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The profitable for us to take up the 12Th chapter of Hebrews. We have there our blessed object brought before us, as well as the end of the journey, and this is what we need in these days in which we live.
Hebrews, chapter 12.
Wherefore, seeing we also accomplished about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which just so easily beset us, and let us run with patience in the race. And they set me for us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and to set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest he be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood striving against them. And He had forgotten. The exhortation would speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art reduced to Him. For whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth.
And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
He endured hastening. God deals with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not?
But if you be without just as meant we're a full of partakers then our E ******** and not sons.
Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, We gave them reverence, so we not much forever be in subjection unto the Father of spirits and live.
But they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but he for our profit.
That we might be partakers of His Holiness.
No, no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous nevertheless. Afterward they yield at the peaceful fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down in the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet. Bless that which is lame be turned out of the way.
But let it rather be healed.
Follow peace with all men, and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord looking diligently.
Lest any man fail of the grace of God, Lest any root of bitterness is bringing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. Did you want the entire chapter at Jim?
Pardon.
I would just say before we comment on this chapter specifically, that I've enjoyed the fact that the ascension and enthronement of Christ is brought before us in a very remarkable way in the book of Hebrews, because you have the Lord Jesus seated at the right hand of God four times in this book, you find him in the first chapter seated there, having made full atonement in the purification for sin.
You'll find him in the 8th chapter seated as our High Priest, that one who is taking up our interests at the right hand of God and ever living to make intercession for us. Then you find him in the 10th chapter seated, having offered himself as the supreme sacrifice and satisfied God as to the whole question of sin. And we find there that it brings before us the security that we have in Christ, because it says by one offering He has perfected forever them that are sanctified.
And here we find Him in our chapter seated, having pasted through this world in the path of faith and obedience, and as having completely begun and completed the path of faith and perfection. He seated now as the object for us as we pass through this world. It's remarkable that in the book of Hebrews you only have one specific mention of the cross. That's where we read in the second verse here, and then one specific mention of the resurrection, which is in the next chapter, the 13th chapter.
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Because I say it's more his ascension and his enthronement that is taken up here. And when the Lord Jesus walked in this world, there was an object in this world that was worthy of heaven's gaze. And that's why you find as the Lord Jesus walked in this world amongst men, that there were occasions when the heavens would open up and all heaven would gaze down at that blessed One, and a voice would proclaim, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
But the Lord Jesus isn't here in this world the way he was 2000 years ago. He has risen from the dead, He has ascended, and he's glorified and seated at God's right hand. And I believe the book of Hebrews opens to us the heavens, not so that heaven can gaze down, but so that now we can gaze up by faith and be occupied with that one that God would always occupy his people with. The one in whom was all his delight, the one who was the express image of his person, the one who could say I have glorified thee on the earth.
I have finished the work that thou gave us me to do. And so as we take up this chapter, how good in these days when the enemy is busy and there's much to discourage and distract. So look up into the open heavens, brethren, and see that Blessed One there seated at the right hand of God. He hasn't failed. He's altogether lovely. He's the same. And as we take up this chapter, may we realize that the resource that the people of God have in Christ this afternoon, this morning.
Is the same limitless supply that has always been available to the people of God.
I didn't read the last part of it but I just thinking of it in the chapter uh noticing the 28th verse. Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved.
Blessed and precious truth of Kingdom that cannot be moved. And that blessed one is there already, isn't it? Waiting for the time when he's going to take his people out of the scene and bring them into that place of glory? And I think it's so beautiful.
But in between the verses, between the opening of this, the thought of, uh, looking unto Jesus, the one who has not only begun the path of faith, but finished it not, not to all the worthies of the Old Testament, which are glorious, no doubt, but to that blessed one. And so in between this chapter, as it was being read, I thought of there's, there's difficulties, there's trials, there's all these things that come in and we're directed, always directed.
The looks of the head look to the Lord Jesus and uh, as as it says in verse 15, looking diligently lest any man's veil of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many be defiled. How wonderful to know that most of these chapters you read the if you read the beginning and the end, you'll find that in between God makes provision for the situation for the place that we're in at the present time, doesn't it?
I've always enjoyed the fact that God does two things for his people, and He's always done it in any dispensation. That is, He has always given a hope, an eye to the future. Because if we're going to run the race that is set before us and run with endurance, we need to have an object. We need to have a goal. The runner who goes out and runs, if he doesn't have an object in view, he's not going to be concerned about completing the race, but he has that cries in view and so he runs with endurance.
So God always did that for his people. He did it for his people in the Old Testament. When they redeemed them out of Israel by the blood of the Passover lamb, He set a hope before them. They were going to the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey. In fact, I've enjoyed that when they got discouraged very quickly after their entrance into the wilderness, they cried to Moses and Moses cried to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, tell the people to turn around. They're looking in the wrong direction, they're looking back.
And so as they turned around and looked out over the wilderness, it says they saw the glory of the Lord in the cloud. In some way, Jehovah was pleased to give them a vision of himself in the cloud. And with that in view, they could press on, knowing that they were going to something far better. But what about in the meantime? God provided for their every need. He provided food when they were hungry, when they were thirsty. He gave them the water from the rock. He, their sandals didn't wear out. Everything was provided.
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And when they finally did get into the promised land and look back, they had to give Jehovah all the glory. They had to realize that it was all the way that he had LED them and that it was nothing of themselves. And so he does those two things for us. And brethren, we're going on to the Father's house. We were singing of that. We're going to see our blessed Savior, perhaps to be taken from these meetings into the very presence of the Lord Jesus, to see him not by faith, but by sight. But what about in the meantime?
Maybe there's someone here and you say I just can't go on in the situations. How difficult are things going to become before the Lord comes to call his own? Well, brethren, again, there's full provision for us and God has provided everything that we need if we're willing to draw on that resource.
I like to just say too, concerning this cloud of witnesses that he mentions in our first verse. It's a referring back, I believe, to those who have been mentioned in the 11Th chapter. Because there we have a list of those in the Old Testament who live by faith and triumph against all kinds of odds and difficulties for the Lord's glory. And they're brought before us to encourage our hearts and to show us that it's never been easy for the people of God to go on.
For the truth in their day there's always been opposition to the truth, and the enemy is always busy to tear down and destroy that which God has set up and instituted. But I believe that the Spirit of God is very careful to guard, lest we ever think that our brethren are given to us as the object for faith. Now we are told later on in this very book, that those who have gone before it says, whose faith follow, but they are not the object for our faith.
The ones that are brought before us in the 11Th chapter, they're not the object. They're given to encourage our hearts. And even in our day, we can look around and our brother and I trust, encourage our hearts, and we ought to encourage one another as we go on in the path of faith and service. But immediately on completion of that list, that great cloud of witnesses, he lifts up our eyes to the open heavens and he says, here's the object for faith. Here's the one that if you follow him, you're going to be preserved in the path of faith. If you follow someone else, you're going to be discouraged.
You're going to miss the path because David said in 119th Psalm. I have seen an end of all perfection. And if we're looking for perfection down here, if we're looking for perfection in our brethren, we're going to be disappointed. But we won't be disappointed if we're looking to him as the object.
It was good to see two that says you're in verse one. Let us lay aside every week. Well, some of the younger ones here might wonder about this.
Oh, wait, uh, could be something that hinders your walk, hinders your progress in the Lord, may not be sin. It may be something, uh, that just hinders you. It's a wait, but I was thinking of a verse over in the second or first Timothy chapter.
Uh, chapter 6, if you'd like to look at it. Uh, we're to lay aside every wave, but then there's something else for us to do too. I speak as to those who know the Lord.
Umm, verses 18 and 19 of First Timothy chapter 6. That they do good, that they be rich in good works.
Ready to distribute, willing to communicate. Notice verse 19. Laying up in store for themselves. A good foundation against the time to come.
But they may lay hold on that which is really light. Uh, I believe there's a need of a, of more being more closely connected with the Lord Jesus himself, his own personal, we, we know him, all of our Savior, they know him. We know him as our savior, but do we really appreciate him as the one who has authority in our lives, the one who is soon to where he's soon to come for us? We're going to look into his blessed face. Well, I think it's good for us to remember as we were reminded into him, where we're going.
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Uh, the, the joy of that is going to be in the presence of the Lord Jesus. So he says here in, in the first Timothy 6 and 19, laying up, laying aside that which would hinder and laying up for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life. Well, eternal life, we have it. But he says, lay, hold on, enjoy it, make it good to your soul.
Going back for just a moment to the word witnesses.
I think it's important to notice something that's called attention to doing a footnote in Jandy's translation that there are really two senses to the word witness in English. One is.
That I see something in order to bear witness about it. The second sense of it is to give testimony to, and in this particular passage, the thought is to give testimony to. What did they give testimony to?
They give testimony to the path of faith and what the character of that path is and the nature of God's dealings with those who are in the path of faith. So we're surrounded by that cloud.
Of witnesses in the sense of giving testimony to what that path is and what the God is that we know and sustains us in that path.
The raise to the step before us.
University of Ecclesiastes, 9 chapters. I said it now.
First, uh, 11 The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.
Media, bread and the wine and so forth.
Let's see, raise it into the Swift. Who is it to? Who wins this race?
That was rude.
It's not a sudden burst of speed and how often we see somebody start off so well they don't finish well. You know, it's important to finish well, you know, to continue on in this race to run with these words and things. What you're saying is nutrition pathway. It's not 100 chart dash, it's going on.
And there are many difficulties to put in the way, but when you look at that, Blessed is running glory.
So it's beginning our journey as we go on, when we realize when his journey was here, it must be set with much opposition. But he went home.
I think there's some scriptures concerning the end of Paul's journey and, uh, his pathway here in Second Timothy that might be helpful in this connection he just noticed in Second Timothy chapter 4.
Paul writing by the last before the last time by divine inspiration. He says in verse six, For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also.
That love his appearing.
Well, Paul was one who ran with patience, or I believe, as Mr. Darby translates it, ran with endurance. And you just have to read the life of the apostle Paul read concerning his life in the book of the Acts and then through the epistles. He was one who didn't have an easy pathway. He suffered things in the path of faith that you and I have never been called on to suffer. And if you read that list in the second chapter, the 11Th chapter of Second Corinthians, it's a tremendous list of things.
And I used to read that list and wonder, how could Paul go on day after day, year after year, and endure those things for the Lord's sake? Well, he had the goal in view because in the very next chapter, second Corinthians, chapter 12, he tells us there of that time when he was caught up to the 3rd heaven, saw a risen, glorified Christ, and heard unspeakable words that it was not lawful for a man to utter. He didn't just have a vision of the coming glory. He'd been up there and saw it himself. And I believe with that in view.
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And knowing where the race ended, knowing where the pathway ended in the glory, he could press on. And he doesn't speak here in second Timothy of winning the race, but finishing the race. And we know too that he said, I believe it's in Acts 20. I have finished my course with joy. It wasn't an easy pathway, but there was joy as he went through those trials and proved the all sufficiency of his God and the all sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ. Brother **** was telling us about what these ones in the chapter before the 11Th of Hebrews gave testimony to.
One of the things they gave testimony to was the all sufficiency of their God, that their God was able despite the situation. And brethren, I say again, he's still able. We have the same God that the Apostle Paul had. We have the same God that Daniel and David and those Old Testament Saints had. He hasn't changed. Perhaps he doesn't work quite the same way, the end of this dispensation the way he did in past ages or even in the early days of the church, with great deliverance and great grace and great power and outward signs and things like that.
But has it? Is this power any less? I like what it says at the end of Daniel's life, where Daniel proved the Lord in wonderful ways. It says the God of Daniel is the living God and steadfast forever. He's the same today, and he's brought before us in the next chapter in Hebrews, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. But I think we need to stress, but particularly for those of us who are younger, that there must be the goal, there must be the object.
And all those that live by faith, in the 11Th chapter, they all had an object. It says of Abraham truly went out, not knowing whether he went, but he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. We read that there were those who didn't receive the promises, but they saw them afar off and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims. Moses endured as seeing him who is invisible. And so I just say to those of us who are younger, we must have the glory before us, because where no vision is, the people perish, and every man that hath this hope in him.
Purifies himself, even if he is pure.
I don't think we can emphasize too much the importance of fixing the eye on that Blessed One. As the leader and completer of faith, we can tend to get our eyes on men on issues.
And I believe God would have us.
Picks our eyes on him. He's the leader, the initiator.
The author.
And the completer of faith and.
All others might give us a testimony to what that path of faith is all about, and we might see it exemplified in their lives. But there's nothing that will still give you a motive and encourage you to go on is to fix your eyes on him as the leader, as the completer of faith.
May the Lord direct our eyes and work to Christ as we go on. I think of different ones that I perhaps thought of a lot of in my life and.
Sometimes I'm so disappointed.
But he's never disappointed, as he's always that supreme object, the one who God sets before us to encourage us on the way. And.
He himself, in view of the joy before him, endured the cross.
Despising the shame, I mean, where is he now? Sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. What a what a goal before us, what a thought to engage our hearts. There's a lot that would discourage.
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I often think of.
A little question the Lord raised more in regard to His appearing than in regards to the, uh, rapture. But those events are so close that one can really apply them. And it says, when the Son of Man comes, shall we find faith on the earth?
And you look about and you see it giving up on every side and, uh, turning his side.
When I think of the Lord's word to Peter in the 21St of John.
Just follow me.
Peter turns around and he says, What about this man? About John? And we all do that, though we get occupied with what somebody else is going to do. The Lord says, if I will, that he tarry till I come. What is that for thee? Follow thou me. It's as if the Lord says to Peter, that's not your occupation, it's none of your business. You follow me and we follow him by grace.
Supplied from heaven's eternal strength.
But God has given us an object, a never failing object, one that won't disappoint US1 That completed the pathway of faith.
But it cost him and we thought of that. Uh, I was thinking again, brother **** ** verse two, looking unto Jesus.
And then in verse 3 for Consider him, are we really considering Him?
As you pointed out, looking unto Jesus.
The Sinner looks to the Lord Jesus and he gets salvation. You know, he, he hears the words of love and truth and he's saved. He looks to the Lord Jesus, but to, uh, then to forget what the cost was. We'll never enter into the depths of that. But as, as I read this verse, the author and finisher of faith, the whole pathway, he was the one who began it and he ended it. He finished it.
Do I consider him not just as my savior, uh, looking to Jesus, but do I consider that Blessed one? Do I consider what it cost him to redeem this individual? How much did he pay? He paid with his life.
Are we considering him? That's that's really it. I believe it's emphasized here. I don't know the thought in connection with the consider, but at least have we meditated upon him? Have we wondered, have we marveled at how much he paid for us?
What it cost, it cost the contemplation of these things that could that allow the apostrophe to stay in its religious rejoice in the Lord. Now where was he when he said those things? He was in the prison.
I have a further circumstances.
He had to write the prolific that some of them seek their own. They tell what it says. No, they all seek their own, not the things that are things that are Jesus Christ, but he had his face set as were in glory. And for the second time he says not rejoice in the Lord said rejoiced in the Lord always and even finished. Yet he said, and again I say rejoice now that's the man who's locked up in prison.
Seeing the difficulties of the way, yet he can stay three times over.
Rejoice in the Lord.
For an example, we have in him to follow his faith and he as a follower of our Lord Jesus.
I like to contrast that incident with the apo, with, uh, Solomon, because Solomon on the throne of Israel, at Israel's pinnacle, humanly speaking, had everything that his heart desired. In fact, it says he didn't withhold himself from any pleasure. And you might say naturally speaking, he would have been the one to write rejoice in the Lord, but he's the one that writes vanity and vexation of spirit. In contrast here with Paul, as you say, in the lowest of circumstances that were perhaps human possible, humanly speaking.
And you might naturally have expected him to be the one to write vanity and vexation to spirit. And if he had, you'd say, well, of course he didn't have anything anyway. But it was just the opposite. Solomon with everything that his heart desired of this world and glory and power and so on, he didn't find any satisfaction in it. But Paul had a joy. Think of Paul and Silas in prison. They had a joy. There in that trial was midnight, it was a dark hour. They must have wondered what they were doing with their backs bleeding and their feet in the stops. But they had that joy in the Lord. Because it says your joy no man taketh from you.
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I think it's nice to see what the Lord Jesus said as He endured the cross, despising the shame. He looked beyond the long dark night, knowing the truth of that verse that says sorrow may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
He looked on to the day of glory, He looked on beyond the cross, and He knew that when the work was finished, he would return to the Father. He had come from God and He told his own that he would return to God. He knew that there was the glory ahead, and not only so, but He knew that He would have his own around him for all eternity that day when he would see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. And with that in view, He could endure the cross, despising the shame. And He's given to us as the perfect example, brethren. And again, if we have that.
Glory before us. We can go through the trials like those that we read about in Scripture, like the Lord Jesus Himself, knowing that He's going to give grace and glory. Grace meets our present need and glory is what comes at the end.
What is the joy we had in verse two? It says looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, hopefully joy invested before him, endured the cross, but joy in the Lord Jesus had before him.
Yeah, we thought when?
It wasn't a joy or was doing the Father's will.
Because I thought that was his meat, wasn't it? Finished the work that he gave me to do. And that joy isn't dependent on circumstances. I, I don't mean to take away at all from the thought too, that the joy of sitting down at the Father's right hand, but it was as having finished all that the Father had given him to do and to finish the path. And that was joy to his soul.
I'll be glad to hear what you have in mind, brother.
We could even go beyond that.
Travelled it's all satisfied that you look at all the stars on the confusion in the world, but we look past that the eternal state when they'll be blessed in our earth and blessing in heaven and all will be according to the Father's heart and with patience he endured the cross so he was not he was the Lamb of God was taketh away the pin of the world and so that the earth and blessing the whole blessed blessing will be will be brought into joy. That's what we look forward to across.
As love doesn't have its rest until we as we think it redeemed our wisdom fully blessed.
So my father worked for 32 and I worked and so even now.
He said the father's right hand in the seating for us and I may say that.
Still looking forward, I believe till that time when it'll be redemption, one thing will be forever done away and.
We get that in the 10th chapter where he seated and it tells us there from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool and saw his brother Neil says he's looking on to that day. But I'd just like to make a comment in connection with his joy, the joy of obedience, because I believe that he has put before us an example that we should follow in his footsteps. And as we read of the life of the Lord Jesus, we find there's only one way to be happy in the path of faith.
And that is in obedience, we sometimes sing with the children at the Bible hour in Maine, a sheep, uh, we find we sing, umm, they are only happy when they follow his command concerning those sheep that he has, uh, picked up and redeemed. And so, well, you see it in the path of the Lord Jesus. He said, my meat is to do the will of God and to finish the work of it. I'm not quoting it correct, just correctly. But that was his whole joy and it halfway He could say it in the fourth of John.
That I have meat to eat that you know not of. And his delight was to do is my delight is to do thy will, Oh my God. And I think you see it very beautiful in the tents of Luke as well. We won't turn to it but that we know that the Lord Jesus was the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. But there is one time in His pathway we read specifically of His rejoicing, and it's under very excruciating circumstances. He looked around at those cities that He had come to blast. His heart went out to them. He wept over them.
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His desire was to draw them around himself and to bring them into blessing, but because of their rejection, he had to pronounce judgment on those cities.
And what does it say? That same hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit. Why did he? How could he rejoice in spirit Even so far? For so it seemed good in thy sight. Perfect submission as a man to his Father's will brought that joy. And I say it's an example for you and I, because we'll never have true joy in our pathway unless there's true submission. It's not that we're going to have an easy pathway. Let's never think. Rather than that if we follow the Lord, it's going to be all sunshine and roses.
Those who live by faith in the chapter before they had difficulties, there was opposition, no doubt, many things that they never understood this side of glory, but they had joy in their path because they knew that they were doing the will of God.
I think the thought that our brother Neil brought out is confirmed too, and although I think it's primarily here, the joy of doing the Father's will, the added thought of the blessing of His own is, uh, confirmed in June, that He might set us before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. Sometimes we read that I think wrongly.
With our exceeding joy, well, it's going to be exceeding joy for us to be there. But.
His joy will be to get us home and get us there safely, and that's always been a great joy to my soul, to think of that in a time such as Jude has to worry about.
Comes to a doxology at the end where he he says he's able to keep us without stumbling.
And the said it, that's how it should read without stumbling, not without falling, but even without stumbling. And the set us before his presence was exceeding joy. It will be his exceeding joy to have us there. And we have the same thought in Umm Zephaniah is it where he says he will joy over me with singing, particularly Israel and view there. But I'm sure we can apply that to ourselves. The Lord is going to sing to get his home safely.
It's going to be his great joy to bring us into the Father's presence. And if you think of a illustration of someone fetching a bride from afar, I think of our dear brother Donald. I don't know if he's here or not. Donald Williams, he in Brooklyn, he waited a whole year, more than a year to be able to bring his pride from the Dominican Republic. And you should see the smile on my brother's face and how much he enjoyed having Martha Wizard.
And how much more the Lord's joy to have us there with Him.
When he sit down.
Umm, at the right hand of uh, the throne of God, and it for the joy that was kept before him.
That's why he stepped down there. And so he's seated there now as an ascended man who's gone up there and he's given gifts for man. He's looking after our entire chase from a place of power.
So that, as you say, you might bring us safely home. That's why he's seated there now. And so how much more we save by his life is that he's living now there in the presence of God for us, in the place of power. And as it says in Colossians, that is very lovely and the connection.
It says uh.
1St uh eleven of the first chapters strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power unto all patients, and long and suffering with joyfulness.
So, uh, we've been translated into the Kingdom of the dearest God and he's there now in place of power at the right hand, step down at the right hand of the throne of God so that he might be able to go on. And, uh.
This way is uh patient and long-suffering with joint illness.
That supply is important to remember that, not to forget.
Not only what he has done for us, but what he's doing for us now. I believe we have an intervening versus here following this. We have how he's working in us now to perfect us for that time of glory. Uh, he's seeking to write Christ upon our hearts, isn't he right now. And I think it's so important to me that if, if, if we're, if someone here is going through a trial now who belongs to the Lord, don't be discouraged.
00:40:19
Find the Lord Jesus as the object.
There's a reason for it. God has a purpose in it, and I believe we have some of that in these intervening verses here before he come, we come to the end of the chapter to see that he's already, uh, we, we, we're receiving a Kingdom. He's already there and he's seeking now to write his name upon each part of the believer. So if you're going through a trial or a difficulty now, read those next verses from verse five down through and take it from the Lord. Ask the Lord to give you the grace to find your eye fixed upon him for you know, we know.
It says whom the Lord loveth. He chase me so he loves his people, and he's perfecting them now while we wait His return, isn't he?
We often see in school among people full of talent and ability, but they're like water poured out on the ground. And it, it never missed one of their parents really. She was coddled and I may put it in play, given every favor, but never really under his mother's care. Umm, that we see here of the Lord Chorus as a father and then, uh, the, the father of spirit.
And chase. So the Lord is not forming in us the capacity to share His joy.
And so it produces a deeper, yet a calmer joy as we submit to the hand of God in our circumstances. And that is why He is there now in that place of power, so that He can order all circumstances. We don't think of it. We think that we don't see all things yet put under him, but he's now there in the place of power that He might order the circumstances today.
For our learning and for our education.
We would like him to order the circumstances of this urge for our reason, for our respiratory, but our rest is not here. But he's now in the place of power to order the circumstances to learn the lessons that we can only learn here on earth.
Perhaps it would be good then that we're entering on the thought of chasing to make very clear in the beginning that we have greatly limited that word in our language. We've made it mean punishment, and it really has three senses to it that are brought out in the 37th chapter of Job. I believe it's 37. Perhaps we could look at that a moment.
Ma'am, I'm sorry.
The 13th verse.
Go 37.
Verse 13.
We're talking about the elements in the previous verse.
And uh, then in the 13th verse it talks about them this way. It causes it to come.
Whether for correction?
Or for his land.
Or for mercy. And I believe chastening has a very broad sentence in this chapter that we're looking at. It really has the sort of purifying.
It may be that God allows something to come into our lives. That is called chase me because we need to be corrected. It has a punitive sense to it I think. If I remember correctly, Brother Harry Hayham used it used 3 words to begin with P as a help in understanding not punitive.
The second is purgative for his land. That is, it isn't because we did anything wrong or to prevent us from doing anything wrong, but it's to cultivate the land for more fruit for its glory and honor.
So God sends it for His land sometimes. Why did the Lord allow that in my life? Because I did so, and so I might not do so. And no, no, not necessarily.
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Just to bring forth more fruit and glory for Him to purify my life in that way. And then the third purpose is for mercy.
What is mercy? Well, I believe in this special sense in this chapter in job is to prevent my doing something. So we have punitive chasing.
Purchase of chasement and preventative chase preventive chasing it's and an example of that is that Paul was given a thorn in the flesh because he was exalted and and lifted up now that he might not be and some things the Lord allows in our lives.
Are chastening, but the purpose of them is that we might not do something that would dishonor or.
Be not for our good or blessing. And so that's a mercy to us then, isn't it? And some things the Lord extends into our lives. And I I think it's so important as we enter on these verses that we keep in mind that broad sense of the word chastening with its three aspects.
For correction for his land, or for mercy, that is.
On it, just for something to correct us for something.
To stir up the land so that it produces more fruit for him and to prevent our doing something, it would be child training.
I think one of the writers, Mr. Niger Kelly, refers to it as child training.
How do we train our children? We don't beat them until they're at fault. We don't do that. So when we think of chasing, I know it was 11 Time we spoke. We were thinking about this chapter and chasing. You mean that you're gonna you're gonna beat them and so on. I said no, it doesn't. It doesn't have that sense in it because he's speaking a lot. He's talking to his people here, isn't he? Keep talking to believers in Christ. And so again, he's trying to imprint Christ in our hearts.
And sometimes it it, it's a necessary thing for us and we need that chase. As it says here, we're told that we need it and God doesn't. Does he, does he do it because he hates us? No, because he loves us. That's the whole point. If we could just see that as I look at some trials that I may have, I can say.
Lord Loud love to me, thou lovers to me. And I know this, though I'm not always. I don't always enjoy the difficulty. I don't always enjoy the trial. But he does it. He doesn't love me and I don't see it.
There are three reactions that one can have to chase them too. 3 aspects of it and three reactions that we can have. The 1St is called attention to in verse 5.
We can despise it.
I believe the sense of that might be if the Lord allows something in our lives and we say, wow, that happens to everybody, instead of saying Lord, what should I learn out of it?
Wheel comes off my car on the road. Does the Lord have something to say? What is he dealing with me here? Or I can despise it and say, hey, everything made by man's right. And you know it could happen to anybody. Yes it could, but God allowed it to happen to me. And why? Well, I asked him then why? What is what Lord? What are thou saying to me in this? What? What is the purpose of that?
Instead of despising it, then the second part of it, the second reaction is to faint, pay off too much. I can't take it. The Lord has put this and this and this in my life.
I it's just too much. I'm going to dissipate. I can't carry on. Well, no, you can't do that either. If he allowed this, this and this in our lives, he has a purpose, doesn't he? And then the the last thing is what you have down in umm.
In verse 11.
Those who are exercise right. Oh, that's the that's what the Lord wants doesn't mean that everything that he brings into our lives in the way of chastening that we might have an exercise about it. Now that word sometimes may be difficult for children to understand. We think of exercise something we do after our class or something. Everybody stand up with that some exercise. Well, it's really gonna work out, isn't it? And.
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And to and to be to work it out into our lives. That's what exercise to be exercised by it, not to think about it and simply say, well, uh, that's, uh, that's, I can see this in theory. No, to say now, Lord, you've allowed this. What am I going to do about it? What am I going to learn out? How am I going to change my way? What am I going to do from here on?
That's really mean exercise. Fine. That's why he's doing it. I think any of a, of a, uh, of a, uh, an year brother years ago, he was telling me about, you're talking about this chapter and he was telling me, he's telling me about someone that he met that was just had one difficulty trial after another trial after trial after trial. And the poor brother, he said he was really, he was weary with all this. And he said to, he said to this brother, I would mention his name. Uh, he said, uh.
I I don't know what to say one trial after another, his brother, his brother, his brother he was talking to he looked at him and he said, you know, the Lord must love you and an awful lot. So he was rather surprised and he said why? He says, tells me here in Hebrews that whom the Lord's love of features.
You are probably going to difficulties in trials, but I could never bear when the Lord knows that so he's doing it that you might exercise.
Because I'd like to speak about Persian, we mentioned that and I suggest John 15. And we may feel safe and just the rod of God as we sit there and Joe in a footnote, but it's purging. It's a very necessary thing. And I once went out with a Christian fellow there that had an orchard and pruned trees with him in the winter time.
In the cold of winter. And it was interesting what he said about the branches that he pruned. He said there's four kinds of branches that I've pruned besides the dead ones. He said there are the branches that grow inward and lock the sunlight from the other branches. And you said you have to take those away and take care to do that. And he said there's a suckers that will never produce fruit. They have the biggest leaves and the most beautiful. They grow straight upward, but they'll never produce fruit for God.
Per cruise. And so he said we removed all and umm, I should say there's a third one besides the deadline. He said that there's a branch that comes the load of the earth that the fruit is soil. And he said, I don't want you to type anything else because he said they're the hardest ones to know what to do with because he said sometimes they can be propped up and other guys have to cut them off. But when he goes through the forest, uh, through the foresters, there's quite a, the trees are looking pretty bare and it looks pretty severe.
But it wasn't a callous thing, but it was a sealed hand that he used to prune those trees, and there was no thought of correction there in the sense of there's something wrong, but that the tree might produce more fruit. Lord desires that for us and that.
As we said there, we can change under this and we do the five that you can just let the tree grow. The fatherless husband then would never do that, but, uh, just let it grow wild. But it wouldn't be truthful if we could realize that what God is doing in, in the trial, uh, in the testing is to print twice on our heart. That's the point.
Not religion, not church membership, not knowing a lot of verses, which is not non discrediting that, but he's seeking to print Christ upon his heart.
And the one of the old writers, but the true fruit for God, if you want to think about fruit is what God sees in you of Christ. That's that's true proof that will bear it through that will bring honor to God. What he sees in my heart of Christ, which he's trying to do, attempting to do every day of my life is to imprint Christ on my mind.
Sometimes the natural reaction.
When we see a brother or a sister going through some trial is to feel that there's been some fit sin or failure in their lives. But I've enjoyed it in connection with John 9, where they brought the blind man to the Lord and they said who have been this man or his parents that he was born blind? And what did the Lord Jesus say in response? He said neither this man nor his parents, but that the works of God might be manifested in him. In other words, as they brought this man who had been born blind, a trial allowed in his life a situation.
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God was going to be glorified as the Lord Jesus healed that man, and then the works of God were going to be manifested in him as he gave testimony to that work of grace in his life. And brethren, that's really what he wants. And he allows these trials and difficulties that Christ might be seeing in us as our brother Charlie has been bringing before us. Because when we go through the trials, they are to draw closer to Himself. And there's only one way to bear true testimony and to be a true reflection of Christ in this world.
And that's the walk in the presence of Christ, because as we walk in the presence of the Lord Jesus, as the trials cast us down but cast us on himself, then there's going to be that reflect an unconscious reflection of Christ in our lives. I say that because sometimes those of us who are younger hear this thought in Christendom of generating a testimony for the Lord. But I believe true testimony springs from the measure in which I am in the sanctuary and the measure in which I walk in the presence of the Lord Jesus.
When Moses was on the mount with Jehovah, he came down and his face shone, but he whipped. Not that his face shone. It was the unconscious reflection of being in the presence of the Lord Jesus. I just say too, that I think that when the Lord Jesus allows us to go through trials, sometimes it's to be a help to others.
And I think you get that thought in the first chapter of Second Corinthians. In fact, if you just look at it, it's very precious.
First Corinthians now Second Corinthians, chapter one.
Right, and verse three, blessed be the God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort we're with. We ourselves are comforted of God for us. The sufferings of Christ abound in us. So our constellation also abounded by Christ.
And so as we experience the hand of God in our lives and experience that, uh, chastening and that comfort that comes when we're exercised, uh, through the situation, then we can be a help to others. It's wonderful to have someone with us in a situation and to be able to take their hand and go with them through the trial. But isn't it more wonderful to have someone who's been through a similar circumstance? You say, we know, uh, we understand one another. It's that he's been through a similar trial.
And so the Lord passes us through these things, that we might be a blessing and a comfort to others. And isn't it wonderful, too, to think that he himself hastened through this world in the path of faith and obedience, and He doesn't ask us to pass through anything in the past of faith, that he hasn't felt himself as a man. And so again in Hebrews we have him in the 8th chapter seated as our High Priest, one who knows what we're passing through. It says we have not a High Priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
It behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a faithful and merciful High Priest. So he knows what we pass through, and then in His grace He allows others to pass through similar circumstances, that we might be a help and blessing to one another.
Everything #2323.
How good is the dog? We had over 23.
All good.
To take care of.