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Bob to hear we love to sing it's worth it. Sounds like music in our ear. The sweetest name on earth. It tells us of a saviors law and guide to set us free. It tells us of his precious blood, the sinners perfect plea. This name shall shed his fragrance. Still along this thorny Rd. shall sweetly smooth the rugged hill that leads us up to God. And there the whole triumphant throng of blood bought Saints on high.
Shall sing the new eternal song with Jesus every night. Hymn #184.
And verse 10.
The preacher's thoughts declined out acceptable words.
That which was written was upright with words of truth.
The words of the wise, nor his goats and his nails fastened by the masters of assembly, which are given from 1 shepherd.
Thanks.
Forgot.
After 10.
Verse 14.
I am the Good Shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine.
As the Father knoweth me, Even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.
And other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down.
And I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my father. There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings, And many of them said, He hath the devil, and is mad. I hear ye him.
Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?
And it was at Jerusalem, the feast of the dedication, and it was winter, And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and he believed not. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.
But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
And are given to them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
My father, which gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand.
I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them. Many good works have I showed, showed you from my Father. For which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answer to him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, and because that thou being a man, makest thyself God.
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Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law? I said, Ye are gods, if he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken. Say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world, thou blasphemous, because I said, I am the Son of God?
If I do not, the works of my father believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works that you may know, and believe that the Father is in me, and I in him.
Therefore they sought again to take him, but he escaped out of their hand and went away again beyond Jordan, into the place where John at the first baptized, and there he abode.
And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle, but all things that John spake of this man were true, and many believed on him there.
I.
It was mentioned a little yesterday in.
The victory of Christ.
And we referred to the verse several times.
That you love one another.
As I have loved you.
That is in the victory of Christ. Send it on high.
He can give us to think his thoughts.
The love as he loves.
And take us out to be with him.
The love of Christ constrains us that we've read.
But what a marvel it is that not only does he justify us, forgive us our sins.
But he takes us off into another sphere.
Where we now belong.
That is his having, his nature, having eternal life, that's where it belongs, is up there, and I believe that's where we get here.
Other sheep I have which are not of this folk.
And to bring them in, he would say, Therefore doth my father love me.
What a triumph.
It is.
That we find in the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm just thinking of that. Him we just sang.
From Marvel it is, and not only can he go up there himself, he can take us with him, such as we are. What a display it will be in the day yet to come when he displays us as his victory, his handiwork.
We consider the character of this one.
As he says in the 11Th verse, I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Down the 14th verse she says again, I am the Good Shepherd and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me. Even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Work, and then in the 17th and 18th persons.
We get an expression. I don't believe we get it anywhere else.
I have power to lay it down. No man taketh my life from me, but I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again. We get the answer to this in John 19 and probably the 30th verse.
When he had finished the work and he said it is.
Finished and he dismissed his spirit. That's the answer to this verse here, isn't it? I lay down my life of myself. No man taketh it from me. What a marvelous thing that the Lord Jesus as God here on earth.
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Very man and very God, and he expresses his feelings to these, not just to his disciples here, because there were the Jews all around him.
And he tells them what he was about to do, and that is give his life for his sheep. And then he says, I'm going to lay it down on myself. No man taketh it from me.
Peter could say in acts whom ye took and slew.
Well, that was true, because they did it out of a vicious art, but they really didn't. He laid down his life. He gave his life.
And then he took it again.
What a marvelous expression he gives. No man takes it from me. He came into this world. He was born in this world for the express purpose of laying down his life. And that's what he tells us here.
He did not die as a result of the physical sufferings inflicted upon him.
You know if one dies slowly gets weaker and weaker.
He cannot cry with a loud voice as the Lord Jesus did. He cried with a loud voice and healed it up. The ghost. I mentioned that once in the ministry in Canada, a doctor was in the audience and he said we in the hospital have a saying.
The open mouth syndrome.
When somebody is close to death, he gets so weak he can't even close his mouth.
You know you cannot say any word anymore. You know, I saw my dad. We had been on a trip W just hours before the Lord took him home it looks like. It looked like he was hanging on. He wanted to see us once more and he recognized me and he was trying to say my name. He couldn't.
He was so weak. But the blessed Lord cried with a loud voice, and yielded up the ghost. Wonderful. Was it you, Brother Dave, that said there are three ways in which he was raised by the glory of the Father, by the Spirit, and He Himself?
Raised himself. That's how it is presented in the Word of God, because He is God the Son. That's why it is presented here in John's Gospel in that way.
He laid down his life as an atonement for sin, including the atoning sufferings in the three hours of darkness. The laying down of his life and the shedding of his blood is one complete work of atonement accomplished by who? The Son of God became the Lamb of God, you know, and that's how he's presented He and his gospel. That's why we have the blood mentioned here that flowed from his pierced side.
He's the lamb, and what a value.
That person added to the work that he accomplished. I suppose the work encompasses every single particle of that situation.
His birth, his life, which was a demonstration of who he was. But then when we come to his death, we have his death, his burial and his resurrection. It's all part of the work, isn't it? The resurrection was evidence before everyone.
That God was pleased with that finished work, and he raised him from the dead.
And then he ascended after 40 days back to glory. And in Hebrews 1, where it says after he had made prorogation for sins in the second verse I believe it is.
It says it should say he set himself down when he got back to that glory, that authority that he had for the work that he had done and who he was. He sits himself down. And I believe in Hebrews 10. It's the same expression.
After he had finished the work. But this man, after one sacrifice was in, set himself down.
One other thought concerning the life of the Lord dismissing His Spirit, Had He not done that? The soldier was breaking the legs of those that were being crucified, and it was pointed out to me medically the purpose of that was so that they would not be suffering on a Sabbath, and by breaking the legs, their diaphragm was so press on their lungs that they would expire.
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But scripture said not a bone of him was broken, and so the Lord.
Dismissing his spirit ensured the accuracy of this blessed book.
He had power to lay down his life and to take it again. But at the same time, it's beautiful to see, he says. This commandment have I received of my Father. So there it is in obedience.
To the Father's sending him into this world, the Father sent the Son to be the savior of the world. So it was true He had that power to lay down his life. He had power to take it again. But at the same time, it was an obedience to the command of His Father. This commandment have I received my father. I think it's beautiful to get the balance there.
A beautiful treasure hunt for each of the Gospels is to.
Read and detect the first mention of the possibility and the reality of the Lord as a sacrifice, and it may be in the third chapter of the 4th chapter whatever of some of the gospels, but in the Gospel of John it's in the first chapter, isn't it? Behold the Lamb of God.
There's no other purpose for a lamb as far as God was concerned, except his sacrifice.
So it's in the very first chapter. Beautiful, isn't it?
There is a point that we should not overlook, and that is that He refers to some as his sheep before they have heard the shepherd's voice.
I have sheep which are not of this fold them also he must I must bring. He wasn't bringing them at that time, but he was already referring to them as his sheep.
And then in verse 26.
He says, But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep.
As I said unto you, I learned that from Mr. Darby pointing out.
That they are referred to as sheep before they have ever heard the shepherd's voice.
He know, he knew who they were that were to be saved.
And he says to Paul that he should continue in Quran because he had much people in that city.
There was there were many that were yet to be saved in that city. Wonderful to understand the gospel is to bring in the elect of God. Therefore endure all things for the elect God, the elect of God, that they also may obtain the salvation that is preached to all.
And the gospel preacher preaches to all, but he does well to remember those whom God in His grace has chosen before the world was.
Will be the ones that will respond, just like in Thessalonians. When he was preaching there, he didn't know who the elect were, but then after faith, love and hope was manifested in them, the response and that which the work had accomplished in them. Then he says, knowing beloved of God, your election, I thought I'd bring that in. They are referred to as sheep before they have ever heard the shepherd's voice.
That takes the frustration out of gospel work, and since we don't know who they are, we preach to all.
We know that only those who in his grace were chosen before the world was will respond, and here he refers to them as his sheep already before they ever heard the shepherds voice in that connection helped me and, and I I mean it genuinely. In the 12Th chapter it says there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship of the feast. Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.
No, I don't mean this to be a foolish question.
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But did they get to see Jesus? It doesn't say. So why is that left out? It says and Jesus answered them saying the hour has come, except a corn of wheat fall on the ground and die. It appears as if that they didn't get to see Jesus.
Now, I'm not making a statement that they didn't, I just need some help in connection with the passage.
Do you really believe, brother, then, that anyone that sincerely wants to see him will not get that opportunity? That was already, I believe, an indication that the grace of God was working in the streets, wouldn't you think so?
The groundwork for the Gentiles to be brought in was what was addressed in the following verses. That was the thought that I had as an embryo. Yes, I think so, yeah.
Death had to come in, so he's presented in verse 23 there as the Son of Man.
The title he takes in connection with his rejection.
But whether it was the Greeks or whether it was the disciples, there was number union with Him apart from his death and resurrection. I shall draw all men to me when I'll be lifted up.
Did he refers to his crucifixion? His death and resurrection is the basis for union with Christ. Even the disciples were not in union with Him.
Yes, they were in association with Him, but there was number union with Christ apart from His death and resurrection. Amen.
John VI verse 40 says And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the sun.
We have seen the Son, beloved brethren, have we not? By faith, we Gentiles?
And they were Gentiles, everyone which seeth the sun, and believeth on him.
May have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
Maybe something like you get in.
The end of the when the Gospel of John when he says having said this.
There was nothing more to say. He had said all he could without going to Calvary, ascending on high, ascending the Spirit of God back then.
Was all said.
When he brings in the Gentiles.
That is a work.
And I look at it as surpassing glory.
Because the glory that's shown in Moses face was the glory of God.
But Christ surpassed that glory. He surpassed the glory of God.
And that's what I believe we might encounter there in chapter 12.
John Gospel came up to that point, but he had to go on and finish the work.
I think it's important to see that in the first part of the chapter he's been Speaking of the sheep, but he's Speaking of Jewish sheep.
They're in the fold and he's been Speaking of how he's going to lead them out. But when he comes to verse 15 where he says I will lay down my life for the sheep. Now he's broadening out his thoughts and he sees not only the Jews sheep, but also Gentiles. And so he goes on in verse 16 to speak of the Gentile sheep that would be brought in, but they were not going to be brought into the fold. That was not his object to bring them into Judaism. It's always a new thing altogether that he is going to form. And that is the one flock that we've spoken about yesterday.
In the latter part of verse 16. So it's beautiful to see that there was going to be this oneness in life.
In the flock that he was going to form.
This is not union in the body here.
You don't get the truth of the body of Christ and that oneness in John's writings. It's more the oneness in life.
But nevertheless, it is unity.
In John, it's the one flock, as you say, dear brother Bruce, in the epistles that Paul wrote, it is the one body, beloved Saints, we belong to.
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The one body of Christ there is one body, and He is the head of his body, the Church.
How much this is unrecognized today? Someone may quote that as a Christian, but practically speaking.
Is there the recognition of it in our hearts by obedience?
Keeping the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace. If I obey that verse, then I recognize Him as the head of the body.
Of his church.
That wonderful verse we oftentimes read or quote on Lord's Day morning. For where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there are in the midst of them. If we could just go a little bit further. Enjoy the blessed truth.
That we are gathered upon.
That is written in Matthew's Gospel before the epistles were ever given.
It was like the Lord anticipating the joy of that truth that He was going to give to.
The Apostle as the ascended Christ.
So that His Church could enjoy the truth of His presence on earth by the Spirit, though He was ascended into glory. And one of our beloved writers has put it this way, and I know that we have all enjoyed it as we've perhaps heard it before and read it many times.
For where?
The divine place.
Two or three.
The divine testimony.
Are gathered.
The divine power of the Holy Spirit, and in fact Matthew 1820, is in the original. It has to do with a power outside of ourselves, outside of our human intellect.
To understand the truth. But we're gathered by the Holy Spirit unto one center.
Are gathered the power, the divine power of the Holy Spirit together.
Divine Unity.
Unto my name, Divine authority.
How blessed that is, beloved Saints. We own His authority when times in the assembly are difficult and one must be put away from the Lord's table or received in blessing at the Lord's table. We own His authority in this and His authority in the truth that governs the assembly.
There am I, the divine person. I remember our beloved brother Chapter Brown years ago saying when he came out of the systems of men.
And there was given a place to serve and perhaps even on the mission field as a missionary. But when he came into the assembly.
It was such a blessing to him to sit.
Not just to hear a man preach as he had before, but to sit at the Lord's feet.
And hear his word. It was a different experience than he had at other places altogether.
There am I in the midst, the divine center? Are there 2?
There were those who sought to raise up in Bethel and Dan other centers.
Did that change the truth of the one center in Jerusalem? No.
It was in rivalry to the center in Jerusalem. There is one center today, beloved Saints.
It is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ that we are gathered to.
May the Lord keep us from wandering in our human intellects.
Or discouragements or whatever may take place in our small or large gatherings.
To hold that fast which we have, and let no man take that thy crown.
There am I in the midst of them, the divine center. How blessed. Anyway, there's so much in that one little verse, and we quote it so easily, so quickly. May the Lord just bless a few of those little thoughts to our hearts.
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In this 16th verse.
As Heinz has mentioned, and other sheep I have. What a remarkable statement. Other sheep I have, where were they?
I'm going to read a verse in the 49th of Isaiah.
6th Verse And he said, It is a light thing, that thou shouldst be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
A thought way back 800 years approximately before this verse was and.
Other sheep I have.
Each and everyone of us in this room today that know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior fit into this verse. Other sheep I have. We're the sheep of that pasture.
And what did it take for him to?
Get these other sheep. What does it take for him to?
Lead out in the first part of the chapter those that were in the fold and he says.
I lead out my sheep, and I go before them.
It was the cross, wasn't it? And that's the.
17th and 18th 1St the cross The cross of Christ is, as one poet has put, at the center of two eternities, and how true that is everything in the Old Testament looked forward to the cross, every single.
Offering that was ever made.
And the verse in Hebrews 10/4 verifies that.
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls or goats should ever take away sin.
So every single offering that was before the cross, God looked at it and looked at the cross. Everything that's happened since then looks back and you know, in Ezekiel, it tells us that some of the offerings are going to be restored. It'll be a commemoration, won't it? Looking back at that cross of Calvary, at the Lamb, the Lamb of God that we have in the first chapter of this book. Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.
And so the verses 17 and 18 are of that, and that's what it took.
For the Lord to say other sheep I have.
Well we have in Ephesians chapter 2 verses that fit in that speaks of us the same.
The Jews and the Gentiles, and we read in chapter 2.
Verse 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye.
Who sometimes were far off. That's us gentiles.
Are made nigh by the blood of Christ, for he is our peace.
Who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us?
This peace has to do with peace being made between the Jew and the Gentile, not the peace with God. And has broken down the middle wall. That's that fold. He has broken it down.
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandment contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of trains, that is, of Jew and Gentile one new man.
So making peace.
And that he might reconcile both unto God again, Jew and Gentile in one body, by the cross having slain the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace. Now that has to do with peace with God. Peace to you which were of power, and to them that were not.
For through him we both have access by 1 Spirit, both Jew and Gentile, again unto the Father. Well, isn't that wonderful to see that that there is the animosity removed. And we see that in Acts chapter 10, don't we, when Peter is sent to the Gentiles?
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And then bringing them in.
Because the church was to consist out of Jews.
And Gentile. At this time in the history it is predominantly Gentile.
Like we have it in Acts 15 that from among the Gentiles are people should be gathered at people to his name. But I'm very pleased whenever I meet a Jewish Christian because he is part of the church.
And we cease really to be Jews or Gentiles when we come to the Lord, like Paul relates his conversion.
In Acts chapter.
26 That he was, that he would be taken from the people, that's from the Jews and from the Gentiles, and he was sent to the Gentiles. Well, to bring them into what position?
From which the Lord took him out of the Jews. Ridiculous. That's what the covenant theologians tried to tell us.
That the mystery is that the Gentiles are brought into Israel blessing. That's nonsense. They brought into the position where Paul was apart from Jew, apart from Gentile. And since then humanity is classified in three classes, Jew and Gentile and the Church of God.
There's a brother in the audience here that I greeted some years ago. I said, how is my Mexican brother? He didn't like it, and I don't blame that he didn't like it because as a brother, he's now part of the Church of God. Well, they referred to me as the German brother. Well, the Lord took me out of that nation and put me into the church. We're part of the Church of God. That is how God looks at us, and that's how we ought to look at each other.
Nationality sees in the Church there is neither Jew nor Gentile.
That's the way we ought to look at it in connection with the.
Body of Christ and we've heard that there is one body. You have the truth of the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's interesting how the Scripture presents that truth and so.
We say we gather on the ground that there is one body.
Brethren, we need to be exercised by what we say, and if we say that we are gathered on that ground, it is to recognize Christ as Head. Sometimes when we gather together in our local meetings, it seems like.
We're all looking around at some particular brother that may take the lead, and there's nothing wrong with taking the lead in the right way. But brethren, are we looking at that brother, or are we looking at Christ the head? These are real things. And in this chapter we have the people of God presented as one flock, beautiful to think about it. And in connection with the one flock, there is one shepherd, not a head here.
But a shepherd, the flock is the place where the sheep are tended by the shepherd. And so to consider this, it has been a real comfort to my own soul, rather than to realize.
The faithfulness of this shepherd.
There's a brother here who has a lot to do with sheep, and I suppose he could speak a lot better than I can. But I have seen sheep tended in Bolivia, sometimes a flock of 200 or 300 sheep. There was a sister on the High Plains of Bolivia who, between sheep and yamas, had over 300 animals, and when she came in at night she knew every one of them. I was amazed.
And as she stood at the door, the corral where they went in to spend the night.
And watch the mall file in. She knew which ones were missing.
If they were missing, tremendous, but that was the care of the shepherdess in that case. I've watched them in the countryside too. Down there they have different kinds of enemies. One of their enemies is the Condor of the Andes that swoops down and can grab a little lamb and fly off with it.
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And they're always watchful.
Out there in the countryside, and sometimes the sheep will get off, way off, too far to the side, and they take their slings and they're very expert with a sling and they sling a stone over by that sheep. And that sheep, when he hears the stones, knows what it means, and it comes to running back to where it belongs.
That oh brother, and isn't it comforting to realize, even though in an outward way, in the outward testimony there has been so much scattering of God's sheep, there is one who watchfully and faithfully watches over it?
Some time ago I was in the countryside of Bolivia, up into an isolated area.
And met some believers in this particular town. I said, how did you get saved? Well, a missionary came through here some time ago and preached the gospel and we heard the gospel and got saved. I said, do you have meetings? No, we don't have a pastor.
I say.
Isn't the Lord Jesus the Good Shepherd? Can't you get together and read the scriptures together?
And pray and sing. You may not be able to explain the scriptures.
But you can at least read them and listen to the shepherd's voice that way. It seemed like an idea he'd never thought of before. But we have a shepherd, brethren, that takes care of us. There are under shepherds. But oh, the faithfulness of this one shepherd. He loves the sheep. And brethren, it is amazing to me that in the midst of such confusion that is taken the public testimony.
The faithfulness of our God in providing for His people in one way and another. Thank God He's faithful in spite of it all. He has one flock, brethren. There's not a number of flocks. There is one flock. Isn't that beautiful? So when you and I meet up with some of those who are part of that one flock, isn't it a privilege?
To seek to be an encouragement in the measure that we can.
And take them where they are. Don't expect that they'll understand everything that we understand right off the bat. It won't happen. But to give them some morsel of spiritual food, something that will be a help and an encouragement in the right direction.
Have you ever seen Bob where the little sheep, the little lamps are by themselves?
Apart from the mothers, you try to separate them and they put up quite a fight, don't they? I'm using that because there is one flock. I'm not against a brother having an exercise in a local assembly to get the young people together and try to be a help to them. I benefited from that in my own life as a young believer. But we always have to remember there is one flock.
And that we have to work toward a harmony between all the sheep. But we have experienced in the years that we were gathered to the name of the Lord, where it's almost 30 years now, is people arose among us that took the young people and let them astray and brought alienation in between the older and the younger. Be careful. That's the wolf, you know.
There is one flock, but what it also means, brothers, that we who minister the word in the Assembly.
Better be exercised that there is something broad that is for the Lambs, not just for the.
Chick, you know, we have more children where we are than adults. And I told the brethren some time ago in Brothers meeting brothers, we better remember that we have more children here than adults and we better be exercised to bring something even India simply meetings that they can get a hold of. And like I said, I don't want to be understood.
00:45:04
That there is no possibility for a brother that has an exercise to be of encouragement to the young people and.
Has a time with them, but the efforts must be to bring a closer harmony between old and young, and so that we go together as one flock. See, they have ladies meetings in the churches and meetings for the married couples and all this kind of a thing if the Spirit of God is free.
To minister in the assembly for the needs of All India Assembly needs are met in the assembly.
That doesn't mean that there cannot be individual contact of by shepherds or teachers with individual people and be of help to them, but the emphasis has to be on the assembly life and that we harmonious harmoniously go on together as one flock all minister both publicly and from house to house. And I think there are subjects that need to be addressed, brethren.
That in the context of the house and it should be without, like you say.
Ever detracting from the truth that there is one flock. Brother Doug, you said something that was told to you yesterday to me about when you were up in the Maritimes about speaking on a level. Would you please repeat that?
It was something that.
We had the privilege years ago of spending, I think it was five years with our beloved Brother Barry up in Nova Scotia during the summers and I remember the first time that we were up there. I was quite a bit younger and Brother Barry asked me to speak at the gospel meeting that night and generally there would be quite a few.
Kids that would come out and he said something like this to me, He said when you speak tonight, Douglas, don't talk to the brethren that are sitting in the gospel tent. Talk to the children. Talk to the kids.
And then he went on to say, he said, if you speak so that the.
Kids can understand what you're saying so that the children can understand what you're saying.
The rest of us will understand it too.
I've always enjoyed that, though I've often failed in it, but it to me is a wonderful principle. I'd like to look a little bit at that. Verse 16, The flock.
One flock.
There are in this community around us.
Probably thousands.
Thousands of Christians.
They're part of that one flock. You know, brethren, I'm afraid that we often get the idea that we're the only part of the flock. Amen. You know, that's, that's, that's bad. That's bad.
We are not the flock, we are part of it, but every Christian, not just in this huge community that we're in today, but every Christian that's in this world and every Christian that's been in this world and will be in this world when the Lord comes.
Is part of this 16th verse one block and we ought to be very careful.
How we conduct ourselves when we're in front of other Christians.
You know, we can stumble them terribly or we can be very, very encouraging to them.
Let's remember that God loves every single blood bought child just like He loves you.
Thank you, Brother Dave, because I'm thankful to know that there are doors not gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ who are being fed.
That the Lord has raised up men, even in the camp, in the systems of men that are true shepherds that feed God's people. And I fear sometimes in some of these fundamental groups, perhaps people get more food than in some of our assemblies, you know, And I'm thankful that the Lord raises up men that feed his people elsewhere, you know?
00:50:18
The mightiest prophets, where were they raised up?
They were raised up in Israel, you know, so I'm glad you mentioned that because sectarian gods have to be avoided by us. They're all in the family of God. They're all in the flock of God. And when we meet one, it's nothing wrong in saying happy to meet another family member, you know, because God has his people in many places. They don't necessarily understand what the Lord and his grace has given us to understand.
But I'm thankful that there are those that feed God's people and faithfully. They might be in the wrong position taking the place of pastor, but there are those that feed God's people and the Lord is looking after them even there. The book of Peter, Peter says that when the chief shepherd shall appear, then he'll issue a crown of glory.
Note our lives should be acted and directed in view of when that takes place, when the Chief Shepherd shall appear. This chapter gives us the Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, the one who went to Calvary's cross. Other scriptures give us the Great Shepherd, the one who leads and guides us during our.
Transfer through this world. But there's going to be a day when the Chief Shepherd will appear.
And then we'll get a crown of glory if we've been under shepherds that have been faithful.
There was a brother in the meeting in Saint Louis and his wife who recently left the fellowship. They were driving 30 miles approximately to the meeting. We got there for the Lord's Day morning meetings only and a dear brother, but he he deplored the drive and a few other minor things, but he stopped coming and he found a little meeting.
There where he lived, that was Church of Christ and in many ways they meet similar to the way we do remembering the Lord in the breaking of bread each Lord's day and so forth. Other things, but they demand baptism for salvation and there are quite a few things that.
They're astray on.
They're pretty serious things, but the worst is the baptism or salvation. I told him I agreed with him that a believer should be baptized, but that wasn't his thought you were baptized in order for salvation, and he doubted.
Despite the fact that I made a very clear testimony, excuse me, I'm talking about another neighbor of ours. There's a mile from where we live. There is a Church of Christ. And so I went over and.
Got some pamphlets to see exactly what they believe. And I was talking to him and this young man, whether he was a clergyman or not, I don't know. But anyway, he was well educated in the doctrines and he doubted that I would be in heaven. He, he was going to heaven, he trusted if he was able to maintain faithfulness.
In his life until he died.
But he had no assurance at all of eternal security. So he was.
Well, a field in quite a few doctrines. But he doubted that I would be in heaven.
Because I didn't maintain that baptism was essential for salvation. But he did call himself the Church of Christ, the body of Christ. And if a person wasn't a member of that, it was doubtful that they would ever be in heaven.
I'd like to just add a thought and again mention our brother Norman Barry, who has been mentioned several times this morning. But on a visit to where we then lived, he and I were driving around visiting Chauvin's and so on and had a marvelous time to discuss things. And So what came up was what he viewed as our role using the term that's been used this morning as gathered Saints.
00:55:09
We, Matthew 1820, were gathered unto the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he said He felt that our chief role as we go through this Pilgrim journey awaiting a call of the Lord was to maintain the truth and practicality of being gathered to the Lord's name on the basis of the headship of Christ in the one body.
But recognizing that if it were up to us alone, this poor world would not hear the gospel fully. And So what he said is that.
To me, and I valued it greatly is that we are to be careful to walk as best we can in the light of Scripture has already been pointed out. We value every other believer. We're thankful when the clear gospel is preached, recognizing for example, that a radio preacher now ATV preacher preaching the gospel can touch more souls in that one broadcast than we might in a lifetime. And so we can be truly happy and thankful that there is at liberty.
With the word of God and recognize too that God through the various sects and denominations might reach people that we could never reach. So we have to be very careful. And I've been listening carefully that we don't use terms that make it sound as if we are the only ones who really understand Scripture. We we have to walk humbly. We have to walk thankfully, but it is our joy.
As already expressed in these meetings to sit around this table.
Lord's Day morning to remember the Lord in that way. So we really should be careful to walk softly and as the Lord gives us opportunity to speak to others and has already reported, when we find a fellow believer to rejoice in that and let them know it. But please, I ask this for myself. Let us not be lifted up because we feel we have a superior knowledge of the Scriptures or our walkers.
More separate or holy than some other believers. We have to walk humbly. They shall hear my voice. That's the characteristic of those sheep, whether they're Jewish or Gentile. And I think that is why it's important, brethren, when we meet up with souls in the simplicity that we can to present the precious word of God, because if their hearts are true.
They will respond to his voice we were mentioning yesterday, as sheep is a rather stupid farm animal, maybe one of the more stupid of them all. But they know the voice of the shepherd, and that's characteristic of a true believer in the Lord Jesus as well. So may the Lord help us not to make ourselves the point of reference in connection with the sheep, but make the precious word of God.
The point of reference, they shall hear my voice. Now we have to be careful. While we are happy that people not gathered unto the name of Lord Jesus. Many times people bring a clear gospel, We cannot join forces with them. We can even pray for.
When there is a gospel campaign.
That's what Brennan have done, that the gospel might be blessed, but we cannot join them in their labor. When we were in Africa on time in Malawi, we came to a rest house, and here the Superintendent of Pentecostal churches and another pastor and a third Christian came to see us. They had heard somehow.
That we were in that part of Malawi and they said we have arranged for you tomorrow to address a huge audience. We have invited our churches to come together and you will have an opportunity to talk to them.
Well, I said to them, I appreciate that you have confidence in us to do that, but we don't have liberty to do that.
01:00:13
We do not work in an interdenominational way.
We didn't quote that verse, but the verse that came to mind. If I build again the things that I've destroyed, I constitute myself a transgressor. We have separated from that. And I said we do not mean to say that we are the only ones that carry on the Lord's work.
But we have to carry it on in the way we have seen it from the Scriptures, and that is in separation from the systems of men. Besides, I said, if we would be forced to speak to those people, as a servant of the Lord, it would be my responsibility to point out the error that they are identified with. Would you want us to do that?
But I believe there are many souls in Africa that get saved through that system. Many of our brethren, that's their background. Thankfully, they came to be delivered from it. But I'm just saying that while we're thankful for what the Lord is doing to others who haven't come as far in their understanding as the Lord in His grace has given us.
We cannot link with them.
Because we believe the Lord separated us from the systems of men, and if we go there and build them up again, then we constitute ourselves a transgressor. That's what Paul says in Galatians. So we can even pray when the gospel is being announced, there will be gospel meetings that the Lord in his grace will use it. But I just put that before us as an exercise.
Just because something good is being done by other Christians, it doesn't mean that we should link up with them. Would you agree with that? In southern Peru, when we went through the mountain valleys preaching the gospel, I still remember in one town.
They offered us the Catholic Church to preach in. We would go into a town and we would ask the authorities for a place where we could have a public meeting to preach the gospel.
And they offered us the Catholic Church.
We didn't say why we.
Didn't accept that, but we requested the schoolhouse and they accepted that. But if I would have gone to preach the gospel in the Catholic Church in a certain way before men, I would be taking that ground in preaching the gospel. And I did not feel at liberty to do that. Souls would say, well, he's preaching there. That must mean that that's OK for us to be there. So thankfully the Lord granted liberty to preach.
In the schoolhouse where I was not identified with any denomination. And that's why I say sometimes I want to be open to minister the truth of God.
In his Mitch as is possible according to the light of the scripture as I see it. But there are certain places where I do not feel free to go because it does not embrace the whole body of Christ.
That I am called to recognize.
When?
Moses set the Tabernacle outside the camp. There were two that prophesied in the camp and it was told him. And he says that's all right, that's all right. And when they came to the Lord Jesus and said there are those that are casting out devils in thy name, the Lord says, and they said they're not with us. We forbade them because they're not with us. The Lord says, no, he that is Horus is not against them. And so we have to be very careful, as you see.
That's not offend those that are Christians. We can give them the truth. And I think your comment, Bob, is excellent. Just present the scripture to them and that won't offend them. If it does, that's between them and God. But let's not be offensive.
It's interesting to notice, brother, in the verses you just quoted. Let's turn for a moment to March Chapter 9 and the verse 38.
01:05:01
John answered him saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils.
In thy name and he followeth not us.
And we forbade him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not. For there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part the issue that seems to should exercise our hearts.
We're not gathered to us, are we? We're gathered to the Lord Jesus Christ.
And how precious it is. I've enjoyed this little thought. The general, the mentality often is, and it's a it's a wrong question. But to illustrate, we might ask if the Lord Jesus were to come.
To Burbank.
What church would he go to? What church would he endorse? It's a wrong question. Carefully say that. But how precious that it is the privilege and should be the exercise of every Christian to go to where he is, that blessed place. And what a privilege, brother, to be gathered through his precious name.
Would like.
Would like to.
Consider a little practical, it seems to me.
Result. We've been talking very much and.
Have had very helpful and good instruction about the one flock and the.
Church Body of Christ.
The ground of the one body.
And things that would encourage us to not only know those in our heads.
But to walk in them?
It seems to me that if I really lay hold in some little measure of the.
Wonder and the beauty of what the is being brought before us in John 10 as to.
The one flock.
That there will be a along with a realization and an enjoyment and a walking in.
The truth of it, there will be a practical working out of it within.
And I'm going to use these words for convenience within the gathering those gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus that we who have a a incredible precious privilege of sitting down around the person of the Lord Jesus that we will allow in our practical.
Actions with one another. The truth of the one flock.
I'm thinking of, for instance, we don't need to turn to it for time, but in Philippians, Paul says, I beseech the odious and I beseech synteke that they be of the same mind and the Lord. There are other passages that can be turned to. Here were those who were members of one flock. They were gathered in the presence of the Lord Jesus, and yet with all of that wonderful truth, they weren't acting according to it with each other.
They weren't treating each other in the sense of the unity of that one flock that they were each members of.
And I would suggest that while, beloved brethren, it's vital that we understand the doctrine of the one flock.
And we understand the doctrine of the body of Christ that we appreciate in.
And and.
God grant, more so as we go on, the joy of being gathered to His precious name.
The brethren, in our daily lives, sometimes we forget to act on it with one another and among those of us who are gathered to His precious name, we sometimes don't treat each other like we're members of one flock. We forget it and we begin to get at odds with each other. We allow bitterness to come in. We allow things to come in. I'm not saying that there aren't things that would exercise our hearts and we need to seek to help one another. But brethren.
While we talk about the grand and wonderful truths.
Of one flock and one shepherd, the body of Christ.
The Church of God, let's see to it.
That in our daily lives with each other, that we're acting according to that truth.
01:10:07
That I am looking at you and treating you and praying for you.
And seeking to walk with you as a member of one flock, not looking. And I want to be very careful with this, but not looking for the slightest little thing that comes up so that I can find out how to separate from you. You know, Bob, that was amazing to me when she said that the shepherd takes a sling, I thought you were going to say, and whacks the wolf with it.
But that's not what the shepherd did. The shepherd is reminding the sheep, you're getting away from the flock, get back here.
And too often, brethren, we who.
So often and so easily talk about the joy and the truth of being gathered to the Lord's name.
Being members of one body, we like to. Maybe I should say I.
Have the tendency to get off by myself because I don't like the way you dress or act or talk or walk or eat or whatever it is. I find all sorts of little reasons to practically not act according to the truth we've been talking about. May God help us, brethren, to live and walk according to the truth with ourselves as gathered in the Lord's name and in the measure that we can.
In the whole body of Christ.
Practically daily as an individual, not just as a doctrine.
Not just something that this is the truth, but let's use it with one another. And when someone gets cantankerous with me and seems to get off in their own little world within the assembly, wouldn't it be nice if I could figure out how to take a sling, not with a rock, but with divine love and prayer and somehow remind that sheep.
I want to be with you, not separated from you. We're members of one flock, Doug. Everyone can't say this, so I'm going to say it for for all of us. We have just one word to add to what you said. Amen.
Somebody has said that maybe you could change those two names to odious and so touchy, so touchy.
To be of one mind in the Lord. It's so important, brother.
If I could go back to Ephesians chapter 4. Just a minute, brethren, in this connection. Excuse me, Did you have something? No, go ahead.
I'm sorry I interrupted you. It's all right.
Ephesians chapter 4 and the first verses.
Because here we have the truth of the one body presented in its simplicity. In verse four it says it's a statement of fact. It's not an exhortation, it's a statement of fact. There is one body, but the 1St 3 verses are exhortation to be considered in view of that truth. I therefore the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called.
With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
What really gets me, brethren, Paul is speaking as a prisoner.
Not of this Roman Empire, but of the Lord.
Have we stood at the cross, brethren, to see the terrible price that was paid to bring us to God?
Can we say to that we have come to recognize ourselves as prisoners of the Lord. There's a prisoner demand rights. Does he tell the jailer what he wants to do and what he doesn't want to do? Now he is told. And brethren, we've got to give up the idea that we have rights in the assembly. There is one who holds all the rights and it's none of us that are sitting here, it's the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
But notice verse 2 with all lowliness and meekness.
Anybody here have all of it?
I don't think we'll be that way to say such a thing. Brethren, here's some place we need every one of us to learn all loneliness. Loneliness is that character that doesn't cause offense in others. Meekness is that which doesn't take offense. When perhaps I'm somebody does something against me, I don't get offended by it. With all loneliness and meekness, where are we going to learn those characteristics?
01:15:27
So I find sometimes there's people that are lowly, but they're not meek. Maybe there's people that are meek, but they're not lowly.
And so where are we going to find these characteristics from the Lord Jesus, brethren? Oh, to accompany more with Him, as He says in Matthew Chapter 11. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me.
Who am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
To be yoked with him, brethren, have we taken his yoke upon us to learn those things? I have to confess, brethren, I'm still learning, and I got a lot to learn. Anybody that's around me very much knows that. But it says with long-suffering.
They remember brother **** Gorgas saying we don't pronounce this. We're very right. It's.
Long-suffering.
We expect our brethren to learn right off the bat what maybe took us 10 years to learn. Brethren, let's meditate on this word. long-suffering. Then it says forbearing.
We speak about discipline in the assembly and there is discipline in the assembly. Scripture clearly teaches that. But this is self disciplinary, brethren.
First of all, we must learn to know how to discipline myself, and forbearing is that characteristic when there's something in my brother that rubs me the wrong way.
I just take it that's forbearing. And we got to learn to do that in love, one with another.
To remember a brother in South America and one of the places I lived for a while.
It seemed like we were always rubbing each other the wrong way. I don't know if it was him or me or the both of us. Probably the both of us.
They had a chance to talk to him and I said, brother, it's evident we've got some differences. But you know what, brother? I didn't choose you to be a member of the body of Christ and you didn't choose me. Somebody else chose us both and put us in the same body and we'd better figure out how to get along together because.
We are members of one body. May the Lord help us brethren, to to meditate on the this is the truth, this is the reality. And to me it is. It is incredible how the enemy makes war on this truth. There is one flock and one shepherd. There is one body and there is the head of that body. The Lord help us to lay hold of Him in a practical way.
I don't want to take anything away from.
What Brother Bob and Brother Doug has said, but one of the scriptures that comes to my mind is the disorderly walk in Thessalonians that instructs us not to keep company with such a one. This is not a pleasant position that one has to take, but that is nevertheless what the Scripture teaches. And you mentioned discipline. That is personal discipline.
You know and him that since rebuked before all that others might fear. I believe that is also personal discipline. So there are a number of scriptures that speak with personal discipline. We probably overemphasize as times, love and patience and grace and are not faithful when the other scriptures applied, you know, immodesty. That is becoming more and more a problem.
Even among us, these are all things that Scripture teaches, and so we have to have a balance of truth and do not just emphasize one line of things. And the glory of the Lord ought to be that which is predominantly governing our conduct with one another as well. So.
01:20:07
We perhaps neglect.
To take heed to those scriptures like in Thessalonians and other scriptures that tell us that we have to be our brother's keeper and that we have a responsibility to seek those who are going astray. Like I said yesterday, I'm afraid.
Because we do not faithfully exercise.
And practice these scriptures.
Perhaps that sometimes leads to excommunication. Had we been faithful, that could have been avoided because it's just like with the sheep, they don't always go straight and they need to be corrected. And I understand the shepherd, brother, Landin said. When the sheep comes into the fold in the evening, you know the staff and the rod, they comfort me.
He puts that stick out and the sheep have to jump over it, and that will give him to see whether the sheep.
Has a physical defect and then he can look after it and these are all part of being one flock. We are responsible to try to help our brethren and it might not go on in a spiritually healthy.
Way So all of this is part of going on together.
And hopefully the motive for anything that we do, even when it seems harsh to some, is love, you know, love for the Lord. They are his people, and love for the people that we seek to help.
Maybe the Lord can help us in these areas and even young people.
Can be of help to other young people. But what has also been pointed out, the shepherd doesn't drive sheep. That's never the way the shepherd takes care of sheep. He leads them and they follow him.
So what is far more important than our words is our example we lead, and that they can, by our example, be helped.
The shepherd doesn't drive the sheep, he leads them, but we sing. 100 and 74174 O patient spotless one, our hearts in meekness train 174.
01:25:16
Very closely in life then before us, and in the interest of time, I'd like to read it to you. It's him 250.
From various cares our hearts retire, Though deep and boundless their desire we've now to please but one Him before whom each knee shall bow. With Him is all our business now. And here's the key point. And those that are his own. With these are happy Lotus cast through the world's deserts, root and waste, or through its gardens There, whether the storms of trouble sweep, Or all in dead supine asleep.
Be all our care, oh Lord, the way, the truth, the life. Henceforth with sorrow, doubt, and strife Dr. Off like autumn leaves, Henceforth as privileged by the simple and undistracted. Be our souls, which to Thee cleave let us in our feebleness recline on that eternal love.