Address—C. Buchanan
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We'll use verses first from a book which was written to a young person. I referred to First Timothy. You may turn there.
To the last chapter to read just a few verses, but I was thinking of that word. We started with happy.
And happiness.
We do desire, dear young people, your happiness.
And I'm quite sure that everyone of you wants to be happy.
As the Irishman said, you'll never find anything but where it is.
And happiness is that way too. And, briefly stated, obedience and happiness go together.
I trust you've made a profession of faith.
And I made a start.
The last words of Moses.
The very last verse that he uttered in Deuteronomy, he said something like this happy.
Is the people whose God is the Lord?
And the salvation comes in in that verse. The psalmist takes it up, 144th Psalm. So if you're going to be happy, you have to start at the beginning and then to go on and be happy every day is what we want.
Dear young lady down in the Dominican Republic.
With her and her family some six weeks ago.
She lives in a very nice family there who have been brought up in the truth.
The nice thing about her is that she's always happy. Now the reason she's always happy is because that's her name.
But she's always, almost always happy in her spirits, too. So we want to go through some scriptures that will direct you and us into that place. Where will you find happiness in the 32nd Psalm? I believe it is. It says blessed is the man.
Whose sins are forgiven?
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth, not iniquity. You can translate that happy is the man whose sins are forgiven. Now that salvation you get, and it brings happiness. But the very first Psalm begins with these words. Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.
Nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. That also can be translated.
Happened. Really. The 32nd Psalm would come first in your experience, to have your sins forgiven. But then what about your walk? What about your companions? What about your associations? You have to go on in that happy place of walking.
With the Lord. Well, let's read now.
In First Timothy chapter 6, beginning with verse nine, we will read 4 verses here to start with.
First Timothy 6.
9:00 But they that will be rich fall into temptation.
And the snare.
And into many hurt, foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil.
Which while some coveted after they have heard from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things.
And follow after righteousness, godliness.
Faith, love, patience, meekness, fight the good fight of faith lay hold on eternal life. Wherein to thou hast also was Thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
00:05:08
Have you profess there's lots of witnesses? We had some of them spoken about in the past. The faith this morning in the 11Th of Hebrews.
I suppose I am speaking to professors in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the heading of what I'm talking about here this afternoon we find in these verses and we could call this topic before's. There are 4 words here with speak. Start with that letter we find faith.
That's the first one, and then we find Flea in verse 11.
And then we find follow in verse 11.
And then we find fight in verse 12. Those are the foreheads. Faith, flee, follow, fight.
This is.
A brief description of your course.
If you're going to have faith and walk in it, you're going to have to flee certain things.
And you're going to have to follow a certain path.
And you're going to be in a battle. I like to talk to young people because they're strong. They don't get so frightened about a battle.
But it's very important that you have these 4S in your life.
Well, we must start with this first one, faith.
You know that word happiness? It's a long one, and right in the middle of it is the letter.
I that points to this person, I am I happy? Do I have happiness? Now? Faith is the same way. The middle letter in faith is I, you and I need to be right in the middle of faith in order to get into the middle of happiness.
Faith.
We read in Hebrews faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But I believe in in John three. I think it is. We have perhaps a better definition.
He that has received his testimony, that's God's testimony, has set to his seal that God is true.
That's really what faith is.
It says.
God says it, that says.
And then I believe that's the best way to turn that bumper sticker around there. Often you'll see God says it. I believe that that's settled. No, brethren, young people, when God says it's, it's already settled. God is the true God. We can believe everything that he says.
Now you must come again through the gospel of the grace of God and take the Lord Jesus as your Savior and have faith in Him and in His work to begin a course of happiness.
Well now looking at this verse.
9.
Where we began reading.
It says they that will be rich, going to hold up a bill which you can't read from there, but it says 10,000 on it. Now that's a peso note that I acquired down in Bolivia some 20 years ago, which when I acquired it was probably worth $0.25 or less.
I like to carry a 10,000 notes around with me just to look at once in a while.
Money, money.
Well, they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare.
And into many foolish and hurtful lusts. Now look what it says next.
Which while some coveted after they have heard from the faith.
00:10:08
Heard from the faith if you have made a profession of faith.
We trust that it's real to those who are real. We could say in the faith.
Real believers in the faith. Now, if you are a believer.
You will always be in the faith as to your salvation.
I like to think of that word believe also the middle letter of that is.
Do you have faith? Do you believe? Do you enjoy happiness?
Are you confident I? Is the middle letter of that word confident too? I want to point to that little word letter I right back here, a small I and apply it to me. And I want you to do the same thing.
Do you have faith? Do you believe? Do you enjoy happiness? Are you confident? Confidence comes from believing God. It's a result because He never fails. We need this confidence, the full assurance of faith going on, but to err from the faith. And what is the result?
I respect you, dear young people, for your capacity.
Your ability, your quickness, alertness of mind to take hold of things. I don't worry much myself about going over your head.
Now I know there are those who are young in the faith and we need simple and basic things, and I think we who are old or needed too, but your capacity to take these things in and to enjoy them is great. What a sad thing then, to err from the faith, your profession.
Or I can think back in my years of many dear young people that I have known through those years who have heard from the faith.
And what has happened to them? They have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
You will not find happiness in taking up your own will. Sometimes we use the word license. Sometimes we speak of legality. Sometimes we speak of liberty. Liberty was mentioned, I believe this morning, and verses in John 8 included licensing the way we are using it today.
In our thoughts at least not the tag on your car.
But.
A kind of.
Openness to follow your own will.
That's what license is in the way we are thinking about it.
The allowance.
For you to do what you want to do when you want to do it well.
License will never bring happiness. Never. It's the old nature at work, and it produces. It is sin, and it brings the sad results of sin, and the wages of sin have never been reduced.
Their sorrow in the pathway, in the end, death.
We want you, dear young people, to go on in happiness.
And not to be allowed to do what your will wants to do when you want to do it. Now you have in you another nature.
Which does please God.
And never sins. I speak to believers.
Now liberty is.
The.
Following that new nature which does.
Always please God.
We had a standard before us in the blessed Savior this morning of perfection in there in Hebrews 12.
Perfection always that in his course through the world, and this is the standard that God always holds before you and I perfection, He never lowers that standard.
00:15:16
But the new nature in you to that new nature is spoken of in James as a law of liberty, because the new nature delights to do the will of God and to please John.
Here is part of your battle in between those two natures, and I speak for myself, bearing the old nature. As long as we're here, that's part of the battle.
Now we mentioned the word legality.
Legality would perhaps try to control the old nature by setting up rules and regulations, and God tested man under that for 4000 years, not quite 4000 years exactly, at least 1500 years after he gave the law.
And God has ended that test to see if flesh could produce anything under law. So we know that legalism will not work. What we want is the liberty of grace and.
The obedience and dependence which will bring us into that place, that force of happiness to err from the faith and the love of money, is just a blue.
Of all evil.
And Ohio, we want to avoid that. You young people are perhaps some of you preparing for your life employment, and that is a necessary thing in this world.
Earlier here it says we brought nothing into this world, verse 7, and it is certainly can carry nothing out. But while we're here we need things and God knows that. So the next verse says and having food and raiment. Let us be there with content. Oh, to have contentment in the supply that God has given and not to be always grasping after.
Money.
Thinking that that will bring us happiness. How often we have seen that large amounts of money bring sorrow instead of happiness. So we have this warning here. The love of money is a root of all evil and covetousness. Oh, that's an awful thing too, isn't it? While some coveted after wanting.
Money. Now we get positive instruction in verse.
11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things. We'll stop there. Wonderful thing that the apostle Paul could speak to a young man, and I'm looking at young men, and it includes young ladies too.
Calls Timothy.
Man of God.
I like to think I'm looking into the faces of men and women of God.
That's what you are. If you're one of God's children, you're in his family.
And all your responsibility now is to behave as one of Gods children.
To act like one of God's children. In other words, flee comes in.
We want to give you an illustration.
Of one thing.
That a young man fled from in the Old Testament.
Because we get instruction in the New Testament as to this particular sin, I'm going to read it, not make much comments on it. But you and I in the course of faith are going to have to learn that there are things that we have to shun, avoid, leave, run away from. I refer to Joseph back in Genesis 39, and it says in verse 11.
To pass about this time that Joseph went into the house that's his master's house, Pharaoh to do his business, and there was none of the men of the house there within. And she that's the wife of Pharaoh caught him by his garment saying lie with me, and he left his garment in her hand and fled.
00:20:10
And got him out of it.
Here was a man who fled at the right time.
Timothy was told to flee.
Certain things. Other things besides fornication.
But you, dear young people, are exposed to this much, I'm quite sure.
And briefly, the only instruction is to turn around and run from it.
Run from it says in the New Testament here. Flee fornication.
Here in the verse we're reading.
It says flee these things. That's going back and referring to other things. The grasping after things down here for the flesh. Those things should be given up to in the next book.
The Spirit of God through Paul says to Timothy, flee also youthfulness.
They don't profit those desires of youth, and they're very, very strong, and you won't find happiness in them. Gratifying the flesh never produces happiness, but sorrow.
And death.
Flee. Now there was another man named Joseph.
In the New Testament, let's turn and read about him. I think you might turn, if you care to, to Matthew chapter 2. It's quite a different case, but this Joseph was the husband of Mary to whom Jesus was born and.
Our blessed Savior.
Was under Satan's attack.
When he was obeyed.
And the father Joseph, who was of the line of David.
And we have his lineage here in Matthew. He was given instruction by the Spirit of God to flee something too. The 13th verse of Matthew 2.
When they were departed, behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word. For Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt. Here was an obedient Joseph as well. He followed the guidance of the Spirit of God and protected that dear child.
He obeyed young people. When it's time to fleet, just turn around and run. Leave it, leave it. You'll find something to follow that'll bring you happiness.
Go on to that.
In our chapter.
Verse 11 again.
Thou, O man of God, flee these things and follow after righteousness, godliness.
Faith. Love.