Address—D. Nicolet
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I'd like you to turn with me to begin with the book of Hebrews.
13th chapter.
Just thought you'd read a couple of well known verses and then the Lord's help follow those through the little thought in another portion in scripture.
It's just a very comforting passage to remind our hearts and to comfort us tonight. Hebrews chapter 13.
And.
Verse.
Six to begin with.
February 13 and verse six reading in the middle of the Very well, let's read the whole verse so that we may boldly say.
The Lord is my elder, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Why is it, Beloved brethren, we can from Scripture, read these wonderful words with such assurance we may boldly say it's because of what goes before. And so we'll step back now and read the prior reason for why we can bowl these days. The Lord is my helper.
The end of the fifth verse.
He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
And that's very, very sweet, brethren, as we go through this scene, the scene that God in his wisdom, perfect knowledge, his sovereign ways of grace.
Has ordained that you and I walk through.
It's been his choice, his perfect way, his perfect decision.
Is perfect choice that you and I might be found walking in this world at this day and at this hour, with all that besets us, the darkness of it and the confusion and the concerns that we rightly have and feel. We're not here by mistake. We're here because God, who knows all things, God who's sovereign in all of his ways and purposes, has sole purpose that you and I might walk through this world.
And to do so to his glory, Not to be stumbled, not to be turned aside.
Not to be confused, but to do so to his glory, in a world and in a day which is perhaps almost unparalleled in its confusion and difficulty and trials that we find. Yet God is ordained that we pass through this world. And what a wonderful comfort it is then to be assured to be reminded, brethren, and to be assured that the Lord Jesus is the one who said I will never leave thee.
Forsake. And because he said that we can with boldness, not tentatively, not with some measure of doubt, not with some concern, but we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man shall be learned. You know, one has said, if a friend and I were walking down the street.
And as we walk down the street, we came to a corner, a junction and my friend said, well, I have to go this direction now. So I'll say goodbye for now and I'll see you later. And that friend turned and walked away from me. I can say, and would say rightly, I have a friend who left me. He's gone a different direction. He's no longer walking with me.
But if we, you know, my friend and I were walking down that street.
That same St. and a very large, vicious looking dog came running at me with every indication that he was interested in making a meal out of me. And my friend saw that and turned and ran away. I would never say he left me. I say he forsook me. The Lord Jesus won't leave us as to the joy of communion with him as we walk through this world. He's paid too much, brethren for you and he's paid too much for me, I say reverently at the cross.
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To ever leave us. We wander and stray. We get cold in our hearts, but we're too much of an object of love, an infinite object of love. And he's not going to leave us. He desires our company step by step and moment by moment. And it's a blessed and wonderful assurance to know that in the Lord Jesus Christ we have a friend who will not leave us. Sometimes we get very discouraged and things become very difficult.
And we have loved ones and friends, and perhaps we find that at the time when we feel like we need the most, they don't seem to be there. Not so with the Lord Jesus. I'll never leave thee. But then there are very great times of, I should say, there are times of very great stress and difficulty that come into our lives. Very great confusion, perhaps.
Everyone in this room has in some measure gone through these times. And a time when we turn to look desperately, perhaps, for a friend, for someone to help us, to be there for us to come through. And in those times of great trial and difficulty, the Lord Jesus and I won't forsake you, I won't leave you because I love you and I want to have communion with you.
And I won't forsake you. When there's difficulties, when there's trials, when I fail, when I've gotten cold and I've in the language perhaps of the world, when I've missed the Lord. Jesus says I won't forsake you. It's a wonderful comfort and wonderful blessed, we might say in the words of that him blessed assurance. Jesus is mine. So he's not going to leave us. He's not going to forsake us.
It's a world that's full of difficulties and trials and confusion.
And concerns such as would readily.
Cause mere human friends to do either one of these things during the pathway of life. But we have him as our comfort, and he's never going to do that. And that not only is he never going to do that so that we can boldly say that he's my helper, I won't fear, but I have this wonderful assurance. Then in verse 8, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday.
And today and forever. Yesterday, when he knew all about my sins, beloved brethren, when he knew all about your sins, and he hung there on that cross, and in those three hours of darkness forsaken at the hand of God.
Forsaken not for what he had done, but for what I had done.
For what you, beloved brethren, sister in Christ, have done, he was forsaken.
That was his yesterday, you might say, and it was a an infinite and divine love that took him to that yesterday.
That brought him to that cross down from those heights of glory when the word went out, Who shall go for us there We read in the prophet Isaiah, And he would say, Here am I send me, became willingly and in obedience and in love.
And his yesterday was to hang on that cross forsaken of God, and then it says the same yesterday and today, and so today that one who took up once and forever every question that God, I say reverently, God would have about my sin.
Forever took it up, forever dealt with it, and there the righteous and holy.
Judgment of God poured out fully to the last drop in that yesterday.
Today that one has never changed. And when I forsake him for I surely do that, And I stray, and I wander away, and I get cold. I get confused, I get fearful. The disciples, they said, Master, cares thou not that we perish. What a question.
To ask the Lord if he cared about them. But don't I do that. Perhaps you do that sometimes. Beloved brother, beloved sister, perhaps. Sometimes things seem so dark, so confused, so impossible.
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That in our hearts, we as it were, say, Lord, don't you care? Don't you care? Don't you see what I'm going through? Don't you see how bad it hurts?
Don't you care?
The Lord is the same today, and the love that took him to that cross yesterday.
The love that caused him to go there, fully submitted to the Father's will, is the same love that cares for me today. The same love that showered upon me today and upon you as we walk through this scene.
And forever the same.
Isn't that wonderful, that one who took up those issues of sin and?
Sorrow and all that was that a holy, righteous, sin hating God had been insulted by, we might say.
That one who today is there as our great High Priest, to help us, our advocate, when we fail.
Through.
In absolute, unwavering, love walks with us through this dream. That's the one we're going to see. We're going to see his face. We're going to be with him. We're going to be like him. And there won't be one change, not one thing different. He's the same yesterday and today and forever. One you and I can trust as we go through these very dark times and beloved brethren they are.
Very, very dark times, but as we go through them.
The Lord has not asked us in His marvelous grace. He's not asked us to go through them alone. First of all, He's with us. That's the most important thing. We have the assurance of His company and as the disciples found in those.
Storm in that storm, on that sea, even when they doubted that he cared about them in that horrible storm.
He was there and with a word all was calm and they learned very quickly and he said to them.
Let's look at that. I just want to go to that because it's very striking in the Gospel of Mark where we're referring to that storm.
On the sea.
Believe It's Mark, Chapter 4.
The.
Yes, Mark, Chapter 4.
And verse 38.
We'll read verse 37. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full, and he was in the hinder part of the ship asleep on a pillow. And they awake him and say their master, carest thou not that perish. All beloved brethren have yet been in a storm.
Are you in one tonight? We go through them. They're very real. And perhaps the kinds of storms that we could never explain to even a close friend.
A kind of burden and sorrow it would be impossible to describe to a friend.
And as I said, we we do that sometimes. Lord, don't you care?
Cares thou not that we perish?
The Lord didn't answer them. We don't have any answer here.
Recorded in this gospel, it just says he rose.
And rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace be civil. You might have wondered, why didn't he say unto that? Why didn't he say to their hearts, their fearful hearts, a heart just like I have, that gets so fearful when the storms come. Why didn't he say to their hearts first of all, peace be still, Oh, it's precious, he says to the storm. Peace be still. The wind ceased. There was a great calm.
And then this very searching question which searches my heart tonight.
And he said unto them, Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have? I'm going to misread it. How is it that you have so little faith?
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I misread it. How is it he have no faith? You know these accounts? This account is given to other times.
And in the other two times, the disciples are ascribed as having faith, a little faith. Where is your faith?
But here the words come home a little more strongly. How is it you have no faith? Why was that?
Well, I believe it's this reason, beloved brethren, only in this record in Mark do we have that.
That question asked of the Lord Jesus, Don't you care? And may I?
Without seeking to paraphrase it. But may I just say it this way, is that that they were saying, Lord, don't you care what's happening to me?
Is the question that the Lord fell deeply and no doubt was deeply grieved about it. And so there's no thought now about a question of faith or not. But it's a coming from a heart that it's not that they didn't have faith as to being saved, but there was no faith in action to question the Lord's love in the deepest storm and brethren.
I do that so quickly, something far less significant perhaps, than this storm comes up in one's life, and immediately there's a question about whether or not the Lord really loves me.
The Lord feels that because there at that cross of Calvary, you and I can go back in our minds in some little measure, and I would ask you to do that.
Take a walk back in your memory, in your mind.
Not in foolish imagination, but think about it, they spit in his blessed face.
They beat him.
They mocked him.
So horribly.
Was this blessed and perfect man used and abused That it says in Isaiah his form was.
So marred.
Above any man.
Someone recently said it was very striking to think about it so horribly. Was he physically abused that it was hard to even recognize?
As a man, think of it, but the heart of man that could do such a thing.
And then hear him on that cross.
After going through that agony.
And brutality.
Hear him on that cross, Father. Forgive them, for they know not what they do. And what did he say that as he hung on that cross?
He said that.
As those who had.
Inflicted that incredibly horrible.
Treatment.
We're sitting there watching him being entertained by his sufferings.
They sat down and watched him there.
You know when you go by a scene where there's been an accident, I think I have a fairly normal reaction that I'm sure we all do. You may wonder what's happened, but you get this horrible feeling in your stomach.
As you see and realize that someone has been badly injured, perhaps killed.
And the last thing that you have on your heart is that you would sit down.
At that scene and watch that as a form of entertainment.
Lord.
Carest thou not that we perish?
Go back in our hearts and think about what he did on that cross, and then answer that question before God. And I submit, your beloved brethren. That's why here in this gospel, the blessed Lord Jesus said.
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How is it?
That she have no faith. How is it that you are?
Allowed your hearts to get so cold and so discouraged and so fearful that you think in the midst of a storm like this, I wouldn't care about you.
And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
Well, we do that too. We see some wonderful movement of God in some way at times. And those dark times in our lives, they don't always come when we want them to, or in the way we thought they would.
But the Lord works. And then instead of our hearts being I shouldn't say our brother and I'm, I apologize. I'll just say my heart and I'll let you decide if it's your heart too. But my heart then, rather than being drawn out in love for one who is so tender and loving in His compassion and love for me and His ways, with me of blessing.
Instead of that.
There's almost more of a fear and trembling.
That's what happened here.
They didn't seem to enter into his love. They didn't seem to be exercised about his question, about what it meant to his heart that they would question it. You remember Joseph? His brethren came to him there at the end, after all that kindness he had showed them all of the love and the care he had given them in those seventeen years that Jacob lived there in Egypt. And now Jacob is gone. They come back to their brother Joseph, and they just plead with him for their father's sake that they might be made servants.
That they might be allowed to just serve him as slaves and all he breaks down and weeps.
He wants their love, not their service. He wants a sense of joy and a sense of appreciation and love for what he's done for them. And it hurt him because that wasn't flowing out to him. Instead, they were thinking low, very low thoughts of Joseph. He spent 17 years loving them and they still wanted to just be a servant. They still didn't trust and all beloved brother. And so with me, I do that.
And we do that, but it grieves the heart of the Lord. It means something to him. It it it, it doesn't go unnoticed. If I may say it that way. He wants a response. Love from our heart cares thou not that we perish. Well, brethren, I've gone a little bit different direction that I had originally intended, meth or I, but I'd like to with that background.
What I trust encouraging your heart and mind, at least reminding our hearts.
Of an undying divine love that cares about every detail of your life, every little thing that you may think is little, you may feel is insignificant, as well as the very big significant things in your life. All of them are infinitely important to the blessed Lord Jesus. As we've often read in the gospel, He knows the number of the hairs of your head.
You have to be, I say very reverently, You have to be very interested in something to know with accuracy such details.
God, our blessed God and Father, is infinitely interested and concerned about every single detail of each one of our lives. He loves us, and He desires not only our comfort in our joy, but when the storms in the darkness are there, He desires our.
Trust and a responsive love from our hearts.
But in these dark days, perhaps just for a little bit, we'll trace something and I think perhaps we'll see the working out the response of that love. But I would like to read one other verse.
A verse that helps with direction and guidance.
In the midst of a dark day when there's all sorts of storms. But I want to go to that having laid a foundation, beloved brethren, at least a reminder to our hearts of the love that Christ has for you and for me, and of his infinite worthiness to be trusted in every circumstance of life, in every burden and care of life. So that in the dark days that we're in.
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He gives us so many instructions for walking through it, so many guides and elves.
To walk through this life to his glory and to our joy, one of those that I'd like to read and then I'd like to follow that in the life of a man.
And follow not only how his life is a wonderful example of that verse, but how we see the response of the love of Christ in his heart. In times that you're going to find, we're going to see where incredibly difficult.
Let's turn back to Second Timothy again, beloved Brethren, a verse.
So well known that perhaps most everyone in here could repeat it from memory.
Timothy.
2.
I'm going to read part of verse 22, Second Timothy two-part of verse 22.
In a day of darkness, confusion, trials, and difficulties follow.
Righteousness faith.
Love charity or Love Peace?
With them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
The Lord Jesus says I'll never leave thee nor forsake thee. You and I have the wonderful comfort of knowing he's ever walking with us.
But he's also done something else, brethren. And I think oftentimes in these days of difficulty and and sorrows that we forget about the wonderful blessing it is. And what he's done for us is he has given to us a wonderful privilege of walking with those of like precious faith.
He's not asked us to do what he so often blessed the Lord Jesus did when he walked through this world.
And that was the walk alone misunderstood. No comfort, certainly perfect fellowship and comfort from the heart of his father, but no earthly comfort or understanding or encouragement. But he's not asking me to do that. And so in a very dark time, that Second Timothy is written in describing the day very accurately that we live in today of confusion and professing Christianity.
He says there are as it were. There are those in such a day.
That you can walk in fellowship with and then he gives us the guides for doing it and he says follow with them that call on the Lord out of the pure heart and he gives 4 four things 4.
Standards you might say that you and I can use in seeking to walk with with other dear believers righteousness, faith, love.
And peace. Now it would be, I don't say easy, but there would be many things that we could say about this. But I think what what perhaps might be the most valuable would be, as in these last few minutes of our meeting together tonight, to look at an example in the word of God of one who did this.
One who walked in.
And followed with them that called on the Lord out of the pure heart. And he followed righteousness, faith, love, and peace. And we'll see as we follow this man that it was a day of extreme difficulty, many sorrows, great trials and pressures. And yet there was a company that he walked with and by faith and in love for Christ.
For his Savior, the Lord Jesus, he followed with and walked with and never gave up.
Those that call in the Lord out of the pure heart, Let's turn back to the book of Acts. We're going to follow this man into the epistles.
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We'll first read about him about acts.
Let's see.
Acts Chapter 19 I believe.
Yes, Acts Chapter 19.
And.
We're well acquainted with these accounts, so just a quick background in that way we.
We're well acquainted with these accounts, so just a quick background in that way. We have not read many, many verses, but here we have the Apostle Paul and his company.
At Ephesus.
And we read this very wonderful and encouraging verse in Acts chapter 19 and verse 20. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. Beloved brethren, the word of God grew and prevailed against the background of demonism, witchcraft. And we just read about those who practice curious arts. There was a tremendous price.
A tremendous value set on such horrible things. So much so that when those books were burned, they found them to be worth 50,000 pieces of silver.
The worship of Satanic things and the following of those kinds of.
Occult practices.
Were greatly valued.
In this world, I submit, that's a very dark time.
Through which one would be called to walk, and I submit that's a very accurate, appropriate mirror of the days through which you and I walk. A growing and real occult pressure and presence in this world.
But.
So grew the word of God, and prevailed. Isn't that wonderful? There's something infinitely stronger than that kind of presence.
That we see growing in the land in which we live, and that's the word of God. But what we want to go on with is that it says that Paul was there.
A great persecution has raised against him because of the loss of funds. The truth of God turned many from the worship of that heathen and immoral goddess Diana.
And those who profited from the worship of that idol.
Raised the persecution against Paul, so we'll pick that up in verse 28. And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying great is Diana of the Ephesians and the whole city was filled with confusion. And now we're going to meet this man having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia.
Paul's companions in travel. They rushed with one accord into the theater. Will stop there for just a minute.
We're going to, with the Lord's help in the closing moments here, follow a little bit this man, Aristarchus, We're going to see one who did what we read in Second Timothy 2. And verse 22, we're going to read of a man who followed righteousness, faith, love and peace with them that called on the Lord out of the pure heart. And so here we begin seeing.
And being introduced to Aristarchus, and were introduced to him in the midst of a terrible time of confusion and persecution against the truth of God, as a very dark day in the city of Ephesus. For those who were lovers of the Lord Jesus Christ, the whole city was filled with confusion. I submit to you, beloved brethren, that tonight whether we are in the.
City of Kirkland or select any city in the North American continent or any city in the world tonight, and I would suggest to you that morally, the city as it were, is filled with confusion. That city that came, built when he went out from the presence of God and determined that apart from the God's presence he was going to have a city.
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An organization.
A structure in which he would find every kind of happiness and joy.
Without God, that that city that he built back there in the early books of Genesis and named after his son, that that city, that system of man that says I don't care about God, I'm going to be happy without him. That city is filled with confusion.
And it's the city. It's the moral condition of things that you and I are called to walk through.
And we're going to do it, remembering that we have one ever with us who never changes, one who will never leave or forsake us, and one who has given us by His grace.
And according to the riches of his grace, those guiding principles by which we can walk in the company and fellowship with others. And so we find that Gaius and Aristarchus are Paul's companion.
In Travel, beloved young people, you're starting out on a journey that some in this room are nearing the end of, If the Lord leaves us here very much longer.
We could well expect and scripturally and rightfully expect that the Lord Jesus is going to come. Tonight I'm going to repeat a story. I love it because it's something that I've really enjoyed. Brother Tom Roach told me that he had met.
Visited often a dear sister up in the Maritimes, an elderly sister who's now home with the Lord, whose favorite expression when Tom would say, you know, dear sister, the Lord might come tonight and she wouldn't get a big smile on her face, he said. And she would say, the Lord will probably come tonight. That's a nice encouraging thing, isn't it? Probably the Lord will come tonight not.
The Lord might come tonight. That's the way we need to look at it. But while we're waiting.
For the Lord's return. And he might come tonight. He probably will come tonight. It's a wonderful thought.
Here was a journey that a man was on and beloved young people. Every one of you is on a journey. We all are sitting in this room tonight. We're on a journey. Some beginning it, some getting close to the end of it, some in the middle of it. But we're on a journey. Who are you going to walk with? I know who's walking with you.
Because the Word of God tells me who's walking with you. The one who's the same yesterday, today, and forever.
And you have the sweet fellowship and joy and privilege of walking with him in fellowship. And you have the sweet privilege and fellowship of walking with those who follow righteousness, faith, love, and peace. And so here was Gaius and Aristarchus. They made a good decision.
They made a wise decision. They said we're going to walk with this man named Paul. That's who we want to travel with beloved young people. And I'm not excluding any of my beloved brethren here tonight. The beloved young people. Who do you want to walk through this world with? Who do you want to be companions with in travel?
Who are you going to follow? Righteousness.
Faith, Love and Peace with well, that introduces Asteroids. Darkness. Let's quickly follow a few other places. In fact, we'll follow four other places. As far as I know. These five mentions total that we'll look at are the only five places that this dear man is mentioned in the word of God. The next one is done in chapter 20, not very far away.
Verse one After the uproar was ceased, Paul called on him the disciples and embraced them.
And departed for to go into Macedonia.
When he had gone over those parts and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece, and there about 3 months. And when the Jews lay waiting for him as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia, and there accompanied him.
Into Asia, Sulphur of Berea, and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus, and Gaius of Derby, and Timotheus, and of Asia, Tikakis and trophies.
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Now, forsake of time, I just want to say this. This is a very, to me, very encouraging. We started out hearing of two men, Gayes and Aristarchus.
I will tell you that we're going to come to the point in Aristarchus life when he's the only one following Paul, the only one mentioned. But here we have a man, as it were, who says this is the one I want to follow as a companion. This is the one I want to have fellowship with. This is the one that I want to walk through this world with. Was that a good or a bad decision? You know, sometimes beloved young people?
You get the distinct thought in the world and you're the enemy of your soul. Satan wants you to think this. If you want to walk a Christian path, this thing that these brethren always talking about, if you want to do that, you're going to be walking a real lonely, hard, legal, dry path.
Well, that's not what Aristarchus found, because the very next mention. Yet it's not just Aristarchus and Gaius. Look how many names are mentioned that are now walking with us? Remember that verse in the Song of Solemn that says draw me and we will.
Run after the.
You're not alone.
You don't have to walk alone. You have the Lord Jesus with you, and I submit to you if you want to walk a pathway that's righteous.
When the world would say and Satan would come to you and whisper here, Oh yeah, you go ahead and do that. You go ahead and be that real hard legal person that won't do this and can't do that and won't go there and can't, can't enjoy that, and you're going to be all alone. Well, I submit to you that's not the truth of the word of God. Because the very next time we read a varistarchist, there's a lot more people within. And I want to suggest Beloved Brethren, and to the young people especially.
Because you're starting the path, and it's only natural and right that you look for companions and you desire companionship and you desire fellowship. That's only a right, naturally right thing.
But don't listen to a world. Don't listen to an enemy of your soul who tries to lie to you and tell you if you walk righteously before God pleasing him, you're not going to have any fun. You're not going to have any companionship. You're not going to have any fellowship. The Word of God shows us that when Aristarchus made the decision to be a companion.
Paul, the next thing we read about it is there's, may I say it this way, a whole bunch of people walking in fellowship together with Paul. Don't give in to that lie, that to walk a righteous path with the Lord Jesus. Righteous that is doing what is pleasing and right in his eyes, not in the world's eyes, meeting his standard. Not the world's standard. I submit to you, you're going to find all sorts of wonderful company.
A man named Elijah found that.
He said, I am the only one. They have killed all your prophets, Lord, and they've done this and they've done that, and I'm the only faithful one left. I'm all alone. And the Lord said, oh Elijah, you don't know what you're talking about. There's 7000 men in Israel that haven't bowed down to bail. You've been so busy looking at yourself, you haven't given yourself a chance to look around and find those that you can walk in company with.
Let's do that, brother.
Let's walk a righteous path and find there are many who want to walk that path.
To the glory of the Lord, we want to enjoy that one who says I'll never leave thee, nor for safety. Let's turn over to the end of Acts. That's we'll talk there about righteousness and we've talked about righteousness. Rather, the next one in our verse was faith, Righteousness and faith. Let's look at Acts chapter 27.
Verse one, when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners onto one named Julie as the centurion of Augustus Band, and entering into a ship of Adrian, we launched, meaning to stay at sail by the coast of Asia, one Aristarchus.
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A Macedonian of Thessalonica being with us.
What happened between chapter 20 and chapter 27?
In chapter 20, there were all kinds of people that wanted to follow in that path of righteousness, if I can say it that way with Paul. But now in chapter 27, we only have Aristarchus mentioned. What happened? Oh, there's a big difference. Paul wasn't a prisoner in chains being taken to stand before Nero.
He wish, you might say much more acceptable than Acts chapter 20 than he is here.
He doesn't look like a companion. You'd want to be found walking with someone that's a prisoner that's going to stand before Nero. Someone is despised in the company of other criminals.
That's not somebody whose company you want to pick out.
They reverently You'd say, I just couldn't get away from this criminal boat fast enough?
I don't have anything to do with it. I don't have any connection to this. But Aristarchus said, oh, I see something far different than that. I see a man who's been raised up of God to bring blessing to souls. I see a living example daily of the faith and the power and the wonder of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And I'm not leaving him. And there was nothing to Aristarchus eyes that would encourage him to go on. May I submit?
Beloved brethren, that we walk by faith, not by sight. That without faith it's impossible to please God and tonight in this world that we live, and with those burdens that perhaps only you know, that you're carrying in your heart deep.
Solemn, heavy burdens, and you look around with your eyes and there's not one thing.
That looks like relief.
Anywhere. Not one thing you can see with your eyes that suggests any hole.
But I suggest you that faith gives a very different picture.
And so tonight, when this world with its eyes looks and sees in its memory a despised, crucified Christ hanging on a cross, the eye of faith looks up and says we see Jesus.
Seated in the right hand of glory, at the right hand of God, Seated in glory, crown of glory.
A very different view.
Steven at the height, the most horrible pressure or trial of soul could pass through for a moment at least. About to be murdered. Stones cast that into killing. What does he do if he looks with his eyes naturalized? He sees stones flying at him.
If he looks through the eyes of faith which he looked at, he sees Christ in glory.
That's faith. And that allows beloved brethren, beloved young people. That allows you and me to walk with a despised company when the from the outward appearance there's nothing going on, nothing worth attaching yourself to, but faith sees.
This is where I'm going to be. Well, let's go on quickly.
To.
Colossians, I think it is.
Yeah, the book of Colossians.
And chapter.
Yes, Colossians Chapter 4, verse 10.
Paul is writing, and this is one of his prison epistles. He's not in a ship going to be judged and narrow, but now he's in a Roman dungeon.
A prisoner.
And in verse 9 we'll read in Colossians 4.
With anesthesia Anessimus, a faithful and beloved brother who is one of you, they shall make known unto you all things which are done here. Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, saluted you.
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Things haven't gotten any better, have they? He was on the ship with Paul, but he wasn't called a fellow and he wasn't called the prisoner. It says Paul and the other prisoners were delivered to the centurion, and with us there was 1 Aristarchus of Macedonia. So he still had his freedom. By faith, he said. I'm going to follow this one. Have you ever thought you were walking by faith and things just went from bad to worse?
Now he's up there in Rome and he's not just with Paul, but he's a prisoner with Paul.
How can that be? Oh, I submit to you that there was love in action. He loved this man, he said. I'm not leaving, even if it means that I become identified with what? Paul is a despised prisoner. Roman dungeon. I'll become a despised prisoner in a Roman dungeon too.
How much did the Lord Jesus love you? How much did he love me?
Am I willing to say?
I'm not leaving.
Am I willing to allow love in my heart to go out to my Lord and say if he's despised in this world, if he's a prisoner, if he's hated in this world, I'm willing to be that too.
Follow righteousness, faith, love.
I submit to you, Love kept Aristarchus there, where he became a prisoner.
Well, we don't have time to go on, but let's just stop with the last passage in Philemon.
And we know this wonderful story.
Of a slave who ran away from a master and came to this perhaps very prison where Paul was.
And where Aristarchus evidently was for a time.
And this slave would say.
And he gets sent back.
To Philemon.
His master.
And at the end of this little letter that Paul writes. So touching.
He says of an SMS talking of an SMS this slave that.
Has come back now, saved a child of God, a brother in Christ, the Philemon.
He says there verse 23 Salute thee Epifras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus Marcus Aristarchus Dimas Lucas, my fellow laborers well follow righteousness, faith, love and peace. I want to suggest that.
After he had gone through those storms and he walked by faith and things seemed to get worse.
But love kept him attached to one who was in prison. I don't think he was in prison here. Maybe he was, but if he was, he's not called now a prisoner. He's called a fellow laborer. He was at peace. There was peace, and he was able to still labor in these dark days for the Lord Jesus Christ, and not labor as serving but a fellow laborer.
With the beloved apostle Paul. How precious.
A fellow laborer? Wouldn't you desire, beloved brethren, to end up this earthly pathway? The Lord Jesus does come tonight to be able to end up this pathway as a fellow laborer, but it's going to take righteousness, faith, love, and peace. And I will suggest in closing that while we saw Aristarchus start with just one.
And we saw a time in his life when his faith was tested and there was nobody else. Although we understand of course Luke was the unseen recorder, but no other names mentioned is an impression. The last record we have of Aristarchus is again there were there are Marcus, Aristarchus, Dimas, Lucas.
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Four together, laboring with the apostle Paul.
He wasn't alone. And brethren, you and I, by the grace of God, don't have to walk through this world alone.
We have the, as I said at the beginning, the knowledge, the assurance of the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ will never leave us or for Savior one who's ever the same, yesterday, today, and forever unchanging. And we have brethren with whom we can walk in righteousness.
And faith and love and peace. We're not called to walk alone. Will be tested. But oh, what a joy to end up that path and find. I'm not alone. And now here are you. And so when those storms come, we don't need to say to the Lord Jesus, Well, we shouldn't say to the Lord Jesus. Don't you care about me? Don't you care about what's happening? Don't you care about us? My family, the assembly, my life, my in my my job.
My relationship, whatever it is. Don't you care, Lord? Of course it cares. Of course he cares. He's never going to leave a surfer saying this in his own perfect time and way. We're going to find blessing. We're going to find that if someone has set that fabric that we look at and it seems so difficult to figure out how those threads woven into that fabric of our life could ever mean anything good, we'll be able to see the other side. And we'll see. Oh, what a beautiful, perfect handiwork. What a beautiful, perfect handiwork. Well, beloved brother, may we be encouraged in these times when things are pretty dark.
To follow with them.
Follow righteousness.
Faith, love, and peace with them that call in the Lord out of a pure, heartless brain. Father, we thank You for Thy precious word. We thank Thee for the wonderful comfort of the Father. Thank You for our blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You that in Him we have all blessed Savior and Thyself. We have every encouragement, every comfort, everything we need to continue in this path of faith, and we pray we might do it.
And not give up. Not to the side. Oh how often the world comes in.
And the enemy whispers in our ears, and it's too late. It's all over and there's nothing to be gained. But all give us a purpose of heart. Blessed Lord Jesus, we pray to go on and to walk together in fellowship, Lord Jesus, and help us that we might indeed have that displayed in our lives of righteousness and faith and love and peace.
That's all we ask for this Father to give me thanks, committing us to thee for this night, thy worthy and precious name, Lord Jesus. Amen.