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Lord, Thou hast drawn us after thee, what in thy love possess me not?
Unchangeable, Thy gracious love, our earthly path as ceaseless view.
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0701801401 Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh wild poisoning.
All right.
Our present grace and her father's heartbeat.
All right, we're welcome to make ourselves.
I'll have your resignation.
I'm feeling I'd like to make a little bit of.
Blessed God, in our loving Father, we we get the our thanks once again this afternoon and surely as we uh send that to him, Lord, Thou has drawn us after thee, so we do pray that thou will let us run and help us. Lord, we think of the portion before us. We think of how heavy I am. Old was used to awaken the people of old.
They are how we could in five times reminded them to consider.
Their ways and surely how we know there are lessons in there for us as well, that it may be well for us to to consider our wage and we think too of how.
Thou stirred thy people up, and that thou hast given them comforts, and that thou have promised them that thy word is with them, thy spirit is with them, and that thou thyself is with them. And surely we can take comfort in that too, knowing that we have the in our mist. We have thy word before us, and we know that I steer it is here not only.
In this room, but enjoy in us. So we look to Thee now. We commit this meeting once more into thine hand. We do pray. It's another hymn writer we tend. Those words teach us more of Thy blessed wage. So we look today and we ask for help for the younger one, for the older one, for each one of us, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
00:05:18
We got a little past it, but it might be good just to start with verse seven again as far as the reading goes.
Yes, I was thinking that myself, Steve.
Egg EI the book Egg EI chapter one.
Beginning at verse 7.
Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, consider your ways. Go up to the mountain and bring wood and build a house, and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. Ye look for much, and lo, it came to little, and when he brought it home I did blow upon it. Why, saith the Lord of Hosts? Because of my powers. That is waste.
And ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore they haven't opened you a day from due. And the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I call for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon man, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor.
Of the hands, then the rubber bowl, the son of Chiatiel and Josh Joshua the son of Josette the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Hegeide the prophet, as the Lord their God hath sent him. And the people did fear before the Lord.
Then speak. Haggy eyed the Lord's messenger in the Lord's message unto the people, saying, I am with you, sayeth the Lord. And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of Chiatiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the son of Josephic the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people.
And they came and did work in the House of the Lord of hosts their God, in the four and 20th day of the six months, in the second year of Darius the king, in the seventh month in in the one and 20th day of the month came the word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai, saying, Speak now to Serba Bowl, the son of Chiatiel.
Governor of Judah. And to Joshua the son of Jose Deck the high priest. And to the residual of the people, saying, Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? And how do you see it now? Is it not in your eyes, in comparison of it as nothing yet? Now be strong, oh, the rubber ball, saith the Lord, And be strong, O Joshua the son of Josette the high priest.
And be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord.
And work, for I am with you, saith the Lord of Hosts, according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt. So my spirit remaineth among you. Fear ye not.
As you mentioned this morning, the uh.
These words consider your ways.
Was certainly, uh, a message from Hagia. He had the Lord's message and, uh, he was, uh, the means of stirring up these people from their culpable lethargy, uh, and, uh, encouraging them to, uh.
00:10:00
Reviving them and encouraging them to.
To uh uh, recover the.
The vessels from the rubbish and to return to their first love and it was very effective.
I'm thinking of that verse we started with there, uh, go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the house and I will take pleasure in it and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. You know, if they looked on things from the natural standpoint, they would be discouraged. There was little energy manifest. There wasn't much, uh, spiritual power there.
Uh, it's like the man in Zechariah who, uh.
Turn to Zechariah chapter 2 to see a man. I lifted up mine eyes again and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. I think that often we pull out that measuring line.
And we compare what there is in the little assembly where you are gathered with some other prominent, uh, works that we might see and Christendom. But don't do that, young people or any of us. Remember that the Lord takes pleasure in those that are gathered according to His Word in the place where he has put his name.
Don't pull out the measuring stick and and compare it with others. The Lord takes pleasure in those who are in the the place appointed by Him, gathered to his name, expressing the truth of the one body, the Church of God, these things.
Are a pleasure to the Lord. He's interested in his church.
He's interested in the truth of the assembly, and although we see much weakness and it's becoming more manifest, those of us who are older can look back on years when there was much more, uh, spiritual power manifested in the assemblies. But let's not be discouraged by looking at these things. The Lord is in the midst.
And the joy of the Lord is your strength. That's often applied to ourselves, that we have joy in the service of the Lord, which is true. But really the emphasis in that expression is not on ourselves, but on the Lord. And the fact that the Lord appreciates our faithfulness, though it'd be in in feebleness, our gathering outside the camp, outside the systems of Christendom, which.
Perhaps look very, uh, attractive to us, and we think that a lot is being done and we certainly can rejoice in the gospel going forth, uh, by whatever means the Lord in his sovereignty may use. But let us remember that there is a divine ground of gathering the assembly, and the Lord takes pleasure in that. You know, we have a wonderful time.
Here in the conference, uh, when we are together, we're uplifted, we're encouraged, we're, uh, cheered. We're, uh, we're, umm, edified. We trust. But you know, 51 weeks of the year there is no conference. And are we willing to continue on in our assemblies where when we look around, it may be in feebleness, uh, not many people attending, uh.
Sometimes the weekday meetings especially.
Uh, let's not be discouraged, but let's remember that the Lord is in the midst and, uh.
Uh, let us own his claims, first of all, and uh, the young people who are at school and university, you're under a lot of pressure with a tremendous workload to, uh, cope with, but don't neglect the assembly meetings.
I have found in my experience when I was a student.
Very, very failingly, I'm sure, but I was present at the meetings and although I didn't make the highest marks, uh, I got through my courses. The Lord will honor those that honor him and give the Lord the rightful place and speaking in the collective sense, but also it must start in the individual too, that, uh, we give the Lord his rightful place in our lives.
00:15:29
Umm, and, uh, the priorities, so to speak, uh, in our Christian, uh, lives and cultivate communion with the Lord, separation from, uh, his present evil world. And let's not fall asleep like Euticus did. He fell out of the window down to the level of the world. That's what Satan would have. We are greatly privileged, brethren, to be in the place of the Lord's appointment.
And where the truth of God is ministered.
In its purity as our brother bought out the dispensational side of things, which may be a little difficult for the young people to understand, but it's the truth of God rightly dividing it. And this is in the assembly. So may the Lord encourage us not to pull out that measuring stick and look at things from man's standpoint. But remember, let's look at things from God's standpoint and looking on to the day when.
Will be gathered in the glorious Hagee I brings before the people here.
When there'll be a reward for faithfulness, and continuing on the things which thou hast learned and been assured of.
I know thy works. Behold, I have set before thee an open door. No man can shut it, for thou hast a little strength.
And has kept my word and has not denied my name.
But we need to look at.
Everything from God's viewpoint.
And what did the Lord have to say about Philadelphia?
That was kept my word.
And not denied my name. How much the Lord appreciates that today.
Now here there was an open door to build.
Or rebuild the house there at Jerusalem.
The Lord says, go up to the mountain and bring wood and build a house.
The Lord speaks directly what his mind is.
And with His commandments also come enablement. No, the Lord never asked us to do anything.
About what he gives us the ability to do it.
Now be sure of this.
In any work for the Lord, any service for Him, there will be opposition. You can be, surely.
Satan sets up obstacles.
But that doesn't mean that the Lord is closing the door.
You know, we have to recognize a difference between an obstacle that Satan puts in our path.
And what is an open door?
And I do believe that, uh.
As Paul says, he had an open door.
In Ephesus, I believe it was, but he said there are many adversaries.
So what are we gonna do? The Lord shows us plainly what his mind is. Are we gonna let the enemy?
Put an obstacle in our way and shut us down.
Or are we gonna go on the strength of the Word of God and trust Him for the consequences?
Well, I believe that. Hey guys, stirs up the people here.
And they begin to build.
And the Lord takes pleasure in that.
And he is glorified in that.
And I think of what speaks to Zechariah, who I, I believe prophesied at this time as well.
00:20:08
Who has despised the day of small things?
The house didn't appear.
All it is is the previous one, but the Lord took pleasure in it.
Kind of set which glorified him.
And was not to be despised, even though outwardly perhaps it didn't have the magnificent uh.
So in needing to go up to the mountain.
That's very important if you.
Where to speak to some who have turned aside?
Uh, there are some who have turned aside and no longer with us. There are some that are still with us, but they've turned aside.
Uh.
And then there are those who are who left and they're disgruntled and and so they speak against the truth, or they say it's not true, that there's no such thing as the ground of gathering and so on.
What you're gonna find is common is that they never appoint to the scriptures.
They point to things they've seen.
They point to things they've seen, they they look at their experience, they point to failures, they point to things that have happened. And so it's all things they've seen and observed.
But you rarely find them pointing to the Scriptures. Well, you have to go up to the mountain, you know, as our brother said, both of them. You know, you can look upon the condition of things around us in general. You can look at the condition of your assembly.
Uh, when you do that.
You can get fooled because you're probably not seeing it the way that the Lord sees it.
You have to go up to the mountain and that is you have to get into the word of God and see what the mind of God is, what his desire is. And once you see what his desire is and what it is that he wants, you will change your view of things and you'll have the right view. So I believe that's that's what going up to the mountain is. It's to get God's perspective.
And, uh, and it will be a lot different than the perspective you had.
Before that it says consider your ways and I would I would suggest something. Our hearts can deceive us and we can think that we love the Lord a lot more than we really do.
Umm, if you take an objective look at how you spend your time and resources.
Just look at it objectively.
How? What things you put before other things?
And that's going to tell you what your priorities are and what your heart really is about.
And, uh, you might find that maybe you don't love the Lord and value the truth as much as you thought you did.
Well then you need to go to the Lord.
That's another way we go up to the mountain is to go to him and confess to him.
What is really the case with me? I wish that I loved the Lord more. I wish that I value things more. But I can tell by looking at the way I spend my time and the things, the way I put this in front of that and value this more than that. I can tell that I'm not so much for the Lord as I thought I was. Well, you can take that to Him. He knows already anyway.
But that's another aspect I think of going up to the mountain.
Maybe there's another aspect of going up as well, and that is that it takes energy.
Going up takes energy.
And you know, it says build the house, bring the wood. It doesn't say it's going to end up like Solomon's temple.
We've heard already that this is a day of small things, and we are not to despise that.
Here the Lord says I will take pleasure in it and I will be glorified in another place. Further on that I am with you, chapter 2, verse 4, Go and work. I am with you. Isn't that enough for us? Do we need to have Solomon's temple today? As our brother was saying, certainly there's weakness, there's failure. All you have to do is look around. We find it in our own hearts. But I want to read a little bit in the First Chronicles 2322, sorry.
00:25:20
About David speaking to Solomon when he was about to build his temple.
And the first Chronicles 22 verse 14 will start with.
Now behold in my trouble I have prepared for the House of the Lord, and 100,000 talents of gold, 1000 thousand talents of silver, and a brass and iron without weight, for it is in abundance.
Timber also and stone have I prepared. Now we might look at what's gone before us and we have the ministry on Josh's book tables back there and we might say, what could I possibly add to all of this? Well, the next phrase David says to Solomon, thou mayest add thereto.
Now wait a minute. What? What do you, what could we possibly add to all that has been already gathered? Well, we can in little ways here and there, If we're before the Lord, as our brother was saying, go up, be in that place of communion with the Lord, and He'll give you things to do. It isn't all done yet. If it was, we'd be home. But it's not all done yet. There are things the Lord has for each of us to do. Thou mayest add thereto. Let's not be discouraged.
I'm thinking it's a day of small things and there's no great things to do. And maybe that's true, but we don't need to be seeking great things for ourselves. We need to just do what the Lord puts before us because there's still work to be done. So let's go up.
And Bill?
I've been impressed with the UMM.
In the previous verse.
The way the verse starts off is let's stay at the Lord of hope.
That's a term that we read, umm, many times in this little book.
The Lord of Hosts.
The first time it's mentioned in the word, uh, they've sole read it to us this morning.
In First Samuel.
Hannah uses that term, the Lord of Hosts.
And I've just appreciated in her prayer, she has two prayers. She uses that term in the first prayer.
And in the second prayer, she makes a statement.
That has been an encouragement to me.
But if you look at what she does.
There in First Samuel she has her son, and her desire is to take her, to take Samuel to Shiloh.
You know, if I put myself in her shoes at that time, the very, very last place I would have wanted to take my son would have been Shyland. But.
Very last place, when you think of what Eli's sons were carrying on with right at the door of the Tabernacle, you think that the influence there of the priesthood.
And yet she took her son there. Why?
In her prayer she says he will keep the feet of his Saints. She took her son there because the Lord was there.
N.
Beautiful to see. So Hagion uses that term time and time again here in his little book The Lord of the Hosts.
Encouraging to see it's remembered, uh, was we've been reminded of the fact that.
We we don't have.
Our brethren like JN Darby, William Kelly and other brethren to minister to us today and we.
Often referred to this time as a day of weakness.
And, uh, Nehemiah was living in such a day.
But it's it's nice to see what he said in the 6th chapter.
I'm sure there was a sense in his soul that there was weakness.
00:30:02
But he says in verse three of chapter 6 and I sent messengers unto them saying, I am doing a great work so that I cannot come down. So we we are reminded of who we serve. We are serving a great Savior and if we are in measure doing a work for him.
We're doing a great work.
And that should encourage every effort, uh, that we put forth for him.
We are gathered to the Lord's name seven days a week, uh, not just on Lordstown and, uh, Christianity.
Uh, effects every part of our lives, our business, our school work, uh, wherever we are, we are, we are still at, we're at the Lord's table. You only come to the Lord's table once in your life. And, uh, we're always at the Lord's table and always, uh, gathered to his name if we, uh, are, uh, if we've, uh, answered to the Lord's request. But when the, uh.
The uh, prophet says here, consider your ways.
They were in the right place, there was no doubt about that. They were re. They had been, uh, brought back to God's center from, uh, Babylon, which is a picture of the confusion in Christendom.
They were in the outside place, true, but their moral condition was not uh.
According to God's mind, it deteriorates even further in the book of Malachiah, where you have.
Overt disobedience manifest there indifference. They wouldn't open the temple doors unless they were paid. They were offering to the Lord the lame and the blind. The condition had deteriorated in Malachiah, the descendants, I suppose, of these people, but the point is.
God searches the heart and we should be exercised that our ways not only in when we come to the assembly, but our ways in the world where we, uh, are, uh, in contact with, uh, others that, uh, we manifest the, uh, characteristics of the House of God that, uh, the Lord would have us to display.
I was thinking brother John in connection with that back in the book of Nehemiah. I realized that the time period here is more Ezra that our brother Bruce has turned us to Nehemiah a number of times if in the 4th chapter.
There's umm, there's a statement that's made there, which umm.
Often shows to us why there's a hindrance to building and nehemiah chapter 4.
I thought a bit in connection with considering our ways in Nehemiah 4 and the 10th verse it says in Judah said the strength of the bearers of burden is decayed and it's this next statement and there is much rubbish.
So that we are not able to build the wall.
In my own business, when you get on a job site and it's full of rubbish, it's hard to build, it's hard to build.
But it's not, it's not different in my personal life either.
When there's rubbish in my personal life, it's hard to build.
That's a real exercise that you've brought before us, Brother John, in connection with considering our ways. There is much rubbish so that we are not able to build.
The first message of Haggai is to the rulers.
In verse one.
The second includes the residue of the people, chapter 2 and verse 2.
But the remnant of the people respond to the first message along with the leaders.
In verse 12 of chapter one.
You get both the leaders and the remnant of the people. Obey the voice.
Of the Lord by Haggai.
00:35:00
And in Revelation, when we get the addresses to the seven assemblies, they're written to the Angel of the assembly, the responsible element in the assembly, those who are responsible to give heavenly light and guidance to the assembly, and under whose ministry the character of the assembly is largely formed.
And so they're addressed. And so the leaders are addressed first. They bear the chief responsibility.
But it also says, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto thee, assemblies.
And so everyone in the assembly is responsible.
But the leaders especially address. So it's nice to see the leaders addressed. They hear and respond, but what does it do? It brings the rest along with them, the remnant of the people. The Lord says I called for a drought. You know, it's just I think brings before us the thought perhaps they had looked on the circumstances that oh, another year and there's a drought again and we just could use a little rain or.
Boy, if things were just different this way or just different that way, I'd be happy. If things, you know, everything just seems to everything I touch just seems to fall apart. And things that were different, when you get a little help, if such and so and so would do, such and such things would be better. Lord said, I called for it.
Great from my it's a healthy exercise for our souls to see every circumstance in our lives as from his hand. He called for it. He had to bring their attention to that fact. The other thing he says I will be glorified.
That touches on the motive for that labor.
As was brought before us in the previous meeting, they had their own selfish interests first, me first.
And he wants them to have his glory as their object. He says you do what I've told you to do, I'll be glorified. And that is how God is glorified is when we're obedient to his work.
When we do what he says, he's glorified. When we fill the place he's given us to fill, he's glorified. And it's so refreshing to see that they respond and they rise up to that work. Their hearts are stirred up and they pick that work up and the remnant of the people and they go back to.
The Temple in Jerusalem and they begin once again.
To work all, but they still have that letter from.
The king that said stop.
Let's say go ahead anyway because they have God's word. Not only that, Philadelphia was mentioned earlier and the Lord saying to Philadelphia, I've set before thee and opened door.
It's been such an encouragement to me to think that every place where the Lord has opened the door, governments have been favorable. There has not been governmental opposition to going on in Paul's doctrine.
Being gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He opened the door. None can shut it. You know what never says?
That in connection with Philadelphia and recovered truth that he's going to shut the door to that he tells him to hold fast what they have till he comes.
It's been an encouragement to me, brethren, that that door is going to stay open wherever he's opened it.
And the lands where governments have been favorable to allow believers to go on in the recovered truth until the Lord comes.
I think that door will stay open.
When Cyrus gave that command to go back to the land, all who were willing and whose hearts had been moved to go back to Jerusalem.
It was the law of the Medes and the Persians, which were even Daniel, which changes not It can't be altered. It couldn't be altered by another letter from a king later on. It stood forever in the law of the Medes and Persians. That door stayed open. They got discouraged by the letter, but the Lord never shut that door.
00:40:26
A reason for forsaking the gathering. Things were very low in the assembly of Corinth, what they were going on with, and Paul had to reprove them and, uh.
Rebuked them, but the Lord did not leave the assembly because of the low condition.
So, uh, there is a divine ground of gathering and uh, we should be exercised about our ways, but the the assembly established by the Lord is the center of gathering.
And really, what are we contributing to the assembly? We often think of receiving something, but.
What is our exercise? Are we there to contribute something? We're having an effect upon the assembly for good or for, for bad. Uh, either we're an encouragement, we're a help, or we're a hindrance in the assembly. And, uh, let's not forsake the, uh, assembling of ourselves together, though there's weakness in that, which tends to discourage, but, uh, our presence there.
Sister's presence at the assembly meetings. That is an encouragement in itself and will be rewarded.
Their presence there, well, they may not, they do do not take an audible part. So let's, uh, rise on the Lord in these in these matters.
Our brother brought the forest of Haggai, worked with them.
Kind of nice to think about that and read verse 13.
Spake Haggy, I the Lord's messenger, and the Lord's message unto the people saying I am with you, saith the Lord. There he is working away and he stands up. He's got a message. They're in the middle of the work and he stands up and he's encouraging him on. He's got a word from the Lord to encourage him on back to the work again.
Gonna come to it, uh, toward the end of this reading, but.
Now that it's been mentioned.
Uh.
The Lord says I am with you and.
You know we believe that the Lord is in our midst.
Because of His word, we believe it by faith.
And uh.
It's another huge mistake that some have made.
That, uh, they've judged this the presence of the Lord by their experience and by feelings.
And uh.
You know, we we take this by faith, not by visible evidence, should remember that if you try to go by visible evidence, you're gonna get fooled.
Uh, one time my brother asked and he was being received. He asked the brothers, He said what makes you think you have the Lord in their midst?
And uh, one brother said, well one brother will be will have a him on his heart and another one will call it out.
Well, you know I laughed at that because, uh, everywhere I've ever been, that's the case.
Every group of Christians I've ever been with, that's been the case, in fact.
Uh, that happens among.
Unsaved people and businesses, they get around a table and business meeting and one will say something. So I was just thinking that, you know, now, it doesn't mean that we don't have common thoughts by the Holy Spirit. Of course we do. And it could be that the brother had the him on his heart because of the Holy Spirit and the other brother did too. But that's no proof. That's nothing to hang your hat on.
And anywhere where there's people who are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, that can happen.
But we believe that the Lord is in the midst, because he said so.
And we need to leave it at that.
00:45:01
And, uh, we're gonna get down here to where they talk about the former glory and we can look back on the Day of Pentecost and say, well, it's a very, very apparent that the Holy Spirit was there.
It's very, very apparent they had power.
I don't see that today, and you shouldn't look for it either.
And just here so weak was it, you know, when, when Solomon built the temple, the the glory of the Lord filled it.
They could see that, right? That's something they could see. It was, it was very apparent with this house they're rebuilding. No such thing happened.
They had to go on the assurance they were being given by God in His Word, and he kept repeating to them, I'm with you, I'm with you, I'm with you.
And that was to be their reassurance. It was to come from the Word of God.
Notice in the fifth verse of the second chapter, My spirit remaineth among you. Fear ye not.
Umm the Lord is here by his spirit. Umm.
In in the midst, but we need to uh.
Be careful of our walk because the Spirit of God can easily be grieved in our lives and our condition individually affects the whole assembly.
Uh, if we come in a, uh, put it plainly, in a flat state of soul with envy, malice in our hearts or or uncleanness in our lives that we have not judged, we're affecting the whole assembly.
May still be in fellowship, but uh, we need to, uh, remember that the spirit of God is there, uh.
Don't know whether you would say this, The Lord is there physically, I don't think so, but the Spirit of God is there. He is there in spirit. And, uh, we need to be careful, uh, of our walk that, uh, there is nothing that would, uh, hinder the activity of the Spirit of God in the, in the assembly. So we each have that, uh, responsibility, the wonderful privilege to be gathered.
According to God's mind outside the cap, within the veil, but you need to be exercised as to our spiritual condition and the Corinthians were not, They were going on with immorality and God had to step in and that assembly and in his governmental ways. Many slept. What does that mean? Many slept. They were taken away in God's government.
It's only a a believer is when he.
Dies is spoken of as sleeping. So apparently they were believers, but they were going on carelessly and, uh, the, the Lord had to deal with them. Well, I just mentioned that the, the profit also looks on to that glorious day when, uh, uh, when, uh, we'll be gathered around the Lord in person, in the, uh, in the glory and, uh, when we will, uh, when the Church of God will be manifested in all its unity and beauty.
As we see in the Book of Revelation, those every gate was a Pearl. Everything speaks of the of Christ and the preciousness of the assembly to Him.
You know, as to our our individual state affecting the state of the assembly, that's that's absolutely true and.
Yes, you read the uh, verse six and verse nine and uh, verse 10 and 11.
Uh, I think, you know, that can speak to what we as individuals are seeking. And then a lot has come out in these meetings about that and you're gonna find, you know, when you're looking for things for yourself and you're trying to get things for yourself and you're trying to seek your own things and make yourself happy. Uh, it's just an experience of continual drought. Umm, there may be a time of some happiness and enjoyment, but.
In the long run, it's, it's a drought and, uh.
So even what we're doing outside the meetings in our personal life will have an effect on the state of the assembly. So when we live our Christian lives, we have to live.
00:50:13
Not live our Christian lives just for ourselves. I guess that's what I'm saying. And you have to live your Christian life for your brethren as well.
That doesn't mean to do things for their eyes, but it means to keep their good in mind in everything you do.
We're responsible to do that.
Umm, and so that's part of building God's house, as we've said a number of times in these meetings is not to be seeking for your own things for yourself and, and so on. But, uh, but it's good to keep that in mind. And, you know, it's true happiness. And even people, uh, secular, unsafe people in the world of psychology and so on, they know and they have taught that, uh, you get more happiness.
Seeking others happiness than you do seeking your own, That's that's human psychology. Even they know we should know it even better.
You know you're gonna be happier seeking someone else's good than you are seeking your own.
Well, the wonderful thing about that is that God takes note.
Of whatever is done for his people.
You really appreciate a desire to minister good to his people because it is his body.
And I was just noticing Hebrews 6 and verse 10.
It says For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love.
Which he have showed toward his name.
In that you have ministered to the Saints and to minister.
So ministering to God's people.
You're showing kindness to the Lord Himself.
And here references made to the fact that, uh, these Hebrews, they ministered to the Saints in the past.
And in writing to the Galatians.
For in two seasons you shall reap, if you faint not.
So the question is perhaps we have ministered in the past, but we're going to continue to do so.
Or are we gonna faint?
I think that's what Satan wants to do.
Tire out. The Saints weary us.
And human strength, our own strength, it is small, but if we rely on the Lord.
It's foundless.
He passed the call. He said I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
The other The other aspect was brought out by brother John Kemp.
Is the joy of the Lord? Is your strength.
So.
Umm.
He made a point, and I think it needs to be repeated, that term, the joy of the Lord is not talking about you having joy.
I think that's the way it's commonly understood, but that's not what it's talking. I'm not talking about you having joy or even experiencing joy.
When it says the joy of the Lord is your strength, if I could paraphrase it, it means when the Lord is happy.
You're strengthened.
It's his joy. It's knowing that you made him happy.
That is your strength.
And I think, Wally, that goes right along with what you were saying, you know, when we're doing things to make the Lord happy.
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Then we have motivation and we have strength.
And that again, as opposed to trying to seek what pleases ourselves.
And we know from his word what makes him happy. You know, it's not that complicated.
We know the things that make the Lord happy, and we know that if we do them, we will feel strength.
I think it's important to remember too, and that while he talked about ministering to the Saints, that it's not necessarily a public sphere.
Uh, in a lot of cases I would, umm, I'd be safe to say that the majority of ministering for the Saints is one-on-one.
As an example of that, I'm looking for, uh, there was a sister that the apostle commended.
And, uh, ask that they receive her.
Yes.
Phoebe in Romans chapter 16.
What a wonderful commendation, it says. I commend on Hugh Phoebe, our sister, which is a servant.
Or you could even say a minister of the church which is at Sankria, that you receive her in the Lord as become a St. and that ye assist her in whatever business she hath need of you.
For she has been a sucker of many, and of myself also.
That wasn't public ministry. But look at the value. Look at the value, the apostle Paul who ministered a lot publicly, but he would probably say he would not have been able to do it without her so.
Highly valued ministry there. That's not public ministry, but very highly valued.
It's nice to see the core of of Aisha in First Kings chapter 19 it says.
And then the last verse of that chapter. Then he arose and went after Elijah.
And ministered unto him.
He was being prepared for that which was to follow, wasn't he?
But the first service is ministering unto Elijah.
And they were very, very teachable here. You know, that's the important thing in the.
In the work of the Lord.
That people are teachable.
Umm, they, they took this, umm, rebuke. You might say this, uh, umm.
Prophetic ministry from they took it from the Lord.
It had its effect upon their souls, and I think it was in uh.
A month or two that they had actually erected the temple. It was a relatively short time after the prophecy of Hagia that they had completed the work. Remarkable.
There was a real.
Real interest and a real, uh, desire to, uh, to please the Lord and they were stirred up, You know, exhortation is, is being stirred up and we need that edification is building up. Exhortation is stirring up and uh, we need to be stirred up because we tend to be, uh, uh, lazy in the things of the Lord. Uh, think of that verse. We don't want to get too far away from our chapter, but.
It has been mentioned about Ministry First Peter Chapter 4.
Verse 10 As every man hath received the gift, Even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Now we are all in the ministry.
Umm, not just quotation marks. Laboring brethren. We are all in the ministry, sisters as well as brothers, all servants of the Lord. We all have an ability.
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Uh, that has been given to us, entrusted to us. We are stewards of, of, of the gift or an ability. Are we exercised to use that for the Lord's in the Lord's, uh, interests and service? Because we're going to have to give an account of how we have.
Used what the Lord has entrusted to us.
I've been thankful for UMM.
The many haggy eyes that the Lord has brought across my pathway, umm, when they feed it, when they saw that they need a little exhortation.
And if I had here in the middle of a room, a, a jug of orange juice that had been sitting for a few or four days, we had noticed the orange juice could be very, uh, a different color on the bottom half of it than it would the top half because it would have all settled down to the bottom. And if I was to pour out somebody a glass from that orange juice, you'd think it tastes this kind of flat And, and I would say, well, what's wrong with it? And you'd be able to say, well, it needs stirring up.
It does need sewing up. Well, we need that in our lives. And I've been thankful for the various number of Haggy eyes, as I've mentioned that the largest brought across my pathway. But ultimately the work is the Lord's and we see that here in the 14th, 1St. It doesn't say on Haggy I stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel. It doesn't say that. It says the Lord stirred up the spirit.
And so unless we get our eye on the vessel, whoever it's used that the Lord uses to bring in, you know, in our lives to, to, to stir us up, ultimately the work of the stirring up in our hearts is the Lord's work.
Would you like a comment on building the temple?
It doesn't say the Lord doesn't say go get wood and build me a temple.
He says go build the temple.
And, uh, it was brought up this morning by brother Steve, but.
The latter glory of that house would be greater than the former. What do you mean the latter glory of that house? That house has been destroyed.
No.
It's the same house and so.
Likewise if we apply it to ourselves and Christianity.
Brother spoke of the term recovered truth.
There was no new temple built, you might say, and they would figure, figuratively speaking, there was not no any new ground of gathering brought out in a couple 100 years ago. It was recovered through the same ground that our brethren gathered on almost 2000 years ago.
Ground of the unity of the body of Christ. I've laid out in First Corinthians 10 the communion of the body of Christ and the community of the communion of the blood of Christ. And so it is that.
We when we speak of building.
We want to build on that same principle.
Uh, the same.
Principle upon which our early brethren gathered.
The divine ground of gathering.
And our early brethren spoke with one voice.
The divine ground of gathering was the unity of the body of Christ, the one body as we put it. But it's that is.
They received fellow believers on the ground of their being part of the body of Christ.
A very lovely similar.
Way the Word of the Lord to the Angel of the Church of Philadelphia in chapter 3 of Revelation.
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Word to the overcomer him that overcometh verse 12 of Revelation 3 him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God and he shall go no more out you know that's.
Remarkably interesting.
To go on in that truth means a separated walk.
But here, he says, you're not going to have to go out anymore. You're not going to have to leave anywhere anymore. Maybe you had to leave a lot of things behind.
To be gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus.
Separated path and Hagia takes that up in the end of the book.
Says you're not gonna have to go out anymore.
Not anymore.
And we'll write upon him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, which is.
New Jerusalem.
The Church in millennial glory.
And he takes that little remnant company in Philadelphia, and he makes them that silver length.
Between the Church of Pentecost and the latter glory of that house.
And he looks on to the New Jerusalem, which is going to descend out of heaven from God and its glory, uh, over this earth. The men of this earth are going to walk in the light of it.
I'd like to look at Ezra for a moment in chapter 2.
There's a.
We're working.
And as Ezra, uh.
Record.
And is there a or excuse me, Chapter 3?
Verse 12.
For many of the priests and Levites in chief of the Fathers, who were ancient men.
And it seemed the 1St house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice, and many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people. For the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.
You know, Haggy, I.
The word of the Lord through Haggai. He doesn't really take notice of either the weeping or the shout of joy.
He does mention who is left of you that saw this house in her first glory. And how do you see it now? Is it as in your eyes in comparison as nothing but he looks on?
He looks on to millennial glory, He looks on to the end to which all things are moving, the coming Kingdom and power and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And I believe the Spirit of God would direct our eyes in the same way.
Healthy exercise to look back at the church at the day of Pentecost.
To see the church before she was stripped of her ornaments and to be able to eat. And if our heart doesn't have that.
Attitude. As we make that comparison, we've got kind of a hard heart.
But you know, the Lord has left so much to us, and this day we're in.
And I don't know about you, but I certainly remember from my own self as the Paul's doctrine was unfolded to my soul for the first time, and the truth of what it was to be gathered on the ground of the one body to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ alone in separation from all that would be dishonouring to Him. And the fact there was actually a place where I could do that, it was like a shout of joy.
And I'm thankful no old brothers came through cold water on me back then. They encouraged me on in that.
The as time goes on and the Lord gives a sober assessment and you look back, you know there's, as an old brother said, there's time of plenty for weeping.
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But don't throw cold water on those who are coming into a fresh enjoyment of these wonderful things. And let's not lose that shout of joy. Let's not lose the sense either.
Of the fact of what's taken place.
Let's look on to the coming glory.
See, our time is up, we're reminded, and Zechariah chapter four were not to despise the day of small things, are we?
169.
Lord, we can say by.
Ourselves so I can take like beyond and again the whole country never dating.
Oh my God.
I want to give you a prayer.
Hi.
Uh, ready to get blah blah blah blah blah blah.
And uh, OK. Umm, I'm still crying.
Uh, yeah. I, I, I, I, I can't, I'll, I'll, I'll call them brands and I'm crawled and crying on the sky.
And, umm.
And birthday, Thank you. So thank you.
God and our Father we thanks for. It's another opportunity to read thy word together.
Thank you for the exercise that that was brought before us that we can either disregard or accept this from myself.
We pray that we would accept it as from the our.
Realized that doubt is desire, blessing.
In the assembly and to ourselves, but most of all that we might glorify my beloved Son in our lives. We pray that we would go on thou migrate and keep us. We just think of this dark day that we live in. We just pray, Lord, for faithfulness to go on the little time that's life.
So we give thanks for this opportunity be over Thy word and to enjoy it. We pray and see your friends and you might be stirred up to search these things out for ourselves and make them our own. We pray this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.