Hamer Bay Conference: 2019
Table of Contents
Romans 11:33-12:3
Reading
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Boldness.
The fullness survives. To answer all needs number 2678.
Ceremony.
And silence are here.
No, no speaker.
While she's all sitting in.
And when we are?
Graduating.
And wake up screaming.
Who will try to stay through?
Will we not?
Get inside.
Almighty.
And no one comes from.
The same.
Now.
Should we read a couple of verses together in Second Timothy chapter 3?
Second Timothy, chapter 3.
Verse 13.
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse.
Deceiving and being deceived, but continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and has been assured of knowing of whom thou hast learned them, and that from a child. Thou hast known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for recruit, for correction, for instruction and righteousness.
That the man of God may be perfect, truly perished, and to all good works.
We ask Lord blessing, our living God and our Father, we thank thee for our Lord Jesus Christ, We thank Thee that we can sing of his protection, of his desire to bless. And in a while we find ourselves in the enemies land, just about to depart.
From Egypt, as it were, and to.
Be caught up to see the blessed Savior face to face in all of my glory.
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To be with the unlikely, morally and physically with the unlikely suitable. To be companions of thyself for all eternities.
We take the that we have this prospect right before our souls. May it be brighter even this weekend. We pray our God about use thy word now as we.
Have been gathered by thy Spirit under the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We've learned the truth in some measure, and we desire to go on in these very last days, in the day of giving up, letting go of Paul's doctrine. We just asked you for thy mercies, our God, that thou give us a little portion of Christ for our souls, the portion that would just strengthen us, our God in the enemy's land. Give us courage and strength.
And so we cried to be for a blessing, and we commend ourselves to thee for this Bible reading in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Wonder, brethren, if I'd like to suggest a passage.
In Romans chapter 12, particularly what I had on my heart, but maybe we could just read from verse 33 of Chapter 11.
I was thinking of that practice.
Read all of chapter 12. Yeah, I think that would be helpful first reading.
Romans, Chapter 11.
Verse 33.
Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.
How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out? For who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been his counselor?
Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again. For of him and through him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your body as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service, and be not conformed to this world.
But be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly according to God, that given to every man a measure of faith. For we have many members in one body, and all members have not same office.
So we, being many, are one body in Christ.
And everyone members one of another, having been gifts different according to the grace of this miraculous weather. Prophecy. Let us prophecy according to the proportion of faith or ministry. Let us wait on our ministry. Or he that teacheth on teaching, or he that exhort it on exhortation. He that giveth, let him do it with simplicity, he that rule it with diligence.
Ye that show with mercy with your ***.
Let love be without dissimulation for that which is evil cleave to that which is good be kindly affection 1 to another with brotherly love in honor, preferring one another, not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer, distributing to the necessity of Saints.
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Given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you. Bless and curse not. Rejoice with them that do. Rejoice, and weep with them that we be of the same mind one toward another. Might not hide things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man, evil or evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
If it be possible, as much as life in you, live peaceably with all men, dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place on the rock. Or it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore, if by enemy hunger feed him.
If you thirst, give him drink, or in so doing thou shalt keep coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
You know that in Pauls epistles, particularly in other epistles as well, when the apostle wrote, he gives the doctrine the Christian teaching. That's all that doctrine means is Christian teaching. It's teaching.
And he gives that doctrine in the first part of the Epistle.
And then in the last part of the epistle he gives the practical expression of it how we should.
Walk based on the doctrine that he's given at the beginning of the epistle. So in the Epistle to the Ephesians he gives the 1St 3 chapters are doctrinal and then the last three chapters have to do with the practical putting into practice that doctrine. Now in Romans I believe here part way through Chapter 11.
Really is. He's given the doctrine of Christianity. He's given the fundamental basics, the principles of Christianity.
Enrollments. And so you have very nicely ordered in the Word of God, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, present the Lord Jesus in the Gospels and then different aspects of his deity and his service and so on. And then you have the book of the Acts, a little historical outline of how the church was formed and its basic history during the beginning. But it's a little more than that, but we could say it's a little bit of a history.
And he outlines the church and its function at the beginning of the church period and what we should be doing even now.
And then in Romans he teaches the fundamental basics of Christianity. So if you haven't read Romans and you haven't read some ministry in connection with the epistles of the Romans.
It's time that you did it's there are some very good books on ministry on the official of the Romans. So he gets to the end of the doctrine in verse 33 and he says it's marvelous.
That's a marvelous thing. What more could have been done?
That God could do to bless mankind and on the principle of grace to bring him into such rich relationship with God. It's not possible that God could even add to what he's done.
He's done everything. He's given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, and He's given us every blessing that is possible to give command. And in Romans it's all delineated. It's all taught in detail. So now in verse 33 down to verse 3060, verse South and praise and Thanksgiving. And that's what it'll do for your heart, for mine, if we read these things and we live in the heavenly aspect of things. And so then he begins to teach.
How to implement?
These things that he's taught.
In chapter 12.
Very important to see that.
This dispensation of 9:10 and 11:00 is the dispensation, the last fact of the official.
And what the apostle is?
Is what we might call the reconciliation between the promises that God made to the nation of Israel.
And Christianity.
There's two distinct aspects there, and.
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As has been mentioned, the whole idea of the so so-called covenant theology.
Brings the blessings of Israel into the Church. Period. That that is confusion. The apostle reconciles here the thought that God has not set aside any promises which He made for the nation of Israel. They will all be fulfilled in new time.
For the glory of Christ, the nation will be restored.
And the glory, earthly glory will be there and the Lord will reign as King of kings and Lord of Lords. Really nice to the 12Th. The 11Th is showing God's purposes will have their fulfillment in relation to these earthly people. But to disregard that and bring.
To disregard that.
Future blessing of the nation of Israel just throws everything into confusions.
Right.
It's sometimes been said that what we have in Romans are three things. The 1St 8 chapters are doctrinal, the next three chapters, 9 through 11 are dispensational, and then the last chapters are devotional. I think that's a helpful summary.
The first eight chapters lay out the foundation of salvation. However, we save Mr. Darby actually wrote up. It wasn't a pamphlet, I guess, but it was a lecture he gave and and and that he speaks of the two parts of salvation.
The deliverance both from the penalty of sin and also from the power of sin. And in Romans it's all individual with just a few exception of verses. It's how the individual is delivered from the penalty and the power of sin and he enters into blessing. But we might wonder, as John was saying, why then did dispensational truth come in? In chapters 910 and 11, Chapter 9 speaks of the fact that God and his purpose is chose Israel.
Chapter 10 speaks of the fact that they lost their position because of their unfaithfulness and then Chapter 11 really brings out the truth of God's irresistible purposes. In other words, you can't fight against God and so it's a wonderful truth that the purpose is I have a a note here. It's interesting in verse 29 of Chapter 11 for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance or better translation is.
Irrevocable. When God makes a promise, He never breaks it. And why is that so important?
It's important because Paul was writing to the Romans, which was the center of the Gentile world at this time, and he was telling them how the Gentiles as well as the Jews can be saved now in the common salvation. But the question might come in the in the in the Gentiles mind, if that's true, what about what happened to Israel? Can we really trust this God that he's going to be good to his word? Was he really good to Israel?
What about all the promises made to Israel? Can we really trust what this God says? And so after the great facts of salvation, then in the first eight chapters, he says, now listen, Israel set aside for a time, but they're going to be restored to all the blessings that God has promised them. So you can trust this God. All the things he says about shut salvation are absolutely true. And it doesn't eliminate anything that he said in the Old Testament to the Jews. They're only set aside for a time. So that's how these things complement one another. It's a great help, I think, to see that.
It says in verse 32, Chapter 11 That He has concluded all in unbelief that He might have mercy on all. And so in His great ways with Israel, they're not going to come in and possess and enjoy those promises except on the basis of mercy. And so God has ordered all that He's done in that way, and we come in on the ground of mercy.
They're going to come in on the ground of mercy. And then he starts out Chapters 12. He says, now I beseech you by those mercies.
By everything that's been done for you and all that I've done for you, I beseech you on that ground. And it reminds me of Second Corinthians and chapter 5.
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Verse 14. For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead, and that he died for all. That they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
And so we get the great motive spring for Christian service and walk is.
The love of God, the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, the mercies of God that have been shown to us, showered upon us, that constrains us then in service for Him. So he beseeches us on the ground of those mercies that have been laid out previously in the book of Romans.
There's a beautiful illustration of Israel's picture in the Old Testament book of Ruth, isn't there? Now the rabbis have a problem with Ruth. How is it that a Gentile can not only come into blessing, but come into the line first of all of the royal line of Israel, David, and then next into the royal line of the Lord Jesus Christ? How is that? And the rabbis apparently have a terrible time with that. It doesn't make any sense. But in fact.
It's a beautiful picture of just what we've been speaking about, isn't it? Because Israel lost all rights to blessing based on the promises that God made to them, based on man's responsibility. And now they're going to come in, as you were saying, Brother Steve, they're going to come in strictly on the ground of pure grace, just like a Gentile with they called the Gentiles dogs, but they're going to come in on the same basis. So Ruth was a Gentile, and that's exactly.
The ground on which Israel is going to come into blessing in the future day.
It's important to notice too, that the Apostle Paul in Chapter 11 taught that not all Jews were going to go on in unbelief and blindness. He says in verse 25, I would not, brethren, that he should be ignorant of this mystery, lest he should be wise in your own conceits. He's speaking to the Gentiles. That blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.
And so all Israel shall be saved. So the whole nation is going to come in there into blessing in the future. But in the present day and in the book of the Acts, you see some Jews getting saved. And so the governmental blindness that passed upon the whole nation, yet God in His grace and His mercy is saving some Jews, and so He will have his house full.
The fullness of the Gentiles.
Is when the Lord comes right, brother? And that's the argument the apostle has in this 11Th chapter, that the Gentiles have been brought into a place of privilege with the responsibility. But they have. They have.
Signally failed and although they've been grafted into the tree of outward privilege.
And the gospel.
Principally, you might say, has gone out among the Gentiles in the centuries.
But they have not continued in God's goodness and.
We know in Christendom today there's largely a rejection of the.
The truth of God is becoming more manifest and God will set aside the Gentiles and he'll take up a game in the prophetic picture. We're not in the prophecy now being fulfilled when the fullness of the Gentiles takes place.
Which is the coming of the Lord, and the last of the Gentiles will be gathered into the Church of God. Then the Lord will the prophetic clock will begin to tick again, and God's purposes relation to the earthly people will be fulfilled.
Those that are a little bit younger.
Brother John mentioned about the covenant theology that's a mix up of connecting up Israel blessing with the Christian blessing and often a way that when you run into other Christians, whether it's at work or school or whatever, a good clue to the fact that a person holds that thinking is when they start talking about working for the Kingdom. That's a very common expression that Christians use that they're working to bring about the Kingdom, but.
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We're not looking for the Kingdom, we're looking to go home and be with the Lord, our bridegroom. And the Lord is one of quite effectively set up his Kingdom all on his own. He doesn't need us working towards that. I know that they feel that that's an expression of maybe doing work for the Lord or something like that. But it's often they say that because they've got Israel's blessing and our blessing all mixed up. There's something to to listen to because it's an expression that you will hear very frequently and and it's a little warning that.
The people probably talking about it.
Thank you.
Yes, God will have an earthly people, won't he? And so Israel's blessings were all earthly and.
Their hope temporal, and they were material. They had a physical land, physical property. But you and I have a heavenly blessing. Our portion is heavenly, and everything that we have is in heaven, centered with in Christ. And then it's spiritual and it's eternal. You and I are going to have Christ. We're going to have a portion that's eternal. And so there's a distinction, and God makes a distinction in His word, and it's necessary for us to learn and to appreciate those distinctions.
Paul and brother John was speaking. He brings this out in connection with the distinction and the Jew and the Gentile. The reason you and I have been brought into blessing partly is that the Jew refused the blessing. He said I don't want it. I don't want Christ.
The Lord sent Stephen as this last messenger. They stoned Stephen. They said we told you we don't want it. And so immediately the gospel went out for the Gentiles. Chapter 8, the Ethiopian eunuch is saved. And then Chapter 9, we know that that Saul was saved, he became the Apostle Paul, but he was at the tribe of Shem and then delineated the Shem. So Hand Ethiopian unit was from the lineage of Hand.
Paul was from the lineage of Shin and then Cornelius was from the lineage, the Gentile lineage of Japheth so that the gospel is going to go to out to all God gates. But he says in verse 22 of Chapter 11, I know we're going back again a little bit, but it's important when we read this, he's not speaking to Jews in chapter 12. He's speaking to those that are part of the Church of God.
And so he says in verse 22 of Chapter 11, Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God on them which fell severity but toward thee goodness, that's the Gentile, that's the gospel goes forth to him goodness if thou continuing his goodness, otherwise thou also shall be cut off.
So there is a time of judgment coming and judgment let's begin at the House of God. So at the time that the Lord Jesus comes at the rapture, the false church will be left behind. Those that profess Christ professed Christianity but do not know him in reality, they'll be left behind for judgment in the Lord in the language of Scripture, he'll spew the spew them out of his mouth. He'll say depart from me for I never knew you. And so there's.
Responsibility on the part of man and so.
What Romans brings before us, particularly here in this passage, is our responsibility and view of the reality that we're part of the Church of God and that we have this Christian doctrine that has been given to us and that we understand that salvation. He does bring in the sovereignty of God in the epistle to the Romans, but he also brings in the responsibility of man. Both go side by side, but now in our practical.
Walk. We're responsible. We're responsible rather.
Are we being conformed to this world or are we being transformed in our minds? God is working to that end, that we would be transformed into the image of the sun, not a rubber stamp look alike to what the world has morally or physically.
Or spiritual.
There's a dangerous doctor named Christendom, I'm afraid, and it gets come in among brethren of our our circle as well. Rather than that is that that grace covers everything that once you're saved, it doesn't make too much difference how you live as long as long as you still love the Lord and talk about the Lord every now and then. But that's that's a criminal doctrine, isn't it, because in scripture from Genesis through Revelation.
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We have the absolute fact that when a man is brought into blessing.
That there's a requirement that we walk as those that belong to Christ. We have that from Genesis through Revelation. And yet I mentioned that's come in not only to Christendom, but it's come in, in, in among those gathered as well. And we have to be aware of that. So he gives the reflex of the truth of the gospel and of this dispensationalism. We have a moral consequences of the gospel.
And that's what we have in chapter 12, that I beseech you therefore, brethren, the strong language he uses, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice.
Holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable Lord, Intelligent service. It's like the meal offering in the Old Testament, isn't it? Remember, all the other offerings in the Old Testament, with one exception of the sin offering, had to do with flesh.
There had to be bloodletting, but the so-called meat offering or the meal offering, or sometimes translated to grain offering, there was no blood at all. That's a picture of the Lord Jesus is perfect life, but it's also a picture of the life that we're called to live, isn't it? So it's one of the five major sacrifices we have there in Leviticus and throughout the Old Testament, once the Levitical order was set up, and there's that absolute requirement.
That once we're saved, that we act in a way that's becoming the position we've been brought into.
It's a living sacrifice, not a dead sacrifice. All the other sacrifices in the Old Testament were dead, except the grain offering. Again, was a living sacrifice, an ongoing thing. And so we're called to be holy because he is holy.
We don't want to look upon the body as being sinful per se.
Called a body of humiliation.
But it's not sinful in itself.
But man can use his body in a simple way. He can use it allow it to be a vehicle.
To express that evil nature that he has, that's how we express ourselves, is through the body. But the apostle is exhorting us here. If the body was sinful, he wouldn't, He wouldn't tell us to present it to your daughter. Let me sacrifice.
So the important thing is we realize our brother now we have a responsibility not to use our bodies the way we did before we were saved in all indulgences of, of sinful actions and thoughts and words and so on. We finished with that. That's the argument of the apostle enrollment. How can we go on the way we did before?
Now we can use our bodies.
A living sacrifice.
For the Lord's glory, for the furtherance of His interest here below, and to express.
That new nature that we that we have.
The Apostle Peter makes a similar call, doesn't he, to Holiness? I think you were quoting that brother Eric in first Peter chapter one.
And.
Verse 14. As obedient children, not fashioning themselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance, but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, or all manner of life, because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy.
And so we're called to practically live in a holy path, a holy course. You know, I think it's brother Harry Hale used to say that holiness is to a hatred of sin and a delight in that which is good. So a hatred of sin and a delight in that which is good. And so you have a holy nature if you being born again.
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And not only born again, but you have received the Lord Jesus as your Savior. You've laid hold of Christ for salvation. You have new life. You're indwelled with the Spirit of God, sealed with the Spirit.
You are, you have a holy nature, you have a nature that can't sin, won't sin, will never sin, doesn't want to sin. You have a new life and it's the very life of Christ. And he says here now live practically in that way. And so he beseeches that strange language to beg, that beg. God is begging the Christian, He's not commanding it.
In the Old Testament they say thou shalt do this, but in the New Testament he says, I beseech.
Let let us love one another, and so on. It's really the language of a voluntary offering. And so he begs the brethren.
By the mercies of God and he says make a transaction with the Lord, present your bodies, the living sacrifice, make a transaction. And I often enjoyed in that connection Acts chapter 15 verse 25, just as an illustration. You say, well that sounds very theoretical, but even the apostle Paul made that transaction with the Lord. Barnabas did and others. Acts chapter 15.
And.
Just the verse 25, it seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. And so here were Barnabas and Paul, and I take it Judas and Silas of a similar character, and this word hazarded.
We say they risk their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, but if you look in the new translation it says men that have given up their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
They gave up their lives for the name, not only the person of Christ, but for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They knew that if they went out into the Gentile world and preached Christ, or they went into the Jewish world and preached Christ could well cost their lives. And it did cost Paul flight. He laid down his life as a result of what he preached and what he wrote. But you and I can make that offer.
You know, there's a brother that gave me a pocket watch. I have a, he got that pocket watch from a railroad background years ago. And he offered me this watch and he said I've enjoyed this watch many years. And would you accept this as a present for me to, you know, I grew up on the railway 1St 10 years of my life. And so he said I'd like to give this to you. So he took this watch and he just dropped it into my hand very heavy.
Nice piece of clockwork.
I have it in my drawer at home.
But, you know, it's like that before we get saved, we use our lives the way we want to use them, and we make all the decisions for ourselves. We don't consult anyone. But the apostle Paul, after he was saved, Saul, he said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And there came a time in his life where he knew that if he went out to the Gentile world, it was going to cost him his life. He said that's OK.
I'll do it. And it appears that Barnabas made the same decision. Men that have hazarded their lives or have given up their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. So we might just ask, have you made that transaction with the Lord? Have you offered up your life for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ?
Behavior.
How many times growing up after it's been raining out did our mom say to us, now you're in your good clothes to go to meeting or to go to school or whatever, Be very careful to go outside. You're going to get through. And really, when we come to know the borders, our savior, it's as if we're dressed all in white, no matter how young or old we are. And the world around us is a very muddy place.
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So we ought to be very, very careful if we remember that, no matter how young or how old we are.
Doesn't take very much to get a Swatch of money.
We behave very much differently if we're just in our old scrubby play clothes. We go and jump in the mud puddles and do all kinds of things, but that's not the way we are anymore.
There is a difference between owning Jesus's Savior and recognizing Him daily as Lord, isn't there? And that's really what we have here. The 1St 8 chapters again were brought into a whole new standing before God.
Not only regarding the penalty of our sins, but regarding deliverance from the very power of sin. And how's that accomplished? Well, it's identification with Christ in his death. And if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. So that's the foundation. As a Christian, we're brought into that position. And that corresponds, as we read in the 6th chapter, to baptism.
Baptism is a picture of.
Passing from the former life we had into a new life identified with the Lord Jesus as the center. I've often said that the Christian motto is what we have in Galatians 220, not I, but Christ. Before I was saved, it was all about me. Now that I'm saved, it's not I but Christ. That's a great secret to our Christian life because we're identified with Christ in his death and now also in his resurrection.
But there is a difference between the our our recognizing Jesus as Savior, which we have in the 1St 8 chapters, and now what we have, recognizing him day by day as Lord. That's our intelligence service. That's the next step, what we often call consecration.
That's what we have here, isn't it? It's a call to consecration. So what Israel came out of the land of Egypt, that was a picture of salvation. First they were under the, under the Paschal Passover lamb, and then as they traveled a little further, they passed through the Red Sea. That's a picture of deliverance, first of all from the penalty of sin and the and the sacrifice of the land, and then from the power of sin being delivered from Egypt.
By the Red Sea, then they were introduced into the wilderness and we have that the early verses of chapter 5 and also in chapter 8. But then when they got to the other side of the wilderness, they came to the border of Canaan and the place that they kept there as an interesting name, it's Kadesh. What is Kadesh mean? We know that in fact they turned back. They weren't conformed and they had to wander for 38 years.
K Dash means consecration, and so the secret to entering into the land of Canaan, which are the proper blessings of for the Christian, is consecration. And what does that mean? That means owning Jesus as Lord day by day and moment by moment. That's the secret of walking the Christian life and of being transformed into a life where Christ is the center rather than self. And that's what we have here.
It's really consecration. I think it's so helpful to see that. I just had a comment, I read this somewhere and unfortunately I don't even remember where I got it, but one for one of the writers and I thought it was helpful enough. That kind of along the lines of what we've been speaking about. It says what a triumph answer to the cavalier who would say, shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound, Just what we've been speaking about. Once I'm saved, well, I don't have to worry about going to hell.
Because I've got a fire escape out of hell. Well, that's not the end of Christianity. That's only the beginning, isn't it? So here's the answer to people that talk that way. Grace not merely cuts up sin by the roots, but transforms the center from a curse into a blessing, from a moral plague into a channel of Divine Mercy, from an emissary of Satan into a messenger of God from a child of darkness.
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Into a son of the light, from a self indulgent pleasure hunter, into a self denying lover of God from a slave of vile selfish lust, into a willing hearted servant of Christ, from a cold narrow hearted miser into a benevolent minister to the need of his fellow man. That's what consecration does, doesn't it? And so the flip side of often said, the flip side of privilege is responsibility.
They go together, their flip sides of the same coin, and that's what we have here. The our intelligence ServiceNow is to consecrate our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ so that we might enter into those real blessings that he has for us as Christianity, we're not only delivered from certain things, we're not only saved from certain things, we're saved for certain things. And unless we're consecrated, we'll never enter into that.
Might be helpful to know that there are three kinds of sacrifices that Christians can give that are noted in Scripture and this is one of them is to give our lives to the Lord. And then in Hebrews chapter 13 we have a couple of other.
Sacrifices that we can make.
Chapter 13, verse 15 by Him. Therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. So that's worship.
In the spirit in truth and in the spirit that is acceptable to God. And then what we have is the our physical goods, our material goods in verse 16 to do good and to communicate. Forget not with such sacrifices God as well, please. So the believer not only offers his life to Christ to use for himself and acknowledges the lordship of Christ, but he has the ability, he has the capacity to offer sacrifices of praise and Thanksgiving to God continually the fruit of his lips.
And it is acceptable to God because it's done in faith. And if it's acceptable to him, if it's done in a in a way that is according to his mind in Scripture, and then he also has the third thing he can offer his physical resources to the Lord.
And so the Lord can use his physical resources and that's why we don't take. And the apostle Paul didn't take money from unbelievers. He said he wanted to make the gospel of God without charge. And in different passages, scripture, even in John's ministry, he says that they went forth preaching the gospel, preaching under the Gentiles, taking nothing of them. I think that's is the second or third John, I think it may be.
3rd John.
But.
The fact is they didn't take anything. Yes, third John verse seven because that's for his namesake. They went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles. So there are those 3 sacrifices. What a privilege.
It says that the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me, you and I, that no Christ is Savior, know that He paid a significant price.
A price that will never be able to know or understand, but we can appreciate in some measure the price that He paid to have you in heaven, you as a companion with Him for all eternity. Now what are we going to give Him?
And it is an intelligent service. That is, in Christianity we have an intelligence with the Old Testament St. did not have.
They went through certain rituals and ceremonies without really knowing the reason for it. But in Christianity we have now, by the Spirit of God, intelligence as to the ways of God.
'S.
How? Why we should act as believers?
The whole.
The whole perspective is different now because we have a divine life and divine nature, and we possess the Holy Spirit of God, so we have intelligence as the ways of God, our position in Christ, the.
Motive for for change in our behavior.
00:50:02
Yes, that's good. John, maybe just to emphasize those three things again that.
Our our new that our new privileges that bring us into the responsibility of what we've been speaking about. We have a new life, as you mentioned.
We're partakers of the divine nature. We have eternal life that speaks of in Scripture. That's a higher order or life more abundant. That's a higher order than the Old Testament Saints had.
Because of the work of Christ, his death and resurrection and ascension. So we have that new nature, not exactly divine per se, but we're partakers of the divine nature, aren't we? And then, as you mentioned, we have a whole new standing before God that's again figured in baptism. We're seen as dead to what we were in the old Adam, and we're part of a new creation of which Christ is the head. So that's our standing as Christians now.
Dead and risen in Christ. And then thirdly we get in the 8th chapter think the Spirit of God is only mentioned once before that in the book of Romans. And the 8th chapter I don't remember it's I think it's 19 times.
Might double check that, but the Spirit of God is the power for our new standing and our new life. So God hasn't just said, well, you know, you've got a new life now you have to act this way. We have a new life.
We have an understanding. We have a new power to act. We're sons of God.
And heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ as we have in the 8th chapter. And so those are powerful incentives. And so when we speak about these things we have in chapter 12, it's not this thou shalt do or thou shalt not do, but it's the reflex of the new nature. And it's what the Spirit of God would lead us into, that we're indwelt by the Spirit of God. So that's a powerful thing. It's not a legal thing, is it? But rather.
It's the natural reflex of the of the new nature and the direction of the Spirit of God is what we have here. And I might mention in verse two, be not conformed to this world. I think we understand that, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Well, that word transformed. I just want to speak very briefly about that when I was studying biology and teaching biology over the years.
We spoke about metamorphosis in connection with insects, and if you take an insect, for instance a butterfly, it goes through complete metamorphosis. Some of the other insects go through incomplete metamorphosis, but some of the insects go through complete metamorphosis. And that's the word here or a closely related word. It comes from this Greek word transformation or metamorphosis. And we were taught, and I taught as I taught at college level.
That this metamorphosis is an absolute change. What connection is there between a little egg and the next stage in the butterfly, which is the larva? Well, they don't look at all alike, and in fact, biochemically they're entirely different. That's a complete change, not only in physical appearance, but biochemically as well. And then from the larva to the pupa stage, which is what we what you see in the little cocoon, it's a resting stage.
They go from that little worm like sort of creature to the pupa stage. You see that little cocoons, That's the resting stage. Again. It's a complete transformation, a metamorphosis. And then finally the butterfly goes from that dupa stage. It emerges from the cocoon and it becomes a a beautiful butterfly. That's metamorphosis and that's what we have here. I know there's at least three times in Scripture. I haven't researched how many more times there is, but.
At least three times in Scripture where that word is used, it's here, it's in Matthew 17 when the Lord Jesus was metamorphosized or transfigured on the mount of Transfiguration, He took on an entirely different aspect before the disciples. And then thirdly, and I just wanted to turn to it, over in Second Corinthians chapter 3, we have the same word again in the original in verse, Second Corinthians 3 and verse 18.
But we all with open face, beholding, leave out the next words, beholding the glory of the Lord, are changed or metamorphosed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Well, when we walk in newness of life, we take on that new, the impulse of that new nature in the direction of the Spirit of God, and we're metamorphosized into a new.
00:55:21
A new person, if you will.
And that's that little snippet I read. And that's what the Lord desires from glory to glory, that is, from the glory of the old man to the glory of the Newman. That's a metamorphosis. And that's the same word, or similar word at least that we have here in verse 2.
Be transformed or metamorphosed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will have gone.
I'd like to make a mention on something. Our bodies are not perfect by any means, especially our brain.
As recently as a Sunday School prize that we got from BTP is a book by Bill Prost, Very very good book called Psychiatry and Depression.
My wife and I are in the process of reading it now and I just want to make a mention. Is that because our bodies.
Should be functioning right or brain is the one that dictates if I may say so, our actions. I just want to bring this out. A crisis comes into our life by different problems and understanding each other. This could be husband and wife, there could be parents and children. It causes difference of decisions we make. It can cause a depression and psychiatric abnormality.
And.
Bad decision making.
The mind is a powerful thing.
I know that we are to yield our body and mind to the Lord.
Let's face it, we're human.
We make decisions in our life that we may not agree with.
Either with their spouses or with their children, and sometimes this can be a great conflict.
And this can cause them, it can change to grow water if it comes into a depression. And brethren, this is not something new. This is something that is happening amongst.
Everyone, including myself.
So if you ever get a chance to get this book right, Bill Cross, psychiatric and depression.
It is part of our body and it's very important and if we yield ourselves to the Lord and get us out of these psychiatric and depression situations.
Whole idea of baptism that our brother Eric has referred to.
Several times.
Is a significant.
Ritual, you might say I'm thinking of.
The Titus, chapter 3.
Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His mercy.
Saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost that she shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior. With baptism, we acknowledge a new position before God. It's quite a significant ordinance and of course it's important. I'm taking out of that old position entirely. I believe that regeneration here.
Is the outward change in the individual and often regeneration is referred to as something subjective internally. I don't think that's correct. Is that right, Eric? It's the outward change in the conduct in the whole manner of life.
I'd rather try to explanation was.
Gentleman John was going to be baptized. He had accepted Christ as his Savior. He went down to the Riverside.
And took off his shirt and was going to be baptized. He took his pipe, put it on the rock.
And he went down into the water and came up again.
01:00:00
Put his clothes back on and was walking away, someone said to him. John.
You left behind your pipe there on the rock.
Always said no, that's not my .0. Yes, it is. We saw you put it there. Always says that belonged to the old John that went down into the water. It doesn't belong to the new job. And so I thought it was a nice illustration of that day.
What is the renewing of the mind? We've talked about our new position, been brought into. It reminds me of having put off the old man and having put on the new, done once for all. Is this something that's in that sense too, it's done once for all? Or is this something that is a continual?
Ongoing process in our lives that renewing.
Of the mind, because that's how the transformation takes place. It says by the renewing of the mind. Wonder if someone could explain that a little.
Oh, it is once for all, isn't it? But then it's ongoing. Maybe that's a little bit of a fudge factor, but it's the truth, isn't it?
Because just like Israel had to eat of the manna every day, we need to.
Walk independence, don't we? The new life is a dependent life. It's dependent on the Spirit of God and it's dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ. We need His Word. That's how we're fed. Even though it is a one, once for all thing. There's a time in our life where we trust that we become consecrated.
And again, there's that difference between salvation and consecration. I think if we look at the Old Testament model, we might say that.
Baptism is the Red Sea, consecration is the Jordan River. It helps me to see that if we look at the Tabernacle.
Baptism is that the great praise and altar? But then there had to be that labor, and that labor is the continual washing, isn't it the priest?
That went into the Tabernacle themselves had to be cleaned, and then not only did they have to be cleaned, but they had to enter through the door into the Tabernacle. And I think that's the picture of ongoing consecration. But Steve, I'd like to hear your thoughts on it.
That's why I asked. I just wanted to get clear myself. I think Mr. Kelly puts it that way, if I remember right.
There is a context here as well and the in the context of the passage really bringing those responsibility and so I would suggest there would be an ongoing thing.
Particularly that he's referring to here. But we need to remember that the first thing is spoken of is not to be conformed to this world. So the world is trying to press us into a mold. And they have an idea of what a man should look like and what a woman should look like, mostly. And so they're trying to press you into their mold and they're trying to make you look like what they look like. And we need to recognize that there's a force and the enemy is using.
The public opinion and all kinds of different influences upon the believer to get us not to reflect the.
Nature and the life of Christ, but to hide that perhaps under a bushel or whatever it might be, but the Spirit of God gives us this instruction not to be conformed to how they look, how they think, how they dress.
And what the man of the world is trying to fashion for himself.
And we're not to have the same objectives. And so this word conformed reading means to be fashion alike, to be fashioned like something. And so we just need to be aware that the enemy is using different influences to try to press us into a mold that does not look like Christ. Well, what God is trying to do is to give us that work by the Spirit, that in the energy of the Spirit, and by the word of God.
To transform our mind and to prove by the word of God what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. And so in First Thessalonians, I think it's chapter 5, it says prove all things hold fast that which is good. And so we prove what is right. We prove what is good by reading the word of God. And I just quote.
01:05:01
Mr. Darby.
Writings said that it's not possible for a man to live in a right way in the present age without knowing Paul's doctrine. And so we find out what is acceptable to God as we read the epistles and we understand his mind.
In the middle of verse two, when it speaks of the renewing of your mind, our minds are what we think with.
And the world of Robert has been saying the world.
Has their way of thinking.
They, they think it's right. You know, different people have different opinions, but whatever whoever it is in the world.
They're thinking using their mind.
But in the verse that we that was referred to in Titus it speaks of.
The renewing of the Holy Ghost. So when we are in wealth, but the Holy Spirit that we have been believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can think the way God does, the way the Lord Jesus would think.
And I believe that that's if we allow the Spirit of God to.
To make it think.
Through and every little detail of our lives to make us think the way the world Jesus would think then we're not going to be conformed to thinking the way the world thinks and this you know we talked about everything can form to the world.
We tend to think of it as.
As Robert was saying, in the way in our appearance, perhaps our actions, but it's, it goes right into our minds, the way we think. You know, we think like the world as far as accumulating wealth and, and preparing for the future. And I'm not saying that that's a wrong thing to do, but the world has its way of thinking and our thinking should be different. It should be governed.
By the power of the Spirit of God, that sentence.
It's not a fair competition, is it? You remember what the world is. We have the establishment of the world in pain today. Don't wait. And what is it? Genesis 4, if I remember right. Remember, he went out of the presence of the Lord. He refused the sacrifice the Lord offered, and he named the city after his son. And he began to establish this world system we're speaking about. And we learn more about this world system that Satan is its God and its Prince.
So let's remember that that's this world we're speaking about. It's a world in which Satan is the God of the Prince. We have a number of Sunday school children that come in our little meeting in Spokane and, and some time ago I spoke to him about Satan. On the one hand, what he is the character of Satan, the character of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's not a fair competition at all. For some reason our minds get clouded to think it is. But what is Satan really?
And in the five or 10 minutes we had there after Sunday school, but we have I explained what Satan is. We turn to John 10. In a few chapters back, we noticed 3 characteristics of Satan.
First of all, he's a liar and the father of it. Well, that's he's the God and Prince of this world. Do we want to follow somebody who's a liar and the father of it? Second of all, he's a, he's a thief. Well, he robs us of what God wants for us. Do we want to follow somebody who's a thief who wants to rob us of all blessing? And thirdly, he's a murderer. He wants to murder us morally.
Eddie wants to murder us physically. That's the God and Prince of this world.
And some months later, I spoke to the children again after Sunday school, and I said, do you remember what Satan is? And they knew right away those three things. He's a liar, he's a thief, he's a murderer. That the world we want to be conformed to, that has Satan as it's God and it's Prince as it's God. He's the head of this world's religion and moral system and as its Princess, head of its political system.
That's this world. It's not a fair competition. What do we learn about the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, that's what we have the Scriptures for. He's light and He's love, and He has an eternal purpose of blessing for us that begins when we're saved and it goes on throughout all eternity. It's not a fair competition, but Satan clouds our minds to think that there's something attractive in this world. But he's a liar, He's a thief, and he's a murderer.
01:10:10
Let's keep that in mind.
I think one of the most striking examples is Mephibosheth. You know he was.
Poor boy, that David had mercy upon him, brought him into a wonderful place of privilege.
When David was fleeing from the usurper, his own son, absolutely on the fibre shift, could not follow him because he was lame on both his feet. So he had to stay in Jerusalem, surrounded by all those that had no love for David. They were glorying in all the merriment of Absalom. David was rejected and Mephibosheth didn't shave. He didn't change his clothes.
Anything wrong with that? No, but he didn't make himself attractive to the world. He didn't appeal to the world that was all around him, that was opposed to David. He was loyal to David and he was waiting for Davids return when all would be set right. And so that's our position. We're waiting for the Lord's return. The world is under Erica's.
Very well presented it under the power of the enemy. Are we going to?
Associate with that.
Will the Lord in his prayer, and John 17 he says.
There in verse 14, I have given them thy word and the world have hated them. You have the word of God. Try to try to try to use that word in public. You'll find out what hero thinks about it. The world that hated them because they are not of the world.
Even as I am not of the world, I pray not that thou should just take them out of the world, that that thou should just keep them from the evil. They are not of the world. Even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth. Thy word is truth. So the word of God has a sanctifying effect upon us. It cleanses us, and that's what God is doing presently and using the Word. Christ loved the church and gave himself forth. That's what he did in the past, but he's washing it, cleansing it.
With the word of God presently so that you and I can walk in the right way. My father years ago when we were boys, made a very helpful comment to us and we have different incidents at school. And he said, you know boys, he said you're different than the boys at the school yard. You're different than they are because you know the Lord Jesus is your Savior. You're different, but that's a good thing.
You should be glad you're not like those boys. They're on the way to a lost eternity. They hate Christ, They don't want anything to do with Christianity. Thank God you're different and that you don't belong to this world. And so I thought that was helpful. It's good that we're different and not that we're oddballs, but that we belong to Christ and that we're like him. We should reflect something in the personal memory of Christ in our walk, even as boys or girls.
Brother Bob Bellman wrote a little pamphlet called To Make a Difference, and it's centered on the Leviticus Chapter 11, where we have the clean and unclean foods and the end of that chapter, it uses that expression to make a difference. We are different, aren't we? We can't be like the Vulture that eats the dead carrion. We don't want to be like that. There's a number of other things we have in that 11Th chapter that show that the Christian is different from the person that lives in the world. And as you said, thank God for that. Why would we want to?
Live in a world that has its head a liar, a thief, and a murderer. But our minds get clouded. It's like that smoke that comes out of the bottomless bit I read about in Revelation. And we think that that's a good thing. It's just like the lie that Satan told to our first mother, to Eve. It's a lie. And that's what it is, isn't it? And we see the wreckage that it leaves behind. These little children I was speaking about, they're not.
We have some, We have children that are raised in Christian homes in our little Sunday school, but the main ones I was speaking about are children that have been brought in from a neighborhood. Everyone is from a dysfunctional home. Satan is a liar, a thief, and a murderer. These aren't Christians and we just hope that these young children can get the blessing the Lord seeks for them. But Satan leads into wreckage and especially he likes to spoil a Christian's testimony, doesn't it?
01:15:17
So that's what we're speaking about here. Here's the secret, recognizing Jesus as Lord, not only a one time thing, which is very important that we come to the end of ourselves at some point and say, Lord Jesus, I don't want to be the center of my life. I belong to you. I've been put in a new position. I have this life of partakers of the divine nature. I have the Spirit of God that indwells me and gives me the power to overcome the power of sin. That's a wonderful thing, isn't it? It's really, it's not a fair competition.
But we need to read the scriptures to to get it straight, don't we?
Mine has to be subject to the Word of God and occupied with it that renewing of the line. And just think of the characters of Satan that you brought out.
The world is reeling today.
Under the ability of Satan to deceive in so many different ways that it's fracturing society around the world and those that see it happening are desperate to hold it together.
Because they see the crumbling of everything around them because of the ability of Satan to.
So easily to see the minds of men, especially in the political arena, they call the, you know, the fake news thing and the ability that Satan has through modern technology to deceive. Believers are getting deceived by those things. They're going on and and clicking on the things that fit their idea of how politics in the world should be. And it just feeds into more and more and more.
And they get deceived by those things. We have to have all our thoughts taken from the word of God, our minds renewed in that way and.
Satan is so clever and his ability in his lives in that way and as Christians have slidden further and further into the theology that is our as our brother Rob brought out.
That the Church is the Kingdom over which Christ is presently.
Reigning in this world through the church, his Kingdom in that way and that our thought is to further his Kingdom in this world. Therefore, our efforts need to be in the political arenas and the social arenas in this world. There are websites and all those things that just feed that line and, and it's deceiving believers everywhere and the consequences, it's being conformed to the world.
Absolutely. And the world's motives and what comes in anger, hatred. What follows anger and hatred? Murder. What do you think of those who you know, abortion is a horrible thing, but to pick up a gun and shoot an abortion? Dr. Where did that come from?
Satan's lies.
He's as our brother brought out a liar, but it goes on to hatred elites to murder it's it's in in the world is going to.
Feel that in such a horrible way in the tribulation that I think some of the things pictured in Revelation.
Are the horrible torments of men's minds and souls under that influence when the light of the Word of God is gone and when believers are not in the scene anymore? It's as in that character of salt and light.
So what a contrast does he have?
Comparing to the end of verse 2.
Prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will God can we can give witness to that. We can give expression to that with our lives if we walk in his fear. I I just like to connect that a little bit and it wasn't really touched on earlier in the meeting, but versus 33 of Chapter 11 down through verse 36.
That was the result of the Apostle Paul looking on the ways of God Israel.
And he could see all the failure of Israel. He could see all their shortcomings.
All the shortcomings of man and yet just how the grace of God completely rose above and brought their blessing.
01:20:02
If we are going to walk and prove the.
What is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God? We'll be able to have that same perspective regarding our lives and regarding the ways of God in our lives. Like to just touch on a few thoughts from those verses.
And I trust it would be an encouragement to our hearts, but it would also touch our conscience. Verse 33. The depth of the riches.
You could have just said the depth or the riches, but the depth of the riches, we're talking about a big pile of the wisdom and knowledge of God. And so not only does God know everything, he knows how to use that knowledge as far as his wisdom. So our lives, we may have different details, different challenges. He knows all about it.
Our lives can get complicated, we can get overwhelmed and difficulties come in. The Lord knows how unsearchable are His judgments. And so as He works in our lives and allows different details in our lives, and Paul obviously is Speaking of this with respect to Israel and the ways of God with Israel. And yet we can apply this to our lives, the judgments of God, what He allows into our lives, the trials, the joys, all He brings in how unsearchable are his judgments, we.
We can't we can't search them all out. He may work in in my life and it affects three other people's lives or thirty other people's lives or someone over here and they affect us. Thomas surgeon Valaris judgments and his ways past finding out he's bigger than we are.
He is so much bigger than we are.
Who hath known the mind of the Lord? And it's so important in the in the challenges that we face in our lives.
Just to let go.
Of our own wisdom, the mind of the Lord, we don't know what he's doing. We know his end purpose, his purpose of blessing. There are times we just we need to let go. We need to submit. Who if genius counselor, how many times in my life and perhaps if you're like me, everyone, everyone is as in water face, answer, face. How many times have we come to the Lord of the solution? Lord, I've got this problem. This is the solution. Who at Venus counselor. Not one of us is wise enough to counsel God. He works in his own ways in each one of our lives.
And as as we can see, if we were to trace in the history of Israel, he works in his own ways. It's so much better than anything that we could come up with.
Who had first given to him?
And it shall be recompense to him. Again, we're not going to give God no one of us. You may be in high school, you may be in middle school, maybe you're in college. You have $20 to your name. And if if you give that to the Lord.
In in various ways or of your time, whatever resources you have, he's not going to remain indebted to you.
Who have first given to him, that shall be recompense to him again.
And as a result, there was that burst of just praise that that worship coming from the heart of the apostle Paul as he as he looked out on the ways of God and the wisdom of God.
And if you and I are going to walk according to the wisdom of God as we reflect on his ways in our lives, as as we see his hand revealed in different ways, there's going to be just that, that overwhelming gratitude, that praise, that worship to Him.
That will flow from our lives and so contrasted to what our brother Eric was sharing with us as far as Satan being a a liar, a thief, a murderer.
Instead, there will be that praise and that that eternal gratitude to the Lord for what he's done.
That you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God and just the desire of my heart and have many hearts here is that each one of us would would let the Lord have his way in our lives and we wouldn't look back at regret, remorse, sorrow, but that would be just that that overflowing gratitude for how the Lord has worked and just for that wisdom of the word God. It's that path that's available for each one.
Could we say #301?
#300.
Power rusted.
Shall we tremble?
Upon your dear.
Our God.
We thank you for this good morning. Have the word of God open and be instructed and the good things you. Thank you that dark forest always the Lord, and say be content with what you have, for I will never leave you or forsake you. So we just thank thee for this time together. Think of the meetings to follow and the address and the continuation of the readings and the gospel message this evening.
01:30:04
That will surely just open up the windows. That heaven knows.
Blessing for us, so we just give thanks and blessed and no the name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Great Outlines of Scripture
Romans 12:3-9
Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
1266.
166.
Strength machine.
High tender mercy still.
Have a brighter way.
Of strength.
And close to us.
Awhile again.
Can we also say #300 and 33130?
4.
On our probably we thank thee for the wondrous in these two Henrys, of being drawn to thy well beloved son through thy life.
None of us will ever come.
To thee on our own, Lord Jesus.
Except that his cross.
We thank thee for this, and then to think.
Lord Jesus said.
We would not only be drawn to thee for salvation.
But to the.
Brought into his eye.
Board members of our body, and I'm sure to see it on earth as I brought forever in heaven. Well might we sing.
Who I want raise the wondrous daughter Who did it suggest?
It could only be.
By thought or God and I love my power and I finished work for Jesus.
We thank that for all these things, and we pray now that as we open my word again.
And read it together that I was to teach us what our Holy Spirit.
And we might have listening hearts and listening ears. They ask, this Lord Jesus and I, worthy and precious name.
Would you say it start at verse 3?
Romans, chapter 12, verse 3.
Romans, chapter 12, verse 3.
For I say, through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
00:10:02
Whereas we have many members in one body and all members have not the same office. So we being many are one body in Christ, and everyone members one of another.
Having gifts, having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophecy according to the proportion of faith or ministry. Let us wait on our ministering or he that teacheth on teaching.
Or he that exhorteth on exhortation, he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity. He that ruleth with diligence, He that showeth mercy with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is good.
Be kindly affectioned 1 to another with brotherly love in honor, preferring one another, not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer, distributing to the necessity of Saints given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you. Bless and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice.
And weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind, one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man, evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath.
Word is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.
Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him. If ye thirst, give him drink, for in so doing thou shalt keep coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Brother Eric was reminding us of the little outline of Romans. So the 1St 8 chapters bring the forest, the teachings of Christianity and then we have the chapter 9/10/11 are really our dispensational in their outlook and their teaching. And then we have this practical truth that stems from it in these next few chapters. And then we didn't mention chapter 16 is really an appendix to the book and is a letter of commendation.
And perhaps just a review of those in that 16th chapter, a little picture of the judgment seat of Christ and those that distinguish themselves particularly.
In the at the beginning of the church period and what God saw and in their lives and he just presents a little bit of a review of those. So now he brings here in chapter 12 These practical instructions.
And the responsibility that we have to live in holiness. And so he says in verse three, that I say through the grace given unto me, that every man among that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly.
According as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith and so.
What we have in Christianity, what's to be characteristic of Christianity, is humility. It's not really what characterized Judaism at all. They had.
It was a religion filled with pride and the exaltation of man. And that's really what happens when we take up the law and take up things from a legal perspective. Then we start to think that we're better than other people and so on. And so they had a real hierarchy, you might say in Judaism, but Christianity is not to be.
That way, as individuals, we are to consider ourselves as those that are disciples of the Lord.
And in humility to walk with him. And we are to be characterized by humility. And so even the apostle Paul was characterized by humility. He was a model. Perhaps he might save humility among his brethren.
00:15:00
Any service which lifts us up in pride is probably not the service of the Lord.
The service of the Lord will always humble us and.
Lead us to take the low place.
In self judgment.
Yeah, we sometimes use terms that maybe we don't all understand. For instance, we talk about spiritual things, we talk about moral things.
And sometimes the question is asked, what's the difference between spiritual things and moral things? And I believe, as I understand it, spiritual things have to do with my relationship to God.
Obviously that's most important. We're made-up of man as a tripartite being spirit, soul and body.
So spiritual things have to do with my relationship with the Lord, and that's primary, as you were pointing out earlier, Rob, the hall always brings out the spiritual 1St and then the moral is a result of the spiritual principle. And that's so important that sometimes been said, good doctrine leads to good practice. Well then moral, we often use the word moral. And what do we mean by that? Well, I believe moral has to do with our relationship with other men.
So that's what we have starting with verse three, don't we? We've had spiritual things previously.
Now our right relationship with God leads to a right relationship with men. That's always God's order. And I mentioned that because Christendom is filled today with what's called Christian psychology.
The problem with Christian psychology is it's primarily moral. It's not rooted except very little in the spiritual side of things. It's a mixing up of things. And in fact, if we just look at the language.
Christian Psychology.
It's been pointed out a noun is stronger than than an adjective.
Psychology is stronger than Christian. Christian psychology, frankly, is based first of all on psychology, and then it's Christianized. The noun is stronger than the adjective that, that that modifies the noun. And so we have to be somewhat careful, don't we? Because if we start with just the moral side of things, we're told how to have a good, be a good husband and have a good family and all these things.
But it may be mixed up with wrong spiritual principles. So Paul always gives us the proper spiritual principles first, and then the right moral principles flow from that. I think that's so important to label that.
Chapter Brown used to say that we had to believe right to be able to walk right. We used to use that term frequently. We need to believe right in order to be able to walk right now. And so that's why all I believe in a really according to the divine wisdom who gives the instructions 1St and then he gives the practical expression of it in our lives.
There's always a danger of us imposing our thoughts on Scripture and drawing out certain verses that support what we think is right. But that's the wrong way to approach Scripture, isn't it? The proper way is to read what God says, and then based on what God says, then he gives us the following moral principles. That's God's order. That's the order throughout Scripture. And we can be so thankful, but all these ideas come at us how to do this, how to do that, but.
The divorce rate among evangelical Christians is just as high as the divorce rate among the world. Why is that? Well, Christian psychology as such doesn't work. There has to be the spiritual foundation.
That's what's going to be our true motivation and that's what's going to that. That's what's going to truly sanctify us and ultimately satisfy us with the portion we have in Christ.
In that regard.
The verse is often.
Looked at an infusions Chapter five of their husbands and wives.
And there's a state brother Eric.
There are many so-called Christian books written on.
How to have a good marriage?
But the key is in verse 25 of Ephesians 5.
Husbands, love your wives, but what's the rest of the verse? The rest of the verse says even as Christ also loved the church and gave themselves.
00:20:10
That's a pretty.
And that's a pretty.
Deep truth there.
Some of us husbands.
Had to measure up to that standard. We would all fail.
But that's that's what the objective is, is to be focused on the fact that.
I did himself for and if we have a, somebody already said today it may have been the address.
When we have a war between Jesus Christ as Lord of our life, everything else in our life is going to fall into place.
Relationships or parent children in assembly.
Out of the war of our electric.
I read. Since I read. I kind of skimmed a couple of times.
When we've been in a Christian bookstore.
Not too many of them here in Canada, but this was in the States.
You pick up a book and and.
And written by a believer and all kinds of good advice on that. But when it comes through there not much mention of the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
His name doesn't appear very often.
Well, grace is mentioned here, isn't it? It's going to require grace to go on in humility.
And it's something that is given to us.
Grace given unto me. And so the apostle Paul, even perhaps the one that was the focus of the energy of the Spirit of God.
In connection with the teaching of Christianity and the bringing of the truth, all of the revelations that he had, and so on, he goes over those things in the his Second Epistle to the Corinthians.
He was given a thorn in the flesh, but it might not be vaulted, and so he walked in humility. So it was according to the grace that was given to him. And so grace permits us to walk in this scene.
Into perhaps walk in the shadow of the Lord. You might say it's Matthew. Chapter 11 brings before us the principles by which the Lord was going to lead out some of the children of Israel, some.
And bring them into blessing. And it was they were going to follow him, not as one who was manifesting the glory and the power of the Kingdom, that he was going to lead them out to meekness and loneliness apart.
President Matthew 11, verse 28 Come unto me, all labor and heavy laden, I will give you rest. So they were burdened under the law, and they couldn't escape the law and the consequences of the law.
They needed to come to Christ. And so he calls them out of Judaism. He says, take my yoke upon you as an individual, the Lord Jesus himself, and learn of me. For I am meek and lonely and hurt. You shall find rest under your souls, for my yoke is easy. My burden is like, so Christianity doesn't impose a set of rules upon believers. Not a set of rules, not a new set of rules, a new guideline, so on. No, it's a person's person of Christ.
And to walk in that path will require grace, and to walk in humility.
Will require grace from the Lord, and He is capable of giving us the grace to walk in humility, not to exalt ourselves, but to exalt Him.
The law, generally speaking, was addressed to unregenerate men, wasn't I know there was few that were born again. We know that. But as a rule, it was addressed to all the Israelites and it told them what they should be, but they didn't have the new nature, didn't have the power to be what they should be. But in Christianity we have many commandments. Look at the Scriptures and you'll see there are many commandments in the New Testament. Why? Why is that? Some people say, oh, that's legality. No, it's not legality. The difference is.
That the commandments and the moral principles are really a similar thing in the New Testament are given because they're the natural expression of the new nature under the direction of the Spirit God. So there's a vast difference, isn't there? It's not what we should be, but it's what we are. Now, by God's grace, we can walk in that newness of life.
00:25:22
This really comes in the Spears we had in the first meeting of service especially.
And so those principles apply.
In our service for God, and so humility in that service for God is not to think beyond what we should think.
We should not, in that service, go beyond.
The ability and the sphere of service that God has given us.
Or we're going to cause trouble and thinking more of ourselves than we should can lead us to get outside the sphere where God has given us to serve. We don't glorify God anymore and can't glorify Him anymore than filling the place He's given us.
Whether in creation or whether in service.
That's where we can glorify him the most, just to fill the place he's given us and not go beyond it.
Then there's the other side too. With thirsty, there's the quenching of the Spirit. What's What does that mean?
Well, that would be to the spirit might be leading us in in service and then we say, no, I'm not going to go that far. I don't, I'm afraid or whatever it might be that hinders me.
Be the opposite, wouldn't it? Yeah. So there's both sides, isn't it?
I wonder if it would help to look at the seasons chapter 4 because it tells us there in Ephesians 4.
Verse 7.
Unto everyone of us is given grace, according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he says, when he has ended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
And so he gave gifts of the man, he gave gifts into the church, he says.
In verse 11, he gave some apostles, he gave some prophets, he gave some evangelists and some pastors and teachers.
Perfecting of the Saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, we could go on in that chapter, but there was a purpose that God gave those gifts. Now when you got saved, when you were quickened by the Spirit of God, you were given life. You were dead in your sins.
He gave you, He gave you life, and then He gave you faith to believe. At the same time He gave you the gift of faith to believe His word. He spoke to you, believed you, believe that Christ died for you, and then you were sealed with the Spirit of God. And at the time that you were sealed with the Spirit of God, you were given a spiritual gift.
To be used for him, not to be used to exhaust yourself. He gave spiritual gifts and he's given them to the church.
And so you've got a spiritual gift, you have natural gifts as well, but God has given you spiritual gifts and they're to be used for his glory and for the blessing of the Saints for the whole church not And so here they're going to be used in humility. So here's the character of the one that uses that gift.
Is in the spirit of grace, in the spirit of humility. That's how that that gift is the exercise. So he goes on, he says.
We have many members in one body and all members have not the same office, so we have fingers and toes and everything, everybody.
Member has a different function, a different need and fulfills that need if it functions properly. So we being many are one body in Christ and everyone members one of another, having them give differing according to the Greece that is given to us. Whether prophecy let us prophecy according to the proportion of faith and goes on gives instruction.
So.
Marvelous.
That the Lord gives the spiritual gifts, and everyone of us is being given a spiritual gift.
And we're not here in this world to be conformed to this world and to sink our efforts, our time into this scene that's going to fall under the judgment of God very shortly. But we're to be glorifying him and using these spiritual gifts not only to support the Christian testimony in the place where we're at, in the local assembly where we're at, but we're to be using it for the blessing of all of the Saints.
00:30:15
An exercise about a verse in Proverbs 31 with virtuous woman. It says she perceiveth that her merchandise is good.
And in service for God, we need to have a sense that our merchandise is good. We need to have a sense that what He has given us and the abilities given us is profitable for the Saints.
Not just to go on, because I can.
And we need to be careful as brethren, we don't push somebody beyond the sphere and the and the service that God has given them. A brother might be, and again, I'm more thinking of on the brother side of things, but this is brothers and sisters too. A brother might be have a have a gift that functions very profitably in a private sphere, home to home, encouraging the Saints and then gets pushed out more into public ministry.
And he comes along and has a meeting and the Saints just groan. Oh no, you know, because that's he's been pushed beyond this week. Very profitable in the spirit that God has put him in, but gets pushed beyond that or maybe doesn't have a sense of the merchandise, so to speak. If I can apply that verse that he has and goes beyond, he thinks.
This this verse, I think in the new translation it's a little clearer.
Where I say through the grace which is given to me.
Among you, not to have high thoughts above what he should think, not having exactly higher thoughts of himself.
But thinking beyond the level that he's really at and the gift that has been given to him and it's exercised.
I'd like to make another an application.
In this verse 3 before from this verse 3 before we leave it.
And this, you know, we've been speaking about this verse.
I guess you could say applying to the less individually.
But I believe there's a warning for us collectively also.
In second Peter.
There's in verse one, the first chapter of second Peter.
There's a phrase there. Peter addresses it to them that have obtained light. Preface faith with us.
Brother Robert was just Speaking of his faith being a gift from God, and you see that.
In many places, many verses.
By grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves as a gift of God. Asians. But here Peter I speak so then there have obtained like precious faith with us.
And to me that goes along with.
The same thought as at the end of verse three of our chapter.
Peter says that we have obtained like pressure space or received, I believe a new translation says, and at the end of verse three it says God hath dealt to every man or given to every man the measure of faith. Faith is something.
That has been given to every member of the body of Christ.
It's not exclusive.
We cannot use this expression in Peter exclusively for those with whom we have their in solitary as being gathered to the Lord's name. And sometimes I've heard that expression used quite a few times actually.
Implying that it just includes those of us who, by God's grace alone, have been gathered to His name.
And I believe, brethren, that we should be very careful not to.
Put ourselves up as though we are.
At different cost of believers. Better than everybody else, better than every other member in the body of Christ.
00:35:02
I think we need to be very careful and apply this verse three of our chapter to ourselves collectively.
Not to think of ourselves more highly than we are.
Every member of the body of Christ has received that gift of faith.
So I I really feel very strongly that we should not be referring to ourselves as those who those of Lake precious faith.
I just bring that before.
Before us Christians from the Lord.
Think we need to be careful about.
The various.
Areas of activity here.
Gift is as Brother Robert mentioned, it's a spiritual.
Enablement. It's according the talents were according to the ability.
So God gives the gift according to the ability. That's the natural aptitude that a person has. For instance, an evangelist. He needs to have courage.
Someone who is reticent and doesn't want to communicate with others, God's not going to give him the gift of an evangelist.
So.
Possessing the gift is the warrant for using it. And another point is that all gifts are not of a public nature.
There are gifts that.
Are for public.
Representation, but every believer, sisters and brothers.
Have a gift, They're all in the ministry.
They're all laboring brethren. We want to be careful about using that term. We all have a place in the body of Christ, sisters and brothers.
We have a gift, a function in the body.
And then another point that we should be clear about is that the.
Area of priesthood is not the same as the area. Yet now when it comes to exercising our priestly function, it's not a question of gift. There's no such a thing as a gift of prayer or gift of worship or anything like that. That's not a question of gift. That's the area which every believer can.
Can function in it is.
A gift is.
Something that we have received from God, Something that we.
Give in the body of Christ, whereas the priesthood aspect is.
Our our offering of Thanksgiving and praise and prayer to the Lord. It's a different character. Maybe someone can explain it better.
A gift is always in respect of the one body, isn't it?
Whereas priesthood is in respect to the House of God.
That is the Spirit of God and dwells Christendom and we.
Respect his rights, respect his presence. Our behavior is to be consistent with His presence, and priesthood has to do with the prayer and worship.
That's due His presence and also we might add another, and that is the office of the Deacon and the Bishop. Isn't there the elders? That again is not gift, isn't it? Although it almost touches what we have later on here, later in verse 8.
But nonetheless, office and the deacons and the bishops that we have in First Timothy and Titus, that has to do with the House of God as well, doesn't it? So again, it's not a specific gift, it's an exercise and it's a responsibility. And we all should seek to learn what our gift is.
There's a danger of getting outside our gift, very definitely. But what is my gift and.
How can I fill it? I'm a member of the body of Christ and as John mentioned, we all have a gift.
Well, let's exercise that gift because someday we're going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ, aren't we? Not only exercise our gift, but.
00:40:02
The exercise in regards to the House of God, which is priesthood, and the two offices eldership and deaconship, those are exercises rather than gift per SE, I think.
So I might ask the question then, how am I to know what my gift is? My spiritual gift? How do I know?
Where does the Lord lead you?
Remember there was a sister in the, in Columbus where I was raised in Ohio. And, and dear Miss Patrick, I don't know if anybody here knew her, but dear old sister never married. She was a practical nurse. And she said, you know, I, I, I wanted to minister to older people, but the Lord kept directing me to children. And then when I knew her, she was probably 80 by that time, and she taught a Sunday school class on large day. She had a ministry for children at the meeting room on Thursday, I think it was Tuesday or Thursday afternoon.
And she had another ministry for children in her home, in her apartment, I should say. So all, all three. And she said, well, that wasn't really what I wanted to do, but the Lord led me there. And that was certainly your gift, without a doubt.
I like how the chapter starts. Yield your bodies.
Get your body there, so to speak. The Lord will give the gift and He'll show you what to do and yield your body. You know, and so I thought of it like coming down the road and you see, maybe you come across an accident. You're the first one there.
Maybe you don't know any first aid, maybe you don't know anything, but you got a cell phone. So you get there and you call somebody else pulls up and they know a little first aid and they can help the person that's in need and.
Due to the call, here comes an ambulance first responder and they can do a little more and they get into the hospital emergency room can do a little more and so on. And so we each function in our measure.
And it moves things along according to God's purpose and what He's trying to accomplish. You can't go beyond your mentor, but you can take up whatever He puts in front of you.
Yield your body, he'll give the ability.
Before what he puts in front of you.
Mr. Darby said other strange remark. But he said that if there was more devotedness among us, there would be more gift.
But rather.
Thought provoking because we don't normally think of devotedness.
In connection with a gift.
But what he meant, I believe, was.
If we are more devoted to the Lord.
There would be gifts manifested that are latent and they're not being used.
Meaning Christendom. There's a lot of gift outside of those gathered to the Lord's name.
There may be gift among us and it's not being, it's not being used because of my spiritual state. I'm not in the spiritual state to minister. So the gift is not reflected.
Maybe someone has something to add?
I was thinking of the first Peter chapter 4 and Peter speaks of the similar thing in connection with spiritual gift verse 10. He says as every man has received.
To get where I get Even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak of the word over God. If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability with God-given that God and all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom He praised and dominion forever and ever. Amen. And so God has given us not only the gift, but an ability and.
The attitude that we have in the day that we live in and who cares?
Let somebody else do it. Who cares?
You see the accident along the side of the road, Somebody else will stop. I don't need to get involved. I might. I don't want to get involved.
No, Christianity is a very practical thing. Lord showed that He involved himself in every single situation that He came into, and it was for the glory of God.
And so the apostle here says, having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, or the ability we might say.
Differing according to the ability that is given to us, whether prophecy let us prophecy not going to force us according to the proportion of faith.
00:45:04
Or ministry, let us wait on our ministry. Or he that teacheth on teacher, or he that exhorteth on exhortation, he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity, that he that rule it. Or I think leads is the right word there. He that leads with diligence, that he that showeth mercy with cheerfulness.
And so the Spirit of God just gives a sample list, not an all inclusive list, a sample list of how we might exercise gifts.
Gift in the spiritual realm for the blessing of others.
And just for myself if if you pardon the personal little illustration.
I feel if we exercise that gift that God has given us, it'll be a joy to our souls. We'll walk in communion with the Lord. It'll be evidence that we are submitting to what God has done in our lives. Unless this sister was teaching these little ones.
And so it's necessary for us to be able to maintain communion, to be engaged with the Savior and not just pay lip service to what Christianity is, but seek to do something for his glory, for the blessing of his people, just a little something.
Maybe as a young person, maybe something that's just practical in the meeting room or something, but just do something to further the cause of Christ in this world and make it an objective in your life.
I believe this is what the apostle is teaching. Make the spiritual gift. Make those things an objective in your life.
I can mention that I may not be a spiritual leader in any shape or form, but I have a gift of printing.
I've been a printer for 51 years now with BTP were to call up and said we need a printer.
Will they turn me down?
I may have to get a green card.
But what I'm pointing at is.
There can be something that you know as a trade.
Whether you're plumber or whatever, or women as nurses.
But we can use our tree as honoring the Lord and His service. I just want to look at it from that section.
Characteristic of Christianity is fruitfulness, isn't it?
It was never the thought that I could be a Christian and then that's the end of it.
But if I'm a Christian, I should be a fruitful Christian. We had that in Genesis one, didn't we? The grass, the herbs and the trees. God expects us to grow. The sad thing for me, if I've been saved for five years, 10 years, 20 years or more and not a fruitful Christian, what a sad thing. I'm not growing in the Lord.
I don't think of others before myself. Those are all fruit. That's all fruit of Christianity, isn't it? And so service here is a fruit. And if I have no interest in service?
There's something wrong with my Christianity.
That's putting the Lord first, others next, and myself left. So I suppose we could say verses 3 through 5 or are the the right spirit of set of service and then verses 6 through 8 is that there's actually 7 characteristics of service there. If you say they're not, they're not exhaustive, but there's seven different characteristics. We have others mentioned in First Corinthians 12.
Others in Ephesians 4 where it's actually people are the gifts that Ephesians 4 that whereas here it's it's the character.
Remember as far as the the right.
Spirit of service has often been repeated. Have somebody, some person came to Mr. Darby and of course is very impressed with this service and wanted to know how he could serve like him. I don't remember the exact circumstances, but his answer was very simple and telling. He said study this well. The flesh profited nothing.
But that's Christianity, isn't it? Not I, but Christ. That's evidence of Christian growth, but not growing as a Christian. There's something wrong with my Christianity.
And I think oftentimes the gift is a little different for younger people, isn't it?
And the office is we like to see young people. We don't expect a young person to be the leading teacher in the assembly. I don't say that never happened. But as a rule, we don't expect to see that, do we? But evangelization is often said to be a younger person. It takes a lot of energy.
00:50:10
Also office. I should say office, but well, office.
As we mentioned, the House of God is something that's more characteristic of older brethren, isn't it? If I'm to be an elder, I know we have people ride around on their bicycles and they wear suits and ties and they call themselves elder and they're only 21 years old. And I question that. That's not, that's, that's denying the very meaning of the word, isn't it? So elders that take that office and even deacons to a large extent are often those that are a little older, aren't they? And that's appropriate.
Have the experience and the moral weight.
So that it has value in what they do, but as far as priesthood goes.
That's that's a good place for a younger person to start, isn't it?
To pray together and even begin to pray publicly and to give out a hint, maybe ask questions, that's a good place to start, isn't it? But it's not really appropriate for a young person. And I've seen some that have tried to do that. I know of a young person that was just a young teenager, and he went to a large conference and he sat right up in the front row and he wanted to be prominent teaching.
Wasn't long and he was gone. He didn't have any moral weight. And I don't say what he said. Her saying was bad, but didn't have any moral weight, did it? So that's really not appropriate. But what about, what about Crane? What about giving out hints? Those are those have to do with our priesthood, don't they? And that's really, I think the best place for younger people to start. And then as they get more experience and gain their brother's confidence.
The other things come out, don't they and even gift to in a way gift has to do with the body office and priesthood had to do with the House of God. And a gift will develop but it's a little different gift often for younger people than for those that are a little older in the next. There's a nice moral order in that too because.
Especially the thing in the spirit of public ministry.
And.
Priesthood in the assembly in a public way.
In that ministry, I'm telling my brother how to live.
But if I'm telling my brother how to live but I can't pray for him, something was out of order. I'm telling my brother and how to live, but I can't give my opinion of Christ to God. And as a mouthpiece of the assembly, I got things out of order.
I need to be able to pray for my brother before I tell him how to live, and I need to be able to speak on behalf of the assembly well of Christ.
And and and priestly service before I tell my brother how to live.
Yeah, so the spiritual comes before the moral, but of course often there hand in hand of course, but the spiritual exercise comes first and then the moral side follows that. I would just say that I agree, Brother Eric, with the your suggestion that maybe a young person should involve himself in gospel. It's a good work and it says do the work of an evangelist. You may not be an evangelist like some are evangelist, but.
Do that work?
And the Lord will bless you in it. And it's a practical thing. You'll forgive me for giving a little illustration, but Brother Gordon Hale, when he was 16 years old, he wanted to do a little work for the Lord. So he bought a house to have hobby classes in and have the gospel outreach in the city of Ottawa. He bought a house at 16 years old.
His brother was so impressed that brother Charles, he said, oh, I'd like that house. I'd like to do a gospel work too, and won't you tell me how it's? So Gordon sold him the house and so Brother Charles had a gospel working one part of the city and then Gordon went and bought another house.
16 years old.
So did God use that man later on?
May God give us the desire to use our youth and the very best of our days for Him not to fritter those days away in this world.
Use the gift that you've got, the spiritual gift that he's given, and seek grace to use it for himself. He will use it. He'll magnify it.
Is that following the Lord, Purpose apart? Amen.
I think we have.
Prophecy. We might make a few remarks because.
Prophecy. We're usually thinking of foretelling some future event, but that's not the sense in which the word prophecy is used. Here you look at First Corinthians chapter.
00:55:11
14.
An important verse there.
In that connection 3.
Either prophesied speaketh unto men to edification.
And exhortation and comfort. So we have those three areas.
In public ministry and prophecy in the New Testament sense of the word.
It's ministering, first of all. It should be for profit.
If my ministry is not-for-profit in the assembly.
The kindest thing they can do is to tell me to be quiet because I'm wasting my time in other people's but prophecy?
Is for edification building up.
Exhortation stirring up and comfort binding up. This is what should characterize public ministry.
And I think the keynote First Corinthians 14 probably have noticed it is profit. Is the ministry profitable?
In the assembly. If not, the brethren should tell me.
So and I should cease, cease from that that aspect.
Is that right, Eric? Yeah. So would you say, John, that as you mentioned, the prophet in the Old Testament particularly was a foreteller in many respects, wasn't he, but also a fourth teller?
He told forth the mind of God. That's not necessarily telling forth the future events, is it? But it's ministering what God would have us minister to particular time. And that requires communion, doesn't it? That's wouldn't it? Yeah.
You know, I've heard of the center across there's one who delivers a message from the Lord for a specific time to on a specific occasion to that group of people.
You know.
Tomorrow afternoon there'll be what we refer to as an open meeting or for the ministry of God's Word, and we trust that.
I'm not sure the better here in Hammer Bay Press, but the messages that are given will be.
What the Lord wants us to hear right now.
On this weekend of October 2019.
For those of us who are here, that's a profit, delivering a message from the Lord.
I've noticed I've been.
Noticing here as we've been talking about.
Uh, public ministry or what do I say, audible ministry, audible gifts. So when we look at this list.
Here in going back to round 12 having gifts different differing according to the grace that is given to us verse 6.
So then we talked about prophecy.
Ministry and verse 7.
Teaching in verse 7.
Exhorting in verse 8.
Those would be I would take it the the the Audible gift program.
Gifts of speaking.
In various ways, but then you go on to.
The middle of first day either give us.
And either rules we've talked about, we've spoken about.
Offices, those who are exercised in local assembly to take responsibility that needs to be taken.
And then those that show mercy. And then I would suggest that even going on with in verse 9.
Speaking about love.
And being kindly affection 1 to another.
Brotherly love.
And so on. So there are many gifts that the Lord had given to to us, and these can be especially given to sisters as well, who who would not be speaking publicly in the assembly.
Gifts that are not audible gifts they might not even be noticed by by others in the assembly. But I can think of a lot of people in my experience that have shown love and giving of their time and.
They don't. You don't hear from them in the assembly.
01:00:02
But they're doing a whole lot of other work.
Work and they have a gift.
Of speaking to perhaps an older person in the assembly who's discouraged or not well going and visiting them and all of these, that type of thing.
Those are gifts equally.
In my mind, equally as important as as gifts that we hear.
And it's an opportunity for for those who may not be up to standing up in front of a meeting and speaking, but there is a lot of encouraging to do.
In a in a local assembly without getting up and speaking in front of the crowd.
Gifts are gender neutral, aren't they? Gifts are not just for men, but they're for women as well. Absolutely.
In heaven there won't be any difference between the genders. Now there is, and the Lord has asked us to fill the place He's given to us. But gifts are given to every believer, both male and female. Let's not forget that.
It's interesting too, that in the book of the Acts, those gifts were exercised in the homes, and you'll see different experiences, different stories in the life of the apostle Paul particularly. But even Aquila and Priscilla, they took Apollos under them.
Expounded the way of God more perfectly unto him. And so I take it that Aquila took the lead there and there was a little bit of teaching, and he only knew John's baptism, so he needed a little more teaching. That's prophesying. It's a part of prophesying.
He that edifieth. Then there was exhortation that was required in the home. The apostle Paul, I think it's.
After 20 he says of the book of the Acts, Acts 2020. I kept back nothing that was profitable on you, but have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house. So in the homes. Let's use our homes to further the cause of Christ and this word prophecy really is our brother John mentioned has a broad application. It has teaching like they taught Apollo's and.
The stirring up of the Saints.
Exhortation and the comfort of the Saints. You might go to someone's house and and take up the scriptures and comfort them. So even the Apostle Paul when he takes up the the subject of head coverings, he speaks of he that prophecies or praise. It means in any one of those spiritual activities, the sister shows that she represents the church.
In submission to Christ.
And she represents, she covers her head when there's spiritual activity and Christ gets the glory, She covers the natural glory of the woman. That's the natural glory of the man. And when this we're engaged in spiritual activity, the woman has her head covered and she's in submission. So we have Ephesians chapter 5, verse 2425. They're connected.
Even if God the even as Christ as even as the church is subject under Christ and so prophesying. It has a broad spectrum and it's not only in the assembly, it's in the home. There could be other places. And then when he speaks of the ministry of service. So as a brother Robert mentioned it could be service that some measure of spiritual service.
For the Lord.
That teacheth. It could be in the assembly, but it could be that there's someone that has a gift that teaching, Sunday school teaching.
In the home, teaching young people, whatever it might be, let's use those gifts. And so he he goes over those things and as I say, they're not, it's not at all inclusive list, but he gives examples of those things that he gives.
Don't you think there's a place for development of gift too?
I don't know. We have to answer your question. We know what our gift is.
What is in thine hand?
Use what the Lord has given to us.
And they get the development manifest. Is that right?
Somebody else in our detention diversity where?
Where Paul when he was converted out. So we were about to stop having a good team and I believe if we asked for a word that you will show us.
01:05:09
I think it's nice in connection with equivalent Priscilla too. When it was a question of service or teaching other men, Aquila's mentioned first. He was the man wasn't English. But when it's a question of devotedness, Priscilla's mentioned first. It appears she was probably the more devoted to the 2. And so that's a beautiful thing, and that's not uncommon.
The woman, the sister has a very special place. I remember Albert Hale.
Speaking about this, not hopefully to get too far off the subject, but head covering is not a popular subject, is it? And it's the spies, not only in the world, but in the camp, as we all know. But I remember Brother Albert Hayes speaking about First Corinthians 10, because First Corinthians 10, the second-half, we have the Lord's Table.
And 1St Corinthians 11, the second-half, we have the Lord's Supper. But what is in between those two? It almost seems like like something out of place, but it's head covering. Why is that? And Albert made it very plain, he said, because to bring the Lord's Table and the Lord's Supper together requires subjection, not just for the sisters, but there's the primary example requires objection for all of us. We're told that.
In other places, aren't we?
But the angels see that, and they're so thankful to see that. But Satan has mixed things all up. Genders are all mixed up. The woman's place is all mixed up. The men's place is all mixed up. That's just the world. Let's follow the scripture. We're going to get a reward based on following the Scriptures, not what the world does.
I've noticed that when the head coverings are given up, it's public evidence that Paul's ministry is being given up. Paul's doctrine is being given up, it's public evidence.
You know, you know, there's another thing that in connection with service and knowing what our gift is.
I'm Brother John's an evangelist and he's very joyful when he's giving out gospel tracts. I've seen Brother John and Sister Eleanor in action and they're very happy doing what they're doing. God gives a gift, and if we exercise, that gift gives us great joy.
And we understand what it is to enjoy and pleasurably do our work. But if if someone is.
Not given the particular gift and tries to force himself into that.
Service, Why? It's not going to be a pleasure. There's going to be, but it's going to be a horse thing. I love going to gospel meetings where evangelists are are.
How should I put applying your trade, exercising your gift? They're often storytellers, aren't they? They can spin stories and they can I love with listening to a brother like Dave Whitaker or brother John. They they give these lovely illustrations and they can spin a story. May not be teachers, or rather Dave Whitaker's not a teacher, but it's love listening to his. You just see the children sitting on the edge of the chairs and those of us that are older too, because they can spin these stories.
That just beautifully illustrate the fundamental truths.
And I just marvel at that because a teacher is more orderly in his thinking, isn't it? He has to try to get outlines and put things in perspective and and rightly divide the word of truth. That's a very different gift from, I don't say there's not crossover. Or rather, Gordon and Albert Hayes certainly were crossovers. They could both preach the wonderful gospel and they also were very helpful teachers. But it's more more rare, isn't it?
Rule. A teacher is more orderly in his thinking, and an evangelist seems to be more more subjective, can I say? And more courageous, as her brother John mentioned. And I I say I just love listening to an evangelist.
That we've known over the years and listen to them tell these stories and it just, it's just a joy to hear that.
There's a measure of faith in verse three, and then there is the proportion of faith in verse 6.
The measure of faith is more in connection with the ability that God gives us in service and the faith to go with that.
The proportion of faith, and it seems especially mentioned with the gift of prophecy and its exercise is more.
That I should be in the good of what I'm saying personally.
01:10:07
And walking in there, if I give out truth beyond where I'm really walking, then my heart's going to get cold and indifferent to the things that I'm giving out.
And there's a real danger there for us and that so I think when it comes to prophecy in that line of things, he brings out the proportion of faith. Don't I think we always know a lot more than what we're walking in. And so we have to be careful that we don't minister beyond what we're walking in. It's it's very easy to do the rest of them. It says wait on.
And I think that means if the Lord showed you this is what he's giving you to do, focus on it. Focus on it.
You put your attention on that, you know that's that's what he's giving you then and go focus on that and do that, develop it.
And then point out one other thing. I think when we get to the end of verse eight, we transition.
He speaks of gifts differing. When it comes to gift, everyone is different.
When it comes to Christian character displayed in our life and service were all the same.
And so I think you'd get a transition into those things in which we're all to be the same.
And we leave those things in which were each different.
Just a word of encouragement and then a word of warning. The question was asked and if the question was well answered, as far as how do we know what our gift is?
But just to reiterate one of the answers, when I was younger, I was terrified.
That maybe the Lord was going to give me a gift and I wouldn't like doing it. And just, you know, I'd be the guy standing up front and just, boy, this is terrible. This is awful. Like, Get Me Out of here. And I am very much afraid of that. And so perhaps many, many here smile and know better, but I didn't. And what was a real help to me?
Was when one explained that there will be enjoyment in the exercise of that gift.
We understand that naturally, if you're talented in mathematics, it's not going to be a chore to, to do that subject. When I was in, in high school, I had the opportunity of observing one that was, was talented in mathematics. And so there was the valedictorian in the calculus class and all these, all these smart people. And there was one that was not when you would think naturally very brilliant. And they just floated through the class without hardly trying. That's because they had a gift in that and they enjoyed it in the process.
So in spiritual gift it's no different. We're going to enjoy the exercise of it. But with that, the warning gift is not godliness. And so we had right at the end of Romans chapter 12 here, the need for that devotedness to Christ.
And if that is not coupled with a gift?
It'll be devastating and I'll give a natural example, the example of the body here that's given a natural illustration that we can understand. So give a natural example of that. My teeth, they do a wonderful job of eating food. So you stick it in your mouth, you chew it up and it works wonderful. But if if my teeth start going on my fingers.
I'm going to have a very serious problem and so my jaw is very gifted strongest strongest muscle or strongest bone in the body works very well for the task which is being suited to. But if it if it goes rogue and start starts working on other things, it's going to be devastating.
And so perhaps the Lord has given a gift, perhaps there's a teacher. But if that teacher is teaching error, it's devastating to the body of Christ.
And so, yes, it's important to know what our gift is, but there needs to be that devotedness.
And that submission to the will of God in the exercise of that gift.
I think 294.
Somebody knows that's suitable?
Food for that to start it 294.
On the.
Our loving God, my Father, he asked for my blessing on this time that we've had this afternoon.
We desire that there would be that which would encourage our hearts, but to that which would.
Would exercise our heart convict our conscience?
Help us to walk.
In my fear, just in a in a way pleasing to our Savior, the Lord Jesus.
So we thank you for this time.
That we would continue to ponder these things that would be in effect in our in our lives and not like those that would behold our image in a in a glass and then go away and forget what matter of people we are just ask about help our Father. So we commit this time to the the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen.
What Shall I Do?
Gospel—Rick Shower
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Welcome all of you to the Gospel meeting tonight. I'm going to start with a little science.
Everyone of you came into this room tonight.
And there's something that's the same about every single one of you, and I mean every single one of you, whether it's Joanna.
And right, I hope I got that right, Joanna back there in the arms of her father, or it's the oldest one here in the room.
Which one that is, I'm not going to try. At least I'm not first, maybe second. There's something the same about every one of us.
Physically.
And we know we're all born sinners. That's not what I'm talking.
I'm talking about something in your head.
It's called a stirrup.
I really know what a stirrup is.
Well, if you've been around in the West, you know the stirrup is that kind of flat with a rounded thing on it. That's a hook to a saddle, and it's what you put your foot in and they get up on the saddle.
Called a stirrup.
Well, everyone of you have a stir.
Head.
And it's one of the three bones in your inner ear.
Anvils another one.
And the stirrup, they're all connected together. Now what's unique about that is.
It's the same size and everyone of us.
Doesn't change in your life.
So when Joanna was born.
It's the same size in her head as it is in the oldest one here. No change.
Why do you suppose God would make the bones in your ear to never change?
Does no matter how old you are or how young you are, he wants you to hear.
Gospel The good news that Jesus Christ died for sinners.
And so He made your ear to hear. How many times in Scripture do we get that little expression, He that hath, and here one.
Let him hear.
And so.
That's one thing that's the same about all of you tonight. You all have an ear to hear, to hear the gospel. The second thing is.
You're all.
Going to be different.
When you go out the door.
They're all going to be different when you go out the door.
Because we've heard the gospel again, and you are responsible.
From youngest understanding to old. And you are responsible to God for what you hear concerning the gospel. I'm going to speak a little to the young people for just a second.
Because you know.
It's pretty easy as an effective young person to, as the expression is, pull the wool over your brethren. In other words, you can pass amongst us and give everybody to think that you are safe.
What does Scripture say?
God looketh on the.
So he knows.
Where your heart is.
If you can understand what I'm saying, he's looking on your heart tonight and knows whether or not you are saved.
I know the Lord Jesus personally as your Savior.
Now that being said, we're going to sing #21.
Decide for Christ. Today I'm going to talk about a question, right?
The question all of us have had in our life at some time.
00:05:00
And in some ways, it's probably the most important question.
Tonight that you're going to have the answer to. Before I talk about that, let's sing #21 brother, raise the tune.
No.
That's the Lord's help.
Our God and our fathers, we look to thee tonight. We just asked for the spirits, liberty, working the hearts of each one sitting in these chairs tonight, we're thankful that thou knowest the heart of each one. Thou knowest if there's one here tonight still apart from the Lord Jesus do not know the Savior. Do not love.
We pray that Thy Spirit would be able to work in that heart. We pray that there might be something said that the Spirit could use.
It bends that heart that they have a need for the Lord Jesus as their Savior. And so we look to thee, for I help as we open thy word. And we ask this in the name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
At 11:00 at night.
I told my students.
You have my home phone number. You have my cell phone number.
You have no reason not to have your homework done.
Because I said if you don't understand the assignment when you start on it at night.
I said you call me.
And so sometimes that happen.
As I said, it's too late in the morning.
Try to come in and get help with the assignment if you've forgotten how to do it. I said you call me, we'll take care of it. I said the only night not to call me is on Wednesday night, because I said that's prayer meeting and reading. I said I won't answer the phone.
11:00 at night the phone rings.
Voice on the other end was one of my students.
00:10:02
And they said.
Mr. Schauer, what shall I do?
What's the question?
What shall I do? Had nothing to do with homework. Had to do with a drunken father.
What shall I do?
I think everyone of them, even the younger one, I've been in a situation in which that question is arisen in their life. What should I do?
And usually when it's that kind of a question, what shall I do? You know, shall is the imperative form of the verb.
Got to have what Shelly but not what will I do? What shall I do?
What shall I do? He said.
And so I talked to him.
Yeah, I need.
He didn't know where else to turn. Get an answer. That's the question I'm going to look at tonight. What shall I do?
So if you'll open your Bibles to Luke chapter 12, that's the first one, There's several. What shall I do?
And whether we're young or old, often that What shall I do?
We're admitting that we don't have an answer in ourselves. We're really saying I need help.
And so we take counsel from someplace. I want to read in Luke chapter 12, beginning with the 16th verse.
And he spoke a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully.
And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do?
Because I have no room to bestow my fruits.
And he said this will I do.
I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thy knees, eat, drink, and be merry.
But God said unto him.
Oh.
This night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then whose shall those things be which thou hast?
Provided.
What shall I do? He said.
We had a plan.
You know the world encourages you to look within yourself for your answers.
That's the world.
Scripture says, Look unto me, Lord Jesus.
And I'll give you the answers. Look unto me and be saved.
Now this rich man here had an idea. He's going to pull down his bar like to suggest this thought in connection with these barns. It says there in his in this parable.
That a certain rich man was already rich.
And I would suggest I don't want to go beyond scripture here, but I would suggest maybe he inherited it.
He was already a rich man, he had and they were full, and so he was going to take that what she inherited and tear it down and fill it with other things. Now this is the application I'd like to make. I see a lot of young people tearing down barns.
You're tearing down that which was your inheritance from your parents.
All those things they said that you didn't like, all those things they asked you to do.
When you had the opportunity and you get the opportunity, what are you going to do?
What shall I do?
You want to tear them down?
I'm going to get rid of all those things, those old ways, those ideas that my parents had.
Would have passed along to you.
If you don't think.
That they're needful even though they were completely full.
It couldn't have been any foreign, yet there was that what you were going to get rid of?
With what?
More stuff.
And so he's going to tear down these barns and build bigger.
00:15:02
Bigger barns.
We had an idea about the way he thought things should go.
Did he inquire of God?
No.
Inquired of himself.
If you know that, you're a Sinner.
Some people tell you, well, you don't have to worry about that.
You know, that's just kind of a, an imaginary thing in your mind. You know, everything will be all right if you do the right things. Long as you do the right things, go all the way out. In the end, you're good, it'll outweigh your bad, and things will be OK for you.
I've heard that said.
That's not true.
We sang in our little song to decide for Christ today.
Helpless, guilty, dead and blind.
The way we are as sinners. And what's the following judgment?
Judgment.
Oh, God is a God of love. Yes, he is.
He's a God of patient.
There is also a God of judgment.
And sometimes we in the gospel, we want to tell all about how God is love there. You know, there's a lot of people in this world that need a sense of love.
God created us in such a way that one of the most important things in our lives is to have our affections fulfilled.
Have our affections fulfilled? The only one that can fulfill our deepest, most desirable affections is the Lord Jesus.
Around world never fit in a heart-shaped heart.
And so when we have that desire for those affections to be fulfilled, we sometimes look elsewhere.
So this rich man is going to pull down the barns.
And what is he going to do? He's going to bestow all my fruit and my goods, and I'm going to say to my soul.
Everything's OK.
That Satan, we had that this morning.
What were the three characteristics of Satan?
He's going to deceive you.
He's going to lie to you.
In the end, it's going to be death.
And that's exactly what is God's comment on that. What did he say to the fool, verse 20? But God said unto him.
1000 italics, you know, just means they put it in there to make it read better, but it says.
Eat, drink, and be merry.
Knife, you put it this way.
Just do it.
That was Nike's slogan. Just do it.
Whatever you want, just do it.
Satisfy your lust.
Whatever form they might take.
That's the world. That's Satan.
Why? Because those things will all drive you away from Christ.
And if you're here tonight as a Sinner, it's going to drive you away from the thought of needing a Savior.
You want to avoid judgment.
I'm going to speak about judgment later.
But it's real.
And we are on the very cuspid edge of the Day of Grace being closed forever.
Or ever.
There'll never be such an opportunity as you and I have here tonight.
Who accept Christ as our Savior and to be brought into the fullness all that God has for us, not just for the year 2019, but.
But for all eternity.
I don't know about you, but I have a little trouble wrapping my head around the word eternity. But it's a long time, A lot longer than I've lived on this earth or ever hope to live on this earth. That's just a bubble in time compared to eternity. But that's what God has for you.
But he won't force it on you.
Knowing John 4 tells us the Father want to worshippers.
Not robots.
00:20:01
The angels worshipping.
They don't worship Him like you and I do.
The angels aren't brought into the closeness and the joy and the things that we have as humans saved by the grace of God, by the love of God being brought into such a thing. And so the question is, what shall I do?
What shall?
Now that can be said in a little different tomb, and we want to be careful because we could say it. What shall I do?
Keep the eye out of it.
About what you're going to do. It's not a matter of work, it's not a different things. It's all about Christ and what He is going to do for you. You don't have anything to offer.
Accept your sins.
And he'll gladly take those sins, wash them away in his precious blood.
And make you fit for an eternity in heaven.
Or if you don't want it.
Thou fool.
You'll spend your eternity in hell.
Not created for you. Scripture tells us it was created for the devil and his angels.
For you.
But you can choose to go there.
I'll look at another portion.
Mark.
Hospital of Mark.
Another What shall I do?
Mark, Chapter 10.
Now the first one was a parable, in other words.
He didn't really have someone specific in mind when he gave the parable, he was just using a rich man. But now this gets a little closer to home.
In the parable of a rich man, you know that's a real picture of the world.
They want bigger and better things and more power and more money and more of everything.
That's a picture of the world.
The world is going to be called into question about what they've done.
But now we have a specific example of a specific person. This is right down to the individual. And so in verse 17 of Mark chapter 10.
And when he was gone forth into the way, there came running, came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good master.
What shall I do?
That I may inherit eternal life.
And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, and that is God.
Thou knowest the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Do not kill, do not steal, Do not bear false witness, defraud not honor thy father and mother.
And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these things I have observed from my youth. Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him.
Loves everyone and you in this room tonight.
It allows you with a love that's greater than a spouse if you're married.
Greater than a parent you're a child of.
Still.
Greater than any love.
It can be thought about in this world. We love that man.
He loved the Sinner.
He hates.
With sin.
Loves the center, but he hates the.
And sin cannot be in his presence.
He loved him.
Looked on him and loved him.
And said unto him, One thing thou.
Here's a man that's in earnest, he says. What shall I do?
Inherit internal life.
He was interested in spiritual things, not in the world.
Wanted to know about spiritual thing he wanted to know.
What can I do to have you turn the wall? It was in real earnestness. Now, the good thing about this young man is, who was he asking?
00:25:04
The one who was capable of giving him that eternal life that he wanted. And it says that the Lord loved it.
And then it says one thing, thou lackest there was a hindrance.
Satan knows the hindrance, the specific, every single one of us in this room.
He knows what he can use to hinder you. He knows what he can use to hinder me.
And so.
The Lord tells him, well, there's there's one thing that's lacking here. Now there were a lot of things that were good about this man. He had an exercise conscience.
He says the Lord told him about the the different things to do and he says in verse 20, Master, all these things I observed from my youth that there was something lacking.
Lord tried to point it out to him, but he missed the first innuendo that the Lord gave him. Let's back up and pick it up in verse 18. Why call us thou me good?
There is none good but one, and that is God.
In other words, he was saying to him, if you don't believe.
If you if you don't believe that I am God.
And I'm not good.
You say that again.
If I am not God?
I'm not good.
Because there's only, he says. There's only one that's good, and that's God.
The young man just saw him as maybe a morally good person, but not good in the sense of God is perfect, but in the sense it's perfect. And so he says there's one thing that I'll ask everything that this man said that he had done was.
Outward could be observed by those around him and.
As I mentioned earlier.
Pretty easy to fool the people around you by doing all the things right.
That they see us do.
Yet within our own heart, things are not right.
God looketh upon the heart.
And so he says to him.
It gives him a test. He says to him, Go thy way, so whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
It's like we had earlier today. Is he going to be a Lord of your life?
Might be your savior, but is he going to be Lord of your life? You're going to give up everything for him. That's the thing and so he says to this young man, take up the cross and follow me. Verse 22 Says and he was sad at that same and he had went away 3.
Where he had great possession. You know we don't read, but this young man that God loved.
Never responded rightly to the Lord Jesus.
You ever think that every Sinner in him?
Loved by God.
Every Sinner in hell was loved by God.
He loved.
God so loved this world without exclude anybody.
Does that exclude the guy down the street, the one in the prison? The man who just shot up 14 people in a synagogue?
Oh God, Sola.
Beloved.
But did they love him?
You love him. You recognize.
That you are a Sinner and he is a savior. Savior of God who wants the best for you.
Two men.
One very rich.
Both of them, I guess very rich in that sense because the one that says had many possessions.
Had a decision to make, both of them.
If you're sitting in your sins here tonight, you have a decision to make, too.
There's a verse in.
00:30:04
First Samuel.
Before we move on, First Samuel.
Chapter 2.
And verse three, the last part of the verse, First Samuel chapter 2 and verse 3.
For the Lord is a God of knowledge, by him actions.
Now in both cases these men had a question, What shall I do, And they.
Made an action. They did an action.
God weighed that.
In the first case, man was going to tear down the barns and build bigger ones and so.
God weighs that action, and what does he have to say to him? That cool?
They didn't recognize that all that he had was from God. Young man made an action. He went away.
Three, because he had much possession.
Now, some of you will have to bear with me because I was impressed with two stories not too long ago, and some of you heard these two stories before. They're true stories. We talked about men making the wrong decisions.
I want to talk about two women, two young women.
Both true stories.
The first young lady.
Came from a Christian home.
She had.
Been spoken to by her parents.
And friends, about our soul.
And when she was out of school, out of high school.
She decided that she wanted.
To go a different route than what her parents wanted her to do, what her friends wanted her to do. She wanted to go into the world.
She wanted to become a business person.
And so.
She said to herself, What shall I do?
And she decided on a career.
And she followed that career.
And you know.
She did very well.
She became well known in her field of expertise.
And things seem to be going great naturally speaking for her.
But then she got sick.
She got sick with tuberculosis.
And the medical community tried to.
Make her well.
And all the things that they tried to get rid of the tuberculosis out of her lungs did not work.
Didn't work.
And so she went to see the doctor.
Condition.
And the doctor looked at her and said, young lady.
You have about 3 weeks.
Three weeks.
What would you do tonight?
If you were told tonight or tomorrow, the Lord Terry.
You had three weeks to live.
Would that sober you up a little bit?
The things concerning the gospel are serious.
And your eternal destiny is tied into that.
Or you're going to go hold on. OK, Three weeks, I'm dead. Big deal.
No, you're looking down the barrel of a smoking gun. You're going to get real serious. And if you've been told you only have three weeks to live, you're going to be real serious about where are you going to spend eternity and what is your relationship with God.
Well, this young lady.
Was concerned.
And.
A friend.
Encouraged an evangelist to come and see her.
At this point, the disease, she'd had it for a while, the disease had taken quite a bit out of her and.
And when the evangelist went to see her, she was sitting in a chair. She didn't rise up to greet him.
00:35:08
She just continued to sit in the chair and she apologized for the fact she didn't have enough strength to get us out of the chair to greet the evangelist. He came in.
And she said to the evangelist, she said to him, She said, Sir.
I've lived my life the way I wanted to.
The doctor told me.
This week.
Three weeks to live.
Would God be willing to take me?
Would you be willing to save me?
I've turned my back on him and lived my life for years the way I wanted to.
This is a true story, I'm not making this up.
And the evangelists asked her well.
You believe the Lord Jesus Christ?
The Savior of sinners, she said. Yes, I believe that. But would he have me? I've turned my back on Him. I've given him nothing.
I've done things everything my way.
So the evangelist turned to John chapter 3. Let's turn there to a verse.
John chapter 3 and verse 18. This is the verse he took to.
And he said to her, you believe that Jesus died for you. And she said yes, but.
But would he have me? Would he? Would he accept me after living my life the way I have?
And waiting now to the last moment when I have less than three weeks to live.
Did he save my soul?
It says what is verse 18 say?
And so he read it to her, He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And he said to her, There are two groups of people in this verse.
He said. Do you see the two groups of people?
And she said yes.
There are those that believe on him and there are those who do not believe.
And so the evangelist said to her, well.
You believe on him?
She said, well yes I do.
Then he said.
What does it say about the most that believe on him? What's the rest of it?
And so she looked at her Bible and.
She said.
Either believeth on him is not damn.
He said. What does that mean?
Well, she says.
I'm not going to. I'm not going to go to hell.
Means I'm not going to pass under the judgment, I'm going.
He's going to receive me because I'm not condemned.
He said. What does it say about the other?
And so she read on. He that believeth not is condemned already.
Does he have not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God?
He said. Which group are you in?
She said with tears in her eyes.
I'm in the first.
I'm not condemned.
If he won't condemn me, then he'll have.
And the evangelist said to her.
Yes, he will have you.
You are not condemned.
Evangelists left.
In three weeks to the day he visited with her.
She died.
And her friend went to see her on her deathbed.
She was taking her last breath.
And she was near gone and the friend got up right next to her and said, can you hear me?
There seemed to be a little response from her.
And he said.
00:40:02
Are you ready to go?
She said to him.
Or a friend not condemned.
That's to her, she said.
In their life not.
Another young lady took a similar path.
She was raised in a in a godly home.
And she had often had discussions with her parents and her friends concerning the Salvation.
She didn't think that she was bad enough to be a Sinner.
She didn't need a savior.
And so as time went on and she got out of school, she took up with a.
Group of young people.
Her age approximately I guess, and she lived a pretty.
Rousing Life.
And.
She went on to get a job in the world and let her into other things. Didn't have to do with the way her parents had raised her.
And.
Jindu.
What she should?
Sort of the very morally corrupt life.
And.
She got sick.
She had to come home to her parents. She was not well enough to be able to take care of herself.
She came back to her parents home.
They tried to take care of her, but no matter what the medical field did, didn't bring her any relief, did not seem to alleviate the disease or whatever it was that was wrong with her. It was making her sick.
And so her mother sat with her.
And then when she first came home.
The mother spoke to her concerning her soul.
She had done when she was younger.
And she said.
To her.
She needed a savior.
But she refused. She didn't. She didn't. She didn't think that was necessary.
And as time went on, she got weaker.
And her mother sat with her alongside of her bed.
And I'm sure prayed for continually.
One afternoon.
She was there in bed. Her mother was sitting beside the bed and she was asleep there. So asleep, so it seemed, and the mother was sitting there and all of a sudden her daughter sat up in bed.
And she looked at her mother, and she said mom.
What is Ezekiel 789?
Mother looked at her.
I don't know.
But she said let me get my Bible.
And see what it is. And so her mother, if you have your Bibles, turn to Ezekiel.
Ezekiel, Chapter 7.
So her mother turned to Ezekiel Chapter 7, and she looked down at verse 8.
And I'm going to read them, and you follow along with me, and you think about if it was your daughter.
It asked you to read these verses to her.
What would you be thinking?
She looked down and she saw these two verses.
And then she read them out loud.
To her daughter.
She read. Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee?
And accomplish mine anger upon thee. And I will judge thee according to thy ways. And will recompense thee for all thine abominations. And mine I shall not spare, neither will I have pity. I will recompense thee according to thy ways.
00:45:00
And thine abominations.
That are in the midst of thee, and ye shall know that I am the Lord that.
Smite.
This is a true story.
After she read those verses to her daughter, her daughter fell back against the pill.
Shortly and eternity.
She was an eternity, just a little bit.
What's the difference?
Why did the 1St girl?
Leave and was not condemned. Why was the second one?
Damn.
Proverbs tells us and I don't know if I can quote it.
Exactly. But he that is often reproved and hardeneth his heart shall be suddenly reproved something close to that.
She had had multiple opportunities.
Before she took the pathway after she got sick.
Her heart.
Continued to be hard.
Judgment fell.
In the case of the girl that only had three weeks to live, about 3 weeks.
She recognized that she had to deal with God. She recognized that she needed a savior.
Girl that had seven Ezekiel 789 brought to her in her dream.
And refused every.
Admonition to accept Christ.
They're safe.
What shall I do?
I make the decisions in regards to what I think.
What shall I do?
I only had three, three weeks to live.
What shall I do tonight?
You walk out that door after the gospel to nine years, you're responsible once again if you're unsafe.
God speaketh once, ye twice. Man perceiveth if not.
I want to make this application in closing.
You may be saved tonight.
But have you resisted the Lord as much as one of these young ladies did?
Have you decided what am I going to do? Well, I'm going to do this. I'm going to go down this route. I'm going to do these things. This is the way my life is going to go.
Even though you're safe, you're going to leave Christ out of it.
Like we had one thing to know Christ is your Savior, it's another thing to know Christ as your Lord.
Lord Jesus Christ.
That brings in His Lordship. That means he's the one in charge, not you.
And so who orders your life?
Who tells you the answers when you say What shall I do?
It's the Lord.
It will give you those answers.
Because he'll not leave you.
Or forsake you.
He wants the very best for you in your life. And if you're unsafe tonight?
Aching, as you're saying.
That you might be blessed for all eternity.
And if you know him as your Savior, make him your Lord.
So that you will be blessed even more.
For now, all eternity, let's pray.
Our God and our Father, how we thank Thee.
That thou lovest stuff.
I love this world.
Love the sinners that were in it, hated the sin knew what sin had brought into this world, how it creates the blessed Lord Jesus of thou, what the service of Son. Manifestations of sin repeatedly over and over in the power of it, the power of death. Yet at that cross I took every single sin.
00:50:06
Upon thee, for those that will accept thee as Savior.
And not only redeemed our souls by thy precious blood, but what bring us into the fullness and the joy and the happiness of knowing me of Savior and living a life that would be pleasing to Thee. So we pray for each one in this room. Once again, we are all responsible. Having heard again, the gospel. Having heard.
To that we need to be as our Lord in our life also.
So we pray, but thy Spirit might get blessing for the Lord Jesus from us.
Yeah, let's get tonight, precious.
Sing
Stages of Christian Growth
Talk—Walt Porter
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Well, they told me there may be seven or eight folks here tonight, or young people anyway, but we did much better than that. So thank you for coming.
And trust the Lord will bless the time here at the conference.
I always find myself praying for the conferences because I know there are a lot of things that happen at conferences and we're going to pray in just a minute. Don't let me forget, a lot of relationships are formed at conferences.
A lot of things are said and enjoyed.
At conferences that have effect on us for the rest of our lives.
So I think conferences are very important and I often pray for them. So we trust that you're paying attention as we go through the conference here and have another day tomorrow and some meetings. And we just trust the Lord will bless them to each of our hearts. So let's ask His help for these few minutes.
Our God and Father, we thank Thee for an opportunity to be under the sound of Thy Word. We thank Thee that Thy Word will not return unto Thee void. And we've heard stories of those who have heard the Word all their young life, and have turned away from it at the end. But we count upon Thy promise that Thy word will not return void, but it will accomplish that which doubt us. Please and prosper in a thing where two Thou has sent it.
So as we have a few moments to be in Thy word again tonight before we retire, we ask thy blessing upon it to the needs of each heart here. So we ask this, Give thanks and thy precious name, Lord Jesus, Amen. Amen.
I'd like to turn to Luke chapter 10.
And speak a little bit about appreciating the position that we've been brought into.
We've had a lot of these meetings about the overview of things in Scripture, the Sevens, the Threes, 70, and I know some of these things sound like you're in school maybe, and it's just something you need to memorize and go on with your life.
But these things help us, as the verse was read to us there in First Timothy, to have an outline of sound words.
We need to have an outline. It helps us to fit everything in. I don't know if you all like to do puzzles, but generally speaking I like to go the easy route. So when you dump the box of pieces out, you look through for all the ones with a flat edge on them.
Then you start putting them together because it's a little easier, and pretty soon you have an outline.
There's the framework. Everything fits within this framework. Then you start putting together the house or the car or the horse or the dog or the mountain or whatever it is, and then you fit in all the little pieces. You don't have to have the whole puzzle from right to left all filled in. It doesn't have to work that way.
It's not very effective, but the things that the Lord brings to us that are interesting to us are important to take up because maybe the Lord has them for us just at that moment.
So we need to let the Lord be God and arrange things in our life.
So I want to read in Luke 10 starting with verse 23.
And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see.
Where I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see and have not seen them, and to hear those things which ye hear and have not heard them.
Have you ever considered that there may be Christians around the world where there's such a dearth?
For spiritual understanding that they would, as the expression goes, give anything to know what you know.
To have sat under the sound of the word today like we did.
And to have these things laid out, it's almost unheard of in the Christian world.
Whether you appreciate it or not, whether I appreciate it or not, God has been very good to us.
We don't know how many people in the Old Testament were wondering about these things. What did Abraham know? What did David know?
To some of the prophets it was said, seal up these things until the time of the end. It's not for you to know.
00:05:06
We're at the end of the days. We can look back now through Scripture and see all kinds of things that other people didn't have the privilege of seeing.
And I just want to reinforce that tonight, the place of privilege and blessing that we have.
How many years would you have to go back before you found somebody or found a situation in even North America where people didn't know how to read very well? It's a common thing today. If you don't know how to read, you're a real oddity. But how far back do you have to go before people couldn't read?
And people were very poor. Read about the Dust Bowl and things like that. You can go back when people didn't have money to buy a Bible.
You can have as many of them as you want.
You value them.
How far back then from that do you have to go? Before you couldn't find a Bible.
You know when they started the printing press, Mr. Guttenberg and all those people.
14-15 hundred.
Before that, what did they have for the word of God?
Compared to what we have today, who would you find? They say. I just was reading in Isaiah the other day and I just enjoyed. Where would you find that?
Maybe you'd find a priest in a monastery somewhere who had even seen a Bible.
Then you go back before the Lord was here, and what did the people of God know? The people of faith, they trusted in God. What did they have for a testimony from Him?
I'm asking these questions to make us realize the blessing that we have and the place that we have here in these last days. I understand that back when the truth was being recovered in the early 1800s, there was a woman by the name of Lady Powers Court, and she had readings in her home early on in the movement, if I could call it that. And they were reading in the Revelation and enjoying about these seven churches.
And they knew what the 1St and the 2nd and the 3rd and the 4th.
And the fifth one were But what? What is this about Philadelphia?
And Laodicea, where does?
See that in history? It's because they were living in it.
And I thought that was so interesting. And now we've gotten to the point where we can look back now and see the whole thing, all the seven churches and how much more. It's all there for us to look into.
Are we interested in looking into it?
Hope so.
We're going to go on in chapter 10 and I want to read about this Samaritan that.
Found the man by the side of the road.
Verse 30 of Luke 10 and Jesus answering said a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment and wounded him and departed, leaving him half dead. I'm going to suggest that perhaps he was unconscious.
By chance there came down a certain priest that way, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on the other, looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was, and when he saw him he had compassion on him and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, perhaps the man being unconscious.
And set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
And on tomorrow when he departed, he took out 2 Pence and gave them to the host, said unto him, take care of him, and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again I will repay thee. We'll just stop there as the story basically stops there. But I want to ask you, have you ever considered what happened after this?
The Lord doesn't tell anymore of the story there.
And when it says a certain man.
I don't know what to say about the difference between when it says a certain man and he put forth a parable, but I kind of think this is a actual occurrence, but I could be wrong about that.
But here was this story of this man.
Now, what happened after the Lord quits telling the story? You're the man's in the end.
00:10:06
Somebody's taking care of him.
And he's waking up, if we can say it that way, not feeling very well.
And so he starts looking around him and wondering where he's at.
Presently the door opens and a man comes in and has a little food on a tray maybe.
Ask him how he's feeling and he begins asking questions.
How did I get here?
And he said, well, a kind man found you in the ditch.
And brought you here.
Really.
I was that bad off, yeah.
You were about gone.
Why did he do that?
Maybe someday you'll find out.
And as the man is plying the host, maybe for answers to these questions.
I just enjoy the thought.
That it's like a Christian waking up to their privileges.
And to see where they had been.
Where the Lord has now put them and what it's like to be able to look forward to this Samaritan coming back to the end and meeting this man perhaps.
And to me, it's like when we start out our Christian lives, we don't know anything about Christianity.
We realized we were sinners, and here's someone who's providing for our needs. He's offered His precious blood so that we can get into God's perfect heaven.
It's a wonderful thing.
But I think it was said today, it's just the beginning.
That's not where everything ends. You don't take the ticket and then run out and do whatever you want with your life. I mean, that'll work if you've really trusted the Lord Jesus to wash your sins away in His precious blood. It's a once forever thing. Don't let anybody tell you that. God's an ****** *****. He'll take it back from you if you're not good.
It doesn't work that way.
But the Lord desires so much more for us than that.
And so I look at it as a process of waking up into our privileges and responsibilities.
So here we have.
This conference.
And we're sitting here hearing things that how many people wish they could hear, they don't even know about them.
We have the privilege of taking them in. It's a wonderful thing that the Lord has given that to us, and I just hope that we appreciate it.
And I want to read a little bit in first John chapter 2 about 3.
Perhaps I could say stages of maturity.
It was alluded to today.
First John 2.
Verse 12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because you have known Him, that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one.
I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because you have known him this from the beginning. I've written unto you, young men, because you're strong, and the word of God abideth in you and.
And you have overcome wicked one.
And we'll just stop there. I don't purpose to get into the three things that are the world, characterize the world, but just to notice that there are these three stages we read about children.
We read about young men. We read about fathers.
Now I'm a parent and most of you have not been.
When you have these little ones that are growing up, if little Joanna, next time we come two years from now to Hammer Bay Conference and Joanne is still crawling on the floor, I'd say there's something wrong with her development. She shouldn't be still crawling, right? She's going to be three years old pretty soon.
This is not good. We like to see growth and maturity and in the young people as they are growing up, we like to see improvement exercise. We like to see them wondering what does the Lord mean when He says this in the scriptures and have evidence that they're looking into the word for themselves. This is a great joy to the older ones.
00:15:14
As we know, that's where.
Real blessing is, as Jonathan's been pointing out.
So it's OK to be a child?
For a while.
But you shouldn't be interested in having a bottle to drink from till you're 14.
And we all need milk at the beginning of our career. As Christians, we need simple things.
But the time comes that we should be beyond those things. Not that there's anything wrong with milk and we can always enjoy it have a glass of milk, but we should be enjoying other things besides.
So I'd like to put it this way, that in the first stage, when we start out our Christian pathway, we don't know the Lord very well.
We've just heard what his offer is and we don't know how he operates, why he does the things he does, but what we do have is his word.
So I think I want to say the first thing that we enjoy as a young believer, there should be an interest in the Scriptures.
That's where we find out about the Lord and about His ways, and it's so important for us, as we had today, to have an outline of sound words. Begin to put that together so you can understand what God's ways are about and who He is in Himself. There's a verse in the Psalms that speaks of making known His.
Acts to the children of Israel and his ways.
To Moses, God has reasons why he does things. And we can read the Scriptures and we say, yeah, the children of Israel, they went through the Red Sea. Yeah.
Moses, he did this, yeah, Abraham, he had these three people in his tent door and he the day and yeah, Abraham went up in the mountain with Isaac and yeah, you know, and there was a ram there. Well, what does it mean? Does God have a purpose? And all this information, it's not just information, it is information, but it goes so much further than that and the more you look into it, the more all these connections and pictures come out of there that magnify the.
Of the Lord and help us to know why he's doing the things that he's doing. That's his ways. First we learn his word, then we learn about his ways and then we never quit appreciating the word because in his words where we find about the ways.
The fathers, it says the same thing about them both times. It speaks to them here ye have known him, that is, from the beginning.
And, you know, it's a real special time in our own lives and when we see it in others.
When you come to the point in any degree, I'm not saying it's like something you attain to and once you're there, it's a plateau and you're always there. That's not the way it is. But if in any measure we've appreciated the Scriptures and we've seen in some way the Lord's workings and why He's doing things, then we begin to say like the hymn we sung today. For sure no other mind.
For thought so bold, so free, greatness or strength could ever find it has a beetle. Who is this one?
Who could write a book like this?
With so much in it.
Who could make all these things intertwine and have pictures like Albert Hayhoe once said, suppose the Garden of Eden, and here's Eve, newly formed, and she looks at Adam and she says, I owe my very existence to the man with the wounded side.
Did you ever think of that?
I didn't either until I heard Albert Ajo say it. But he read it and he enjoyed, and he thought, whoa, isn't that interesting? It's like God's given us a little picture ahead of time about he and his bride.
And how his side was going to be wounded.
And I'm going to tell you, there's an awful lot of those kind of things, little Nuggets tucked away in the scriptures that if you want to take the time to study them out.
It will really draw you close to the Lord.
So the fathers are those that have gotten or are getting to the point of just enjoying himself, his word, his ways, and then it's himself. And it doesn't make little of his ways or his word at all. But you say, who is this person?
00:20:16
That could devise such a plan.
To write such things in his word, to carry out things in this certain way, so that we can look back and say, here's Abraham and Isaac going up the mountain.
And there's the father and the son going together to the cross.
And there are all these things you look in the Tabernacle and then the temple and all these different things. They're all pictures everywhere.
Who could do that? It's the one who offered you salvation and.
And he says, I want you to learn more about me.
I wrote the Bible in very simple language so almost anyone could understand it.
But.
I've also written it so that there are meanings and there are pictures and there are types and illustrations and connections that you're not going to make without study.
If you take the time to be with the Lord in His Word, you're going to begin to make those connections that's going to really enrich your Christian life. So that's what we desire for you. We have these conferences like that, that like this. That's why we have them have the Scriptures open so no matter what stage you're at, you can appreciate a little more.
The milk of the Word. Perhaps you can see a little bit more of your way of God's ways, as we had Brother Eric speak to us about.
And then to think who this person is that was so wise, so powerful, so omniscient, that he could write this book in this way so that we can enjoy looking into it and growing up into the knowledge of him. So may the Lord grant that it's more so with each one of us as we approach that day. Pretty soon we're going to hear the shout and there'll be no more school.
No more chance.
To look in the scriptures and find out these things. It's all done. We've graduated, we're out of the scene. The day of opportunity is over.
Now we have opportunity. We were talking about sacrifice in this, in the passage.
We spoke about 3 different kinds of sacrifice, but I'd just like to say.
Used to be at conferences when I was a young person, you'd see Albert Hayhoe talking to Clarence Lundeen in the middle of the room after the meetings.
One time Clarence Lundin had a bunch of young men around him, So I went up and joined the group and he was saying to them, you know, I don't know how you're going to get ahead in your spiritual life if you don't get up at 4:30 in the morning and read the scriptures for an hour before you start your day.
What did it do for brother Lundeen?
And some others who have accepted that kind of an exhortation. Do we make time for the Lord?
Soon the opportunity is going to well tomorrow, you know. Well, this is a really rough year at school or my job is really tough right now. And the Lord knows all those things. Sometimes we have harvest in our lives. We have harvest in Walla Walla. And you don't do anything else except you go out and you work all day and you come home to eat and you sleep and you get up and you work again. But it shouldn't be that way our whole life.
So may the Lord encourage our hearts.
To make the sacrifice, Gordon Hayhoe said One time you'll never find time.
To read and pray, to be at the assembly meetings, you have to make time.
That's called sacrifice. If I weighed 300 lbs and people started telling me, you know, you really should go on a diet, you know, well, yeah, maybe one of these days I'll do that. But I just enjoy eating. So I keep eating, and one day I go to the doctor.
And he says to me, if you don't stop what you're doing, you're going to be dead in six months. Then I'm going to start thinking, well, maybe I should not eat so much. That's no sacrifice that's forcing me into a situation. Now, if I had said, you know what, I don't know, it's honoring to the Lord for me to be like this, whatever it be overweight or I just love money or whatever it might be.
I like to do things in my own time that I like to do. OK, you got a problem with that? Well.
The Lord appreciates sacrifice and if we're willing to give up something that we enjoy or feel we should do or something for Him.
00:25:04
That's a sacrifice and he appreciates those things. So may the Lord encourage us along these lines. He's worthy to be followed.
And he has so much for us in this book.
And may we search it out, each one of us, for ourselves, and share what we found with others to be an encouragement to them. Let's just pray.
Our God and our Father, we thank Thee for an opportunity to be at a weekend like this, to have Thy word open and those that have studied into it to share with us what they've learned.
We ask thy blessing that some of these things might stick in our minds. Some of them might spur us on to more study and interest and without us have to say in our in our own lives. And we just commit ourselves to be in this way, thinking of the shortness of time, the blessedness of our position that we've been brought into to live in a land of peace and plenty to have time to look into these things that we want to.
Without fear of being thrown into prison.
We give thanks for this opportunity, and we ask a blessing that we might desire to make the most of these things. So we pray and give thanks, Lord Jesus, for thyself and for thy precious word. We pray my precious name, and then.
Mark 5:1-17
Children—Jonathan Boulard
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Good morning, everybody.
Now there's four of you up on the front row here, so I'll be talking to you especially, but everyone else can listen in and I trust there will be something for each one here. I I have the disadvantage that my hymn sheet that I have currently.
Is the revised 1, so it's going to be missing versus depending on what songs were given out so.
Hopefully we'll be able to get this straightened out. Now let's just start by asking the Lord for his help, okay? Because I need the Lords help.
Our loving God and our Father, please help us this morning.
Please help each one to be able to understand what is presented.
We desire the salvation and the blessing of each soul. Here this morning we ask Thy help, our Father and our God. We confess our weakness, and yet we depend on my strength.
So we ask with confidence, in the name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
OK, there's only 40 on the front row, so chances are really good that you'll get to give out a song at this conference.
So, did any of you have one that you'd like to give out?
If we don't get one forthcoming from the front row, we may have to go a little further back, but you guys get what's called the 1St right of refusal.
#11 OK, I always liked when when the person taking Sunday school didn't say we could only we only had to sing them from the back because I liked a lot of these other songs and I thought I'd like to sing this one and.
I didn't always get to so #11 We'll sing #11.
Will your anchor.
Age.
In the streets of fear, when the great and the green bears here.
While a surgeon is great and no one will slow.
Shall be angry.
00:05:19
Thank you. It's one of my favorite gospel songs. I really like that one. Thank you for giving that out.
You have one? Yes. OK #25 #25 thank you.
Another one of my favorites. Life at best is very like the following.
Fast and in the face of my decides.
Yeah.
Time. Time is flying swiftly by.
Jesus.
By peace.
Time.
Oh my God.
And your priceless soul belongs.
In time.
Time.
To be in time.
And send you all your hands in your hands.
Million time.
The worry voices make the Lord your heart be choices.
In time.
Come from darkness into the light, from the way I see you cry.
Coming start forever tonight.
So we're just saying make the Lord your happy choice. And that is the case when we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, it's a happy choice. And then when we walk for him each day, it's a happy thing.
00:10:09
Do any of you on the front row know the best way to be miserable? How can you be just really unhappy? Do you know how you can do that? There's a really easy way to be unhappy. It works every time you have any idea what it is.
No, it it works really good. So if you ever want to be unhappy.
Try to make yourself happy.
Just try and make yourself happy and it works every time. You'll be miserable.
But if you live your life, please the Lord Jesus, if you make him your happy choice, then you can be happy. That's a little secret. It'll save you a lot of unhappiness in life.
But just because I know that doesn't mean that I don't make the same mistakes.
Anyone else have a song they'd like to sing here?
You got another one? Well, give your two placards on either side a chance 29.
A ruler once came to Jesus finally to ask him no way of salvation and light the saga made. And certain words you like playing in my steeple.
Again.
He was teeth over the fear.
He.
'S only.
I.
See.
Oh.
Blast now, like everlasting it would obtain. You must be born again.
You know, still go.
Back when I was your size, give or take a couple of years #5 in the in the Song book used to be my favorite. And I always used to love when we got to go to a conference if this song was sung because there was 3 verses in this one, there's only two in the Little Little children's songbook. So that always made me happy when we got to do that. So another one of my favorites.
Does the final remaining member in the front row have one they'd like to see?
Which 131913131? I was going to say I don't think we go that high 31.
I will.
Save all my meeting.
Tomorrow.
She suffered.
Blood makers to decide me praying.
00:15:03
Say.
My reason?
When it is long being hurt just me?
How long I draw?
Cease, seal my heart.
Make it nice.
I will tell.
One story.
Oh my God.
Just me.
On the cross.
My God.
I'm taking.
My little friend, I'm afraid it's my.
OK, well, we'll see if there's any time at the end, and maybe you can have the privilege of giving two out at a conference that's pretty, pretty seldom achieved. Let's ask the Lord's help again.
Our loving God, my Father, please help to convey the the message on my heart.
Our Father please help these dear ones on the front row and each 1-2 to receive.
Receive the the Word from Thy word to let it find a lodging in their hearts. We ask for help, to ask for clear thoughts.
Just ask that thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ would be well spoken of. Our Father and our God, we ask thy help. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Now.
I hope.
Each of you here.
On the front row and each one in all the other rows are reading your Bibles. Because even when you start at a very young age, you may not understand what you're reading, but it's a lot like a seed being dropped into the ground and planted. So what happens when you drop a seed into the ground if you if you go back the next morning?
And you look. Will anything look different? What do you think?
Well, that'll happen with time, but usually not one day later. You may go back a week later, maybe there will be a sprout. You go back another week later. And if it's been getting getting water and and sun and heat, it'll it'll keep growing and time will pass and time will pass, but it takes a long time. If you want it to grow, grow corn or grow.
00:20:14
Even grow an apple tree or something like that, it takes a long time.
And so you may just just run, you're young. If you start reading your Bible, it'll be like a little seed planted. And so the story that I'm going to share with you today was I, I remember when I was your age, there was something that really bothered me about this story. And it bothered me and bothered me and bothered me. And that was like a little seed that had been planted. Why is that? Why is that? Why? Why did that happen in that story? And it bothered me and bothered me until it was probably four years ago at this conference.
We were taking up in, I think it was First Timothy and the portion was being read and it was just like.
That's why the right middle of the reading meeting and I was just so excited and it was wonderful. And so it, it, it took all that time for that plant to grow. That was great. And that, that just, that just made me so thankful to have that. So the story we're going to read is in Mark Chapter 5.
And it's a story each one of you has heard quite a few times. But I, I love this story. And I, I remember when our brother John Kemp used to, he had Sunday school quite, quite a bit when I was a child and in Hammer Bay too. And so sometimes he'd have chains and things like that and rattled them around. I'm sorry I didn't bring a nice big length of chain, but you can imagine chain shaking and, and our, our brother John Kemp sharing this story, he does, he does a far better job at keeping people's attention. He's very, very good.
Sharing these stories, but you'll have to have to put up with me today, Mark, Chapter 5 and we'll read a few verses and we'll just we'll comment as we go and I'll have some questions. And if you guys get stumped, I'll ask some of the rest of the audience to maybe help. OK, so there will be lots of questions. So hopefully everyone will be listening.
And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the gatherings. So how do you, how do you go to the other side of a sea?
How do you do that? By sailing? Yep, sailing. What? A car, a boat. You have to take a boat. So they here at the beginning of the story, they got into a boat. They were going across the sea. There was a Sea of Galilee. Someone may be able to correct me if I'm wrong, but they went all the way across there. I think it's Sea of Galilee is 5 miles wide, 8 miles long, something like that. So it's a bit of a trip.
And take take a couple hours. So they went all the way across.
And verse two it says when he was come out of the ship so they they got to shore, they would have pulled the boat up on shore a little bit. So if you don't, your boat floats away and then really hard to get back home.
I've tried that before. I get to a job site and my boat's not tied up very well and maybe it drifts a little bit down the shoreline and.
Well, it's hard to go anywhere without a boat. You're on the on an island.
So they came out of the ship, and immediately there met him out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit.
Out of the tubes, you know what tombs are.
What are they?
Back then, the tombs were probably.
A cave, things that there was like a bed or something inside where you would put a dead man in and cover him up with blankets. And then you might cover them up with blankets or you might just put something across the the face of it because you didn't you didn't want animals getting in.
But what do you think it would smell like?
You ever thought about that? You think that's?
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, have.
Any of you guys ever had to pick up after raccoons or anything like that when they spread garbage all over the place or bears or something like that? Or have you ever seen an animal get hit at the side of the road and you see flies flying all around and if you're ever anywhere close, you don't want to be close? So this man was living among the tombs. Does that sound like a fun place to live?
Do you think you'd want to live there?
No. Would you? I wouldn't. Why do you think he was living there?
Do you think he woke up one day? That would be a great idea to go live in a graveyard.
And as this story goes by, we're going to look at a couple of different things.
00:25:04
Maybe no one wanted him.
And I you can see why as you read this story, But our brother Eric James shared yesterday three things about Satan.
What were they, Cordis?
Defeat a liar in murders. Excellent. OK.
Did you get that? A thief, a liar, a murderer, Not a very nice master, not a very nice person to work for. So this man was under the control of Satan. So Satan said here there's a graveyard to live in. That doesn't sound very nice. That's where this man had been driven to live, a man with an unclean spirit.
Who had his dwelling among the tombs?
And no man could bind him. No, not with chains. What does it mean to bind someone? Do you have any idea what it means to bind what is? Yeah.
Have you ever been tied up? Yeah. Was it fun? And it might be fun for the 1St 30 seconds, but it gets, it's pretty old. There is a man in in Mexico and maybe some of you boys and girls and some of the older ones were praying for this man. And he was kidnapped one day just a month or a little over a month ago. His name was Antonia. He was kidnapped and they bound him. And so they, they tied his hands and his feet together.
That's not a very nice thing to do, but this man was so fierce and so mean, he could break any of those things.
No man could bind him. Know it not with chains. You know what? That's a lot like what Satan will do to each one of us.
If we serve Satan, maybe we'll say, you know what? I love my parents. I don't want to hurt them. I don't want to do something that would be mean to them.
But if if we're pleasing ourselves and if we're following Satan.
Well, it won't be long before we hurt our parents and hurt others, even those that are kind to us. There is a young man that.
I, I met when I was in Mexico, his name was Dario Nerd Dario. He lives in Reynosa. He was, I think he was 16 or sorry, thirteen years old when I met him and he was sitting in a meeting like this, like you guys are a little bit older than you, but he had been, he had been under the sound of the word of God.
And this man?
Got up from that meeting and went around his his day-to-day. Came back the the next week and was under the sound of the word again. This continued on for a number of years.
And this man started making decisions. This, this young man started making decisions. And each one of us here in this room, we make decisions.
Are we going to?
Walk to please the Lord Jesus, the 1St and most important. Are we going to ask him to wash our sins away or are we going to go on in our sins? Are we going to believe someone who's a liar, a chief, a liar, a thief and a murderer or are you going to believe someone that that died for us?
So what? What's our decision going to be? But if if you go on and you you follow the pathway that Satan opens up all, it looks like so much fun, but he lies. He doesn't tell you the truth. So this man went on day by day, time passed.
And at one point, we're not exactly sure when, but he got in contact with the drug cartels that are in Mexico there. And so before long, he became addicted to drugs.
And drugs for those people that take them, they may seem oh so wonderful and all they, oh, these are amazing.
But suddenly you want more, and they come with a price, and then you want more and more and more, and they do things to you. And that's how Satan always works.
He says, ah, take this, this is wonderful.
But he wants to ruin us. And so this, this young boy, this young man, he, he took these and, and kept taking them and it's ruined his mind and it's ruining his life. He's 19 years old.
And there is, there is a time a month and a bit ago he had to be tied up in his own home because he was just, he couldn't be loose. He was breaking things. He was trying to hurt people. He, he got up one day and he went out into the street and there's nice car sitting there. He smashed in the windows of that car and he walked down the street a little bit. There was windows in the, in the buildings around his house. He was breaking those windows too.
00:30:06
He was ruining and just breaking things.
And so he had to be tied up his, the police were called and we can't do anything. This man is crazy. That's what Satan is doing to that man. He's ruining him. And so my wife and I, we pray for this man, Dario. And I trust the different ones in this room who can remember this story. They'll we'll pray for, we'll all pray for Dario. He's his life is being ruined by Satan. So you're sitting here in this chair.
In Hammer Bay, it's October the 13th, 2019. I don't think you'd ever think of doing that.
But if you make decisions day by day, and we'll keep reading about this man, but if you keep making decisions and I don't want to do what the Lord Jesus wants me to do, I don't think I'll accept the Lord Jesus yet. Satan leads us along a path and it's to ruin. And so this man, they, they couldn't stop him from doing those things that were wrong for that. And that's what Satan does.
Verse four Because that he had often he had been often bound with fetters and chains.
So change would be what would connect the shackles, but they tried all different things.
The chains have been plucked asunder by him, and the fetter is broken in pieces. Neither could any man tame him.
So he couldn't, he couldn't be controlled. That's, that's pretty sad. That's really sad.
So each one of us in this room.
That's the pathway that Satan is trying to lead you down. You may even be a Christian. You may have even asked the Lord Jesus to save you from your sins. But if you go after the things that Satan has to offer, you'll hurt and you'll you'll hurt other people and you'll ruin your own, you're ruin your own life. That's such a sad thing. Do you think this person was happy?
No, no, he wasn't happy, but he couldn't do anything about it. It's like he was he was bound in chains of sin. He couldn't get out and sin is like that. And if, if we have time, I have a little illustration maybe that I can, I can show.
Show you of what it would be like, but we'll continue on with the story. So verse five, always night and day. He was in the mountains and in the tombs crying. What does it mean to cry?
What's that?
Actually, I don't know.
Any ideas?
Yeah, perhaps here it means more shouting, but he was, he was sad. He would have been crying. Does that sound like something fun? Do you do you think this is a man you'd you'd really like to be like?
Boy, that sounds fun, no?
No, I don't think anyone of us want to want to be like this man. But that's what Satan wants you to be like. He wants to make you miserable.
And that's that's who Satan is. He ruins and he destroys and he hates you.
So he was in the mountains crying and cutting himself with stones. What? What's that?
Like my stuff?
Yeah, have you ever done that accidentally? Maybe gone tearing down the driveway and shorts and make your knees all.
All messed up. Was that fun? You got up and you decided to do it again? No. Do you think this man said, ah, this is wonderful, This is so much fun. You think that's what he was saying? No.
That would hurt doing that, But that's what Satan does. He wants to ruin. He wants to destroy.
The Lord Jesus could say, I am come that they might have life, that they might have it more abundantly, but Satan is a destroyer. He was making this man miserable and more miserable.
But something changed. So the Lord Jesus, he had gotten in the boat, he went across the other side and he met this man. Now each one of us, we have the advantage. We've already read this story. We know what this story says, but it's it's still good to think of it.
So this man cried and cried out with a loud voice. So he shouted with a loud voice and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou son of the Most High God, I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. Do you know what it means to be tormented?
I think any of us who have, well, it cuts both ways. Older or younger siblings know a little bit what it's like to be tormented.
What do you what do you think it means to be tormented?
What do you think? And you can't get out and you're squishing. I can't breathe. I I had three older sisters and they like to pick on me. They, they, they had a distinct advantage over me.
00:35:06
To be to be made miserable. This man didn't want to be made miserable. Does that make any sense? Like it makes sense that you don't want to be made miserable, but what was already happening to this man?
What was Satan doing to him?
He was tormenting him.
That doesn't make any sense. This man, I gather, was trying to convince himself that he was happy.
Living in the tombs, crying all alone, cutting himself.
And he asked someone who loved him not to torment him. The Lord Jesus didn't want to torment him. But that's what Satan does. He's a liar, and he tries to convince us.
That the Lord Jesus doesn't love us. That he doesn't want the very best for us.
And so that can happen really easily in our lives. So maybe, maybe.
We see something in the Bible that tells us what we're supposed to do.
Say that doesn't look like much fun. Satan says it'll make you miserable.
But that's not how it works. So Satan had tricked this poor man.
Now for the part of the story that really bothered me when I was little and I asked my dad and I asked other people why is that? And I never really got the answer. So we until that that moment when I jump just jumped off my chair in the middle of a reading meeting a couple of years ago. So this this man Legion.
The, the, the Lord told the the demons to go out of this man. And so where did the demons go? We're we're familiar with this story. Where did they go?
Yeah, into the pigs. And then what happened?
What happened to the water? Yeah. And then what happened to the piece? Yeah.
What happened to the demons, do you know?
Did the demons die too? Did the devils die too? You think so? No, they didn't. They didn't. It's a demon is a spirit.
And a spirit doesn't die.
Why?
Why did they do that?
Pigs are Pigs are one of the smartest animals. You can teach a pig more tricks than you can teach a dog.
Not that I recommend having a pet pig, but they're very smart animals. But why did those pigs do that? Because the demons made them. Yeah, but why did they do that? Why did the demons make them do that? I mean, the demons could have left the pigs and gone somewhere else. But the Lord didn't say you have to stay in the pigs. He just said, OK, He, he allowed those demons to go into the, into the, into the herd of herd of pigs as they asked.
But why?
What do you think?
You have any idea?
The verse that that made me jump off and.
It speaks of God, who is the Savior of all men, For the thought of that verse is the preserver of all men, chiefly of they that believe what that verse is saying. Satan wants to destroy you, wants to destroy me. Each one of us here, he wants to destroy us.
And God says no, I'm not going to let him. And so he preserves man.
And so you've perhaps heard of nuclear bombs and hydrogen bombs and things like that. I remember.
What grade was I in? I might have been in grade 6 and we were learning about those things and.
To ask the teacher so.
Are those are those things still around today? Yeah.
Oh no, so you mean just someone pushing a button? They could blow the whole world up pretty much. But it's God that keeps Satan back from his purpose of destroying man. But this story, and it's a it's a picture it it took place, but God was showing us how mean.
And how?
Just awful Satan is. And so as soon as these demons were were set at liberty, they ruined every single one of those pigs. Every single one of them drowned.
And it's only.
The goodness of God that that allows us to live day by day and that keeps Satan from ruining this whole world.
And so if we turn away from the Lord Jesus, each one of us, we know. We know the verses of the Bible. We know enough to be saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. The Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me, thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead. Thou shalt be saved. We know these verses. But if we turn away.
00:40:15
From the Lord Jesus and turn to what Satan offers us. He's going to try to do the same thing to us and to our lives that he did to those pigs.
One of Satan's names, and you read of it in the Book of Revelation, is Apollyon. That means destroyer. He destroys the Lord Jesus gives and gives and gives. Satan takes and takes and takes and destroys and ruins.
And so we see that the Lord set this man at liberty. He wasn't being tormented any anymore. He was, he was closed seated in his right mind at the Lord Jesus feet, and he wanted to follow the Lord Jesus. Do you think this man was happier after the Lord Jesus had cast those demons out than before? What do you think? Yeah, he was much happier. Satan tried to try to tell this man that the Lord wanted to torment him and make him miserable.
That was a lie, and if you give your life to the Lord Jesus, if you ask him to wash your sins away, and you desire to walk to please Him.
You'll be happier than you could have ever been with anything that Satan would offer.
And so we see these people, they hadn't had to do with Jesus yet, but the ones in the surrounding countryside, they.
They didn't know the Lord Jesus, they didn't know how much he loved them, but they knew that their pigs were gone and they didn't want anything to do with the Lord Jesus. They didn't realize that it was Satan, the work of Satan to ruin all their livelihood. And so they would continue on in the ways of Satan and in their sadness. But the Lord Jesus, he got into that boat, went back to the other side. So do you realize he made, roughly speaking, that five mile trip?
He talked, I believe it was to two men. We only read of one here who would go to Matthew's Gospel. We would read there was two. We read about the most notable one right now.
Talk to two men, turned around, went all the way back 5 miles, went back to where he'd be.
The Lord Jesus loved that man and he wanted to set him free. And I remember my daddy telling me when I was just little.
And it impressed me at the time. But he said, did you know? What if you were the only Sinner?
In this whole world, the Lord Jesus still would have come and died for you.
Just think about that a little bit. The Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. That's how much he loves us.
And that's so different from what we read about Satan and that that man that Satan was ruining. So I hope, I pray that each one of us in this room, we would see Satan for who he is a destroyer. He's a thief, he's a liar, he's a murderer. But the Lord Jesus, oh, he came to give life and to give life more abundantly. He loves us. And if you walk to please the Lord Jesus in your life, in your life. I say this to each one of us here.
If you walk to to please the Lord Jesus in your life.
It's the very best path. It's the happiest path. The Lord Jesus, he was called the man of sorrows, but he was the happiest man that ever lived on this earth. And if you live to please the Lord Jesus, he'll give you some of that joy and you'll have you'll have that that joy and peace on earth. You'll have it for all eternity. Now the object lesson. We can maybe fool around with it a little bit after we after we close it'll take a couple of minutes, but.
It'll it'll give you a little bit of an idea what it needs to be found so we can hang out after everyone goes and there's a couple announcements.
You have one more song you wanted to sing, or did you forget which one it was?
Okay.
#34 #44.
Into.
Close out the day news of salvation. We can't reset me. Nobody ever has told it to me.
Salvation story. Reaping glory.
Nobody ever has told me before.
There is somebody.
00:45:01
A little boy sang unto me the good times of joy.
We are not there.
Nobody.
The story has told.
Me salvation story.
Children are men. Nobody ever has told me before.
The last words of his breath, just as he answered God.
This song.
So.
19 70 Four Salvation story reading.
All.
Can say.
Children of men, Nobody ever has told me before.
Let's pray.
Our loving God and our Father, please help us, each one here in this room.
We desire each one to be saved, to have the assurance of salvation.
And yet we know that thy heart is not satisfied only with that for man, not his desire to bless him. So we desire that each one in this room would taste and see that the Lord is good.
Help us to walk to please the Lord Jesus. Thank particularly of those who are younger. Think of the children in the front row here. Help each one.
To live for the Lord Jesus, we ask Thy help and commit these things to Thee, our Father and our God, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Ministry after the breaking of bread
Four Aspects of Paul's Doctrine
Open—Robert Boulard
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
135 enjoying our goal.
135.
We join our.
Condition.
And.
Jesus.
Yeah.
Just read a couple of verses.
Together in First Corinthians.
Chapter 14.
This meeting is announced as an open meeting. If one of the assembly meetings that is given to us in the New Testament, that is to be conducted in an orderly way and assured of God reports in First Corinthians 14.
Verse 29. Let the prophets speak two or three.
Let the other judge.
If anything being revealed to another considered by the 1St, hold this piece, We may all prophecy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted, And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all patricians of the States. And then back in chapter 14, verse 3.
It reads earlier in the conference.
He that prophesied it speaketh unto men to edification.
And exhortation. And comfort.
I love you, Dog. Our Father, We thank Thee for our precious Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.
We thank thee that God was given many gifts to the church, and we know that thou art able by thy Spirit to exercise different ones that.
Those would desire to deliver a message to thy people at this particular time. And we ask, we are gone for that word from myself that would edify us or that would exhort us.
And that we comfort us as the Spirit seems to need, and that we might discern and judge.
00:05:02
What is said according to thy mind, and according to thy words? And that we might apply what we hear.
To our feet, and that there might be fruit for the as a result of our being together. And so we beseech thee that all things might be done decently in an honor, in an orderly way, and that thy people might be refraction built up in their most holy face. We pray for our brother who are traveling at present time. We ask you for thy mercies safety.
The happy time together as they consider the things of Christ, as we have been speaking.
During these last this last day in a bit and so we Ashley blessing cast ourselves upon our weakness in this day of weakness and small things.
We ask the blessing of God and Father, and the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
He returned to me with me to.
Acts chapter 17. Just read one verse there.
Couple of verses maybe.
Verse 11, Chapter 17 of Acts. Verse 11. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that they received the word with all readiness of mind.
And search the Scriptures daily whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed also of honorable women, which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.
There is such a thing as taking up the Word of God in the right way.
And these dear Saints and Berea, they evidently had faith. They heard the word of God, and they wanted to act upon the word of God. What was taught?
They didn't argue about it. Their hearts were prepared to receive what the Spirit of God had for them. And I just have felt.
We live in a day when the word of God is questioned and when men and women are sitting in judgment against the word of God. They say, I'm going to judge this as to whether I'll accept it or not.
And it leads to all kinds of error.
That leads to a course of disobedience and rebellion against God, against his word. You know, I we've had a few outlines at this conference and last year I was reminded that we have a little outline. I believe Brother Bill Brockmire gave us a little outline on the New Testament, on every book of the New Testament. There's a reason why God has written what He's written in His Word. And every single book of the New Testament is written with a specific purpose that the Spirit of God had.
And we ought to know what those outlines are. We ought to know what every single book of the Bible.
It's a boat. There's a little book, and it was mentioned at this conference already, short Sketches by Nick Simon. So it's a little short sketch of a page, 2 pages, sometimes 3A little outline of every single book of the Bible. And you can find it in a little book and it's maybe 3/8 of an inch thick, millimeter thick, and.
When we were young, I don't know that that existed in any other form. I used to go to the Bible dictionary. It's about two inches thick, and I used to find those outlines and read those outlines of those books.
But it's necessary for us to have a good outline, an understanding of why God wrote every single book of the Bible. And there's no reason, no excuse in the day that we live in that we don't have an intimate knowledge as to why God wrote what he wrote and who he wrote it to and for what purpose. So, you know, the Apostle Paul was used and he uses the term.
A little expression, he says.
He was Speaking of the Jew, the Gentile and the Church of God.
And Paul, largely in his ministry, addresses the distinctions between the Jew, the Gentile, and the Church of God.
Peter doesn't do it like that, John doesn't do it like that, but Paul very significantly makes a clear distinction between the Jew.
00:10:09
The Gentile and the Church of God and Paul is the one that tells us about the church and how the church is to be ordered, how it is to conduct itself, what kind of meetings it has, and how those meetings ought to be conducted.
He tells us all about how a church should be conducting itself in the fear of God and what is good order. So he uses First Corinthians and 2nd Corinthians.
Corrected the pistols. You know Galatians is a corrective epistle as well, and so he's correcting their.
False doctrine that Christianity can be mixed with Judaism, or that Judaism can be added to Christianity, or that Christianity can be added to Judaism. He's it's a corrective epistle.
But just as a little outline, I don't mean to take a long time here.
But do you know what Paul's doctrine is? What did Paul taught? What did Paul teach when we say Paul's doctrine?
Does it all of a sudden ring up and you say, yes, I know what Paul's doctrine is. If I asked you this afternoon, what is Paul's doctrine, what did Paul teach? Could you tell me?
Could you tell me in 5 minutes?
Could you tell me perhaps? I like to think in simple terms. It's really encompasses 4 major points. He speaks the Lord Jesus gave these revelations to Paul and he speaks of the remembrance of the Lord. He speaks of the coming of the Lord, the rapture and all the changes that will take place at that time.
He speaks of.
The great mystery of Christ in the church. That's Paul's ministry. Not only how the church should conduct itself, but of the great mystery that Christ is forming a church and what the material is that he's using and how it's being formed.
And then he tells us of all those things that we have, all those blessings that we have were blessed with, all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ. That's Paul. Ministry is heavenly in character.
It's not necessarily wilderness.
Instruction, you might say, although he does give us wilderness instruction in some, in the end of some of his epistles. But Paul gives us heavenly truth, and for those that are suited to be companions for Christ for all eternity, he gives us a little bit of an outline of the ways of God in connection with the church.
And let's just look at each one of those things. Let's look at the first part of.
What we call Paul's doctrine. Let's look at Ephesians chapter one. We'll just mention a couple of things. I'll mention very briefly what this what Paul taught and then you can on your own.
Make a list.
Of some of these verses of scripture.
And I think.
You know, in Brazil sometimes I've taken up this little subject and I have a little sheet of paper. I don't know if I have it in here. Yeah, I do have it in here.
I take a little sheet of paper, fold it before.
Paul doctrine really encompasses 4 major parts of our New Testament epistles. You know he wrote more than half of the New Testament. He wrote 14 epistles.
If you include Hebrews.
And so if you put down here those things that are in Christ and just start making a list.
You'll pretty soon fill up this page. This this is part of the page. Then you'll have to turn it over and then you'll have to keep going on this side.
And then you might have to get another sheet of paper and.
But you know, we should know what those things are, all those things that we have that are in Christ. And then if you talked about the Lord's coming and Paul tells us the sequence of events that's going to take place, he tells us about the changes that are going to take place. And you could write start, right, some of those scriptures here, and then you'd have to turn it over here and then keep going.
Then if you.
Read about the Lord's coming at the Lord's Supper.
The term, the Lord's Supper, the remembrance of the Lord, and the teaching that Paul gives us in First Corinthians, and so on.
00:15:06
You would cover the page.
If you spoke of the church.
Not great mystery.
Greatest secret that God ever had.
He kept in his heart from the past eternity. The Jews had no idea.
It's just little hints of it in the Old Testament.
Boaz had a gentile bride, Rahab.
The Gentile brought into the lineage of the Lord all those things. There's little hints.
But God chose to tell you.
About those secrets that he had in his heart.
Have you made any effort, have I made any effort at all, to find out what those secrets are and how great those secrets are?
He wrote them to the church and for the church.
It's good for us to read all of the Word of God. We need to read the Old Testament as well as the New Testament because the Old Testament gives us the pictures of the word of God, the pictures of the the types. That's really a major outline, wouldn't you say, Brother Eric?
The Old Testament is types and shadows gives us figures. The New Testament gives us the doctrine of what those figures meant.
And it's all about Christ.
But he wants us to know what he did at the Cross of California.
He wants us to know the value of that work and the depth of it. And so in Ephesians chapter one, he says bless it in verse three. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who have blessed us.
Half it's a present possession.
Blessed us with all spiritual blessings should say in the heavenlies in Christ.
According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestinated us under the adoption of children or sonship by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.
To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein he hath made us accept it, in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. Well, I could go on and on.
But Paul's doctrine you could have another outline.
In Romans chapter.
16.
Let's just turn to it. I'm just going to refer to it.
You want to know what Paul taught? What was Paul's work? God gave Paul a work. He said, well, what was his gift? What was he doing? God gave Paul specific work, two things to do.
In verse chapter 16 of Romans verse 25. Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel.
What's my gospel? He teaches that, doesn't he? In Romans He teaches gospel of our salvation and how we get saved, how bad the flesh is, it's incorrigible, and how great and all sufficient the work of Christ is. In the blood of Christ. He tells us all about those things.
The gospel of the grace of God was not taught in its entirety until the apostle Paul taught it and preached it. And then the second thing is, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, and so it's what God has done for his own pleasure. God did some things to please himself, you might say.
And he wanted his son to have a bride.
He wanted his son to have a bride and it was the biggest secret.
The angels didn't know. In the councils of God in the past eternity, it was determined that Christ would have the bride.
And God was not going to be frustrated in his purposes. Christ is going to have a bride, and if you're saved this afternoon, you're a part of that bride.
And so God gave Paul 2 works to do one of us, to preach the gospel, and to make that gospel known, to teach it. He taught it in Romans, defended the gospel in Galatians.
And he preached the gospel in the book of the Acts, but here.
He's telling us of how richly we're blessed in the Epistle to the Ephesians, and it's all in Christ in that little term means that really that we're blessed. We're in a place of blessing as near and as dear to God as Christ himself. All of our blessings are in Christ.
00:20:22
So he says he's chosen us in verse 4, chosen us in him.
You know what the gospel preacher preaches? Responsibility of man, Godward. And both are necessary, the sovereignty of God as well as the responsibility of man. But the reason you're here this afternoon is the sovereignty of God.
None of us is going to be in heaven, say.
I have something wherever I can vote. Not going to happen.
And so the Lord in the past eternity wanted heaven to be full. He wanted his Son to have a bride.
And he looked over those.
As only God can do, look through time up to the point of time, and that there would be a whole world full of people created.
And he said, I choose you, I choose you.
I choose you.
Before you were born, who chose you? Before the foundations of the earth were laid?
Before the foundation of the world that we should be holding without blame. Before him in love.
And so we have a place.
Before God, because he chose us, He made the choice. We didn't make the choice.
And it says that we could just point out in verse seven, it says we have redemption. It's in him or through him.
He chose you. But the Spirit of God records part of Paul's doctrine. The outline of it is to tell us all those things that he did because of the work of Christ and the Lord wanted you so badly.
They went to the cross.
And he paid the price that's purchased, he bought you.
You are serving a wicked master.
We have a picture of it in Exodus. Remember, That's a little outline, a little outline of how Satan works. Sparrow is a little picture of Satan in the book of Exodus.
And he was treating the children of Israel with cruelty and severity.
And they were in *******. He was trying to destroy them. And that's where you. That's where I was. The enemy was wanting to destroy us.
With cruelty.
And he's still working at it.
Trying to destroy.
You had the worst master you could possibly ever have.
But Christ went to the cross, and He paid the price. He shed his blood to buy you for Himself. He purchased the world and everything in it. He purchased the field and everything in it. He bought you.
You now belong to him.
But then, more than that, he redeemed you. He set you at liberty in his presence. He set you at liberty. You're set at liberty before God in Christ because of the work of Christ. So God tells us.
All of these things, it was revealed to the apostle Paul, it was a revelation. All of these things that we have in Christ. You're not going to find it in Peters ministry, you're in John's ministry.
We're in James ministry.
In Luke's ministry, that's not where you're going to find it. You're going to find it in Paul's ministry how necessary it is for us to read pulse epistles. We do need to read all of the New Testament, but it's necessary for us to have a sense of the grace of God.
That would choose you and I, before the foundation of the world, for a place of blessing to have the very best place in heaven.
As a companion.
Morally, spiritually, physically fit and suitable to be a companion to the Son of God.
For all eternity.
A place that's far better than any of the angels have were part of a new creation race.
In Christ, Second Corinthians chapter five. Well, that's just part of Paul's ministry.
Then you know he speaks of.
That great mystery.
Christ in the church. Let's look at Ephesians chapter 5.
00:25:09
Verse 24.
Therefore, as the Church is subject unto Christ.
That's when it was pristine and things were in order. Paul writes. Ephesians really from the viewpoint that everything is in good order.
The Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives beat unto their own husbands and everything. Husbands, love your wives.
Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that he might present it to himself. A glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. Or no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the Church.
Verse 32. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.
There were a lot of secrets that God had, but this is the greatest secret. This is the biggest secret that he had.
And he says here.
You know, in the Old Testament.
He said it's not good for a man to be alone. I will make him help him.
One who is suitable of the same kind as he was.
And to be a companion and a health.
The God already had been.
You he was going to form a bride for Christ.
But he didn't count the Old Testament Saints. They had no idea.
And it says.
Really it was a picture of Christ in the church, that whole marriage arrangement, and the Jew didn't know and he abused the situation, he abused the relationship, he says. Is it lawful to divorce for any cause? Matthew chapter 19.
The right bill of divorcement for any cost. They abused the marriage relationship. They had no idea that it was a type of Christ in the church. What a privilege that you and I have in our Christian marriage is to reflect.
To this world and to one another.
The dignity and the honor of what it is for a Christian man to be married to a Christian woman.
And have Christ before their souls. And to be a picture of how in sacrificial love the Lord Jesus gave himself for his bride. He purchased her for himself.
Center at Liberty and here it says he gave himself, for it speaks of sacrificial love.
And then it says that's the work that he did in the past at the cross of Calgary. He gave himself for us. But then what's he doing now? He sanctifying and cleansing us by the washing of water, by the Word. We need the Word of God constantly before us. We need the Old Testament, the New Testament. We need to have the word of God before us every day so that we'll be cleansed as we walk through the sea.
Filthy. Filthy with sin, that's what he's doing.
But you know, there's a coming day.
Very shortly, verse 27.
He's going to present it to himself.
He's going to present you.
As a part of that drive to himself.
You know what says in the language of the Lord Jesus spoke of each one of these things in the seed plot and the New Testament.
When it comes to the coming of the Lord, he says.
If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto my.
So that where I am, there you may be also. So the Lord Jesus himself will receive us. It's going to be a wonderful reception. I've been to a lot of wedding receptions, but that's going to be a reception.
To be received into the presence of the Lord.
The King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the man, the 2nd man, the last Adam, never be another race of men. That's part of Paul's ministry as well.
But you know the Lord Jesus is going to present you to himself. He's going to present his church.
00:30:01
What a church.
You forgive me for my imagination, but I have some. When I was younger, I used to think that.
When the Lord created Adam and he formed Eve that she must have been the most beautiful woman that ever was. She probably was the most.
Unblemished woman, the most perfect.
Companion. Absolutely the perfect, perfect companion for having, wouldn't you think?
Perfect.
Created in innocence, she had the capability of sinning. She did. But when she was created for Adam, beautiful woman, I thought, you know, he, Adam, had the privilege of having the most beautiful woman ever.
Wait.
But I don't think that anymore.
I think Christ is going to have the most beautiful pride.
When the Lord Jesus presents you and I when he gets his bride.
It says here that she's going to be holy.
She's going to be without spot. No wrinkle, no stain of sin, no wrinkle, no sign of age.
Or any such thing.
Holy.
Not a taint of sin without blemish.
Christ is going to have a perfect bride and you're a part of it and he's trying to form this Christ in your.
In your moral character, your moral features presently, so that you're more and more like Christ, more and more like Him, more and more suitable, you might say, to be a companion of his.
That's Paul's doctor. He's giving us the truth.
That you and I are a part of what that secret that God had that he was going to present.
You to his son.
And he had that in his mind in this Council's before.
The world was formed.
That's marvelous truth, and you and I ought to rejoice.
That we are a part of that.
Let's.
Turn to 1St Corinthians chapter 10.
Maybe First Corinthians Chapter 11 first.
First Corinthians Chapter 11, just at the end. We read these verses so often. Verse 23.
For I have received of the Lord. There's the revelation that he got.
That which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he break it and said, take, eat. This is my body which is broken. It should say, given for you this do in remembrance of me.
After the same manner also he took the cup when he had sucked, saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood. This do ye as OFT as ye drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, either show or announce the Lord's death till he come.
And then back in First Corinthians chapter 10.
Verse 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
For we being many, or one bread, or one loaf, and one body. For we are all partakers of that one bread.
While I used to puzzle at this when I was younger, used to think, you know when the gospels got the same thing.
Corinthians Chapter 11 verse 23 down to 26 you got it more or less Matthews gospel, Mark's gospel, and Luke's gospel. So why does Paul have to tell him? Why is it here in first Corinthians? Always seemed to me like without a place.
But it's part of Paul's doctrine.
Why? Because in the Gospels it's told to us from a historical perspective, and we might say from a Jewish perspective.
They were still Jews, those disciples.
They were there in that upper room and there was a new thing going to be formed on the day of Pentecost was the church. But when the Lord Jesus was talking to them there, they were Jews, Jewish disciples. And it's told, as I say, from a historical perspective and maybe from a Jewish perspective, but here in First Corinthians, it's pulled to us. He tells us the doctrinal significance of what took place in that upper room and the doctrinal sign.
00:35:15
Of what it is that the Lord Jesus did and what he said to his disciples and how he asked them. Paul wasn't there. So it's revealed to the apostle Paul via Revelation. And Paul tells us some things that are not said in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
He says he got this by revelation and he says.
One of the things he says is that we're going to be able to do this till you come.
In verse 26 Tilly come.
I can hardly imagine that we're going to be much beyond the year 2019.
October.
13th, 2019.
Some of us that lived in the past century.
Never believed that we could possibly see the year 2000. Now it's 2019.
I don't need to say anything about the moral conditions of this world.
But.
Brother Darby and his writing says that there's two things that would mark.
And he felt that would mark the nearness of the Lord's coming. And he said, as soon as these two things became quite evident, the nearness of the Lord's coming would be very, very evident, that these two things, that there would be unparalleled prosperity in the Western world, unparalleled.
I've needed nothing.
And then the other thing is, he said that there would be a marked increase in violence.
I think we see both of those things, the marked increase in violence in the Western Christian world and we see unparalleled.
Prosperity.
Where you go to Mexico and the kids have cell phones.
You go to some of the poorer places in Brazil.
Kids have cell phones.
Prosperity abounds, but here the Lord tells us we're going to remember Him till He comes, and then He tells us about the cup of blessing in verse 16. In chapter 10, verse 16, He tells us about the cup, and He tells about the cup because it's the basis of our blessing.
And Paul tells us the significance of that cup. There's a cup of blessing. It doesn't represent the judgment that the Lord Jesus bore.
On the cross, it doesn't represent the cup of judgment that he was looking at.
And anticipating.
As a part of his sufferings.
When he was in the Garden of Gethsemane. It doesn't represent. That's not the cup.
The cup that we have on the table, that cup of wine, represents a cup of blessing and it represents the blood of the Lord Jesus.
That was shed to bring you in the blessing.
God wanted you to be reconciled to Himself.
But the send his son into this world.
And to be able to have you in his presence without any fear as a priest.
To offer sacrifices of praise and Thanksgiving to God.
It cost him the blood of his son.
That's why it's a cup of blessing we bless.
Is it not the communion or the fellowship of the blood of Christ? And then the loaf which we break, Is it not the communion or the fellowship of the body of Christ?
Where we, being many, are one bread or one loaf and one body. We are all partakers of that one loaf, one bread or one loaf.
So when you take a little part of that loaf on the Lord's Day morning and you eat it.
You're publicly proclaiming that you're a member of the body of Christ and you're having fellowship with the Lord, and you're remembering that He died for you.
So this is called ministry. He brings this before us. And so you could categorize all those things that we have that are in Christ and you.
Could develop a little bit of an outline throughout Paul's epistles.
And get a list of those things, a list of those things that have to do with Christ, the mystery of Christ and the church. You could get a list of those verses of Scripture that give us a little bit of indication as to the remembrance of the Lord.
00:40:09
Paul's doctrine was given to Paul.
The last one is the coming of the Lord Jesus. Let's just read.
1St a couple of verses in First Thessalonians chapter 4.
I would not have you to be ignorant rather than concerning them which are asleep that you sorrow not even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, Even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you, by the word of the Lord. There's the revelation that called off. He got it from the Lord. He didn't learn this from the Old Testament scripture.
He learned it from the Lord himself.
That we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent or go before them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, the voice of the Archangel, the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Now I'm going to point something out.
At the beginning of verse 15, put a bracket. If you don't have a bracket in your King James Bible, I believe Mr. Arby's Bible translation has a little bracket there. There's a parenthesis between. So verse 15 right down to the end of verse 18 is a parenthesis.
And he says in verse 14, he's Speaking of the appearing of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus coming is in two parts. You know what it is? He's going to come for his Saints.
1St.
And then he's going to come with his Saints.
Roughly 7 years later at the appearing.
The Old Testament Saints knew about the appearance.
They knew in Zechariah it says that he'll come with all of his Saints, and I think it's in Jude it says, quoting Enoch, that he's going to come with 10 thousands of his things. That meant that he's going to come with all of them.
The Old Testament Saints, they knew that the Lord Jesus was going to come and he was going to set up his Kingdom and he was going to come with all of his Saints, but they didn't know any details. They didn't know how did they get up there?
How did all the Saints get to be together? How did they get, how did their bodies get up there? They didn't know any details.
Really, they knew a little bit.
But it's Paul's ministry that tells us about the resurrection and gives us a distinction between the time that the Lord Jesus comes for his Saints and when he comes with his Saints. And so verse 14 tells us that he's going to come.
With his Saints.
These Saints that God is going to bring with him.
And then he tells us about the rapture in verse 151617, gives us a sequence of events that will take place, and so on.
Why is it important for us to know what Paul taught about the coming of the Lord?
I was in a meeting room.
Not too long ago.
And a brother asked me to have.
To have a chat with a brother that used to be in fellowship at the Lord's Table.
Asked me if I would visit with him. I said well I would visit with him and.
We met at the meeting room, he came over. Hasn't been in fellowship for several.
Years.
And he said he didn't believe in this anymore.
He didn't believe that there was a coming for his St.
And he didn't believe that there was.
A distinction between his the appearing and the rapture, he said. It's all one event.
And he said more than that, he said that there's going to be a revival very shortly, and all of the Christians are going to join together and the world will become.
A better place, So on and so forth. And there's going to be a major revival, and then the Lord is going to appear and set up his Kingdom, and we're helping him.
This way.
Well, you know, we had a.
00:45:01
A little time I was with that brother, maybe half an hour, and I went over these passages of Scripture and gave the distinctions of what Paul talked about, the coming of the Lord, the sequence of events, and the mighty change that's going to take place. And the three stages of the first resurrection, right? There's three stages to the first resurrection. Christ is the first fruits.
And then there's going to be the Rapture. That's the second stage and it's almost there. And then the last stage of the first resurrection is spoken up in Revelation chapter.
We went all over those distinctions.
And that your brother, he is a brother in Christ, argued and argued, argued, and we would not bow.
Fruit of God.
Love it brethren. We need to have an outline of what Paul teaches and why.
He wanted us to know.
That we're a part of the bride of Christ, and Christ is coming through his bride.
That's the next event that we're waiting for and has already been mentioned in these meetings, that the prophetic clock will not start again until the church is removed from this world and.
And then there's going to be an agreement made between Western Europe, the European nations, some call them the United States of Europe, who called the revived Roman Empire. But in Europe, sometimes they call themselves the United States of Europe.
America is withdrawing a little bit.
In Europe is coming in to fill that void. I believe that Europe will become more and more prominent in the Middle East very shortly.
And.
You and I have to recognize that the Lord Jesus is going to remove His church.
They're going to sign an agreement. Israel is going to sign an agreement with their Western European Union or the follow up to that organization, United States of Europe. They're going to sign an agreement for protection and as soon as they sign it.
The seven-year period that last seven years, the last prophetic week of Daniel will begin to March on and so the prophetic clock will start. We need to know what Paul was teaching and we need to have an outline of it. I just would encourage you.
To mark in the little outline in your own Bible on A1 sheet of paper, even if it's only a few verses and then when you find another verse just add it to your little list and get yourself a good list. I have lists in the back of my Bible.
Pages of some of these things to enjoy and to have a good clear grasp of it when I'm trying to think of something that way. Well, me the Lord bless that and may you feel the exercise to.
Record and to search out some of these outlines.
Jonathan
Open—John Kemp
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We just want to make a few remarks, but.
Very briefly until they have someone else.
Opportunity.
I've been looking at the.
Of John we all are familiar with.
The.
Character of Jonathan.
His love for David.
Never failed.
However, we know that, Jonathan.
Miss the mind of the Lord.
And he didn't leave the comforts.
Of his father's court song.
You have the opportunity.
The problem was Jonathan was his father. He thought he could change his fault.
That was not possible.
We often think of Jonathan in connection with failure.
And there was a loss in the life of Jonathan that was never regained.
And it will be manifest that the judgment seat of Christ.
His name is conspicuous.
By its absence.
List of David's mighty men.
But you know.
Jonathan was nevertheless a man of faith.
We turn to First Samuel. Just a few thoughts here.
Samuel Chapter.
14.
I don't think we'll take time to read the whole package.
But it's a marvelous account.
Of individual faithfulness in the time.
A great ruin in the testimony.
The judges had failed. The priesthood had failed. The king had failed.
Jonathan was a man of faith.
And he wanted to.
Please the Lord.
And to fight the battles of the Lord.
But it wasn't an easy time.
Many of the Israelites, if you read carefully in the 14th chapter, they got so discouraged.
That they hid themselves.
Among the Philistines.
Some of them went into holes.
They were hidden, and we thought, brethren, that are hidden.
They said what's the use things are in such a state of?
Decline. There's no power. We might as well go over to the Philistines.
Maybe we'll get something from that.
Is that what we're going to do?
Are we going to? The Philistines have a peculiar place in Scripture. They were enemies within the land.
And they speak, I think, of those who would rob us of our food, our spiritual food. We need to be like Gideon, who thresh that wheat beside the winepress. He was going to have food for his people. Though the Midianites had come in like grasshoppers and impoverished the nation, so did the Philistines here.
First Samuel, chapter 313.
19 Now there was number Smith found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, lest the Hebrews make them swords or Spears. But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen. Every man you share and his culture and his accent is matter.
22 So it came too fast in the day of battle that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan, but with Saul and with Jonathan his son there was thumb.
The Philistines were happy.
To sharpen the agricultural farming instruments, that wasn't a problem.
Wasn't it a side condition? There was number Smith that could no blacksmith in the land of Israel that could sharpen anything.
But when they brought the swords and the Spears to the Philistines, Oh no, we won't shark the ghost.
So it left them in an awful impoverished state. They didn't have a sword or a spear. The whole nation except Jonathan and.
00:05:08
You understand, And so Saul didn't know how to use it.
And so the Philistine certainly will sharpen your your farming instruments. You can go ahead and produce your crops. We'll come in and take it. That's exactly, exactly what the Midianites did in the time of Midian. They impoverished the land.
But Gideon was going to have food that which was his right and.
Brethren, we don't need to go down into the camp in order to find food for our souls.
This was a day of individual faithfulness.
In circumstances that were very difficult.
Almost impossible.
But Jonathan?
Have faith and he.
Had confidence in God when you read here came to pass. 14 and Jonathan the son of Saul.
That unto the young men that bear his armor. Come and let us go over to the Philistines Garrison.
That is on the other side. But he told not his father. That was a wise thing. You know, previous to this, Jonathan had 1000 men.
And Saul had 2000 men.
But Saul couldn't use those men. He didn't know how to encounter the Philistines. Jonathan went out with 1000 men. You read that in the 13th, isn't it? And he won a marvelous victory.
But then when Saul saw what had happened, he stepped in and he said.
That Israel had one a wonderful victory and he he took the credit from Jonathan for the work that he had done.
Stepped in and took the crack.
But Jonathan left that entirely with the Lord.
He didn't defend himself, he just left that with the Lord. He has the record straight.
But now he was going to go not with 1000 men, he was going to go single handed. I.
Against this host of the fellow sites.
You'd say it must. It looked like an impossible situation. The Philistines were good fighters. There were thousands of them, and it was a difficult ascent up here, these sharp rocks. It wasn't easy, you know. If you're going to do something for the Lord, Satan will put every roadblock in the way.
And if you're going to be faithful, don't expect an easy path.
It was more difficult to be a soldier at this time than it was in the Times of David and the Times of David.
The host of the the army went out. It never tells us that David lost the battle.
But this was not the time of David's great exploits and success. This was a time of great weakness among the people of God.
And.
But Jonathan was going to have a spear and a sword for himself.
And he was going to trust the Lord in this situation. And who did he have behind him? An armor bearer, that's all. Two men.
Are climbing up this steep rock here between the passages by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines Garrison. There was a sharp rock on the one side and a sharp rock on the other side, and so on.
Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, come and let us go over unto the Garrison of the Philistines of the sun circumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, but there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few. Yes, he looked back at the wonderful victories of the nation of Israel when they came into the land of Canaan. He knew those examples. He knew that God was able to undertake.
In this situation and you know, you may not have the energy of Jonathan here, I don't think.
Back to Jonathan had a lot of confidence because as he was scaling those steep rocks.
00:10:02
I think he was just still ready to turn back.
And if you look in the 14th chapter.
Come over six, come and let us go over under the Garrison of these uncircumcised.
And his armor bearer seven said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart turn thee. Behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.
I think that Jonathan.
Was was becoming.
Afraid now he was almost ready to turn back, but he had an armor bearer behind him. We don't know his name.
But he just gave him that word of encouragement.
At the time that he needed it. Turn the the whole, my heart is with thee. Isn't that wonderful? You? We can be an armor bearer. If we're not going to be a soldier in the forefront, you can be an armor bearer. Sisters can do that. I can look back and think of dear sisters gathered to the Lord's name who were real armor bearers and gave me that word of encouragement that I needed just at the time.
When I was engaged in some conflict.
Well, the armor bearer here.
Encourage Jonathan just at the moment when he needed it.
And remarkable that.
When David recounts the mighty men.
He mentions Job's armor bearer, but he doesn't mention Job himself.
But Job's armor bearer is nature.
So you know how young people?
Let's not be like Saul here. Here he was verse two of chapter 14. Saul carried in the uttermost part of Gabaya under a pomegranate tree, which is in migrant and the people that were with him were 600 men. He had 600 men, but he was relaxing and taking his ease under a pomegranate tree.
And the Philistines were pressing in upon him.
Didn't have any power to go against them. I think I've often sat under a pomegranate tree when there was a work to be done, whether it be in the gospel, in the ministry, in the assembly, or it may be in the attending the prayer meeting. I'm sorry to say that sometimes the prayer meeting in my assembly is very poorly attended.
As compared with other meetings.
The prayer meeting is an assembly meeting. The Lord is in the midst in that meeting if sometimes it's neglected.
Anyway, we find that.
Saul had no spiritual power or energy to do anything.
He sat there under the pomegranate tree.
And Jonathan single handed.
Lined up these rocks and.
And we know how the the Lord intervened for him in a marvelous way.
And gave him a victory. Those Israelites that were hiding among the Philistines, traitors, you would say, when they saw the way the battle was going, they came out and joined the ranks.
And those that were hidden in the holes because of fear of the Philistines, they rallied and came out.
Well.
I think that among brethren we have some that are hidden ones too, they just don't have an exercise to.
Be at the meetings and you wonder whether they're in fellowship or not.
So let us in spite of the weakness that we encounter.
Let us seek to be faithful in that sphere where the Lord has placed us.
One brother was speaking to another brother and he said my it must have been wonderful.
In the early days of brethren that I have often read about in the biographies where there's much spiritual power.
When great numbers were gathered to the Lord's name, when there was teaching ability that we seen.
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Nothing of now in the same the same proportion.
Intellectual giants that left us so much precious ministry. But, you know, I think that it takes more grace to go on.
Day after day, week after week, in that small assembly where you are, where there's not much activity, there's not much spiritual energy to do anything to go on and be faithful to the Lord. Be an example looking after that Sunday school class and maybe launching out with the gospel.
Where you are.
It's wonderful to be together like we are this weekend and have the encouragement one with the other, but we're going back to assemblies to find the situation the same as when we left. Are we going down the spiritual energy to go on or are we going to give up and say there's nothing being done here? Let's go down to the Philistines.
Where there's some activity and we're going to drift back to the camp. If I build a game, the things that once I destroyed, I make myself a transgressive.
Haggai was one who stirred up the people.
To get away from their sealed houses, spending all their energy and.
Preparing beautiful residences for themselves.
Leaving the House of God.
In an unfinished condition, thinking of their own things and.
Or getting or neglecting the House of God.
What did Paul say to Archippus? Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received of the Lord, that thou fulfill it, Jeremiah says, cursed be he that doeth the word of the work of the Lord negligently. We put a lot of effort into secular things were in the.
Drop your 12 of Romans.
Not.
Lazy in business. That's not the correct translation there. As to diligent zealousness, having the energy, it's not a question of secular work there, but it's the Lord's work, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord Well, just a few thoughts, brethren. This was a day of.
Small things and a day of much weakness.
23.
So the Lord saved Israel that day. What a wonderful victory he accomplished.
And if there's a victory in our lives in any measure, let us get back to Gilgal.
And owned that it was all the grace of God. It wasn't our power.
So it says in the 23rd verse Israel say the Lord saved Israel that day and the battle passed over unto Beth Horan. Oh yes, you know the Philistines. The spoilers came out in two or three regions. They were all around.
But you think after this wonderful victory of Jonathan, it would be all over? No, no, you're going to be a struggle yet. The battle passed over unto Beth Horan. We're still going to have to meet conflict and that which would discourage us. You know when Peter made that right. Confession of the Lord.
In John chapter 6, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
You might have wondered what why the Lord responded to him the way he did.
He didn't say I would have said Peter, that's a lovely confession you made.
Wonderful, thank you Reverend Lee speaking, the Lord didn't say that he said have not I chosen you 12 and one of you is Adele. In other words, he said Peter.
If you're looking at me, don't look at others because there's another disappointment ahead for those of us who are older have seen a lot of disappointments among the gathered Saints.
And the battle is not over yet.
00:20:03
Until the Lord comes.
Uh, Satan will oppose more than anything the truth of being gathered outside the systems of men to his precious name, to give the Spirit of God his rightful place and the Lord his rightful place. And if we want to have a sword and a spear and food, we can have it, but we've got to put forth the energy.
We can't be sitting under the pomegranate like Saul did here when there's a battle ahead of us and there's a work to be done.
We think of the gospel and the vast fields right here in Canada now to reach every nationality you could mention. Oh, may the Lord help us to continue on, continue on in the things which Dallas learned as we go back to our home meetings where there might be only two or three. May we count upon the Lord in that day of weakness.
That there is no restraint for him to save by many or by few, he is the same.
He is the same and.
We can enjoy the Lord potentially as much as the apostle Paul did in this day of weakness. May the Lord bless His word to us.
Thank you #166.
Or Donald Strong this afternoon and let us run never tired by President shall our comfort be thyself, our hope, our soul desires present Savior wild, nor fear nor city.
#166.
00:25:34
Moving dog and our Father, we do thank you for the encouragement of the Scriptures. And so we do feel our hearts encouraged, and we just pray that they'll preserve and keep us. And it's upon thyself we thank Thee for the hope of the Lord Jesus soon return for us. That day will come when all evil will be restrained.
Satan's power and our Lord will reign alone in righteousness until He comes we.
Now we have a warfare ourselves need to be in the Word, to learn the doctrines of Scripture, that our practical path might be conformed to Thy Word and honoring and pleasing to Thee, that we might know what it is we are to defend and uphold. And we just pray that each one of us might have.
That sword of the Spirit in our hands as we go on in the path, waiting for the Lord's coming and to encourage.
One another to go on, to go forward. And so we do pray that we might each be able to take up that place of the the armor bearer to encourage one another. So we just commit this little time we've had to be and should we be left here the remainder of the day, the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. Amen.
Romans 12:9-21
Reading
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Can we sing 127?
127.
Oh bless God.
Now we look to the Lord.
God and Father, we thank you for that home that is awaiting us.
Thank thee for the hope of soon being with them like my son.
But we are currently in the wilderness yet.
Waiting that shout while we're here. We need instruction. Direction from my word.
Exercise of heart by Thy Spirit. And we pray that as we open my word one more time, there can be blessing.
00:05:05
For each of us as we consider those gifts that are given for the purpose of building up by dear people.
Providing that which is needful, you think of that scripture that reminds us that we then that are strong up to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves or even Christ, please, not himself. So we ask thy help that as we think of these things, and if we have been given some gift that we're aware of that we might use it for the blessing and benefit of others. We pray there might be that unfeigned love that we read about in that chapter.
That's demonstrated between us as thy dear people. So we ask this, Ask thy blessing.
My nice spirit, as we open my word again one more time, we pray, giving thanks, Lord Jesus and my precious name, Amen.
Romans chapter 12. Would you think that starting perhaps at verse 9?
Romans, chapter 12.
9.
Let love be without the simulation.
And more, that which is evil cleave that which is good.
Behind the affection 1 to another with brotherly love.
In honor of referring one another.
Not slothful in business. Fervented spirit serving the Lord.
Rejoicing in hope.
Patient and tribulation continuing instant in prayer distributing to the necessity of Saints given to hospital. Bless them which persecute you. Bless and curse not.
Rejoice.
Rejoice and weep with them, that we.
Be in the same mind, one toward another.
Mind not my things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
Recompense to no man, evil for evil.
Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
If it be possible, as much as life in you, live peaceably with all men.
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath, For it is written, Bend is his mind. I will repay, saith the Lord.
Therefore, if by an enemy hunger feed him, If he thirst, give him drink, for in so doing thou shalt keep coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
For the last portion we had, we took up some of those gifts that have been given.
To us as individuals.
In verse 6 and he mentioned there I believe 7 gifts. So prophecy is one in verse six in the middle of verse 6.
Verse 7, Ministry or service and the end of verse 7, teaching.
And then in verse 8, the 4th one is exhortation.
And then giving in verse 8, the middle of verse. And then he that rule us or leads, that's the 6th 1:00 and then he that showeth mercy.
So 7 and really a picture of completeness. It's no doubt another one of these lists that the apostle gives us, not all inclusive. There are other gifts than some of the other officials you mentioned some of those gifts.
But here, now he he has 13 individual little exhortation to stir up the Saints to live in a practical way.
Up to the to live consistently with the truth that they are Christians and that they have.
Responsibility for God and they have been given the power they have the capacity to do these things that they walk in the spirit. And so the first one is in verse 9 is an exhortation to love without any pretense and then in the second one in the verse is to have more that which is evil.
Third one is to cleave to that which is good.
At verse 10, the 4th one to be kindly affection.
To one another, and then the fifth one to honor and honor preferring one another. The 7th 1 fervent in spirit.
00:10:09
In the eighth one and verse 11, serving the Lord, verse 12, rejoicing in hope.
Patient in tribulation, that's the 10th, 111Th is continuing instant in prayer and then verse 13.
The 12Th 1. Distributing to the necessity of the Saints.
Then the last one, the 13th, 1:00.
The hospitality. So it's a real.
Exercise.
For us, there are those things that are perhaps more.
A little easier for us to do than others, but there were exhorted to live in this way, this characteristic, to display the moral features of Christ in our practical walk. And so Paul and George in this way.
Maybe that someone knows the distinctions, but their love is mentioned twice here. It says love without. Let love be without the simulation. I think this is agape love and so love for our brethren and unpretentious love that loves them. And it's really a decided thing. I decide that I'm going to love my brethren because Christ loved them and gave himself for them. But then.
To be kind, the affection 1 to another in verse 10 really speaks of the love that.
What you say is Philly or love is to seek the companionship and the fellowship of those that belong to Christ. What better companionship do we have than those that have been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ that seek to please the Lord and to walk in obedience to the truth of God? You have a better companion.
And so it's necessary for us to have that exercise to seek out.
Brethren that desire that and to walk with them.
Yeah, there's actually the three main terms that are used in the New Testament for love here, because really in verse 10, the brotherly love is Vallejo, isn't it? The kindly affection is actually, if I remember right, it's a cog term that includes filet O, but it's filet O stargate, which is another word that's used, and I think it's only used here, but it's a little different thought. And there's another expression that's used in the Old Testament. The word is ahave.
Which is more the romantic love? But I felt that I think we have a beautiful illustration of these four terms of love in the book of Ruth.
In the first chapter we have what corresponds to agape love, which is a love of commitment. And again, that's how we can love without the simulation. We don't use that word, New translation says.
Love Unchained? Well, we understand that.
Our love to one another shouldn't just be a plastic smile. It shouldn't be that we avoid one another when we come to meeting. It's love that's unfamed. It's real. Why? Because it's the love that God had for us. Agape love. It's the love of commitment. If I put the Lord first.
Then I'll have that love for my brethren as well. It's a God by love. I remember Eric Smith telling the story about that once and it's like I've never forgotten it, he said. There was two brothers down in Bolivia that didn't get along with one another.
And so.
Time came when the one brother was on his deathbed and the other brothers felt bad about that, knew they hadn't got along very well. So he went to that brother on his deathbed, he said brother.
Anything I can do for you? Well, he was not going to live very long, so maybe that was an easy request and rather thought a second. And he said, there's one thing you can do for me, brother. Take this pillow, this feather pillow and walk outside. Open it up and spread it up the feathers and the wind.
Oh brother, I'd be glad to do that for you.
So I went and did that. He came back and said, brother, I did that. It's all scattered all over. He said now do one more thing for me if you would go out and pick up all those feathers.
Well, he was saying that the time had been lost, wasn't he? Let's remember that, brother.
Love. Let's love one another with an unfeigned love. It only comes first. As we've been saying in these meetings, the moral is a result of the spiritual.
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There must be that love of commitment first, as we love, as Christ loved us. So that's the first chapter of Ruth. She cleaves to her mother-in-law, doesn't she? The second chapter she mixes with those others that were there in the in Bethlehem.
She mixes with the other woman and so on. It's a beautiful illustration of brotherly love.
The love she found that she didn't know, and the land where she was born in Moab.
There was that love and affection. There were those that drew the water out the young men. There were those that were the harvesters. There was the man that was set over the over the harvesters. There was Boaz, there was the other maidens that were there were gleaning as well. There was real love shown to her. That's filet of love, isn't it? And that's a beautiful thing. And that's what we have here, brotherly love.
Love 1 to another. That's where the word Philadelphia comes from is the City of Brotherly Love.
But then in the third chapter of Ruth, there's something a little different, and we might say it's romantic love.
Naomi wanted something better for her daughter-in-law and she knew that the law allowed for it. So she instructs her according to the law of the land. And there is that affection that grows between the two. And Ruth finds out not only that she wants Boaz, but she finds out that Boaz wants her too.
As his wife. And that's really the word as it's been explained to me that it's called a haba. I think it's the noun if I remember right, it's the word that's commonly used in the Song of Solomon. It's what we might call romantic love. So the love of commitment. We have brotherly love, we have romantic love. That's not in the New Testament and I'm not sure why, but it's a common word and you look in the and the importance is in the explanation of the of the Hebrew word it's.
Speaks particularly of that intense love between a husband and wife. It's a little broader than that, but that's the particular meaning. That's what we have in the third chapter of Ruth, but in the 4th chapter of Ruth, I think what we have here in verse 10.
Be kindly affection. That's the word store gate again. I think it's actually Philo store gate, which is a compound word, but.
It's the it's the love of rest.
I'm not getting the exact thought there, but in the 4th chapter of Ruth. Let me double check here. In the 4th chapter of Ruth.
She becomes the wife of Boaz.
And she becomes a mother in Israel, which is a beautiful thing.
Get the exact expression.
Well, it's rest secured. It's the love of, we might say family. Not getting the exact word I had in mind, but I thought I had a note on it. But it's that love. Somebody said it's like like like an old shoe or it's like going home and you don't have to knock on the door. You just walk right in. You're home now.
And that's the final stage of love. So be kindly affection. We're really close to one another.
Is the thought here we really care for one another.
And that's what Ruth finds. In fact, it's interesting that finally in that 4th chapter, at least once, Ruth is no longer called Ruth, the Moabitess, she's called Ruth. She becomes a mother in Israel. And as we know, she comes into the royal line of Israel. And as we know, even later, she comes into the royal mind of the Lord Jesus himself. So there's four aspects of love, a love of commitment.
Their love of friendship or brotherly love, romantic love in the third chapter. And then rest is secure. Or she becomes a blessing to others. It's a more stable type of love, the love of belonging. That's the term I was looking for. She's no longer a stranger. She's no longer roots of all about us. Ultimately, she's Ruth, Ruth in the royal mind of Israel. How much more blessing could there be?
And that's what we have here. Be kindly affectionate 1 to another. So we have the three expressions that we have in the New Testament for love in these two verses. And there's a nice progression there.
00:20:08
Brother John, you referred to the better better translation of verse 11. Maybe you can help us on that again.
As to you.
And zealousness and.
Develop a zealousness revoltedness and just not supporting it exactly the thought was as.
Being zealous.
And devoted it's not the problem that secular.
Business here.
But it still works work that we could get.
The energetic and zealous and those things which.
We do for the war we shouldn't be neglecting or to have hardest to.
Attempts.
Might be good to read it in the new translation. It says as to diligent zealousness, not slothful.
In spirit bourbon.
And so.
There is to be not only the work done, not only.
Nothing without the simulation, but what we're to do as we do unto the Lord in the power of the Spirit, we're to do with the right attitude, and so to do it heartily.
To do it with zealousness and if we're going to do anything for the Lord.
It's something that needs to be done in the right spirit. I believe that the restaurant spirit.
It's good. It's possible to do the right thing, but not in the right spirit.
Too often the Lord gets our leftovers, doesn't it?
And the point here is that you should be first. He deserves the first place.
Sometimes we say, well we've worked hard, I'm too tired to go to meeting, but maybe if we planned our day a little better, we made going to meeting and being with our brethren and prayer and over the Word of God together.
Object of our day? Well then we plan our day a little differently, maybe not get so worn out so we could be at meeting.
That the thought, John, you know, I was also saying that we're not told to show feel your love for the unsaved.
You could get there.
Compromising principles in that.
Caught up with their worldly ways and so we don't feel that Billy old law that's between brethren, but not truly unsafe and so my copy of.
The divine love that is in the heart of God, for that the brother of the night is more emotion than it's the different characters you know.
Thing of a verse from the song of Deborah Barrett and Judges chapter 6 about the tribe of Reuben when it came time for battle.
A singing this song and they say why bodhisattva among the sheepfolds to hear the bleedings of the fox.
For the divisions of Reuben.
There were great searchings of heart.
For great impressions apart so.
Might say diligent zealousness, but awfulness. They never got up and did what their hearts were impressed about. In other words, they realized they should be going out and helping and they knew it was the right thing to do and they were convicted about that, but just never got around to doing it. And that's the same with us. We can be very convicted about things and then.
You know, other things come in. We never really get around to carrying out what the Lord laid on our heart.
It's like building the wall of Jerusalem and some of them put their neck to it and others were slothful and didn't care too much about it. But we didn't do a better job.
I think we get a.
Verse Brother John in Acts 4.
To back up what you were saying.
Acts 4 and 23.
That the dissection that says being let go, they went to their own company.
So after work is finished like you were referring to.
00:25:04
Where? Where do we go?
We want to be with the words people. Or do we want to hang out with the people we work with all day?
You know, and this is so important, some of us that are older, we try to counsel the young people, don't we? And I know the young people sometimes say there's not much for them in the meetings, but we need to be careful about the kind of career we choose. Certainly. Do we want to choose a career that's going to take all my time and all my energy? So they don't have any time or energy left for the Lord and his people. That's not a good thing, is it? So I really, really.
Encourage the young people to consider that.
When we get to the end of our life.
Stand at the judgment seat of Christ. It's not going to be How successful were you at your career?
It's going to be.
Did we do that which the Lord placed us here to do? And that takes spiritual energy. And it takes special spiritual energy in a way to see a day, doesn't it? Because the way to see is characterized by Luke warmness. Don't care, can't get out of my bed. Don't want to hide our candle under a bed. That's what that means, doesn't it?
Easy to be lazy. We're all prone to it, but the other danger is we get taken up with all these other things that occupy all of our time and we don't have any time and energy left to the Lord. How many people we've known that have been that way? And it's a temptation for all of us. But I speak especially for the young people. Choose a career that doesn't have to be. The world will tell you to do something that takes all your energy and.
And and amplifies all your skills.
To the Max. But that's not necessarily God's way at all. In fact, it's contrary to what we're reading here. If it consumes all my energy, what about my family? What about the Lord's things? Do you remember? When we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, that's what's going to be important. Only what's done for Christ will last.
And it takes it takes real.
Waiting on the Lord.
To know what kind of a job you should be applying for because there are so many corporations these days that you can work for.
That will be very glad for you this 24/7 working for them.
Via cell phones and.
All the devices we have to be on call all the time.
And it's a kind of a balance in a way, because we are to do our jobs well when we're in the workplace as a, as a testimony to the Lord.
But not to the point where as you say.
It displaces what this time that we should be spending with the Lord, with the word people and with our founders, which are very important.
So it takes a little discernment and, and getting down on our knees, I believe and asking the Lord, is this really the drug that you want me to do or is it going to drag me down and, and not in that respect.
It's an individual exercise, isn't it? An older brother, some of you know, again that he said to me years ago, he said, I pray to the Lord when I was a young man that I might have work to do, that I would be able to provide for my family and I would be able to work half the day and then the other half of the day I could use that day, that part of the day for the Lord and for the Lord's things.
And the Lord gave him.
The answer to his prayer?
And what prophet is being?
Individual exercise God always honors and delights to honor.
When he is given the first place.
Love is the motive spring, so that comes first.
That as to individual exercise, just like to encourage you if the Lord brings something before you to do.
And and puts a burden on your heart. Don't stop and get all your brother together. Say we need to do this.
And we need to get stirred up and and about this thing or that thing.
It'll just never happen. The Lord put it on your heart, go do it. Maybe somebody else will see that and Lord will put that on their heart too and join in with you. It seems like sometimes there's a burden that gets on the heart and then we got to stop and it's got to be a group effort.
00:30:16
I don't think that's the way these scriptures are presenting it to us. It's laid on your heart. Go do it. Go do it.
And the Lord can enlarge it, bless it, bring others and let him do that. But sometimes I think things get stopped in their tracks because, oh, it's got to be a group effort, but nobody else has exercised.
Oh well, you know, and out the window it goes.
Well, there's another aspect of that too, and I know a brother that was exercised about going to help out at Bible Truth Publishers.
He had recently retired and had some time on his hands and had some abilities.
On a practical line and he wanted to go there and be a help.
But for some reason there were health issues or there was this or there was that and he wasn't interested in the group helping him. But somehow or another, over the years, things kind of waned a little bit and waned a little. And I talked to him probably 4-6 years after I first heard about his exercise and I said.
See, brother, you never ended up at BT, Honey said. You know what he said?
I think I missed the Lord's mind and I should have gone.
But something hindered me, multiple things maybe. So we need to be careful as well that if the Lord's put something on our heart, we don't lose that exercise through this slothfulness that we've been talking about. Because it's a real thing. I mean, it's exercises work. That's what you go to the gym to do. You go to the gym to exercise. But we need to do that in a spiritual way too. And we can say there's a lion in the streets or whatever, and I can't go today. And we can do that with our spiritual exercise as well and say, well, you know, there's this or well, there's that. And well, maybe I didn't really understand the Lord's mill, right, or whatever.
But if the Lord puts something on your heart, just really be before Him about it, because there's a good chance He's leading you into something that He would really like you to do. So it's important not to get distracted and miss out. I just feel so bad for that brother, but it's too late now.
You can't take up that exercise at this point. Would you say that you could connect it to Romans chapter 12 here? Verse one, Present your body as a living sacrifice.
Holy. You know, a sacrifice. We didn't say it, but define it a little earlier, but a sacrifice is taking something that is very exceedingly valuable, very precious to you.
And taking it and offering it to another.
Without any strings attached. And so oftentimes we get strings attached and it's the sacrifice doesn't occur. But you know, the Lord Jesus offered himself a sacrifice to God.
No screens attached.
The sacrifice was made. What blessing has poured forth as a result? And so he decided to do a little bit of something for the Lord. It's going to be a sacrifice. You're going to have to trade your own time, whatever it might be. There's a cost, there's a price you pay. But dog values will sacrifices.
And so he speaks of this rejoicing and hoping.
And to have a hope before us, I think it's a little bit different than the new translation, he says, as regards hope rejoicing.
So we have a future hope. We have a hope oftentimes in the New Testament is a deferred certainty. It's something that's going to occur.
Rejoicing and hope we ought to be looking forward.
And being thankful that we can look forward and have the right view of things.
The right view of what the end of all things is. So our hope ought to be in Christ and in his. The activities that He allows us to be engaged in and rejoice in that hope.
Share a little exercise and I know Mr. Garvey's translation is slightly different.
Verse 10 and honor preferring one another and I don't want to step on anybody's toes when I'm saying this.
00:35:06
Being ladies and gentlemen in the meeting is the right thing.
It's the right thing to be courteous.
And all of those things.
But when we sat down to remember, the Lord and His death were at the Lord's table as members of His body.
We partake of that loaf and that and that cup as members of his body. We sat next to our husbands and wives. That's appropriate.
But when I get below and take some, I partake as a member of the body of Christ. I pass it to the next member of the body of Christ next to me.
What I think we do is we end up bringing the husband and wife relationship into a place that doesn't belong. And you see the cup of loaf passing back and forth between husbands and wives because the husband wants to make sure his wife has it first because he wants to pay her honor.
But that's not what it's being spoken up here.
And so we bring that relationship that's natural into the remembrance of the Lord.
And so we see especially at conference time where there's quite a few of us.
My husband, you know, gets the cup, he passes it to his wife, she passes it back to him, and then he passes it on beyond her. And it's quite a bit of back and forth to accomplish making sure husbands honor their wives. But I don't think that has any place. And remember, it's the Lord. We're here as members of his body when we remember him, not as husbands and wives. And so we want to prefer one another. But if I prefer one member of the body of Christ before me and giving her the loaf first or the cup first, even though it comes to me, comes to me next. And I probably should prefer all the rest of the members of the body price before me and make sure everybody has them before I have it.
And I hope, I hope you can take me in a right way. I don't mean to be legal or posing some sort of an ordinance, but just something I've noticed. I wonder if we've sort of slipped away from the sense that we're here gathered as members of the body of Christ when we remember the Lord.
Not as husbands and wives. I think that's absolutely correct. Just if I agree with that, I don't think that's what it's speaking about here.
We can honor each other above ourselves. We should be doing that in other ways.
Not trying to put ourselves first.
That husband wife relationships are not entering to the order and the emblems are possible.
And it is helpful to see this first in the new translation. I realize this is moving back a little bit, but it says as to honor each taking the lead and paying it. And we cannot do that unless that which was touched on earlier as as far as the Divine love being exercised and then the brotherly love being exercised, you cannot do that.
Take take the lead and showing honor to others unless there is that proper exercise of love.
But it's an interesting thing observing rather than that love each other, perhaps in a in a reading meeting or or perhaps in where there's a meeting for ministry.
And if there is that true desire?
To take the lead in showing honors to others. Perhaps one gets up and they speak for a little longer than they expected. There was more on their heart perhaps and and another perhaps had something on their heart and they just you know what that's really nice with that brother had to share and it's not Oh, that brother missed the Lord's mind and and and just oh, what a mess and you know I had something I want to know each taking the lead and showing honor to the other and so when there's when there's that genuine.
Love, or rather not love of Christ, when we sit down and we see that brother for whom Christ died, and then when we just, we like our brethren, there's that brotherly love and just we, we want to be with them. We want to see them going on for the Lord. And there's that, that genuine care. And we can take that lead in showing the honor each to the other.
And it that there's that that part of the verse that you're on me that by days, maybe as the days of heaven upon earth. And when there is that.
That proper exercise in the body of Christ, it's a very, very sweet thing.
Just these, these verses, they're not just, you know, just check off a bucket list. They're attributes of Christ that will be worked out in each one of our lives. And when they are, it's a beautiful thing.
00:40:06
Yeah, I think that's the emphasis of that verse, is to each taking the lead and honoring one another. That's really the emphasis, isn't it? We're not very good at that.
But moving on here, verse 13 is pretty, doesn't need a lot of exposition.
Distributing to the necessity of Saints given the hospitality.
And then verse 14 is the result of agape love, isn't it? John was speaking about before bless them which persecute you bless and curse not well that can only be done with agape love, can it? But then the next verse is filet O love rejoice with them that do rejoice and weep with them that that weep speaking especially of.
Federal believers, no doubt.
And then be of the same mind, one toward another. What's that mean?
Harmony of relationship that's been said doesn't mean that we always agree in everything and we never have differences of thought, but as a rule we want to work together.
And come to a common understanding and be encouragers, be as we're members of one body, and be a help and an encouragement to one another.
I've enjoyed the thought in connection with hospitality here, that it's the last exhortation on the list.
But it won't really take place unless the others are really paid attention to. Rather high coop in this little book on little outline of the book of Ruth, he says. You know the kind words are so scarce among us, you think they cost $10 a piece.
And so it it starts with kind words to one another.
And to express our love that, and not with the simulation, not to pretense, but to speak kind words and to mean them. And the apostle Paul was a master of.
Commending others and just honoring them before himself, you might say. He says. I was thinking that even in Romans chapter 16 he speaks of the quill and Priscilla.
And he mentioned Priscilla first here. So I take it that she was really the one that took the lead in this incident.
He said the Greek Priscilla and Aquila might help her in Christ Jesus. Here's a couple, he says. They're my helpers. They give them honor for helping. You don't know what they did, but they sure helped. It says in verse four who have for my life laid down their own necks. Was that an honor?
Because you never heard about this.
But I'm going to tell you that there was an occasion when these two people laid down their necks, and my I was going to take it. The enemy was going to get me. They laid down their own necks, under whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches. The Gentiles likewise treat the church that is in their house. I thought the letter of combination this morning that was read was very nice. There was something that could be commended that was of this dear sister that.
Just touched the heart.
But these brethren have noticed wasn't that she's flawless, but there was something of Christ that they saw and they appreciated it. And so if we could just see that. And then if we're given the hospitality, have that tendency and brethren, we're giving it up that it seems it's difficult to have the different ones in the home. At times we get busy and it's fall again in the Hebrews chapter 13, he says.
Forget not hospitality. I can't remember what this term is here, but.
Chapter 13.
And he says be not forgetful in verse 2, Be not forgetful to entertainment, to entertain strangers, or be not forgetful of hospitality.
For thereby some have entertained angels unawares. So it's possible to get so busy and so wrapped up in life. And the enemy has used busyness in life, so that we don't have our brethren in the home.
Take of our food, our resources, and minister to our brethren in our homes.
Have a little time over the word.
And be refreshed together. And then there's really that expression of love to our brethren. So it's quite striking to me that it's right at the end of these exhortations, the last one. And it's not going to happen at the 1St 12 didn't happen.
From verse 14 down, he's really speaking to those that are in the outside of the Christian testimony. Perhaps when you think bless them which persecute you, bless the church. Not unbeliever may not have an appreciation for how a Christian conducts himself, and he may want the Christian to cheat and to do some things that are not above board.
00:45:23
But the believer may be persecuted and we may face it a little more as we come down to the end of the day of grace. But he's speaking here and giving instruction, practical instruction, that we might live as much as possible. Verse 18 As much as life, and you live peaceably with all men.
And so the spirit and our conduct our interface with those in the world.
Needs to be reflective of the character of Christ as well.
Upper 16 is still among brethren, isn't it? And perhaps verse 15. So there's a little question as to where that ends.
But be able to say mind one toward another. I think that's what our brethren, isn't it? We're not going to be the same mind with worldly people and then mind not high things, but.
Not condescend. That's not a very good word, is it? It's really the new translation I believe is Go along with men of low estate.
Be not wise in your own conceits. In other words, the Christian looks out for those that are in low estate, whether they're poor or whether they're needy of some way. The Christian has a concern for those people. Hitler tried to get rid of them all, didn't they? He didn't want anybody who was disabled and he. My wife had some relatives that.
Had a mental breakdown and all of a sudden.
The brown shirts or black shirts, whatever they were, came along and said well, we want to take them to to a certain place.
And her grandfather said, well, next we're going to get a death certificate. And that's exactly what happened. So Hitler didn't have any time for people that were weak. But the Christian is the lookout for those that are weak, isn't it? Go along with men of low estate.
Verse 16.
Being of the same mind, one toward another.
Doesn't have to go along with.
Uh, Ephesians 4, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit.
If you and I are not of the same mind.
I've had something.
In the Lord's things or or.
I'm not of the same mind with other brothers in my local assembly. We better get down on our knees and ask the Lord for His mind to show us all His mind.
And we remember being in Peru when I was teaching school down there and that.
What I got to know, dear brother.
Your Honor, very well.
You were from the upper class.
Of the Peruvian society.
The banker And in Peru, it's not normal for people from that to the level of society.
To mix with those before the city of Lima and.
The the.
The indigent. But you know, when Brother Valderrama was at conferences and mixed with the the poor freely, he helped them, He ate with that.
That was not according to Peruvian society, but I thought it was a beautiful example of going along with the Lord.
I think that really fits the translation and.
Verse 16 have the same respect one for another, not minding type things. We all have different stations.
In life, naturally speaking and.
In the society we live in, because of democratic principles, things tend to get more level perhaps than when Paul wrote this. But the same thing can come in and.
Because I'm in a different station in life than somebody else, Maybe I think I'm too good to.
Go along that in common fellowship with someone that's kind of lower level socially than where I'm at, and that can happen among believers.
00:50:13
Even those who are wealthy enough to use their money for the Lord's things, but kind of form a little group of the wealthy brother and they, they're doing things for the Lord, but they golf together, they fellowship together. They because they're all on a certain level.
And it's really a device of kind of a thing in the end.
God always looks out for the underdog, doesn't he? If we can see today, James tells us not to have respect one to another because a man comes in a gay clothing or whatever and you have respect to them. It goes back into the Old Testament where you have in Leviticus 19 about when you reach the harvest of your land. I shall not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the leanings of thy harvest.
Thou shalt not glean thy vine vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard. Thou shalt leave them for the poor and the stranger. There are people more disadvantaged than we are. And as I said in my prayer at the beginning, we then that are strong not to bear the infirmities of the weak. What if the Lord Jesus had to come here and taken us up?
Where would we be?
But he came here, set aside his glory to come.
And save the likes of us. And yet we tend, like Steve was saying, to make these distinctions among ourselves. And we have some that we feel comfortable with and some that are maybe a little below us, we think. But that's not the way the Lord Jesus was. It says to the poor the gospel was pregnant. And may that be our exercise, the poor of the flock.
Need our help?
I suppose we could apply this spiritually to, couldn't we?
Some perhaps aren't as advanced as others, but.
The Lord had a heart for each one.
And the proof in First John.
Chapter 5. By this we know that we love the children of God. I'll start at verse one. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God and everyone that loveth him to begat love with him also.
That is begotten of Him. Well, that's a good thought too, isn't it? So the Lord loves all his people equally in that sense, doesn't He?
The Lord with perfect example in this He did most of his work in Galilee and so you might say in the working class of the nation, Judah and Benjamin, and so the learned, the centers of learning and centers of religion.
Political center really was.
Jerusalem, the military center with Caesarea. But those poor fishermen.
There were those that had faith and those that followed him and he called them from among those working class. There were some. We know Matthew was a tax collector. Perhaps he was educated. We know that Paul was very well educated and perhaps the most educated Jew at the time where he he was no sloth that way.
But here he is writing and Speaking of the truth that we are members of the body of Christ, and there is no.
1St and 2nd and 3rd class as it were. We're all members of the body of Christ, and he desired that the Saints would go on and not reflect the.
Strata of the society that our brothers been Speaking of.
I have to learn a lesson in covetousness.
As you know, Brother Jim was in the assembly where I go.
And I was covetousness of the clothes anymore.
Made so strange, but it's something that bothered me.
I was jealous that he had the latest suit, the latest tied, the vest, the shoes, etcetera, etcetera and I was coming to someone, I thought, oh, must be nice to have money to wear those nice clothes.
But you know, I had to wear a heart. Listen, just before Jim passed away, I heard through the Grapevine.
That Sudbury in the United States.
00:55:01
Every year.
Supplied it with its clothes.
I had to swallow a pill.
At Bitter Pill.
Of being covered just to think of this brother who I was jealous of his clothes of all things, and get to find out.
There's some family in the United States every year.
Make sure that he had good clothes. That was a hard, hard focus fall.
I'm going to.
But I believe verse 17 to 21 That it does go out then our our relationship with the world.
As believers recompense that no man evil for evil.
Hard to do sometimes, isn't it? Somebody treats us badly, we want to treat it badly. Back nature. But this is Christianity.
Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
Sometimes I've heard it said of Christian people that are have been at the Lord's Table. She couldn't believe a word they said or that they had defrauded people. That's a horrible thing, isn't it? It's obvious here. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
So there is a public testimony to how we conduct ourselves in our work and in our neighborhood as to how we provide for our own, and the neighbors are watching.
I can remember that when we live in Ohio, there was neighbors across the road and they came over after we had a group of young people over at our house several times. They would come on a Saturday, sometimes on a large day afternoon, and so on.
And the neighbor came walking over. He says, boy, those are unusual in young people. Says none of them are burning up the streets with the rubber. You know, they're not drag racing and they're they're they're they're so they're polite to one another and and that there's no.
Yelling and chasing one another on the streets.
These are different young people.
And so the comments were made that these are real Christian young people. These are not just young people going to church. These are real and young Christian young people. So the world is watching. And so they're watching as to how you provide for your family and how I provide and the priorities that we have to provide for our own.
So the natural selfish man, he would take the best for himself and then he gives the leftovers to his wife, where he gives the leftovers to others and so on. But it's quite interesting here that the Spirit of God records that provides things honest in the sight of Paul.
So you are being watched.
The whole idea of the retaliation is very.
Severely reprimanded here, isn't it Because we're not? We're not. So tendency of the heart keeping cold with fire on their head.
Will be doing them a kindness.
And the effect of leading them.
To self judgment about.
The what they have done for you, the injury perhaps they have.
Perpetrated.
It's not demanding our rights and holding an unforgiving spirit looking for the first opportunity to do that. Personal Congress, certainly a test of our spiritual state.
Yeah, I think that's important, John. It's I think that's really the best understanding of this verse, isn't it? That heaping coals on somebody's head is really the thought is that we want to reach their conscience. How do you heat coals on somebody's head? Well, if they're unkind to you, you show them a kindness.
Perhaps that'll reach their conscience. We might read it on the surface a little differently than that, but I think that's the real point here.
The Christian has never looked at, is, and never has the place of judgment. The Lord has the place of judgment in the Old Testament. They have the place of judgment. But the Christian is never to judge the world as such, that is, in a physical way.
And so that fits in with what we have here. That's how we heap coals of fire in somebody's head and how that's why the church thrives.
In times of martyrdom, isn't it because you read about those martyrs and we should all be familiar with stories and histories of martyrs and it's just heartrending sometimes, but on the other hand.
01:00:13
How, how is it saying, saying go that the the ashes of the Saints or the fertilizer of the church not getting it quite right, but it's true, isn't it? In times of extreme persecution, the church grows because they have heat, those coals of fire.
How could people, how could people be so steadfast in the face of such tortures and give up their lives?
We're told in the early days of the church that when the when the Romans were persecuting the church that the young ladies would put on their wedding garments and go into the Coliseum and be torn apart by the by the lions. But they realized they were soon to be in the Lord's presence.
Many, many other stories could be told.
Many, many other times and but they heat coals of fire on the heads of their persecutors and they turn became Christians themselves.
I wonder if there's a little allusion to here with this heaping pools of fire is that's a blacksmith has coals of fire.
In this furnace and he heats them up and heats them up and he puts a piece of steel in there and that's how you soften the steel up as you heat it up real hot, red hot, white hot, and then it becomes soft and malleable and you can beat it and put it into a different shape and so.
If we feed our enemy.
There are those that are opposed to the truth, those that are opposed to Christianity, those that are opposed to the assembly, those that are opposed to Christian criminals. And if we do them kindness, show them kindness. It's like heating up the coals when you got a hard conscience that's opposed to Christ, opposed to the things of God, and you're heating it up and heating it up and heating it up and it becomes softer and softer and softer.
And so then it becomes formed or formable perhaps by the Spirit of God. And so that shall keep coals of fire, be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. And so that's God's principle. He doesn't. The principle of man is 5 for an eye true, true for truth and vengeance. The Lord said even in the Old Testament, it's an Old Testament passage that's being forwarded. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord.
I will repay. You wouldn't be able to properly judge the matter. I wouldn't be able to properly judge the matter, and I wouldn't be able to properly recompense an error or a hatred towards the name of Christ or the person of Christ. We wouldn't. We don't have that capacity at the present time to not have responsibilities. So leave it to the Lord. He knows exactly.
He knows the heart, he knows the motive behind what was done and he has the ability.
To exact vengeance. Stephen knew this. He said Paul, he said to the Lord, He said, Lord lay not this sin to their charge.
What did Paul hear?
He heard that. I believe he heard it. Lord lay not this sin to their charge, he said. It's a sin of ignorance.
About a year later, Saul was saved.
Isn't that better than the praying and seeking the harm of others? That's not Christianity. And so he heaped the cold upon the fire. The hardened conscience of that man saw, and it took a year to soften the conscience, soften, soften things up enough. And the Lord quickened that man, saved his soul.
And we're not just making up an interpretation here, are we? We're looking at the context.
In the context in verse 19 is very plain, dearly beloved, avenged not yourselves, but rather give place under wrath. For it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. That's a quotation from the book of Deuteronomy. The Lord will exact vengeance in his perfect time, but it's not for the Christian. Therefore, verse 20.
Define enemy hunger, feed him, and so on. If he thirsts, give him drink, for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
So it's not a question of sticking it to them, which it might be thought if you just read that verse by itself in isolation, but what we're doing is looking at it in its context, and it's very plain then what the meaning becomes, isn't it?
01:05:04
It's a nice example of that.
In the second king 6 and the times of Elijah, the prophet of grace and.
Swear that the Army of the Bands of Syria surround the city, remember?
And the young man looks at what are we going to do and likes to praise Lord, opens his eyes and he sees the angels of the Lord. And then Elisha praise another prayer. He says, ask the Lord, just smite them with blindness.
And then he goes out and he, he says to whoever's leaving this band of soldiers, the second king six, he says this is not the way.
Neither is this the city. Follow me.
And I will bring you to the man whom you seek. But he let them to Samaria. And then when they get into the middle of the enemy territory, for them in the middle of Samaria, he prays that the Lord had opened their eyes. And all they see they're surrounded. They had surrounded the city. Now they were surrounded. And what is the king of Israel say? Verse 21? The king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw that my father, shall I smite them? Shall I smite them?
You know he was ready to.
Exact vengeance and Elijah, that prophet of grace.
Rebukes that and he says.
Thou shalt not smite them what thou smite those who now is taking captive with thy sword and with thy bow. Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. And he exceeds it, says He prepared great provision for them, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away.
And they went to their master. Here's a lovely part of it. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
What a beautiful change you know it was.
That malleable iron, so to speak, because our brother brought out and overcoming evil was good, and those bands came to know them into that land. If he had smitten them, there'd have been another band right behind the first one.
But this really overcame the evil.
Look good.
So the Christian is never seen in judgment on the world. Even when the Lord appears while we're identified with him, He's the one who has the sword. The Christian the Church has never seen is judging the world.
In a physical way.
Because we are the recipients of grace, and that's the character of Christianity. Now, Israel will, that's a different story, and the Lord will. But the Christian is never seen as executing judgment on the world.
We'll come with him when he exercises judgment, will be with him, will be the part of that army that is seen in the clouds.
Of let's read it in Revelation chapter 19. We're not going to partake. We're not going to be active. You might say it's he's going to be the one that says.
Let's just for the sake of time, verse 13.
Verse 12. His eyes were as a flame of fire. On his head were many crowns. Revelation 1912. And he had a name written that no man knew but himself, and he was clothed with Buster dipped in blood. And his name is called the word of God in the armies which were in heaven.
Him upon white horses, closed in fine linen, white and clean. So those are the redeemed.
And so they're on white horses, clothes and fine linen and white and clean, but the sword goes out of his mouth, and so he exercises judgment. But he does tell us another passage, that knowing not that you shall judge angels, there is. We have a higher place, an Angel, in that we're part of the new creation race, and we have a higher place of dignity and honor before God and higher place of responsibility before God than the angels do.
So we will judge angels, but that's administratively, that's administrative because there's elect angels and angels itself. They don't need anything. It's simply administrative.
In this past meeting that we've had before us, we've had these different characteristics explained and that's necessary for us to understand these different points. We're not going to be able to do something that we don't understand.
01:10:08
But I, I believe for this to really have a have an impression on our hearts. If we individually, we go back and just trace through the gospels and we'll just trace through the Lords life, we will see these things beautifully illustrated. And I, I believe almost every single one of these points will be able to see.
Very, very beautifully illustrated in the Lord's life. So just thinking of that verse in in Peter, Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow his steps and that's that's what will have the effect on our hearts and on our souls here this this afternoon. We know these things Now are we going to be like the slothful man and not roast that which we're taking hunting or are we going to all of these things out?
And in company with the Lord, let it have that effect on our hearts.
Should we sing 200 and 56256?
Praise the Savior.
Receiving.
Then we shall be where we will be.
That we shall be. In life we shall be.
Things alone.
Good shall and shall be.
In our own.
Also 276.
276.
So just read one verse just before we close the Malachi chapter three. We don't.
But verse 10 says bringing all the ties into the storehouse.
That there may be neat.
In my house.
Approve me now here with say it's the word quote if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing.
That there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Lord is very graciously allowed us to meet our expenses. We're very thankful to the Lord and very thankful for your generosity, your kindness to us. We appreciate it.
Let's get. Thanks.
God and our Father, we thank thee for the ministry of Thy word. We thank You for the.
Evidence of the use of the.
The gifts in the assembly and the.
Where does this be expounded? We thank you for the food from heaven, the meat for our souls, and we thank you too for Thy kind provision.
Course in connection with the financial needs of this assembly.
And this conference I was being very gracious to us these many years. We thank people for it. We think of how those told us and Haggai, the silver and the gold is mine, said the Lord. And so we accepted this from myself and the evident token of my love and grace and favor, So we asking for thy blessing on the remainder of our time.
And we thank you, too, for the meal that we're just about to have. We pray that the fellowship might be sweet, and that we might have thoughts of my love and grace. Pray for our brethren that are traveling. We ask thee for thy mercies, our God, that each one might arise safely, according to my mind, to their homes. So we ask it to give thanks to the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Three Criminals, One Saviour
Gospel—Robert Muir
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I want to welcome everybody to the Gospel reading tonight. When I look around, I don't.
Think that there's anybody here who wasn't here last night?
Anybody here? If there is anybody here tonight who was not here last night, raise your hand.
So we heard a very solemn and faithful message last night.
And if you don't know the word Jesus as your savior?
Right now, don't wait until partway through this meeting.
Or till the end of the meeting.
If you heard the message last night and you're not saved, you know how to be saved. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and I hope you said.
I'd like to open a meeting by singing #10 on the MTV.
There is a Savior on high in the glory.
A savior who suffered on Calvary's Creek.
A Savior as willing to save now as ever. His arm is almighty, His love great and free, His love His great country.
That's thing #10.
There is a saying.
As well.
True.
Insane.
With the Lord's help.
I'd like to speak tonight for a little while. I hope it won't be an hour.
A boat.
Three about four men.
Three of those men.
Were criminals.
Dakota, you know the criminal is.
That person what?
We do stuff that's really nice, that's right, really bad stuff. Thanks.
3 criminals. Three of those four men were criminals.
They had two destinies.
Thing Do you know what a destiny is?
A place where they're going to go again, where they went to already because these men were in the Bible. So they're long gone out of this world now.
That place, two places where those three men went to, each one of them went to one of those three or two places.
And we're going to talk about the person that we've been singing about, the Savior.
Four men, 3 criminals, and one savior.
And those 3 criminals went to one of two destinies. But before we start to read and to speak, go ask the words.
Our God and our Father, we thank Thee for Thy precious Word.
That has told us so clearly that we need a savior.
And.
Has told us so clearly for Jesus how that has come into this world to save sinners.
Most of us in this room.
Lord Jesus had the privilege of remembering this morning. Remembering the.
And that perfect work that that is due on the cross of Calvary.
And we just pray that if there is one in this room tonight who does not know the Lord Jesus as their Savior.
Who has never come and put their trust in thee to take their sins away, We pray.
That that was to work in such in the heart of such a one tonight.
That they would understand.
Thy love for them and Thy desire, Lord Jesus, to save them.
And that they would come to thee right now.
We ask these things, our God and Father, for thy glory and for the glory and honor of the Lord Jesus, of whom we desire to speak tonight. We ask thee for Thy help by thy Spirit and I, worthy and precious name or Jesus, Amen.
And so, as some of you have probably guessed, we're going to read mostly from Luke chapter 23, and we're not going to read the whole chapter for the sake of time.
00:10:00
But we'll start in Luke chapter 23.
And we will start with verse 12.
Loop 23, verse 12.
Verse 13. I'm sorry, 13.
And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and rulers, and the people, said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me as one that perverted the people.
And I be and behold, I having examined him before, you have found no fault in this man touching those things where of ye accused him.
I just want to make it very clear before we go ahead that this man who is referred to is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Even though he's it's not named, his name isn't given in parts of, you know in a lot of verses in this chapter, the He or the him refers to to the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
So.
Howard says I have found I have, having examined him Jesus before. You have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof the accused him No, nor yet hear it, for I sent you to him.
And lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. I will therefore chastise him and release him, for of necessity he must release 1 unto them at the feast.
And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas.
Who for a certain sedition made in the city and for murder, was cast into prison.
I was therefore willing to release visas, speak again to them. But they cried, saying, Crucify Him, crucify him. And he said unto them the third time, Why? What evil has he done? I have found no cause of death in him. I will therefore chastise him and let him go. And they were instant with loud voices.
Requiring that he might be crucified.
And the voices of them and of the three priests prevailed.
Pilot gave sentence that it should be as they required, and he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison whom they had desired, but he delivered Jesus to their will.
We'll drop down to verse 32.
And there were also two other malefactors.
LED with him Jesus to be put to death.
When they were come to the place which is called Calvary.
There they crucified him.
And the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
We'll stop there for the for the moment.
So we have seen in these verses that we have read the three criminals that we talked about.
The first one.
Was Barabbas.
And Barabbas was guilty of murder.
He had killed somebody.
Murder.
And for making a sedition in the city.
So there was Barabbas, a guilty man.
And then we read farther down.
About the two malefactors verse 32, there were also two other two other men. Malefactors LED with him to be put to death.
Now, I don't think we.
We read, I think we read in some of the other gospels, it refers to those two malefactors as thieves.
I wonder if they were guilty of other things. I don't think we read about that, but they were. They were convicted criminals. They were all three of them, Barabbas and the other two who are not named malefactors. There were 3 guilty men. Guilty as as Dakota said.
00:15:17
Doing things that were wrong.
I want to ask.
Everyone of us.
Are we any? Are you and I any better than any of those three men?
What do you think, Tim?
Think that we're any better than those three guys?
The Bible says tells us in Romans chapter 3 we won't have to turn to it. We know it well. There is no difference, for all have sinned.
So we can't stand here and say, well, I would never do with that what Barabbas did.
And my heart.
The way I was born, just as bad, just as simple as Barabbas's heart.
There's no difference, for all have sinned.
So we are all in that same position of being condemned.
3 condemned criminals.
Let's read on verse 30.
Verse.
Well, let's just notice in verse 33.
Oh, I'm sorry, let's back up a little bit.
When pilot. When pilot presents the choice to the people.
It seems that the tradition was that they had to that pilot had to release a criminal.
At this, at the feast.
Why he would why that tradition would have ever evolved doesn't really make sense. Why would you want to release a criminal who had been guilty of murder?
And let him go out the door and down the street and kill somebody else.
I don't think the justice system has improved a whole lot since then.
But here was the tradition that the people could choose make a choice to release a convicted criminal.
And so who do they choose? They choose. They chose Barabbas.
To be released.
Murderer walking out the door.
Would go and probably do the same thing again.
Pilot had given them a choice.
Because the Jewish leaders had brought the Lord Jesus.
And tried to make all kinds of accusations against him.
Everyone of them was false. Every accusation they made was a false one.
But because of the choice that Pilot was giving to the people.
And because the people, the Jewish people of that day, wanted to get rid of the Lord Jesus.
At any cost.
And they were being persuaded in that direction by the chief priests and elders.
They made the choice that Jesus would be crucified.
And that Barabbas would go free.
And the world today wonders.
Why somebody can walk into a McDonald's or into a bar or a theater and kill 15 people with a machine gun.
Here's the answer.
The world shows a murderer to go free and.
Crucified the Son of God who would come to save sinners.
But that's the way the world, that's the way the world thinks.
00:20:01
Or I should say, they don't think.
Because.
Satan doesn't want you.
Or anyone else?
North Barabbas, not the two malefactors or any of the people. Satan doesn't want anyone.
To realize their need of a Savior. To realize that they're a Sinner.
And to come to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
Don't let Satan fool you.
Into thinking like that. If you don't know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, don't listen to Satan. Don't ever listen to him. Come to the word Jesus right now.
Another thing I wanted to notice here.
Well, perhaps we'll come back to it later. Yeah, we'll come back to it later. So in verse 33.
32 We read that there were two of the two malefactors who were led with the Lord Jesus to be put to death.
And it says in verse 33 that when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there is a crucified him.
They crucified the one who had come to save sinners.
And the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
So there were three crosses there that that they were going to use to crucify the ones that they wanted to crucify that day.
And the Bible doesn't really tell us, but I don't think it it's going too far to say that.
If they had.
If the ruling had been a just one, Barabbas should have been on that, on that third cross.
Along with the two other malefactors.
The ones who should have been on the cross. I'm talking from A.
From a human justice point of view.
It should have been Barabbas and A2 malefactors on that cross getting what they deserve for what they had done. But instead of that, it was Jesus the word Jesus.
Who had done absolutely nothing.
That deserve.
We know that He came into the world to save sinners.
And he had to be, he had to go. And we're going to talk more about that.
You know when I say he didn't deserve that?
Hunters Fund. You didn't deserve that crucifixion, I should say.
Even pilot when we in the first few first several verses that we read, even pilot three times.
I stated that there was. He found no fault in the word Jesus.
First of all, in verse 14 I found no fault in this man.
And in verse 15, nothing worthy of death.
And then in verse 22, at the end of verse 22, I have found no cause of death in him.
So here was the pilot, the governor, stating three times that there was nothing. He found nothing in Jesus that was worthy of crucifixion.
And yet he listened to the people.
And went ahead and let them, let Jesus Christ.
Not only did pilot.
State those things, but it's so clear and so important.
To look in the word of God.
First of all, in Second Corinthians 5 to see what the Spirit of God says.
00:25:05
About the fact that Jesus.
Not only never sinned, but could not sin.
And this is a an attack that Satan is making these days.
For even Christians to be saying.
The word Jesus could have sinned, but he did not.
Let me say very clearly that that is totally false and and an insult to the honor of the Lord Jesus Christ.
2nd Corinthians 5.
And verse 21 Says.
He hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin.
Him who knew no sin, Jesus did not know. If I could put it this way, speaking reverently, He did not know how to sin.
He did not have a fallen nature that you and I have, that you and I were born with that could sin.
And then in heater.
We all know these verses very well, but it's a good thing.
To be sure about them, because as I say, it's under attack.
First, Peter.
Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 22 it says who did know sin?
And then lastly in first John.
Chapter 3.
At the end of verse five it says in him is no sin.
The new translation for that verse I believe, says in him sin is not.
So God has made it very clear in his work.
That the Lord Jesus Christ not only did not sin, but could not sin.
But nevertheless.
Man in his the world and their rejection of the Lord Jesus wanted to crucify him, to get rid of him.
Little did they know.
How?
Little did they know the love of God.
And that.
This man that they thought they were getting rid of?
Was going to be able to save.
Them from their sins.
You know when you think of Barabbas.
He must have been a pretty happy man that day.
Because here he was expecting probably to be crucified, to die by crucifixion.
And at the end, by the end of that day, he was a freeman as far as the justice system was concerned.
He may have thought he was free.
But was he really free? No, he was still under the condemnation of God because of his sins.
You may think that you can get away with things.
I'm sure we've all been guilty of trying to do that when we were young.
Maybe even when we're older.
But you know Barabbas.
Eventually died.
We're not. It's not recorded in the Word of God.
But neither is it recorded that he ever realized that he needed a savior and came and trusted in the Lord.
So eventually he died and so as far as we know.
He never, never trusted before, so he may have thought he was free, but he was not. He had to be. He still has to answer, had to answer to God for his sins.
00:30:02
May not have had to answer to the human justice system, but everyone of us, the Bible says we'll give account of himself to God.
Now let's.
Read a little further.
Down in the Tractor, verse 39.
And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, on Jesus.
Saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us, but the other.
Answering rebuked him saying, dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation and we indeed justly where we receive the due reward of Rd.
But this man.
This man Jesus has done nothing in this.
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, Remember Me when thou comest into thy Kingdom.
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today thou shalt be with me in paradise.
Today thou shalt be with me in paradise.
So here were the two malefactors. Rabbis has walked out the door, a freeman supposedly under the.
Unjust justice system of that day.
But here are the two malefactors, and they're hanging on those two crosses.
And both equally guilty, just as Barabbas was.
One of them.
Mocks the Lord Jesus in verse 39 and says If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
Same kind of words, similar words to what a whole lot of other people were saying.
The chief priests and the elders and those that passed by and soldiers, all kinds of people were mocking the Lord Jesus.
That's what one of the malefactors, that's the only thing we we read him saying.
But the other one.
2nd Malefactor.
Obviously the Lord was working in his heart. The Spirit of God was working in his heart.
If the Spirit of God is working in your heart right now, don't shut him out.
Listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to you in your heart.
Because this malefactor realized that he needed.
The man who was beside him on that cross, in the middle, on the middle cross, he realized that Jesus could do something to help him.
He knew that within a few hours or less, he was going to be a dead man.
And he knew that he was getting what he deserved. That's what he said. He said we indeed just go, for we received a due reward, what we deserve for our deeds.
And he also said, this man Jesus has done nothing in this.
He he understood quite a lot. I don't think that that that malefactor had ever sat in a gospel meeting.
Or ever been. Or maybe have never had, Never heard? We don't really know. We're not told that he did. And yet the Spirit of God was working in his heart and revealing quite a few things to him.
And as the Spirit of God is working in your heart, you listen to Him.
Today, right now, don't even wait for 10 or 15 minutes till we're finished.
Listen and come to the Lord Jesus now.
So.
He asks or he says to the Lord Jesus in 42 verse 42.
And this is very amazing, really. He says unto Jesus, Lord, Remember Me when thou comest into thy Kingdom.
How did he know to call Jesus Lord?
00:35:00
The Spirit of God was working in his heart.
And what did he know?
About Jesus having a Kingdom.
As far as he was concerned, here this man Jesus beside him on center cross.
Was going to end up dead the same way it's same as he was and the other malefactor.
But the Spirit of God was revealing all kinds of things to this this guilty criminal.
Because God loves a Sinner.
Brother Rick made that very clear last night. God loves every Sinner in this world and He wants to save them through the Lord Jesus Christ, through his work on the cross.
Satan is going to try to stop you thinking about that.
If you're not safe, don't listen to Satan.
And so.
The amazing thing to me is that this, this malefactor, the 2nd malefactor, actually did what we're told.
In Romans chapter 10, verse 9.
If thou shalt confess, Jesus says, Lord, confess with thy mouth. Jesus says word and believe in thine heart.
That God has raised him from the dead. I shall be saved.
And so this malefactor, by what he said.
He called Jesus Lord.
And he believed.
By what he said, he believed that Jesus would rise from the dead.
So he did exactly what Romans 10 and nine says is required.
To be safe, it's amazing.
But that's how the Spirit of God can work. And if He's working in your heart right now, listen to me.
So.
We talked about.
We talked about two destinies.
The one who believed, the malefactor who believed in the Lord Jesus here.
It's we Jesus gave him the answer of where he was going to be.
He said Today thou shalt be with me in paradise.
So that the moment that that malefactor.
Who believed the moment his life went out of his body he was with Jesus? Imperatives.
Barabbas.
And the other malefactor.
It doesn't tell us here where they went, but.
If we turn back a few chapters, we're going to find read a better man that we.
That we're all familiar with.
The rich man in chapter 16.
And we find out.
There about where people go who do not believe in the Lord Jesus.
We're not going to read that whole account.
But it says in verse 22.
It came to process the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abrahams bosom that would have been in heaven with the Lord. The rich man also died and was buried and in hell. He the rich man lift up his eyes, being in torment, and seized Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus.
That he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this point.
And that place?
Where this rich man ended up?
00:40:02
He was being tormented, inflamed.
Everyone who dies and leaves this world.
Without trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Is going to end up in that same place.
In the wake of fire forever.
So that's as far as we know. That was the destiny, that was where.
Barabbas ended up and the malefactor who did not believe in the Lord Jesus, the one who mocked him.
They have been in the Lake of Fire or tormented in flame.
As it says here about the rich man for 2000 years now.
Think of that, and that's not the end.
Can you imagine being in?
In flames, tormented in flames, in the lake of fire forever.
It's a. It's a.
A frightening thing to think of. You would think that that would be enough to.
To make anyone.
Rethink their position.
As to whether they believe in the word Jesus as their savior or not.
But you know, the word of God tells us that it's so love of Christ that constrains us.
And I think this, this second malefactor realized the love.
That God had for him, and he realized his need of the Lord Jesus and came to him.
And if you haven't ever come to the Lord Jesus yet for salvation, you need to realize that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.
That whosoever you, whosoever believes in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Well, you know, we I wanted to talk more about the word Jesus himself.
Because He's the one that has made this all possible. If there wasn't, if it wasn't for what the Lord Jesus suffered on that cross, we wouldn't even be having our gospel meeting tonight. And we would all be heading for that same lake of fire forever.
But God so loved us that he sent the Lord Jesus into this world.
To die on that cross, Man thought they were getting rid of him, but he came to save sinners, and he had to be.
You had to go through that agony, that awful agony, on the cross. Now I want to go to Matthew.
To read their verse in chapter 27.
And these are all very familiar passages.
But I just wondered. I think we get it most clearly in Matthew.
What took place in those three hours of darkness?
I know John, her brother John spoke of this this morning. Let's read it in Matthew 27 and verse 45.
Now from the 6th hour there was darkness over all the land unto the 9th hour.
And about the 9th hour Jesus cried with a loud voice saying you lie, you lie, Alama Sebastian I. That is to say, my God, my God, why herself forsaken me.
In those three hours.
Of darkness.
A holy God.
Who cannot look upon sin?
Laid my sins on.
Word Jesus Christ.
And he was.
Good for everyone of my sins.
And everyone of every sin of everyone in this room was put their trust in him.
And you can have that same forgiveness of sins if you'll come to the Lord Jesus Christ and put your trust in Him.
00:45:06
And this that goes for everyone in this room, from the youngest to the oldest.
From maybe six or seven years old.
Over 90.
It doesn't matter what age you are.
If you've never come to the Lord Jesus, you need to come now because.
He by his, by this work on the cross, He has made it possible for you.
To be safe, to be part of, part of.
That.
Brought part of his bride forever that we've heard of it this afternoon in heaven, forever in the Father's house.
So after those three hours of darkness verse.
47.
Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said This man calleth for Elias, and straightway one of them ran and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a Reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let thee let us see whether Elias will come to save him.
Jesus, when he cried again with a loud voice, you loaded up the ghost.
Jesus laid down his life. We read in in John chapter 10.
He told the disciples.
John, Chapter 10.
Verse 17 There therefore does my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man take it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received from my Father.
The word Jesus was fulfilling the work that his Father had given to do, and in John 17.
He said, he said that. He said I have.
Finished the work which thou gave us me to do and on the cross.
We read that he said it is finished and gave up the ghost. He laid down his life so that you and I could have eternal life with him in the Father's house forever.
And then in John 19.
A very important.
Part of the work that the Lord Jesus did on the cross. John 19 verse 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs, but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side and forced whisk came there at blood and water.
Either saw a bear record, and a record is true, and he knoweth that he says true that ye might believe.
The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin.
Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sins.
The work that the Lord Jesus has done on the cross.
Is the only thing that can save you and me?
We cannot try to turn over a new leaf and say, well, I'm going to do better and I'm going to try to please God the rest of my life.
It's not going to work.
Because the Word of God, as we've already read, says all have sinned and come forth of the glory of God.
The word Jesus Christ is the only savior of sins.
If you have never put your trust in him.
Do what the what the Malefactor, the 2nd Malefactor did. Come to him and put your trust in him right now. Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, we thank Thee for that perfect finished work that we have.
Read about again and spoken of though feebly. Little do we enter in, little can we enter into the depths of all thyself.
00:50:02
That I endure on the cross.
For everyone of us who has put our trust in.
And little do we really understand the love.
That paid that caused thee to pay such a great price.
In order to have sinners like ourselves as part of Thy bride forever in heaven.
But we thank the court and we pray that if there's one in this room tonight who doesn't know the Lord Jesus as their Savior, that they would come to thee. Now, the salvation.
And we ask these things, our God and Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, Amen. Amen.
YP Sing
Valley of Dry Bones, Psalms of Degrees
Talk—Steve Stewart
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
If any of you remember the him saying yesterday, the brethren, they forgot to ask anyone to leave this thing, and I was speaking to my father's.
Just a few minutes ago and I'd like to he mentioned that we had neglected to ask anyone to speak tonight. So I'll, I'll share a few words unless and perhaps the brother has something on their heart that they they really feel burden to share. I would, I would be happy to stand by and to have that shared. But we can, we can have a word of prayer and then see if one has.
Our loving God and our Father, please help as thy word will be opened. We just.
A word from my heart for our hearts. I think of all that we've had before us this weekend and we thank you for it.
And just ask for a little portion as we go our separate ways so shortly to thank you for each one who's been able to be here at this thing and just that we've been able to express ourselves in in song to be our Father and to be Lord Jesus. So we thank thee and ask thy help name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Yeah.
If anyone has anything they can.
Let me know, otherwise I'll continue.
Maybe a little something, John. Thank you.
All right, this is a little disjointed with this house for the moment.
I've been enjoying.
A little bit of a few things in a prophetic character. Man at work came to me. I think he's a believer. And he said to me, do you like prophecy? And I said, yeah.
I said we're reading in Revelation.
No, he said, you like prophecy and I said.
Well, yeah, we like prophecy meetings. You say hi, that's what I do. She said. I said in our little meeting where I meet with believers, we're going through the Book of Revelation. No, he says, I mean prophecy. You know, like Jimmy DeSantis, he's driving down the road and a jet flew over and he looked up and saw that jet. And the Lord said to Jimmy said, Jimmy, you see that jet? Would you like a jet like that or that? Can't afford?
Oh, I didn't ask you if you could afford to ask if you wanted it. So that's prophecy.
I've been really enjoying the little portion we've been reading at home and and it's the psalms of degrees. Just want to pick out a few verses the psalms of degrees.
Are when God restores Israel in the coming day the 10 tribes that are scattered in lost time when they come back to Jerusalem?
And.
God is going to well, let's first let's turn to a verse in Romans, and this is the kind of the verse that I'm thinking about Romans and Chapter 11.
Romans Chapter 11 and.
Verse 26 It says, And so all Israel shall be saved, there shall come for it, as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the deliverer, who shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
As concerning the gospel, their enemies, for your sakes, that is touching the election, their beloved.
For the Father's sakes, for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. This was touched on a little bit at the very beginning of our readings this weekend. And God is not going to change His mind about Israel, though they're set aside for now. There's a day coming when they're going to be brought back into the last night.
00:05:08
And he's going to do it through ways that are going to bring in judgment. We're not going to look at the Scriptures, but we know in Israel's history, they split into two. You remember, right after Solomon, there are two tribes that stayed with the House of David. Judah, Benjamin, and the rest of the tribes went with Jeroboam and split off.
And they quickly fell into idolatry. God allowed them to be carried away captive. Do you know where they are today? Nobody knows. You know, if you talk to people in Israel, there's some that have tried to find where they're, they kind of actually do know a little bit because they know where they settled and they, they, they know there's some in northern India still have Jewish customs, still use Jewish names.
Listen that. But they don't want to have anything to do with the current state of Israel.
But they're scattered throughout that part of the world. They're kind of lost out of sight.
And sometimes call them the lost drives. And there's been a lot of speculation over time, you know, that they were being to Indians and they were this or that or whatever.
But the two tribes that stayed with the House of David, they went the same path eventually in Palatine ology, and God brought judgment on them and they were carried away captive to the land of Babylon. God loved them to be restored, a little group of them back to the land of Israel and was brought out in order to receive the King, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, when he came.
But what did they do? They rejected me.
Them on that cross and goggle out the Romans to come destroy the city of Jerusalem. Many of them are crucified, many were taken away and sold as slaves, but they remain distinct as a people. They were called Jews. Do you know where the name Jew comes from? Anybody know?
Comes from the tribe of Judah.
The person of Judah Jews. And so those two tribes that stayed faithful to the House of David, they became what we know in the world today as Jews.
And they were the ones, those two tribes students were the ones that crucified the Lord Jesus. They're especially responsible.
And so in the tribulation.
When God brings judgment upon Israel, it's really upon the Jews. It's especially upon those who are the descendants of the tribes that were in the land, Jude and Benjamin when the Lord was crucified.
And many of them are going to be apostates, complete unbelievers, having turned their back on God. And there's going to be a few among them that are faithful little remnant. And when God brings judgment on that land, he's going to bring an enemy that called the king of the north, the Assyrian, and he's going to come down. And when he comes down with his army, it's almost going to be a supernatural.
Attack, you know, an army normally becoming along and somebody's going to trip on their shoelaces.
Somebody's going to bump into the other guy and things aren't going to go perfect, right?
Not this time. There isn't one that's going to trip. Nobody's going to bump into anybody. Nobody's going to lose anything. Nothing. This army is going to come down through. Their scripture describes them like spiders, able to climb over walls and into windows and whatever. They're going to be so agile, and wherever they find a Jewish person, they're going to kill them.
If they went in the house and the Jewish family, there were three bedrooms and they hid in one of the bedrooms and the enemy only had time to open one door, they will always open the door where they're behind there. Never make a mistake.
I'm not gonna there's gonna be a flawless attack.
The only ones who will be preserved through that are the faithful grammar. All the rest.
Well done. And then that way with those two tries, God will take care of all the unbelievers among the Jews. The only ones who will be left will be the faithful.
What it says here, All Israel shall be saved. What about the other 10 tribes? What's going to happen with them? Well, I want to look back at a couple of verses about all Israel being saved, three of them in the Old Testament 2IN Isaiah.
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59.
You don't have a Bible. You don't have to. Just read it. Isaiah 59.
And it says.
Verse 20 And the Redeemer shall come from Zion unto them that turn from transgression, and Jacob saith the Lord.
As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord. My spirit that is upon thee in my words, which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed that is thy children, nor out of the mouth of thy seed seed are my children's children, saith the Lord from Pennsylvania, and forever not one of these of the faithful remnant are going to depart from the Lord. Their children are going to depart.
The Lord and their grandchildren aren't going to depart from the Lord, no matter how many generations you want to go all through the Millennium. And then in chapter 60, verse 21, it says thy people also shall be all righteous, all righteous. Can you imagine that of people? Not one of them or any of their children are ever going to depart from the Lord. They're all going to be righteous.
Daniel is the third verse I want to look at.
In chapter 12.
Daniel, Chapter 12.
Verse one says at that time shall Michael stand up the great Prince, he's an Angel Archangel, which standeth for the children of thy people, and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was, since there was a nation even to that same time. So he's talking about the tribulation and when that.
Army comes down through Israel and destroys all the unbelievers among the Jews.
Time of Jacob's trouble.
But he says, thy people shall be delivered everyone that is found written in the book.
Who are those that are written in God's book of life?
Only those who are real believers. Those are the ones who be delivered, not the rest.
But he goes on to say something else. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. So there's these ones that are going to be saved.
And then there's some, he says. After this, they're going to wake out of the dust of the earth. Who's he talking about now?
Talking about the other 10 tribes that are lost today, nobody knows where they are.
They're lost in the dust of the nations.
And all of a sudden they're going to wake back up.
And some are going to come into blessing. This is the everlasting life of the Old Testament. Just means to live on and on through however long the Millennium is. We know it's 1000 years, but they didn't. However long the Kingdom last, they will live. That's everlasting life of the Old Testament. But some are going to wait to shame and contempt.
What is God going to do after that judgment on those two tribes and all the unbelievers are cleaned out and a little faithful remnant is preserved to stay in the land under the reign of the Lord Jesus. Then the 10 tribes are going to get woken up in all their places where they are and God is going to bring them back into that land. And when you start with 120th Psalm.
I think it's through 139. They're called psalms of degrees or like steps and it's the steps.
Of those 10 tribes back, back, back, back to Jerusalem, that's looked at a couple of house.
It starts out.
With saying and 120th song.
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Verse 5 Woe is me that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell the tentative. You know where Meshach is.
Moscow. Moscow, right. That's Russia. So there's some of the scattered tribes that are up in Russia somewhere.
And the tents of Kedar, I think that's Arab nations.
We've long dwelled here, they wake up. We've been here long time and this is not a good place. You know the Lord when he when he comes and 1St appears in Mount of Olives and reigns in Jerusalem and that little remnant is preserved in of the 1St 2 tribes under. There's still a lot of things going to happen and as these 10 tribes come back and they wake up, they look around, they got enemies all around them.
They're in the middle of Russia.
And other places.
And it says in the end of Psalm, I am for peace, but when I speak there for war, is that enemies? And then the next song is, where are we going to get help? They look up to the hills. I say, the Lord is going to be our help. And then they get ready to go. And Psalm 122 verse one, I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the House of the Lord, our feet shall stand within thy gates.
Jerusalem and they start encouraging each other to go back, to go back.
But you know, a long time ago they split with their breath, they split.
And so not only is God going to bring them back, but he's going to bring them together.
He's going to bring them together and so we come all the way over. We're not going to look at.
And we finally come to where they get back to Jerusalem.
And it says in 133rd Psalm, Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.
God is going to heal that split from so long ago, and when they get back to Jerusalem, they're going to dwell together with their brethren and unity. That's what the Lord is looking for, not only to restore them back to Jerusalem, but we read that not only does some wake out of the dust of the nation's everlasting life with some way to shame.
And contempt. Oh.
What's that? Let's turn to Ezekiel.
Been really enjoying this chapter.
Ezekiel, chapter 37.
Is anybody? I don't know, I suppose. Have you read The Valley of the Dry Bones and Ezekiel? Have you ever read that in your readings?
Have you read that you like that? I think it's a wonderful chapter. It's quite, quite a thrilling chapter when you look at it and.
So I hope this, I hope I don't embarrass myself, but I'd like to read how I think it sounds.
The hand of the Lord.
Was upon me, and he carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones. There's this valley and you look at full bones.
And he caused me to pass by them round about, and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and low they were very dry.
And he said unto me, Son of man, and these bones live.
I answered, Oh Lord God, thou knowest.
And he said unto me, Prophecy upon these bones, and saying to them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones. Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live, and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you.
With skin and put breath in you, and you shall live.
And ye shall know that I am the Lord so.
I prophesied as I was commanded.
And as I prophesied, there was a noise.
And behold a shaking.
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And the bones came together, bone to his bone, And when I beheld low the sinews, and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above.
But there was no breath.
In there.
Then he said unto me, Prophecy unto the wind, prophecy, Son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, come from the four winds of breath, and breathe upon the slain, that they may live.
So I prophesied as he commanded me, and a breath came into that, and they lived.
Then stood upon their feet, and exceeding great army.
That's the 10 tribes.
We'll provide back up out of the nations like life from the death.
And then the Lord says to him, Son of Man.
You know, this is said, I think, with such pity and such time, the Son of Man.
These bones are the whole House of Israel. Behold, they say, our bones are dry, our hope is lost.
We are cut off for our parts, therefore prophecy and saying to them, let's say if the Lord God behold, Oh my people, I will open your grace.
And 'cause you to come up out of your graves and bring you into the land of Israel, and ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your grace, O my people, and brought you up out of your grace, and shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land, then you shall know.
That I am a Lord by the Lord have spoken it and performed it there the Lord.
The next little picture in Ezekiel is he says take two sticks. One is like those two tribes to the convention. The other is like the ten loss. We should bring them together and they're going to become one stick in my heart.
One more verse to look at fully close Ezekiel 20.
So that is the beautiful picture of how God is going to wake those nations, those 10 tribes up and bring them back into that window.
But on the way back, something happens.
Very solid.
Ezekiel 20, verse 34.
And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein you're scattered with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm with fury pork fork. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people. And there will I plead with you face to face.
Like as I pleaded with your father's in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God. And I will cause you to pass under the rock.
And I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. Verse 38 is what I was really thinking of. And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and then that transgress against me, I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel.
And ye shall know that I am the Lord.
That great army raised out of the dust of the nations, the valley of dry balls, is going to March back to Jerusalem.
And learn all the lessons of the Psalms of degrees, till they dwell in unity with the breath.
But before they go in that land, the Lord, like a shepherd, is going to make everyone pass under his rod of examination, and any that are rebellious against him, he's going to purge them up. And they're never going to enter that land for those who do.
Are all going to be real, all believers, and that's why it can be said in Romans, and so shall all Israel.
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Please say.
My Father, we just pray that our hearts might be encouraged as we think of the richness of what Thou hast unfolded to us, and Thy word is to Thy purpose and in the coming day and the restoration of life, people who my heart longs over even this very day.
And so we just pray that.
Might be encouraged to dig in a little more to Thy precious Word and just uncover these little treasures for the enjoyment of our own hearts and communion with these. We see Thy purpose and our Lord Jesus Christ when He will come to reign and be glorified in His Saints and this earth. We ask this giving thanks and the precious name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.
Oh, sure, yeah. Sorry. Our God and our Father, we thank you for a little time to have some fellowship together and these refreshments provided. Thank you for the kindness of our brother and sister to open their home and commend ourselves to the for the rest of the evening. And my precious name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.
Saturday Hymn Sing
Sunday Hymn Sing