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Do we have one day?
Man right. Free praise and fire.
All over your soul who has granny big heart.
And grace and service shrine.
Praise all the work shall grow.
Drill, Better life, Sing today.
Hebrews, Chapter 12 Starting with verse 14 Fall 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 springing out, trouble you, and thereby many be defiled, Must there be any fornicator or profane person, as Esau, who for one Morse of meat sold his birthright?
We know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor under blackness and darkness and temples the sound of a trumpet, in the voice of words, Which voice they that heard and treated, that the word should not be spoken to them anymore, They could not endure that which was commanded. If so much as a beast touched the mountain, it shall be stoned or thrust through with dart. So terrible is the sight that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake.
What you are come under Mount Sinai, and under the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the General Assembly and Church of the first born, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new Covenant, to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of evil.
See that ye refuse not him that speaketh, for they escape not who refused him to spake on earth. Much more shall not we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth, But now his promise, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word yet once more signifies the removing of those things that are shaken.
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As of things that are made, but those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire.
With all men.
Were talked at very diligently in the scripture.
And Holiness, we have had that positive exhortations for us.
Let's seek to do it without which no man shall see the Lord, and then this 15th verse.
Is one that we ought to pay attention to because of the natural tendency to not to want to forgive our brother.
That's one of the afflictions amongst brethren when there is not that forgiveness.
And it takes diligence to get down there.
And find out where that root of bitterness is. But I want to take up this 16th verse right at the beginning, lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. Now if we go back to Exodus chapter 4 and we know the story without referring to what happened.
How that Jacob tricked his brother?
Brother coming home faint from a trip and.
Jacob had sod pottage made some some kind of bean soup.
And foolishly.
Isha thought. Well, I'm just going to die if I don't eat.
He.
Who has cunningly tricked, I believe, by Jacob to selling his birthright?
What was his birthright?
We're getting it here in our chapter.
We're going to that.
But in Exodus chapter 4.
We see that God honored that sail.
Jacob, the cunning bargainer.
He had bought.
The birthright of his older brother.
And the Lord recognized the sale, talking to Pharaoh.
About Israel.
Who was in ******* in Egypt? The Lord. Thus saith the Lord.
Israel is my son, even my first born.
No doubt about it, the sale went through. Now what was happening when the Lord came here, He was on earth, the King, the Messiah. He had come to the Jews.
There he was.
The Messiah.
They made the most miserable bargain it's possible to make. They could have had the Millennium under the Messiah if they would have taken that man.
They thought no, we leaders, the Pharisees and scribes and so on, who had a place given to them.
Under the Roman Empire, they recognize it and they kind of liked.
They had as.
Their position?
They had a position under the Romans and they wanted it.
And here was the time.
When the Messiah was here to be presented to the remnant of Israel who had been brought back there.
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God was going to give them their Messiah. He was prophesied in the Old Testament.
Even the Samaritan woman knew about the Messiah coming. He was here and.
They were given a choice, those leaders of Israel.
Sub having the Messiah for the king and they said no, we have no king but Caesar. They left themselves under slavery of a worse than than Pharaoh, so that was a fatal loss.
For that nation at that time, that's what this brings up before us.
Profane person. Just take anything he wanted.
Who for one morsel of meat sold their birthright. For a few passing carnal privileges, they sold their Messiah. That's what happened. So this, this comes in, in this book to tell us really what the guilt of the Jewish nation was.
Course there's going to be a result for the world.
That crucified the Lord and for the.
Nation of Israel that was there then, they said.
His blood be on us and on our children, and they have had that blood in about the year 70 AD, when Jerusalem was destroyed.
But they've returned, they said. His blood be on us and on our children, brethren, the children of that generation.
Which hasn't passed away. Same kind of people are over there now.
Waiting for the final judgment that's going to fall not only on the Israelites that are over there and the Jews as such, but the world. Because when Philadelphia is addressed, she's taught. She's told about the.
Time of great tribulation which is to come upon all the world to try them that dwell on the earth. Now your way and my way of escape from the seven years of the great tribulation, the only sure way is to take the Lord Jesus as your savior. The only sure way for the nation of Israel over there to escape the judgment is going to come is to confess that Jesus is Lord, the Lord said to them as they were rejecting Him.
Henceforth he shall see me no more, until he shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
What people have to do is to confess that Jesus is Lord, be they Jew or Gentile. So these remarks here are quite strong, I think in this chapter of.
Hebrews.
That to maintain holiness that we are exhorted to in verse 14.
That it would be necessary to have some strong rules and regulations or laws, but that is not what produces true holiness.
It is speaks about that holiness in verse 14 without which no man shall see the Lord. Pretty solemn to think about brethren. And it's practical. It's following peace with all men and holiness that's practical in our lives. How is that produced? By following a set of rules and regulations. That is the natural tendency of our hearts. We're going to have to in our group now. We're going to have to set up some rules.
And nobody is allowed to violate these rules. That does not produce holiness. And so in the next verse it shows the way true holiness is produced, looking diligently, lest any man fail, of the grace of God. It's the grace of God, the sense of his grace, that will produce holiness in our lives in a right way. And I often think of, if we understand the grace of God properly, sometimes people present the grace of God.
That God just kind of looks over our sins and passes them over.
And in Jude, it speaks of those who turn the grace of our God into lasciviousness. In other words, they make it an excuse to continue to sing. And this is heard in religious, so-called evangelical circles. God is merciful. He'll, he'll bear with your sins. You can go on and sin a little bit. It's making provision to continue to sin.
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With the excuse that God is gracious, that is not understanding.
What the grace of God is when I stand at the cross of Calvary?
When I see that glorious Savior hanging there on that cross for me, giving his life the eternal Son of God, going through those hours of intense agony under the judgment of God to expiate sin from before the face of God, and then say, well, God's gracious I can go on sinning. We really don't understand grace yet.
No. To understand grace brings the sin question into proper perspective, and you cannot be careless about sin in your life and understand grace at the same time. The two things don't go together. It's not produced. Holiness is not produced by the law. That's the natural tendency of our hearts, but it's produced by a right understanding of what grace really is.
Now in Titus and it might be helpful just to read those scriptures.
In Titus chapter 2.
He gives a list of things here that Grace teaches us.
Titus chapter 2 and verse 11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation.
Hath appeared to all men teaching us, These are the things that grace teaches us.
Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age. And I've appreciated the fact that it's in this present age that is right where we are now. And if we have a true sense of grace in our souls, brethren, then grace is teaching us to live soberly, righteously, godly. In this present age we can never look around and say, well, things are too bad.
We can't go on with those things, no. When does it? Where does it teach us to live in this way?
It teaches us in this present age, right at this present time, right in 1997, where we where we are, we find 2 here in the verses, the two verses that we opened up with in the book of Hebrews. There are three things that are brought out, and I think the order is very important here and we ought not to miss it. That is, first of all he says follow peace, but it's not just that we follow peace. But then he immediately says and holiness.
Because, brethren, we can never have peace at the expense of righteousness and truth, because that's compromise.
And so it is true, we're to fall of peace with all. But holiness must be maintained, The standard must be maintained. The Spirit today in the world is well we can meet on a common ground, find some common denominator, and we can go on in that way. But that's not according to the word of God.
When Paul wrote to Timothy in the second epistle of appalling days of breakdown in not only in the world and in government, but even amongst the people of God, then he tells him there what to follow. He says follow righteousness, faith, peace, love with those that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. It's a very important order to that list. If I'd been writing that list, I probably would have reversed the order and put peace and love at the beginning. And that's what people want to do today.
And forget all about righteousness and faith. And so we need to be careful, follow peace.
But then it says with and holiness, and then he brings in the grace of God.
I was struck to realize that those verses that we often refer to in Matthew 18.
That bring before us the Lord, speaking in anticipation of the formation of the Church.
For they bring before us the instruction to go on in that which was going to be established and was established in the book of the Acts, speaks there of the function and administration of the local assembly. But what do we find beforehand? We find that the whole first part of the chapter is taken up with the subject of humility, and the whole last part of the chapter is taken up with the subject of forgiveness. Isn't it interesting that the function and administration of the local assembly instruction in that regard is Couch?
In those in in between humility and forgiveness, it's like the gas and oil that makes the machinery run properly.
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You might have everything in perfect order, but if there isn't, and you might have a very good engine. But if you don't have gas and oil, it's not going to run smoothly and properly. And so I think it's very, very instructive. And brethren, there needs to be the exercise of grace, with each one of us being gathered to the Lord's name brings us into a relationship closer than any relationship outside the family tie. Here on earth. Large day morning, there's going to be a loaf on the table, and in that loaf we recognize every member of the body of Christ.
And we practically express this truth when we meet together. And to remember the Lord in that way on the ground of the one body, we're brought into this closeness of the closeness of this relationship, rather than if there isn't grace exercised in each one of us. There's going to be difficulties, there's going to be problems. And so I just point out the order. Peace, yes, but then holiness and grace.
That you refer to rather, Jim. I think it's so important too, to recognize that grace sets before us an object. And how is it that we can indeed deny ungodliness, worldly lusts, and so on? Well, I believe it's because God puts before us the person in work of his beloved Son, that which truly satisfies. That's what is far better than.
What this world has to offer and so.
We have looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the Great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. He is the object. Isn't he great God and our Savior Jesus Christ who gave himself for us. This brings before us the sacrifice and it's the love of Christ, isn't it? It really constrains us to walk to please God.
I think we need to focus on that work that was accomplished at the Cross.
No greater love has a man than this, than that a man lay down his life for his friends, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, or a special people zealous of good works.
So here we have the good works coming in. It's a result of an appreciation of what Grace really is.
It's verse 15 is put in such an interesting way of our chapter. Rather than looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God, it's so important that we continue on. Not only we have been saved by grace, but every step of the way home. We only can go on if there's a sense of grace in our souls that we can continue. We don't only receive the grace of God.
At that moment when we have been saved, but it's all the way home, It's a display of his grace that takes us every step.
And the moment we lose the sense of that grace, there's fertile soil in our hearts for roots of bitterness. They will grow fast in the soil of a heart who has lost the sense of the grace of God. We stand there.
Only on the grounds of God's unmerited favor. Even as believers in the Lord Jesus, the Lord help us to keep that before our souls. It's just so easy to get away from that and start setting up, perhaps unconsciously, even in my heart, what I think my brother ought to measure up to. Brethren, we are here only on the grounds of His grace. It doesn't mean.
Like it's been brought out that we compromise the standard of holiness, not one wit the Lord Jesus did not do that on the cross of Calvary. He answered fully to all the claims of the holiness of God.
But, brethren, we stand before God on the ground of pure sovereign grace.
Shoes drew near to God through the law, and they stood there on their own righteousness. Their approach was made known to them how they could draw nigh to God.
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Once a year go into the Holy Place and so forth, But we've been brought into the presence of God, brethren. And what is it that's brought us there? It's Christ.
And it's grace that brings us along with him to have us there. We lose a sense of that grace and then we start finding fault with our brethren. Roots of bitterness grow, grow in our hearts, and it spoils that. And so there's a danger with this. It it costs Christ very much to bring us there. And if we lose a sense of that because we didn't do anything to get ourselves there.
And therefore we have no claims to look down on our brethren, or to to despise.
As it follows on and be profane, I think it's easy for us brethren to become like Esau or to.
To let roots of bitterness grow up when we lose that sense of our grace.
There in verse 17, it says for ye know how that afterward there's an afterword, and we have to recognize that in our lives and with things in this scene, there may be something that seems like it's acceptable. And her brother brought out. It was a very meager thing that Esau wanted, but he was hungry and he was willing to give up everything to get that food. And there was a momentary satisfaction that there was an afterward, too.
And that's a solemn thing to consider, brethren afterward. Let's let that thought.
Serve to kind of be a little break. As we go through our life of seeking to walk through with the Lord and we're presented with this thing and that thing, we we need to remember that what we take up with and what we become involved with, what we do. There's going to be an afterward.
To realize the government of God is a very real thing in our lives.
And everything we do has a consequence. We often quote that verse in the gospel, and rightly so. Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. But brethren, we need to apply that to our own hearts. That's true of us. If we so to the flesh, we're going to reap. To the flesh there's a consequence, and we may even be happily restored to the Lord in our own souls. But I think you get examples in the word of God that really speak to us, for instance with Abraham when he sinned.
He was restored to the Lord himself, but Ishmael and his descendants became the constant enemies of the people of God.
When David was restored to the, was sinned, and restored to the Lord, we find that a sword never departed out of his house forever. And what has struck me recently is to realize that when things are allowed in my life, and when, and two, when roots of bitterness are not judged, and those roots grow, not only do they have consequences on my own life, but they have consequences on others, and particularly on my children.
And I want to just say a practical word to those of us who have young children here, because what has struck me is that sometimes we as brethren may.
Ice and over something, some difficulty, some little problem between Brethren and we may Eisen over it and go on without really judging it, But that root of bitterness is there. And I don't know too much about gardening and that kind of thing, but I do know the longer you let that root grow the weed root of that weed, the harder it's going to be to pull it when the time comes.
But brethren, if we let that root grow, it will have consequences even on our families. And I have seen in my short history that sometimes things are not taken care of between brethren, just kind of ice and over and brethren go on. And then that route of bitterness is passed down to the next generation. And when it comes out, rather than it defiles many, the longer that route is there, the worse it's going to be when it finally comes out.
And it needs to exercise those of us who are children are who our parents, I should say, who are fathers and brethren. Let's be careful too what we say in the ears of our children concerning our brethren. If things have to be taken up and discussed for the Lords glory, let's not do it in the ears of our children. Let's not. Let's be careful that there would be nothing passed on to them that would cause them to think I'll of the people of God, or would cause the seed of any root of bitterness.
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In our children and young people.
Verse 16.
Sin of fornication and profanity. They really relate in other in the sense that they are treating things that are really sacred as if they were only common. That's what profanity is. And young people we are separated unto the Lord both in body and spirit. We are separated unto the Lord.
To take that which is separated to the Lord and to mix it with those who are not believers in the Lord Jesus is not a positive thing. It will bring extremely negative consequences. And we need to be warned. We're living in a world that unholy mixtures are countenanced and encouraged. But God's, the principle of God's Word is separation to the Lord.
Fornication ignores that profanity is dealing.
With what is sacred, as if it were common, as we've already mentioned, and in connection with what we've had brought to our attention, especially with the precious ministry of the word of God, we need to value it. Not just because our fathers value it, but we need to set our feet down and enjoy it and appreciate it, not sell it. Esau took that birthright that was rightly his. It was his God-given heritage, and he sold it for a massive body.
That was all that it was worth to him. He didn't care if he lost it.
Brethren, that is profanity, and we need to be careful in view of the God-given heritage we have.
Of not doing the same thing.
Then it says in verse 17, and it's been commented on already. I'd just like to.
Mention here you know how that afterward when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears, like to draw attention to the parentheses that Mister Darby puts into his translation. For he's found no place of repentance is in parentheses. What he sought was not a place of repentance, brethren.
Sought was.
A was the blessing. When it came down to the blessing at the end of Isaacs life, when he said he was going to bless his son, then remember that Jacob took it by guile and deceit, and he came back and Jacob had already gotten the blessing. And then Esau wept bitterly, not because he had repented.
Not because he was seeking repentance.
Esau never repented.
Esau never repented. He didn't seek repentance. What he sought with tears was the blessing that he lost because he had despised the birthright. And there will be consequences if we don't value what God has given us.
Contrast between what's?
You're not Come to verse 18 and.
What he are come to in verse 22?
I say the contrast is as great as possible.
We find judgment that the law brought and the eternal blessing that grace brought to us.
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But every blessing is on the ground of grace, and whether it's us in this dispensation.
Or anybody in any other dispensation. It's always been on the grounds of pure sovereign grace.
That's what Mount Zion is. Zion is the undeserved favor of God, God coming in and acting in His wonderful grace and brethren. I just say again, we need to have a real sense of this in our souls. And it will be true too, for the nation of Israel. They will be blessed in a coming day when Zion is addressed, when the lamb comes and stands on Mount Zion. And they themselves will have to realize that if there's any blessing for them, it's on the grounds of pure sovereign grace.
They failed utterly under the law at Mount Sinai they said all that the Lord our God hath commanded that will we do. But it wasn't very long till they broke the 1St and greatest of all the commandments, and Aaron set up the golden calf, and they worshipped that, and they failed utterly under the law. Even today Israel is trying to work out their own piece by piece, packs and summits and negotiations and all the things that they think they can do.
In their own strength, Is it going to work? Is all that the allied forces in the UN can do going to work? No, it's never going to bring about peace. They rejected the Prince of Peace and chose a man that was characterized by rebellion against authority and violence and corruption. And that's what they've had ever since. Because his brother Buchanan said they brought down his blood not only on their own heads, but on the heads of their of their children. And they'll never have peace again till the shout of a king is amongst them, until the Lord Jesus has his rightful place.
And they're drawn around him, but they will realize in that day that it's nothing of themselves.
They'll realize that it's on the grounds of pure sovereign grace and brethren, as we go on in our lives, we need to realize this more and more.
Is there a desire in your heart to follow the Lord in any measure? It's God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
When we get to glory, we'll have nothing to boast in save the grace of God that not only saved us, but preserved us every step of the wilderness journey. I believe that's why in Revelation 4, the redeemed, after they have received those rewards, those crowns, what do they do? Oh, they just cast those crowns back at his feet because we'll realize the full import of the verse I just quoted. It's God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
They don't want to get away from our chapter, but just for the sake of the young people sometimes illustrated it this way.
Suppose you give a cup of cold water in the name of the Lord. First of all, he puts the desire in your heart to give it. Then he provides the cup of cold water. Then he provides the opportunity to give it in his name. And then he says, I'm going to reward you for it. Well, brother, no wonder we'll cast our crowns back at his feet. We'll realize it was just the sovereign grace of God. Well, may this, may this sense of grace deepen in our souls now that we might be preserved and that we might go on.
And it will make a difference in our relationships, one with another. In the measure in which I realized the grace of God to me, then it's not hard to show grace in my relationships to my brethren.
Testament for the Jew, didn't he? And these verses here 18 through 21.
But. And God wanted to draw near to his people. How wonderful it is that God wanted to draw near, but His Holiness and righteousness became an obstacle. Or that is their lack of it. God hasn't changed. God is still the same holy God that he was on Mount Sinai. The Christ has made his fit and brought us, hasn't he? So, but that doesn't change the fact that God's holy and so we read these verses there. That's why the contrast is so great.
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It even says Moses, and I don't think we can find fault with Moses, but he exceedingly feared and quake the leader. So they never got there, did they, under that ordeal. But we have brethren, we we lost sinners. We've been brought near. God still the same holy God without, without.
It says the verse we had follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. That's still true.
God hasn't changed, but he's opened up the way, and Christ has brought us there, and He is our righteousness. Well, there ought to. It ought to produce that holiness and peace.
In US, practically here. And so we long for that, don't we? We're learning about that now. When we get home to glory, there's never going to be someone that mar that peace and holiness.
Had a lot of meaning, perhaps more so to the Jewish mind than maybe so much to us. But it is figurative, of course, of law and grace, as has been mentioned, but the way he puts it in its setting. Sinai, Blackness. Darkness.
Tempest. Sound of a trumpet. A voice of words that they couldn't listen to. It was too much for them.
And if it's a matter of standing on the ground of our own merits before God will never make it. And it's interesting in the Old Testament, there in the book of Exodus, when the law was given, it didn't seem to be this way until the people said.
All that the Lord hath said, will we do? They put themselves on that ground before God, and then immediately the Lord says, set bounds to the mountain. Don't let anything break through. If anything breaks through, it's going to be killed immediately. That's law. Oh, thank God, brethren, we do not have to stand before God on that ground.
That is not where we are. Come. Thank God for it, but I love that. So beautiful in verse 20. But ye are come unto Mount Zion. Here's where we are, brethren. This is our place.
You remember when David had sinned in numbering the people.
And the Lord had sent.
The pestilence among the people, and the Angel with his drawn sword.
Was going through the land, slain those that had to be killed as a consequence of David's sin, and he comes to Jerusalem.
And it's beautiful to think about. And it repented the Lord. Why did it repent the Lord? Because of his grace. They deserved to suffer it too. And the Lord said, stay now thy hand to the Angel that was destroying. And David was given to go and offer a sacrifice in the threshing floor of Aruna the Jebusite.
And that is the site of the we know. That is Mount Moriah, the site where the temple was built. God centered the place where the Lord was to dwell in the midst of his people. This is where we have come. This is the place for God's people. This is our place, brethren. And oh, how wonderful it is to realize that we deserve that sort of judgment too, but because of that sacrifice that was offered there.
There is now another ground upon which God can accept us, and we are accepted in the value of the person and worth of our Lord Jesus Christ, That sacrifice that he made on the cross of Calvary. That's Mount Zion.
And that's why this is the place that the Lord has chosen as his habitation.
It's a place that man cannot forfeit the blessing. Now under the law, man forfeited the blessing that God wanted to give. But now God has established a form grace, under which man cannot forfeit the blessing he cannot shut down.
The flow of the grace of God that flows out limitless, today and always will.
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In our chapter.
And turn back to it. I want to read that phrase.
It says.
In verse 18 for a year not come on to the mount.
That might be touched well.
You know, the thought, it seems to me, is as Brother Bob you were bringing out, if someone were to touch that mouth, it was death back there at Sinai. And so the bounds were set up, and it, whether it was a person or a beast to touch the mount where God was displaying His Holiness in, in all of its awesomeness.
Meant death. Now in Mark I've often connected this I just it's just as precious to my own soul. Mark Chapter 9, the disciples are up, and we have several of their a couple other accounts of it. But in March Chapter 9, the disciples are on the mount with the Lord Jesus and he's transfigured in his glory. So there's a display of God's glory too. But what does it say there? It says in verse nine of Mark Chapter 9 and as they came down from the mountain.
What happened when the Lord Jesus came down from the mountain? The one who displayed that?
Glory to his disciples and that same glory that was displayed there to the children of Israel. Why it wasn't that it might be touched and there was death, but he came down that he might be touched and there was life. And it's just lovely. We're talking about grace here is the here is the fulfillment of that imperfection in grace. I say in in just in principle the Lord Jesus as it were comes down from the mountain the one who in.
Exodus. Their display, that full awesome glory of God in the blackness and the thunderings and the lightning and the fire and all that display of holiness. Now he comes down, and that mountain that might be touched to have death is so precious. He comes down and it's an invitation to touch him, that there might be life.
Thou little phrases.
That are mentioned from verse 22/23/24 to meditate on brethren. This is where we are come to think about oh the place that has been brought, we brought been brought into by Grace. Just like to mention that it's interesting in Mr. Darby's translation.
As you go through that list, it's divided into 8 distinct things, and they're all set off by a semi colon.
You have come to the Mount Zion semi colon, and to the city of the living God heavenly Jerusalem semi colon, and to myriads of angels, the universal gathering, semi colon, and to the assembly of the first born who are registered in heaven semi colon, And to God judge of all semi colon, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.
Semi colon and to Jesus mediator of the New Covenant semi colon, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh speaking better than Abel.
Well, I'm sure there's much to meditate on there, and we want the help of our older brethren.
In thinking about these things that I have so enjoyed, the thought that this is where we have come, this is our place. Just think of it. The city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem. This is where we have come, brethren. It's nothing down here to be enraptured with. Here is that city that evidently somehow Abraham got a glimpse of and never was more than a Pilgrim and a stranger down here because.
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He looked for a city whose path foundations, whose builder and maker was God. Here is this city. We've come here, brethren. This is our place. This is our eternal home. Is this interesting to you young people, this heavenly city? Or is there some city down here that interests you more than this city? Oh, to have hearts enraptured with that heavenly glory.
I don't think we have enough of the sense of the what we're called to to heavenly glory, brethren. If we get a glimpse of it, it would really make us pilgrims and strangers down here. Abraham was a wealthy man, materially speaking, but he was never more than a Pilgrim and a stranger dwelling in a tent down here. Why? Because he was looking for that city. And that's what's going to have an effect on your life and mine to get a glimpse of that city.
Remember asking a brother out in California is now with the Lord.
Brother Dan Jacobson the.
The visiting one time. And I asked him about those that have gone on before. I say I ask him, do you think they have any knowledge of what's going on down here in this world? And he thought a little bit. And he said, you know, I think heaven's glory is so great that earth and all its glory just kind of fades into the background. And I really believe that's true, brother. And if we can only get a glimpse of what's beyond.
It would make us pilgrims and strangers. It's not that somebody is going to be down here.
Coercing us forcefully into a path of being a pilgrimage stranger, it will make us because of the exceeding glory of that day. This is where we've come, brethren, to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem, to enjoy it. Do we rebel over those parts in Revelation that speak of this city?
This is our place. This is our eternal home.
The young people read Pilgrims Progress, like we did when we were growing up. But in Pilgrims progress you find two men who were on their way on a journey to the Celestial City. I believe their names were Christian and faithful, but I've enjoyed how the Christian and faithful came to Vanity Fair.
And I believe that John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrims Progress, was trying to picture draw an illustration of this world as he wrote a Vanity Fair. Because as those two men passed through Vanity Fair, there was one kind of thing offered to them on every hand. Come and join us in this. Come and indulge in this every effort made to get them to leave the King's Highway and to stop and enjoy the pleasures of Vanity Fair.
But as you read that, you find that those two men go by the King's Highway and they're not turned aside by what is offered them in Vanity Fair. Why? Well, it's just as Bob has been saying. They had a vision of the of the Celestial City. They had that before their souls. They had an object. They had a goal before them. And with that, before them, they could say we're going on to something far better. It's not that. The things of Vanity Fair.
Didn't appeal to the natural man, but they had something far better.
And they knew that they were going on to that. And it's interesting that little expression that Bob quoted.
Strangers and pilgrims. It appears twice in the word of God, once in connection with Abraham in the chapter previous in our Epistle and also in the Book of Peter. And it's interesting that it's always quoted strangers and pilgrims, sometimes said to the young people that when God gives a list of two or more items in scripture, he doesn't do it. I speak carefully, haphazardly. There's always an order to the list he gives. And it's not the thought of pilgrims and strangers, but it's strangers and pilgrims.
Because we'll never be a Pilgrim if we're not a stranger, that is, if I can put it very simply, a stranger is one who doesn't belong. A Pilgrim is just passing through. When I cross into the United States at customs, the first question they always ask me is, what's your citizenship? And I tell them I'm a Canadian. And as soon as I tell them I'm a Canadian, the next question is, how long are you going to be in the United States? Because they recognize that as a Canadian citizen.
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I'm a stranger in the United States, and as such, I'm only here for a little time. But suppose I take out American citizenship now. When I cross, I say I'm an American. They don't ask me how long I'm going to stay, because now I belong in this country. And, brethren, we need to realize that we are strangers. We need to have the heavenly city before us. We're fellow citizens with the Saints and of the household of faith, and with that before our souls. Then it will give us the proper character of a Pilgrim that is one who's just passing through.
One who is going on to something far better. And when the children of Israel came to the land of Edom, they said to the king of Edom will pass by the King's highway. We won't turn into your fields. We won't go into your vineyards. We won't partake of all the joy and sustenance of the land of Edom Will. We're just Pat. We're strangers here and we're just passing through. Well, brethren, as Brother Bob has said, may we have the heavenly city before our souls. That's what gave Abraham the characteristic of a stranger and Pilgrim on the earth.
Of Genesis. And we would ask our hearts, young and old here to just do a little comparison. Now, a reality check. Sometimes it's called In the World. Let's do a little reality check. Turn to Genesis Chapter 4.
And let's remind our hearts of that which we know well, the First City.
That was built by man in this world, Kane City, and we'll just read in.
Chapter 4 and verse 20 and Ada Barejabal. He was the father of such as dwell in tenseness of cattle.
His brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of such as handle, the Arpan, the organ and Zillah. She also bare two volcano instructor of every artificer in brass and iron. Well there was the first city and into it was brought everything that might somehow give man happiness and satisfaction apart from God. It had a lot of things in it. Now let's turn to Daniel and see the glory of the of man's city in Daniel, The book of Daniel, chapter 5.
We've seen the possessions, the things that are involved in that city, and you can see that tonight in Saint Louis or any other town or city in in the world, those things that answer to Kane City morally now in Chapter 5, or rather I should say Chapter 4 of Daniel Nebuchadnezzar.
Has built this city and in verse 29 it says Now this isn't Speaking of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar at the end of 12 months.
He Nebuchadnezzar walked in the palace of the Kingdom of Babylon. The king spake and said, Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the House of the Kingdom by the might of my power and the honor of my majesty? While the word was in the King's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, oh, Nebuchadnezzar to thee it has spoken. The Kingdom is departed from me, and so on. So there's this great Babylon, this great system in all of its glory and splendor. And it was taken away in a moment from man. Now let's look at the value of man's city.
In chapter 4 of Luke.
Chapter 4 of Luke and our Blessed Lord Jesus, perfect man out in the wilderness undergoing these.
Temptations at the hand of the Wicked One himself and verse 5. The devil taking him, our Lord Jesus up into a high mountain showed on him all the kingdoms of the world and what was their value in a moment of time. Now that's the best the world has to offer. All that was in Kane City, all the glory and splendor of Babylon. It could be viewed in a moment of time. Now here's the reality check we've been reading about the city of our God. Which do we want?
Is there? Think of it. Is there any comparison with man, with all of his plans and efforts and all of his glory? What can that do in comparison to what you and I have been brought to the city of our God? Is he going to be able, I say reverently, to build and provide something greater, more satisfying, more glorious, more splendid than all that man could do? You know he did. Why is that, then, that we want to go through this world?
And allow ourselves to be so easily attracted to this thing that passes in a moment of time when we're on our way home to the city who has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
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Let's look at that city in Revelation 21 just to get our sights set. I know we can't go into much detail in this chapter, so tremendous, but it should thrill our hearts, young people. We should meditate on it sometimes. It's said that.
The glories of heaven are so far beyond our comprehension, and it's true.
That there's no way that we can understand it. And sometimes we just turn away from being occupied with it. But there is a lot that is said in scripture. And if we meditate on it, compare scripture, brethren, we can understand much about this heavenly city. We are going to Revelation 21 and verse nine. There came unto me, This is the Millennial day.
The city and the millennial day. There came unto me one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials full of those seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hit her, and I will show thee the bride, the lambs wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.
I don't know that I understand very much about this brethren, but I want to express a few thoughts that I've enjoyed here so much about this city. It says descending out of heaven from God. How do we understand that? Doesn't say that it arrives at earth. But what I like to think is that there's the in that millennial day, there will be the communication between the heavenly and the earthly. Today we do not see the heavenly. It's.
It's hidden from our eyes. We only view it by faith. We get a glimpse of it in the scriptures, and that's what makes us pilgrims and strangers here. But it's by faith. But in that millennial day, the heavenly Jerusalem will be visible from this earth. The kings of the earth and the nations of the earth are going to walk in the light of that heavenly city.
And it says it's descending. It's Jacob's ladder, it's the angels of God ascending and descending.
The angels in the Old Testament time came down, and it was not a.
Totally rare thing for them to come and have a meal with Abraham. The Lord himself with two angels came and had a meal with Abraham. It didn't seem to be a strange thing to happen in the life of Abraham.
There was that communication. But as man gets farther and farther distant from God, those things have become rare things in our life. We don't know much about that. But in the millennial day there will be that communication. The Lord Jesus said in the end of John's gospel. Henceforth shall ye see heaven opened, and the Son and the angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. What is that ladder? It's the Lord Jesus.
It's by means of him that there will be that communication between the heavenly and the earthly in that coming day and that tremendous to think about.
And then it says here in the verse 11 having.
The glory of God. Think of it. We who were destitute of the glory of God now brought into a position where we are clothed in the glory of God, having the glory of God, And it says.
And her light was like unto a stone most precious, even unto a Jasper stone clear as crystal. Well, there's a lot that could be said about this heavenly city. I just like to whet the appetites of our young people to to think about, to meditate. This is where we've come.
And I say, how can you dare get enthralled in anything down here in this world?
When we have something so tremendous in its glory before our souls, this is where we are, young people. This is where we have come. The Lord grant that we get enthralled in this heavenly city, the new Jerusalem.
Very simple and easy to enjoy.
This is the last time that God puts I will in the Bible.
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God has been put to work by man.
He looked at Adam and says it is not meat that man should grow alone. I will make him unhappy for him. That's the first time he puts I will in the Bible and this is the last. The bride, the Lambs wife. It seems to put special emphasis upon the glory of what God does the last time he set the work and he wills to do something.
Like chapter 21 of Revelation before we go back to our chapter.
In the 1St 8 verses we have the eternal day.
These first 7 verses, the blessedness of the saved in that eternal day in the verse 8 is the misery of those that are in the lake of fire. But in verses one and two we have eternity.
After the Millennial day has run its course, the heavens and the earth that we now know gone.
Dissolved and it says I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the 1St heaven and the first earth were passed away.
Where is no more see and I John saw the holy city there It is that city again.
It's eternal, brethren. This is not a city of the earth that's going to pass away. It's something that's going to last forever. New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God.
This is the eternal day. But there's through all eternities, those two spheres of blessing, the heavenly and the earthly like to share with your brethren what I did get. Also with your brother Dan Jacobson out West. He was saying that he got it from someone else. He said Brother John R Gill was talking one day about future events.
And on the table.
Where he was addressing the group, he had a cup and a saucer. And he said, now I want you to think of this cup as the heavenly and the saucer on the table as the earthly. And he put the cup behind his back and he said, this is the way it is. Now all we see is the earthly. That's all we see, that saucer on the table. Then he brought the cup out from behind his back and held it up over.
The soccer And he said this is what it will be in the millennial day.
The heavenly Jerusalem visible over the earthly.
And that will give the light to that to the earth in that day. The kings, the nations of the earth, are going to bring their glory and honor to it. It doesn't say into it in the new translation. It is to it. They will bring it to Jerusalem and to that city. But then he set the cup down on the saucer and he said that's the eternal day, heaven and earth together.
Forever. Never again a taint of sin to impede anything.
From the holiness of God's letting his free grace flow out for all eternity.
And that's why you get in the seventh verse the sixth verse of chapter 21.
I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Doesn't say of the water of life. It's of the fountain. What is the fountain? It's God himself. You know, you might think it a little bit strange that it mentions thirst in connection with that eternal day. I remember another brother commenting. I enjoyed his comment and he said this every desire that we could ever have through that eternal day, completely, fully satisfied in the fountain of the water of life.
Forever.
Of the light.
Revelation really, in a sense, falls short of what it really is.
I say that because I used to wonder why in the fifth verse, he said write, for these words are true and faithful. You might say. Well, did God really need to put that in? We ought to accept what is described here as being the word of God. But it's to me, it's just as if, as the Spirit of God and I speak carefully as the Spirit of God seeks to grope for some human language to give us an inkling of what it's going to be like in that day, he says, Confirm to them that this is really the way it is.
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And, brethren, it's going to be far beyond anything we ever imagined or could even take in. Now, I might describe my home to you in Smiths Falls, but you've never seen my home. And as my wife sometimes accuses me, I have a tendency perhaps to exaggerate. And so you've never seen my home. And you might hear some very wonderful things about it. But suppose you have opportunity to come and see my home. Maybe you have to shake your head and say, well, it wasn't everything he said it was going to be. It was.
And so we tend to do that. But when we see that city in that day, oh, we're going to realize that we only had an inkling of what was, of what it really was, because there isn't human language to describe it. But I believe, too, the crowning feature of this city is the presence of the Lamb in the midst.
We speak about all these wonderful things, and rightly so, and they all have symbolic meaning and so on, and they're given for our instruction. But I say, brethren, the crowning feature of that city is the presence of the Lord Jesus as the Lamb. That's what's going to occupy us for eternity, brethren. That's what's going to captivate our gaze when we get one glimpse of his lovely face. Are we going to take our eyes from him for all eternity? Oh brethren, we're going. He's going to captivate our hearts and our gaze. And I have no doubt we will.
Recognize the those things that are around us. We'll have intercourse one with another two and all this. But I really believe that it's the presence of the one in the mids that's really going to take our full attention because four walls and fine furniture don't make a home. It's the presence of those that dwell there. Again, with my house in Smiths Falls, I have I'm thankful that I have a comfortable home, but when the end of a trip is drawing near and I'm heading towards Smith's Falls.
What is it I'm looking forward to? Am I looking forward to being back in my comfortable home? Well, that may be part of it. But what I'm really looking forward to is seeing my wife and children. They're the ones that make me long to be there in that house in Smith's Falls. If my loved ones weren't there, it'd just be another house. But of the what makes a house is the home is the presence of those that dwell there. And so, brethren, we're going to be gathered around himself.
And I say again, no doubt we will be aware of all these beautiful things. But let's remember that he's the one that's going to be the center of it all, brethren. May he so captivate our hearts now that we would have him as our object, as we will without hindrance in that coming day of glory.
Looked up and saw Jesus standing with the heavens open.
The account says he saw the glory of God.
But when he talks, he only talks about I see Jesus.
And in our chapter to that brethren, we have a number of things mentioned.
Tremendous things of glory.
One here, another. One of the things that interests me a lot is the myriads of angels. Think of it those unfallen creatures maintained by the power of God in their sinless state.
Myriads of them think of it here we sinners saved by the grace of God, and yet we have a place closer than those myriads of angels.
And then the assembly of the first born who were registered in heaven. I'm reading from Mr. Darby's translation.
Think of it when all God's people.
Like, as men mentioned in the address this afternoon, to have a heart for all God's people. But think of that day when they're all going to be gathered. Not one missing every one of God's people will be gathered. Brethren, isn't that wonderful to think about? At the coming of the Lord, our gathering together unto Kim, they're going to be gathered everyone. And it's it's a tremendous thing to try to to think of that day when all God's people are going to be gathered together in one.
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To glorify his name. But then we come down to the spirits or no, it's a.
To the to God the judge of all, to the spirits of justice men made perfect, and to Jesus.
Mediator of the New Covenant. That's the central part here. Like you were mentioned in Jim. That should what should be what enthralls us the moment we get called home? It's going to be to see Jesus at any moment now, brethren. The trumpet may sound, and it's going to be from one moment to the next, face to face with Jesus, the fullness, the effulgence of that eternal glory.
It's almost more than our poor hearts can take in, but it does something to meditate on these things, brethren.
Think of it, brethren. The Abel's blood was shed.
Lord said that he better turn to it and quote it right in Genesis chapter.
Four I think it is.
And it says.
Verse 10.
The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. God is talking to Cain. The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. What was the crying for us, Crying for vengeance. Judgment was going to come. What is the blood of the Son of God that has been shed? Crying for? That's blessing For those by faith who believe in employment says, how much better. Infinitely better, brother, infinitely better.
As to where this innumerable company of those come from?
That were come to were not left in doubt if we go to the second chapter.
Hebrews.
We see God's plan to set man up.
In the second chapter of Hebrews.
Verse 5 Unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come? Whereof we speak that that says a lot, That says the millennial world is not going to be under the dominion of angels, but it's going to be a man, the man Christ Jesus?
Thou mayst him a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death. Thou crowded him with glory and honor that.
Set him over the works of thy hands, God has determined.
He says in the second Psalm. Prophetically I have set my son upon my.
Holy Hill and science, God's man is the one that's going to live. It's not going to be the angels in those days.
So they're called in. The innumerable companies are called in when the Lord takes over the throne.
The angels don't have that kind of a work to do anymore.
We as men may have something to do under the Lord, but.
It's wonderful to think that God gained the victory.
It looked like Satan had when he tricked man and brought sin in and lowered the whole creation, the groaning creation that still groans. We're weary of the groan, but it won't always be so.
So there are the angels, and meanwhile they are ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who are, who shall be the heirs of salvation. That's the end of Hebrews 1. So we should find A use for the angels, and it's comforting to think that they're angels. The child's Angel does behold the face of your Father, which is in heaven. God uses them, but he didn't design the world to be under.
Angels. He gave it to the first man, He lost it.
The second man has regained it to the glory of God and added the 5th part all his glory were trying to talk about.
It's wonderful to contemplate and to see how these things come out in this book of Hebrews.
Unto the end of the chapter and it's.
Just to kind of comment on these last verses, it's so beautiful. It's whether we're talking about the.
What the blood of Abel spoke about. And then he says this kind of continuing, that in verse 25 see that you refuse not him that speaketh, And he speaks of the him that spake on earth, and those that refused to listen, they did not escape. And now the voice speaks from heaven, and it signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as those things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
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And then comes the exhortation in verse 28. Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom that cannot be moved? Everything around, brethren, is changing and changing fast. There is no steadiness in anything around us except what is based on God's precious word. Heaven and earth are going to pass away. But he says my word shall not pass away. Sometimes I say, when we face our lives on the word of God, we are treading a place that is more sure than the ground we are stepping on.
It is more sure, O brethren, young people base your lives on the word of God.
It's the Kingdom that cannot be moved. And then the exhortation let us.
Have what Zeal?
Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. There's such a thing as godly fear. To fear God is important even in our days. It's not something limited to the Old Testament, the fear of displeasing God. We need that godly fear, but it's grace that gives us to serve God.
With reverence and godly fear, so there is still a path of faith and service for us.
Well, we wait that time of which we have been speaking in this meeting, and I think that's important as we're about to leave these meetings, Boys and girls, young people, we all have a path of faith and service for Christ. And the exhortation in Romans 12 is, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your intelligence service, we have an intelligent service to render to God.
And no matter how dark, the day with Christ before us as the object with a vision of the coming glory.
We can go on in that path of faith and service that he's marked out for us in His Word and brethren. It's the only happy path for us. It's the path of fruit and blessing and joy and happiness. There's no happiness if we choose our own way. But He has this path for us and we can go on. Because the supply of grace and the supply that we have in Christ is as limitless as it ever was, if we're willing to draw on that supply.
Until we're safe home in the glory.
Appendix.