Address—R. Thonney
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Like to turn to Second Timothy chapter 2 This afternoon.
This meeting closed this morning.
It's just as if we had a conference already completed, so wonderful to contemplate the glories of the Lord Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, and then in the last chapter to follow him right up into heaven where he is now interceding for us and where we're waiting for him from heaven and.
I don't think I can add anything more but I.
Would like to just point out a few principles in this chapter in Second Timothy.
That I feel are really important for us who are younger in these last days that were left down here, principles that we find here that Paul was writing to his son Timothy, his son in the faith. And I think we all know that this was perhaps the last.
Book last letter that Paul ever wrote. And so we have mentioned the perilous times of the last days. These are the last things that Paul is commending to Timothy. Things had gone to pieces, it seemed, although we know that there was still those with whom he could meet, as it says in chapter 2 verse.
22.
He could follow still with some, but things in general had gone to pieces and it seems to be that we are living in these days. Today seems like everything is going downhill and it seems like especially young people are getting discouraged and I'd like to encourage the young people here this afternoon especially.
Do not get your eyes on things around.
To put your eyes on the blessed person of our Lord Jesus Christ that we've been meditating on in these conferences, this conference and just like to read a few verses in the beginning of chapter 2. Perhaps we'll go farther down later this time, but just the first few verses to begin with chapter 2, verse one.
Thou therefore, my Son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness.
As a good soldier of Jesus Christ, no man that worth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him.
Who hath chosen him to be a soldier?
Let's just stop there for now.
In verse one.
Paul says, Thou therefore, my Son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
The more I've meditated this verse in my own soul, the more important I feel the principle that we have here for our souls. What is the power that's going to keep us in the path of the Lord's choosing in this day of decline that we live in? It's being strong in what? Being strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
You know, sometimes it would seem and.
Man has done it all around in the systems he has formed. He has laid down certain rules, certain regulations that have to be complied with. And if you ask why these rules and regulations have been laid down in that form, they say it is to hold things, to control things so that there won't be a decline. Well, is that the way that things are going to be controlled? Are we going to lay down?
Rules and regulations, is that going to stop the decline? No, it won't stop the decline. In almost every situation, these institutions that have been formed by man with real rigid rules have gone downhill. What is the secret of maintaining that pathway that's pleasing to the Lord?
Oh, it's being strong in grace, in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
Paul says to the Corinthians, You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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That though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. And so that's the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in that past eternity, rich in his glory with God his Father.
Rich there, but he left it all. He was born into this world in a Manger. There was no room for him. In the end. He had to be born where the cows he were, the sheep eat.
And as they grew up, we never read them in the Gospels that he had even a piece of money in his hand. He had to ask to see a piece of money. And when it came to paying the tribute.
Why he had to tell Peter to go to the sea and fish and the first fish he would catch have a piece of money in his mouth.
And so outwardly, although still God in his very being, outwardly he became the poorest of men, and we followed him through his life of perfect service to God right to the end, when he was taken by those same people that received such blessing from his hands and.
Nailed on the cross of Calvary, given the most cruel, ignominious death that man could think of.
And then we would think that God would respond in some way in judgment on such a such a crime committed against His only Son. But the marvel of the grace of God is that through that very terrible act of man against His Son, God has turned that thing into the most marvelous fountain of grace.
For us and all I say to my dear fellow young people here.
If our hearts haven't been touched by the grace of God, by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
What could God do more to show you His love and His grace? We know grace has often been explained as unmerited favor, something we do not deserve. But God, because He is love in His very being, opens His heart and gives.
And gives and gives again. Oh, this is the grace of our God. And how important it is to go back to Calvary, how important it is to see the display of that love and that grace as it was displayed there.
In Ephesians 2, you just look there. Just a minute.
Ephesians chapter 2.
Verse one through three we see the black condition of ourselves. Naturally what we were by nature. In verse 4 the whole picture changes. But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith He loved us even when we were dead, and sins have quickened us together with Christ, by grace are you saved.
And at the rate is up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace.
In his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. So here we find grace is what saves us. By grace are ye saved through faith. God's unmerited favor took us when we were dead.
In trespasses, his sins, when we were children of disobedience, when we were children of wrath, God took us in his infinite mercy and his grace and saved us. Oh, how wonderful.
To understand this and not only understand it in our heads, understand it in our souls and enjoy it. Oh dear young people.
I really feel it sometimes when come back up from South America.
Brethren down South, they're not big thinkers, great thinkers like we are.
We've been trained from our earliest years to be thinkers.
And I fear sometimes that we have a tremendous understanding of the Word of God.
But an understanding the word of God in the head will never keep us, and we're going to lose the precious truth of God if that's all the place that we've received the truth. No, this book that we have here is written for our hearts. It's not written for the head merely. It's written for our hearts. And if we don't get these truths down into our souls and enjoy them.
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We're going to lose them. We're going to lose them, and it seems like this is what is happening in so many cases.
So I challenge you, when you read the Word of God, don't read it only to understand. Read it to meditate on it. Read it to get it down into your soul.
To enjoy it there, then it's going to have effect in your lives, then you're going to see the results, you're going to see a change in people's lives.
So many, that goal amongst us, so many young people.
That sit in these meetings.
But when I look around, sometimes see a totally disinterested person and a person who absolutely, you have to almost imagine that they're saved if you're going to look at their life, There's no fruits in their life. What is the what is wrong? What is lacking? Oh, it's the taste of this grace.
This infinite fountain that comes direct from the heart of God.
We failed to taste, we failed to enjoy it in our souls. Why is it that still we desire those paltry, those those things of this world? Yet why is it that they attracted so much? It's because we haven't tasted this fountain, this infinite fountain of grace that comes from our God.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and this is what is going to make us strong as we've seen in.
First Timothy, thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Be strong. Oh, we need strength in these days. There are days of weakness in ourselves. We have no strength, but we can be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. It's not sitting down a lot of rules and regulations that's going to keep us in the path of the Lord's appointment, no.
It's being strong.
In the great feeling, how infinite was his mercy and grace and reaching down.
And it's such a terrible, terrible task to pick us up and make us his own and sit us right in the heavenly places in Christ.
Also infinite are those fountains of grace that the fossil has to say here that's going to take the ages to come to show the exceeding riches of His grace. We had in the conference and often been stated that the devil showed the Lord and the temptation all the kingdoms of the world, and it's their glory in a moment of time.
But when it comes to showing the exceeding riches of His grace.
Ages, ages are going to pass, and we'll never exhaust the exploration and eternity of the exceeding riches of His grace. Isn't that enough for us now? What is it that we desire so much in this world that attracts our hearts so much more than this Grace touches the heart.
Law a person could obey in an outward form and get along, more or less.
Let grace touches the heart, and the heart is the spring of life.
Has your heart been touched by the Lord Jesus? What more could he do to touch it if he hasn't? If you haven't been touched yet, what more could he do?
Well, there's other things I would like to speak about in connection with Grace in Titus as well. After Timothy Titus chapter 2, we find something else that graced us.
Titus 2, verse 11.
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation.
Hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live swabberly, righteously and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God in our Savior Jesus Christ.
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Here we have the grace of God mentioned again, and here the grace of God teaches.
Teaches us we need to be taught. What is it that's going to make these lessons?
Get down into the soul where they belong. Oh, it's grace. It's his infinite grace again.
It's not just merely, and I would like to appeal to our older brethren as a younger brother.
I don't want to get out of my place, but I would like to entreat my older brethren, His Father's. When you minister the Word, minister it to the heart. And if you're going to minister it to the heart, it has to come from your heart too. There's so much that seems to be very intellectual.
Very reasonable, and I don't say that it's not without place.
But if it's just to the head, it's not going to stay. It has to get into the heart. It has to get into the soul. And so it's so important that these lessons be applied practically. Don't be afraid, I say to my older brethren again, don't be afraid to be practical. Speak out plainly of times we don't understand when.
There are when you exhort.
Because they're figures of speech, almost. Don't be afraid, brethren, to speak to us plainly.
If it's done in love and if it's done in the spirit of Christ.
I'm sure there won't be a fence taken, I'm sure.
Well, Titus tells us then that grace teaches us, teaches us that denying ungodliness and worldly likes.
We should live soberly, righteously godly in this present world.
Denying there's something to that we ought to deny dear fellow young person in our lives. We do not know what it is in our lives to deny ourselves we're not going to enjoy.
The rich fullness of the grace of God.
No, the Lord Jesus said, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. We live in a country, perhaps the richest country in the world. Everything that we might want, everything that we can think of, we can go and buy and enjoy and use.
But I challenge you this afternoon, young people.
To learn to deny yourself when you think of something that you want.
Can I deny myself this for the name of our Lord Jesus?
Because when it speaks of worldly lusts here, sometimes we think of.
Of down and out, outright moral sin, drunkenness, fornication. But I really believe that worldly lusts includes a lot more than we think. Things that we might think we're all right and respectable and clean in their place.
That are there things that this world desires and we desire them too?
And we ought to deny ourselves.
Ungodliness we're only lusts. We should live soberly, righteously, and godliness present.
Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God in our Savior Jesus Christ. That's what we have before us. We don't have anything down here.
If you have a career before you, dear young person, as the object in your life.
If you have some desire to get married as an object in your life.
I say get it out of your heart right now. No, there's nothing wrong with having a job. There's nothing wrong with being married. They're right in their place. And the Lord will give when it's His time and when it's in His wisdom if we wait for Him. But I say, let's not put our hearts on these things. Let's not put our objective in these things.
If we do, we're going to get turned aside, no.
What do we look for in this world? We don't look for anything more than the coming of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Not only His coming for us, but His glorious appearing as well. We look forward to that. We should normally look forward to the coming of the Lord for us. We should look forward to this appearing in glory in this world.
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When all his righteous claims are going to be.
Righted here.
In this world where He was so desired, oh, it's going to be a joy to our hearts that day of His glorious appearing. Let's go to Hebrews chapter 13 for a minute.
Excuse me, Hebrews chapter 12 first.
Verse 28 Hebrews 12/28 Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom that which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire.
Oh, sometimes we get the idea as young persons, and I confess I had it myself.
That because we are under the grace of God, we can do pretty much what we like and it's all right, We're saved. That's, that's all that counts. That's the main thing.
That here we find that grace is not to do what we would like, what we like, whatever we like. Grace is to serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear. In the Old Testament you remember that the two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu went into the presence of the Lord.
But they didn't take the fire from off the altar. It seemed that they took other fire, Strange fire, it says.
It wouldn't didn't seem like a very serious offense, but immediately.
Fire consumed them from the from the presence of the Lord.
God changed. No, he hasn't changed. He's the same God. And it's a serious thing to think that we if we say we're saved by the grace of God.
It's a serious thing to make that the license for all that we would like to do.
In Jude, and I just like to refer there to speaks a little more of this type and I just like to offer a warning to young people who perhaps are careless.
Jude speaks of these same persons that use the grace of God as an excuse to sin.
Verse four. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation.
Ungodly men turning the grace of our God unto into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness. Lasciviousness is uncontrolled desires or lusts, and often in this country.
I confess that I.
For a time, was of the same opinion.
To felt that a person who had received the Lord.
Savior at least profess to receive the Lord as Savior, but then got off into ways of sin.
I felt, well, they're still saved. But you know, when I went down to Latin America, I found that the brethren down there don't look at it that way. It's not that they question eternal security. No, we don't want to question eternal security. Person who is saved truly in his heart, who is truly taste of the grace of God is saved for all eternity can't be lost. It's impossible.
So what I'm saying is that there are those amongst us.
Reason to feel we are passing amongst us as Christians, but they are careless in their attitude.
They're doing things.
That this world does things that would probably shock the majority of us if we knew about it.
Just want to say, if there's anybody like that here today, the word of God holds out no comfort to you as to being saved, no comfort whatsoever.
And so here the apostle speaks of these type. Let's say, oh, I'm saved.
I'm all right, don't worry about me. And then they living in sin, all sorts of dishonorable things. Has that person really tasted the grace of God? We can't judge the heart, but it makes one seriously doubt.
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I'd just like to really challenge young people here today to search your hearts. If you're careless and your walk before the Lord and you say that you're saved, you'd better get into the presence of the Lord and search yourself real.
Had some experiences in Latin America that have really shaken me.
As to those who are walking in our midst.
Who are perhaps baptized and breaking bread at the Lord's Table.
And they get off into the world.
No sign that they were ever saved.
In the first place, no sign whatsoever.
And some I know down South that have gone into a lost eternity, I have no reason to believe they're with Christ, no reason to believe no reason.
Oh, I challenge you if you are careless.
And your attitude. You have no reason from this book to have comfort that you're saved, no.
Makes us doubt if you really knowing what the grace of God is, because one who takes of the grace of God, his heart is a captive to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Another verse in Hebrews going back to Hebrews chapter 13.
Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 9 says, Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines, for it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace, not with meat which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
Here we have what the apostle speaks of as doctrines, diverse and strange doctrines.
And today?
More than ever, it seems like these doctrines.
Are flooding through Christmas.
Especially has been mentioned in these conferences, the charismatic movement that is penetrating all Christians. Dear young people, what is going to keep us stable so that we're not going to be drifting as a light piece of paper in the wind? Wind comes from the.
From the north blows it S the wind comes from the South it blows it N It's never stable, has no weight to it.
What is going to give us? Wait, what is going to give us something that will establish us? It's the grace of God enjoying that grace. Oh, if we've tasted in some way the graciousness of the Lord in our midst, that's going to keep us. It's going to establish us in our souls. And this is what we ought to desire.
There's one more verse in connection with Grace in Torrent Things there's a lot of.
Versus There's two more verses in Corinthians. I'd like to look first of all in First Corinthians chapter 15.
First Corinthians, chapter 15.
In verse 10, by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace was.
And His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
Hear what does grace do? We've had that grace makes saves us. It makes us strong. It teaches us, it establishes us. And here we find that grace is the power of service for the Lord. It's only tasting the love that of our Lord Jesus Christ, enjoying it in our souls. It's going to make us.
Strong to labor, Paul labored as no one else had labored. But he says, it wasn't me. It was the grace of God that was in me.
You've traced it, you've tasted the grace of God. Dear young person, your desire as well is going to be to serve the Lord. It's been mentioned several times in this, in these meetings, importance of worship. Worship is perhaps we can say a service to to God, but there is too the necessity and there should be a desire in every true believers heart. The grace of God has worked there to be of service.
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To the Lord.
To his people, to the lost as well.
And each one has that privilege, that responsibility. Every believer in this room has a gift from the Lord in one way or another.
To help, to be of some encouragement perhaps in the body of Christ, Paul says in Ephesians 4. Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
And so it's the grace of God that worked in Paul to make him labor as he did now. Second Corinthians Chapter 11.
For chapter 12, excuse me.
Here we find that Paul.
Was taken to heaven.
The 3rd heaven and saw things so wonderful that he couldn't speak about him.
But he.
Afterwards the Lord gave him a circumstance, we don't know exactly what it was an infirmity, perhaps, in his flesh. It was a circumstance that he had to bear with in his life so that he wouldn't become exalted.
And he besought the Lord, because oftentimes circumstances and situations, infirmities in our lives are very trying.
And the first thing we think of is how can we get out of this circumstance?
But I just want to say to you, dear young person, it is not always the Lord's answer to get out of circumstances they're displeasing.
It is the Lord's answer, perhaps, to be an overcomer in the circumstances that the Lord has placed you.
And if they're trying, remember what he says here, the Lord said to Paul in verse.
Nine. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
They're things that are extremely disagreeable to us, circumstances we do not like. But don't be your don't let your first thought be to try to get out of those circumstances. Seek the Lord's grace in those circumstances. He has lessons for us to learn. And if we're going to just try to get out of the circumstances, He'll have to bring the lessons in another form because He's faithful. He's not going to let us go our own way.
He's going to speak to us.
And I'd just like to go back again to Second Timothy 2.
We've meditated on the grace of God and the power it should have in our lives.
It does have power, if it really has laid hold of us, it's made us strong. Verse 2 Paul says to Timothy, And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
Here we have faithful men. What are faithful men? He doesn't say, Timothy, You try to find some intelligent young men. No, he didn't say that. He didn't say Timothy, you find some young men who seem to be really gifted in preaching. No, I didn't say that either. He says faithful men. What is? What are faithful men?
Are men who are obedient.
I'm sure this would include young sisters as well.
Those who are obedient to the Word of God. It's not those who have a great display of gift, perhaps.
It's not those who are intelligent in their way of thinking, exactly.
No, it's those who are faithful that God is going to use to maintain the testimony, those who are simply obedient to the Word of God. What a tremendous lesson. And if you notice in this verse you have 4 generations was mentioned in the conference in Joel chapter one, there is 4 generations too. But here we have 4 generations, Paul being the 1St.
Timothy was the 2nd and then he was to teach faithful men who in turn would be able to teach others also.
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Generations. This is God's way of maintaining the truth.
And I would just like to pause a minute again and appeal to our brethren again.
To I hope I'm not going too far. If I am, please bear with me.
But I feel so much for my own soul and for others I've talked to, to the need, dear brethren, of being established in the principles, the New Testament principles, upon which the church is based and grounded. We know that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable.
All scripture but the Church is grounded is based on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. We read in Acts 2 That they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship.
And so this is the groundwork where we stand as the Church of God in part. And if we do not understand these things, I say, don't. I say to my older brother, don't be afraid of repeating, don't be afraid of going over these New Testament Scriptures. I know sometimes perhaps feel that we ought to try to say it in a little different way or a little different fashion.
The Lord, that's the guide, each one. But I say, don't be afraid of repeating these things.
We need them, and I really feel we need them far more than we realize.
We as young people, I feel up my own soul.
The Word of God is 1 glorious whole in the Old Testament. There are wonderful pictures that help us to understand. But I would like to say again that the Word of God is to be rightly divided to realize that the Old Testament scriptures were written to the Jew in the majority. The New Testament scriptures and the majority are written to the Church of God.
And so the basis that we stand on is the is the.
Our foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone.
I say this because I have a feeling sometimes that sometimes some of us were younger are getting Old Testament principles and are applying them in a way that really almost comes to deny New Testament principles upon we were which we are based. What is the reason I feel that is we haven't got a real basic.
Understanding yet of principles of the New Testament.
Upon which we are grounded. So I'd just like to encourage older brethren to be faithful, minister faithfully and and directly as the Lord leads in love. Don't be afraid of offending. We need it. We're living in days when everything is being shaken. Every single thing around us, everything is changing immense.
The only thing that's not going to change is this book that we hold in our hands.
That won't change. Never.
And I feel the need more and more as things begin to shake of planning our feet on the word of God. This these are the landmarks that we heard about the other day, the hedges that we shouldn't breakthrough. But I just feel immense importance of having ministered the New Testament principles so that we can get a real basis for our.
Action in our assemblies.
Forgive me if I spoken to directly.
In chapter 2 again of Two Timothy.
Verse three speaks of now a soldier.
Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
No man that worth entangled himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who had chosen him to be a soldier.
In the day in which we live.
There's so much a drive toward human rights, individual rights of every person.
That I suppose we don't really grasp like we ought to, the thought of a soldier here.
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A soldier is one who has to be entirely and unconditionally at the command of his superior.
In Bolivia they're a little more hard in the service and really discipline their soldiers, right? I'm sure a lot more than they do here in the States. The one young brother who had before been in the.
Army, he told me. An experience he had just show you that they absolutely do not allow for any flinching.
In their obedience and.
Evidently he had been a student and the Army since it has trouble with the students off times there because the communists get into the schools and work with the students.
When they get ahold of some students, they like to treat him, give him their share. Plenty hard treatment. Anyhow, he was taken with some other students, I think it was before he was even saved and.
At dinner time he had all their plates on the table and Sergeant gave a command to eat.
And.
It wasn't very good food. I guess they made it really rough food for him to eat. And so he just quickly and quietly slipped his plate on the table and dumped it out, put his table and plate back on the table, expecting not to be noticed, but one of the sergeant's son said to him.
After the meal was over, came up to him, said didn't you like your food?
No.
So he says, motions to another fellow. Bring 3 plates of soup, please.
They brought three plates of soup. Bring some kerosene. Please mix it in some kerosene.
Now you eat those three. He had to sit there and eat them all three. And when he got up, another Sergeant came over and said, OK, we're going to give you a lesson you'll not forget. And they said he put them between the two of them and they just beat him until he fell unconscious to the ground.
Well, he learned obedience.
Not in the way, not trying to give the idea that we learn the obedience in the same way. It's not the thought. But what I want to get across to you today is the thought of obedience, unquestionable obedience to what the word of God claims in our lives. He said the next morning says I was the first one in line at chow. And I said, I said even that all that stuff was almost mud since I ate it.
And thanked him for it.
Thank the Sergeant for, well, he learned obedience, learned to do it cheerfully, too.
Well, we're not obeying because of fear of punishment now, but Oh dear young people, if I can only communicate a little bit what's on my heart, if that immense fountain of grace that's in the heart of God, that love that's in his heart towards us hasn't laid hold of your heart.
To where every whisper that comes from him.
Every word doesn't hold an unconditional place of obedience in our hearts. What kind of soldiers are we endure hardness. It's going to be hard. It's not going to be easy. Don't expect to be easier being a Christian. You know, sometimes it's it's preached. Receive Christ and everything will go a lot easier.
Well, it's true that it's wonderful to have the companionship of the Lord Jesus when you belong to Christ.
In your trials. But it isn't easier. No, it's going to be hard.
Satan.
The Prince, the God of this world, has put himself to dishonor the Lord Jesus Christ.
And he wants to dishonor us as well. He's put himself in direct.
Direct.
Array against the person who has decided to obey the Lord Jesus.
Oh, that that might hold in our hearts.
Something, a place that nothing else could ever gain grace is going to make us serve Him in that way.
We're going to put down a lot of rules and regulations. Not going to work, Not going to work.
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But grace is going to lay hold of our souls in such a way.
That we're going to be good soldiers, Jesus Christ.
No, nothing can come before his orders. A soldier in the army, he's commanded to clean a room by an officer. He can't say, oh, I'll try to do it tomorrow. No, he has to obey and obey immediately. No question.
Why is it that we when we read the Word of God and see something that applies to our hearts, why is it that we immediately start reasoning to see if we can get around it?
Oh, they're young people were missing the blessing. We're missing a tremendous blessing.
Before doing that.
No, a soldier above all things has to learn obedience. If he's ordered to go into the direct battle where the bombs are bursting, he can't even question that he has to go. Doesn't matter whether it's his life that's in question. Have we learned that devotion to the Lord Jesus?
That even life itself is not dear to us. That he be obeyed, That he be glorified.
Oh, if Grace has spoken in our hearts, that's the type of devotion there will be in our lives. That's the time.
I just like to go to the Old Testament, to take two instances, if we have time, of persons who are touched by grace and who did things that seemed quite, perhaps we might say drastic, but they were the only response of a heart that was touched by grace.
In chapter 18 of Second Samuel.
Chapter 17. We know the story well of David and Goliath, how the armies of Israel and the armies of the Philistines were arrayed.
On either side of the valley, ready for the battle.
And Goliath.
That huge fellow came out and defied the armies of the living God.
David, a small shepherd boy from the country.
Comes.
And he and his confidence in the God of Israel.
With a little sling goes down to meet that giant.
And the giant evidently, was a little bit incensed that they would choose such a man to fight with. He wanted a man of war to fight with, evidently.
But when he saw David, he was ready to.
Kill him. Let the Lord gave the victory to the armies of Israel that day through David. David took his head off. Well, there was someone standing in the horse of Israel there that day. It was the Prince son of King Saul. Jonathan chapter 18 verse.
Excuse me, It's First Samuel. Sorry. First Samuel, chapter 18.
Verse one And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking into Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more to his father's house then Jonathan. David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul. Jonathan stripped himself of the road that was upon him, and gave it to David and his garments, even to his sword and to his bowl and to his girdle.
Who told Jonathan that he had to take all this off and give it to David? Did David demand please give me all that? Jonathan, No.
That one, he had seen what David had done. There was no question in his mind what he should do any longer. It was all David's. Is that the attitude of our hearts, Dear young people, we've really trade taste with the grace of God. Yes, that'll be the attitude of our hearts. And then going to the second Samuel, chapter 23, I think it is.
Here we have the story of David's mighty men.
Verse.
13 and three of the 30 chief went down and came to David in the time harvest time into The Cave of a Dolan. The troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of of Raphael. And David was then in on hold in the Garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. And David Longman said, Oh, that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate.
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And the three mighty men breakthrough the host of the Philistines and drew water of the well of Bethlehem.
That was by the gate and took it and brought it to David.
We have another instance. David never gave a command to do this thing. David had a desire of his heart. There's only a desire he expressed, perhaps almost as a whisper. He may have expressed it, but there were three men near him that heard that desire. And to a heart that's touched by the grace of God, even a desire, it's enough. One word from the word of God.
Acts as a command on the heart. These three minute danger their lives broke through.
The host of the Philistines drew that water from that well and brought it to David. Every single small desire was a command to those men. Grace had worked in their hearts. Oh, dear young people, may be so as we go home from these meetings, that we've tasted a little bit of the glories of the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the grace, that great fountain of grace.
That's in his heart towards it'll never dry.
No, let's rely on it. Let's just pray.