disappointed because.
Things just didn't workout the way they had hoped and the servant is prepared for that kind of a situation here. He says what if she won't come? What must I go back alone? He said don't go to the world to choose a partner because he said I don't want my son to have a partner from the world. I want my son to have one of the family that's of faith. And so I just mention this to you. It's good to wait on the Lord to have his mind in this very.
Very important decision that you make in life. Well, those chapters full of all interesting details, but I just say to you again, do seek the Lord's mind in this very important decision in your life. Now I'd like to turn to another passage and that is in Psalms, the 73rd Psalm.
And the third verse. For I was envious of the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their death, but their strength is firm.
They are not in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued like other men.
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Then coming on to the end of the chapter in the 23rd verse. Nevertheless I am continually with Thee. Thou hast hold in me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee.
For I have felt that I'd like to just say a little bit about this chapter.
We've spoken about these decisions that we make, but perhaps this is one of the hardest things to bow to the will of God in some adverse situation. Did you ever say it? Perhaps you have. Oh, it just burns me. I'll tell those people get away with things. They do things that are wrong and everything seems to work out for them. I try to do what's pleasing to the Lord and things go wrong in my life. Perhaps you've said that. If you haven't said it, perhaps you thought it well that.
That's just exactly the way the psalmist was thinking here, he said. I looked out and I saw people going on their own way and they prospered. They didn't have trouble like other people. Things seemed to come their way and he said my foot almost slept. I was so upset. And that's why I said sometimes we do get looking around.
Well, here is perhaps the hardest point to be willing to.
To accept God's will, it's sort of comparatively easy when there's a choice to be made, but when it's a question of just quietly accepting his will, when it just seems as if there's nothing you can do, but just be still and know that I am God. And when you can do like the psalmist and look up and say, nevertheless I am continually with thee, just say, O Lord, you're my best friend, I still have thee. Isn't that lovely?
That's what he's saying here. He's saying, oh Lord, still my best friend. And he said he's still holding my hand and I want somebody to hold my hand. Well, he's holding my hand. He's not going to let me go. And then it says here.
Thou will guide me with Thy counsel. Wasn't just the way that you or I would like to have planned it, but it was His counsel, it was the way He planned it. And so he says, Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. And so do young people. Maybe that when you come to thinking, where should I remember the Lord, you have direction in His word.
When it comes to deciding about what service.
You look to him and seek his guidance when you think about your work, when you think about the business that you should be in, the place that you should live, and all these other things come up.
And a friend. Then the hardest of all is just to submit when God's will isn't just what you had hoped it would be. But here, I think, is a lovely spirit of submission to the will of God. I crave it for myself. Dear young people, I guess I'm the same as you are. And when things don't go the way you'd hoped, it does get you a little bit upset sometimes. But isn't this lovely?
I just can't get over these words.
So I'm just going to read them again. Nevertheless, I am continually with Thee that I was holding me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. Isn't this lovely submission? Oh, May God grant that we'll have the grace to submit to His will when things don't just seem to come the way we'd hope.
Some shadow falls, something comes across our lives. And like Paul, he got that thorn in the flesh and he said, Lord, please take it away.
Three times he asked the Lord and the Lord said, no, Paul, you're going to have that the rest of your life. But I'll be with you. And you know, when we receive things sometimes and think, well, it'll be over in a month, it'll be over in a year. But Paul was told by the Lord, no, Paul, not just for a month or a year or two years, the rest of your life. It may be that sometimes the Lord wants us to glorify him in the burden as well as in the service.