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For six John 14/6.
Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the light. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
If He had known me, he should have known my Father also. And from henceforth you know him and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me have seen the Father. And how saith thou then show us the Father. Believeth thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in may He doeth the works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very works sake.
Barely, barely, I say unto you, He that believeth on me the works that I should I do shall he do also. And greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If he shall ask anything in my name, I will do it if he loved me. Keep my commandments, and I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter.
That He may abide with you forever, even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him. For He dwelleth with you and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you, get a little while, and the world seeth me no more. But ye see me because I live, ye shall live also. At that day you shall know that I am in my Father.
And me, and me, and I, and you either have my commandments and keepeth them. He it is that loveth me, and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judith said unto him, Not as area, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man loved me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him.
He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings.
And the word which you hear is not mine, but the Father's, which sent me. These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you but the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance. Whatsoever I have said unto you, peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you not as the world giveth. Give I unto you, but not your heart. Be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
You have heard how I said unto you, I go away.
And come again unto you, If you loved me, you would rejoice, because I said I go unto the Father, for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that when it is come to pass, you might believe hereafter I will not talk much with you. For the Prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me.
But the world, but that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandment, Even so I do arise. Let us go in.
I was talking with his sister in between the meeting.
Whose husband ministered among us and he mentioned that.
He had often remarked that if Thomas hadn't raised this question that we sometimes.
Find fault with. We have never gotten this wonderful declaration by the Lord Jesus. I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. And I've pondered that for a couple of hours and enjoyed that thought that God uses.
Questions. Sometimes they come from a true heart. Confused heart, perhaps. But a true heart, it uses those questions to bring out wonderful things.
And so we would encourage.
And do encourage our younger brothers if they have a question to ask it.
00:05:05
The Lord Himself in the.
In the temple when he was 12 years old, he had some apparently very wonderful questions that, uh, they marveled at the questions that he asked and, uh, and his answers. So, uh, I think.
There's always moral suitability in those things. But it is a wonderful answer that he got, isn't it commerce to that question where he says, uh.
Lord, we don't know where you're going, and how can we know the way? And the Lord then set himself before them as the way.
Himself before them is the truth not one way of many.
I am the way. It's a very arbitrary, a very, very, umm, exclusive thing, isn't it?
There's no idea in Scripture that there are several ways. One way and that way is the Lord Jesus Christ, one truth.
Do you ever hear anybody say all truth is God's truth? Sounds very generous, doesn't it?
Well, the truth is in the person of Christ and everything if it sells out of that.
Those waters is no longer true.
And, uh, Pilot raised that question. What is true when the Lord said he is he that is of truth hears us. So it's very important to recognize that and he's the light. And then he makes a very arbitrary and exclusive statement. No man comes to the father except by me. The only way is the other way to get to the father. I sometimes hear people.
Lead other ways. There are no other ways. Arthur, brother Eric.
No other way, right?
It's not just that He exclusively has the truth as you've been saying, but that He is the truth. And it's important to realize that in reading the Word of God. And taking up the Word of God is the truth as it is in Jesus.
Even in prophecy, the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy. So to take up prophecy, it's not whether Russia is going to invade China, if I may put it that way. You were referring in a way to to the details of things, but it's the testimony. It's the story of how in God's counsel there's going to be a man and a beast to the field, so to speak, are going to come to that man and be brought into subjection to that man. That's what the testimony, that's what the Spirit of prophecy is. It's how God is going to bring all in subjection into this world.
To that man.
And so people get taken up with the details and types and shadows in the Old Testament. And so I believe even in connection with that and you know, and the way you know is the Spirit of Christ was manifest in the Old Testament. We see that.
In the book of Peter we see the Spirit of Christ and Noah we see the Spirit of Christ, in Elijah we see failure in it with and David we see the Spirit of Christ. But now finally here was a man in whom it was seen totally and completely. He was the Christ, the Son of the living God. And so he can go on to say that that that he's manifested the Father.
And so he is the way, He is the truth, and so he is the life. And so life is not something we get, it is a person.
That's the whole line of John's, uh, ministry is that we see people say what is life? This is eternal life, that they may know thee, the only true God in Jesus Christ who now is sin. That is what is a person.
Relationship.
Verse that's repeated twice in the Proverbs from chapter 14 and 16 says that there is a way which seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
I often compare that with what we find in Ecclesiastes. We talk, uh, 10th chapter and verse 15. I'll just read that. The labor of the foolish, We're in every one of them because, you know, it's not how to go to the city.
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You would think that the entrance to the city would be the easiest entrance to find. So how come people can't find that way? Because every man has a way in his own heart and they don't submit to the Lord Jesus Christ who is the only way to glory. Imagine any other religious leader making a statement as we have in the sixth verse. It would result be presumptuous for anyone else to say I am the way, the truth, and the life of the Lord Jesus said those words to me.
It was a stumbling stone in a rock of a fence because the thought that one should submit even unto death to be obedient and submit on to death who was in a It was a rock of offense and a stumbling stone to the Jew. And really as far as Jacob was concerned, he struggled. He thought he was going to get the blessing by his own struggles. But here was one that got the blessing for secure the blessing for all of mankind by submitting.
And so we witnessed a good confession before Pontius Pilate. It it was an offense to man. You go out into the world and you say, well, you're gonna get blessing by submitting.
That's not what they're taught in the world at all, but he was the way.
Years ago when we started the Spanish meetings in the jail, uh, the first, uh, week we had them, there were 22 or 23 fellows that came in. I kind of astounded me because I expected maybe four or five and they were 24202324 something like that. And, uh.
We gave each corner Bible, and I, just out of curiosity, I asked how many of them had ever had a Bible in their hand before, ever had one of their own and not been able to read it. Three guys raised their hands out of the hole, 20 something. Well, I got the idea that probably most of them are Roman Catholics. It turns out they were. But as we got on and got into the word with them, they came one day with this question. Is it all right?
To, uh, go to the Saints to intercede for us with God.
I said, boy, I'm not going to walk into this track.
So I said, let's look at what God says. We looked at John 14, Six, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me, First Timothy 25 and six, there's one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.
We went to various scriptures like that.
Only scriptures. I just had the fellows read the scriptures. We got all finished and I said, now you make the application of those scriptures to your question that you asked, and they universally said, well, there is no other way to come through the Lord Jesus.
About, uh, a week later, I got called in the carpet on the jail by the lady who handled the programs and she says, uh, Father Brown was in here and he was complaining that you're undermining.
His teaching in here.
I said what?
Yes, he said the the fellows told him that you said that we can't go by savings to, to, uh, gone.
She said. But I told him that isn't what I know about Brother ****. I don't think he does that.
Why don't you go and talk to him about it and see if he really did say that? Well, he didn't. He never had the courage to come to me about it. He says if he still, if you're still not satisfied, then we'll go see the sheriff together afterwards about it.
Well, what I I wonder why that ever came out. How did that come out? Well, they had a Catholic Bible study a little while later, four or five days after we had our time with the fellows, and the fellows were fresh with this understanding of how we go to the Lord. And they told the, they asked the priest what the answer was to that question. Why of course we go through this thing.
They said, well, that's not what Brother **** taught us.
OK, you see, the Scriptures are what teachers, aren't they? In those things, there's no controversy. Could you have a controversy with this verse?
00:15:05
Is there any way that you can work in some system of going to Saints?
In this verse.
Is there any way you can work it in Later on? I had lunch with that priest and, uh, at his request and, uh, it was maybe a year or so later and I said, I said, is it true that, uh, the fellows told you I said that? And yes. But he said, I understand now what it's all about. He said, I, I'm not making any issue of it anymore.
Well, I said there is only one way, and that's through the Lord Jesus Christ. He asked me an interesting question in that lunch. He said what is the main thing that separates you from us?
I thought a little while and I said, Lord give me the right answer.
I said the main thing is the Supreme.
Unique authority of the Word of God in all matters of faith and doctrine.
That is, isn't it?
Because if you can see that the Word of God is the authority, then we go there about everything.
And so here this question of how do we get to the Father? It's only through the Lord Jesus. Neither is there salvation in any other. There's none other name under heaven given among men whereby we might be safe, must be saved. There's no other way.
And that isn't what I say or any other preacher serving the Lord might use. It's what God says in His Word. And if that has authority.
Then it has authority.
But I just said to you, uh, young ones who might be challenged in that way, don't be tempted to put things in your own words so much as to turn to the Word of God and let the Spirit use the Word of God. You're on safe ground then.
You're on a safe grant.
Just quickly share an experience in connection with that comment and some verses from Revelation two and three that the Catholic fellow at work said, you know the difference between US and evangelicals. As he said, we don't say we go by what the word of God says, we go by what the Pope said. But he said evangelicals and fundamentalists, that they go by what the word of God says and do what they want.
And the Lord said to Sardis, Thou hast the name to live, but are dead. Follow his characteristic of Philadelphia. Instead, thou has kept my word, and not denied my name. So we do desire that we would keep his word and not deny his name.
It's vital that we rest, as you say, on the authority of God's Word, but that we keep His Word.
That brought out more more strongly later on in the chapter, but it's a good point that we'll never get to that probably. So let's say it now that the keeping of his word is, is a vital importance, isn't it?
Lovely too. I was thinking of 17th of John where we get this brought together. Very lovely here.
Where he says in uh.
Verse ¬ John 17 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God.
The only true God. There is no other God, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent.
So we see them interwoven here together, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom the only true God sent into this world. What else can they say to this except to deny it and say that it's not true which will have its day and which have its reorder another day. So I just thought how beautiful all this is, where the Lord says here I have glorified thee in verse four on the earth.
I have finished the work which Thou gave us me to do, but we find that the God and the Lord brought together here in a lovely way, interwoven together.
And so we know that the Lord Jesus was God. And So what else is there to go by? Is there anything else? Is there some man, is there some great teacher, some great evangelist, if he doesn't hang to the word of God, if he doesn't have the word of God? And so no value whatever, No value.
00:20:31
It's a good question here, isn't it That Phillips says in verse 8? Phillips says unto him, Lord, show us the Father.
You know, that's an interesting question, isn't it?
I, I don't believe we'll see the Father. If somebody asked Mr. Darby that question, I mean not quoting it exactly, but said, do you think that when we get home we'll, we'll ever see the Father? He said, well, I cannot conceive of being in heaven and not feeling the divine presence of the Father in that scene of glory. There's something to that effect. He felt that we will sense that as we get there of the Father's glory.
So he didn't say he would see the father.
But I think it was very lovely the Lord Jesus here could say in in that answer Jesus said unto him, have I been so long time with you? And yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that has seen me has seen the Father To me that's always been a very precious and searching verse, because many times we see a father and his son. We look at the Father and we look at his son. We say, sure look alike.
They look very much alike, but the Lord Jesus was so much like God.
In this world that he could say, he that has seen me has seen the Father. Very lovely, isn't it, when you think of that, Because the question always comes up, will we see the Father as they ask Mr. Darby? But he didn't say that we would. He said he didn't realize. He didn't. He felt that he would feel the divine presence of the Father in glory.
May I read 2 stanzas of a hymn we sang earlier today #212 versus stanzas.
Three and four, that was the image in man's lowly guise of the more invisible, immortalized come from his bosom. From the heavens above, we see.
Indeed, Incarnate God is love. Thy lips, the Father's name to us revealed What burning power in all thy words we feel. When do our raptured hearts we hear detail the heavenly glories which thou northest so well? There was a man here who fully represented and displayed what the Father is. What a thought that that Blessed One was.
The image.
In men's lowly guide. And so, uh, in response to the idea of what we see the Father, if we've seen it in Christ, are we discontent with that? Is that enough?
What we've seen in Jesus the Father, Peter has seen me, have seen the Father.
Brother Gill used to say this. Never tried to separate.
The Father and the Son we see them, the Lord Jesus was seen here as a man. God has has not been seen as such, but here we find them intermingled together and Mr. Gill used to say don't try to search that out and try to separate that as we find in our verses here.
Just dropping down again to verse 10.
Believer style not that I am in the Father and the Father in me. Can you understand that?
No, you'll never understand it. You know how you'll get it? Just by believing it, that's all. Just believe it.
Believe us, thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me. The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself, the Father. That's that's well offended.
To do with the work. And then he says, believe me that I am in the Father and the Father and me also believe me for the very works of it. But I just thought of how man likes to delve into this. He likes to try to divide this up somehow with his intellectualism divided up. You'll never do that. Never. The only way we're going to know it is my faith is Hebrews.
00:25:19
7 By faith we understand the word of God. It's only by faith, isn't it? That's how we know it.
The word that I and my father are one, so three. There are three things that we have had here, starting verse 6.
Coming to the Father.
Were 7 million this quarter and in verse 9 seeing the quarter and all three have to be done through the Lord Jesus.
No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
You should have, uh, if you have known me, you should have known my father also.
He ended up seeing the, uh, seeing the fund.
Now, just a word while we're on that subject, I, I don't know how many of you have run across people who they refer to themselves as, uh.
Bonus or they believe Jesus only they call themselves and you find that very prevalent in some of the Spanish countries we were in the.
Davis Columbia One time in, in the reading meeting we had there, there was a, an old man who came in and he started telling us that Jesus was the Father and, uh, he was the Holy Spirit. And right away the antenna went up, you know, and I, I said, uh, you uh, got that from the United Pentecostals, right?
You can get that from the Word of God. Oh, I got it purely from the word of God.
And, uh, some of the people there that were listening were wondering if I've been fair with him until a few minutes later he's in, My pastor says this and my pastor says that I said, what, what, uh, pastor was that big? He said, oh, uh, the United Pentecostal Church.
There is a denomination that says that there's only one person.
That Jesus is the Father and Jesus is the Son and Jesus is the Holy Spirit.
That's utterly wrong. Utterly wrong. It's Unitarianism.
In a different form.
And they teach that on the basis that they say, well, he said they're baptizing the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And they baptized in the name of Jesus. So that just shows that Jesus was the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Don't be fooled by that. This, this, the Scripture teaches the Trinity. We can't understand it. My mind can't understand it. But I'd better bow before that truth.
And accept it because that's where.
The Spirit of God would teach us.
That there is.
A Father. There is an eternal Son, There's an eternal spirit.
Three in one, one in three.
It's taught clearly in the Word of God. The word Trinity doesn't appear.
True, that's true, but the concept does.
It comes from 2 words, Triunity 3:00 and 1:00.
We have a witness to that and, umm, the uh.
Leave it in the egg. Just the common thing in the egg.
You have a day, there's a shell, you have the yolk and the white.
Three or one egg, aren't they?
And it's interesting, I just mentioned that, umm, in Hebrew there are two words for one. Not like we have one word for one, they have two words.
Yaheed and Nehad and Yahid means one exclusively.
Sole solely for instance, Jeptha's daughter is spoken of as an only one Yahid. But in the very famous, uh, prayer of the the Jews say constantly in Deuteronomy six, I think it's verse six or five. Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is one.
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It's uh uh.
Shema Israel had a noya Lakhim Atanoy E hat. Very interesting that when they say that prayer, they don't say akhad, they say Yahid. But one means a united one. God means a united 1. And I just mentioned that because this is important. We're in a place now where where we have to be very careful and walk carefully and see what the Lord is saying. But he's not saying that I am the Father, is he? No.
And I showed this man in in Colombia, I said, what about at the Lord's baptism?
Who went down into the water?
And when he went down into the water, what came down in the boat? When he came up out of the water, what bowed upon him?
And what voice was heard?
You're telling me that was all the same?
Well, he couldn't answer that. There is no answer to that. It's three distinct persons, one triune.
United Golf.
Again, if there is a simpler in verse 16, the beginning of verse 17 is one sentence. I will pray the father, I the Lord Jesus will pray the Father and.
And he shall give you another comforter, that he may applied with you forever, even with spirit of truth. They're all.
Three, and not one favorite.
Resistance Person.
Man ceased to put their own thoughts and ideas.
And wisdom into the Saint of God. I'm thinking of a passage in Second Kings.
438.
It says, And Elijah came again to Gigale, and there was a dirt in the land, and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him. And he said unto his servant set on the great pot and seed pottage for the sons of the prophets. And one went out into the field together herbs, and found the wild fine, and gathered there on wild gores his last full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage, where they knew them not.
So they poured out.
For the men to eat and it came to pass as they were eating of the product.
That they cried out and said, Oh thou man of God, there is a death in the pot, and they could not eat thereof. But he said, then bring meal, and he cast it into the pot, and he said, pour out for the people, that they may eat, and there was no harm in the pot. And the Lord lays it out clearly that he is the way in the truth and the light. But yet the enemy would seek to shred these little changes in in the word of God and and when man seeks salvation on any means.
But the Jesus Christ alone at least leads to death.
All through the Word of God also we find a One of the writers Put it this way, the personal dignity of Christ is never lost in the intensity and tenderness of His love.
He has a personal dignity that is his own. He doesn't even share that with us.
But he shares his acquired glory with us, and that's good to remember that. But the Lord Jesus has a peculiar personal dignity of his own that no one will ever know.
And so it's so wonderful to think that what he shares with us is what he has acquired as a man down here, a true man here in this world. He's acquired a glory and he shares with us.
When our brother was talking about the shredding of wild collisions in the, in the pars, it made me think about the, the word Brother Barry gave it Mon Montrose, uh, years ago it was umm, he spoke on that passage and he said, do you think the remedy was to try to pick out the pieces of wild gourds from the pot?
You know, you might think, well, maybe there's a way I can quickly get some of that out of there, but you should know as the introduction of the three measures of meal, that is the truth as to Christ in this person. And that's the real remedy, the antidote, isn't it? It's not being able to handle all these wild collisions that are shredded up into things, but the the pure doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ as to his person.
00:35:29
And that will always remove the debt, won't it?
There's no death in that. That's that's wonderful.
Hello, Thomas and Philip were both there and uh, perhaps a little deficient in their knowledge. They both addressed him as Lord here. I never read of Judas ever addressing.
They did well in addressing him. He called me, I think the prior chapter, the Lord that said you called me Master and Lord and he said well, for so I am the Lord knows a person. Dear brethren, he's our we love the Lord. The Lord will give an answer to our questions.
Let me ask your question verse 12.
He says, Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye that believeth on me the works that I do, shall he do also.
And greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father. Now when I read that verse, I go blank. I just quit. I could not explain that verse. And I think it's a good time to ask that question. Perhaps somebody else has something on it.
MMM.
The clinical Peter preached 1 sermon and 3000 souls got saved.
Would it work? Well, let's create that one then.
And it wasn't because he was disconnected from the Lord Jesus. And I think that's important to see.
Any work that they were going to do was.
We're going to be in connection with this being there in the glory and and empowering. It really isn't it? And I think that's a very important connection to make. Never disconnect any service for the Lord from the person of Christ.
Or tried to do it. You can't do it.
But don't disconnect it all work for him is to be connected with him and with his person. And I, I think there's umm, a warning in that, in that, uh, the with all the Lord is in glory now, who empowers the works that are done now.
It's a risen Christ, isn't it, Through the Holy Spirit?
Is that right, brother?
Would the answer be, uh, in connection with the next verse? Because he says in verse 13, and whatsoever you shall ask in my name. Now they were going to have to ask when he was with them. They could talk to him, they could ask him questions, but he's going to leave them now. And so he says, uh, whatsoever you shall ask in my name, uh, that will I do.
So as you were saying, Brother Dickey?
It's not a question of great things that they're going to do, but it's in the power of the of the prayer, prayer and with the word of God itself, with the Lord Jesus himself doing your work as he says, whatsoever you shall ask in my name that will I do that their Father may be glorified in the Son still that blessed one as they're going to receive the glory, isn't it? The Father is going to be glorified in the Son no matter what those works are.
And in other words, many of those of the of the disciples, they had to pray, they had to ask God for the deliverance when they were in trials too.
00:40:23
The theme of the chapters of sacrifice is going back to war and the sort of change taking place and thinking about how they defend their second largest setup Kingdom and perhaps they expected to be delayed. And as I said earlier, if they had a question that could go into the Lord and ask them, they didn't pray to God as such, although they believed in God. But if they had a question or a doubt or anything, they would go to the Lord directly.
But they were expecting the Kingdom to be set up. Perhaps it's delayed, but the thing that they didn't understand the trouble that was talking about going away. And so they expected, uh, of course, the Lord to set up the Kingdom of Christ and to suffer under those glory. And there had to be an end of man in the flesh. And there has to be open to display at the end of end of the flesh. Go crazy.
And so it really lays out the base of the Christianity, doesn't it? But uh, it wasn't a continuity in the sense of the Lord just setting up the Kingdom in the Roman Empire.
Now being defeated and Ezra brought up to the center of the earthly Kingdom with a large, as we spoke before us, being a king, being absent of entrusting something to his servants while he was gone. And so he's going and they didn't understand why and they didn't understand how and they really didn't understand. Where must the Lord have to tell him that he had to go and then when he went.
Uh, this is part the Holy Spirit comforter would be sent to Christ is derailed by the glory of the Father or seek government glory and the Spirit of God would be sent down. And then as was said, the cycle then went straight to God's Father, something that hadn't been really revealed fully at that time. Let me know later on when the Lord rose, he announced announce that and so.
A real.
Troubling thing for them, but it's a happy, desperate now to look back and to see the blessing that we've been brought into because the Lord suffered and died, was raised in the Father's right hand, and now here we are.
Let's see, knowing the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing not our Father and the Lord, for the Spirit in our hearts and even in the midst to guide and direct to the ministry.
Just thinking, well, that hasn't we were reading this with the trouble with the disciples that now.
Uh, we can, uh, read this and consider and realize a blessing that has come to us, especially as genocidals for most of us and the higher blasting that we've been brought into because Christ suffered and died and went into death for us. And we closed the door on that in the flesh, so to speak. No more to have to prevent the flesh. And now he's written and glorified the Father's right hand and you know, from other scriptures, especially with false ministry.
Blossoming, blasting that has come to us that Christ is that the Father's right hand and he, uh, gifts going down, slowing down because of that finished work.
We haven't made this remark today, but I think it's something that we often say as we read before. Maybe we didn't, I wasn't hearing, I don't know. But we usually say that the fourteen, 15th and 16th chapters of John's Gospel are what we call the Upper Room ministry. Now we want to qualify that. That does not mean that all of it was necessarily said in the Upper Room, but the character of that ministry was one type.
And that is Jesus.
Finished the work, the other side of the cross and it's the base. It's all based on a finished work, isn't it? And Christ is the right hand of God. If we don't keep that perspective as we read those 3 chapters, I think we can be confused. And umm, it starts actually with the 13th chapter, but uh, it runs on into the 17th. Of course, preeminently the 17th. The Lord's Prayer is in view of.
00:45:05
A finished work.
He said that on earth she umm, which was true, particularly in view of that I have finished the work that gave us me to do. And that's the character of the ministry in these three chapters. It's it's given from the Lord's heart to us.
And we call it sometimes the Upper Room ministry. Uh, I don't make a big thing out of that name, but I just, you might hear that expression and, uh, might be nice to understand it too, that what we mean by that is ministry, which takes his character from, uh, that finished work and the Lord having, uh, going on high.
Going back to your question, it's a very interesting question because to think that the Lord would use service today with people to accomplish His purposes in the world. Umm, you may wonder.
What is a great miracle man to receive this site or for that man to come to Christ and the eternal thing, maybe get the site and let's be 100 years, but if he receives Christ will live forever. Uh, this is what the Lord's service did after the.
They're very close. They went forth just he tells us that was the 300 years of the birth of the Church. Almost all the heathen temples were closed up in every area where they went and millions of souls who led to the Lord. Well, to think that the Lord places an emphasis on the salvation of soul as a greater work. The Lord says you could do greater work than what I'm doing. We tend to think that the natural healing of the body, stay in arms, effective eyesight is effective. It's been a great work with the Lord says you go out and you preach in my name, and that would be the greater work yet.
I wondered if it wouldn't be connected with the thought of the Spirit of God being sent down into this world because now we we don't see the Lord, but the Spirit of God is here. The Holy Spirit is here energizing the people of God. And so we have a marvelous thing. He's unseen. The Spirit of God is unseen. He's in the believer. I just thinking of not to miss verses here, but notice what he says. Umm, umm.
Verse uh, verse 17 even the spirit of truth, uh, whom the father whom the world cannot receive. Why? Because he can't, they can't see him. They don't believe the word of God. So it says be the uh, who? Because it sees him not, neither knoweth him.
But He know, but ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. That comes in Acts chapter 2, doesn't it? He dwells with you and shall be in you. He was in. We find both of those in the second chapter of Acts, don't we? The Holy Spirit of God coming down not only in being in with us, but in dwelling us also. And I wondered if if the thought brought out here wouldn't be connected with.
Greater works than what even the Lord was doing because this would be the work of the Holy Spirit after he gone back to glory. I don't know. I think that was lovely, Brother Ruben, you know that man who was lame and walked again. It was a temporary work because I may put it that way. Even though that were raised from the dead, they died again. But when those that believe the gospel, the preaching of Peter, they received eternal life.
I think of the Lord saying too, umm, in his earthly ministry, I have a baptism to be baptized with and how am I straightened until it be accomplished that, uh, and then again, I'm not sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. So here comes the, uh, the word baptisms, so to speak. And he, he dies on the cross.
And uh.
Until then, there's that narrowing in. It's true that Joseph's branches sprang over the wall. That's beautiful. You see that I think in the 15th of Matthew where the Syrophoenician woman comes and the Lord's heart was tortured, but he couldn't bless her on the basis of being the son of David, could he? And uh, so, but still her faith is expressed and the branches shoot over the wall, blessing runs out.
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And, uh, then comes the accomplishment of that work at the cross.
And the floodgates are open worldwide. I think I'd like to connect that with this verse too, Brother Charles. The Lord saying I'm straight and I'm narrowed in until it be accomplished and I'm not sent but to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.
The frosting in his name really has to do with asking in a way that is morally consistent with who he is and what he would desire. And so someone, a boy, may go to the store, his father has credit and say, well, I'd like to get this and this and the other thing. And then he says, I'd like to get a box of matches and store keeper may look down on me because I don't think your father would want you to have those.
And I don't want to use a trivial example, but it really is the thought that we're asking in the name. We're really asking in a way that is consistent with who he is.
And what he is?
Well back I felt the Lord's needing to speak in an open meeting on this is not being a blanket statement. Name it and claim it. That's not what it is. What it is. You'll find that scripture has to be taken as a whole because the same Holy Spirit that gave us this gave us also.
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. And also if we ask anything according to His will, a year it was. There are many other scriptures. You have to put them all together to get the whole picture. But it's beautiful that the Lord lays down the principle here, doesn't he, That you can ask him my name. I'll do it. And uh, I agree with Brother Neil's qualification of that. But even if you didn't have that, you have the other verses that go together.
And it's they're given, Ecclesiastes says they're nails, and they're given by 1 shepherd, one shepherd.
There aren't two shepherds, the Lord Jesus speaking here and one of his disciples in another place saying something different. It's one hole and you have to take it together. That's why Peter says no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation. That doesn't mean what?
Some people think it means that you can't, as an individual, privately understand the Word of God. It means you cannot privately understand one Scripture in isolation from other Scriptures, because Scripture came not by the will of man. Prophecy came not by the will of man, holy men of God's faith as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. And so all of it has to be considered together.
The question was asked and I just introduced it.
This thought in Matthew 18 and 18 in connection with.
Barely I stand you whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you shall lose shall be loose, loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Somebody asked, well is a mistake bound?
I think the answer to the question lies not in the question of whether a mistake is bound or not because scripture says whatsoever ye buying, but it's talking about what is bound and Matthew 18 what is speaking about is the binding of a sin upon an individual.
And the loosening of a sin upon an individual.
I just say that because it's coming, people talk. Well, what if the assembly says that it's all right to teach this? The assembly has no authority to bind and loose what is taught. What is spoken of in Matthew 18 and 2018 has to do with the binding and losing of sins upon individuals. And when the assembly comes to a judgment, let the every word be. Let every word be established in the mouth of two or three witnesses.
And that sin is bound upon that individual.
That that is bound in heaven and that is bound on earth. I also just like to say this in connection with that, I realize restraint from John's gospel. I'm saying that these questions come up. We might look at a verse in John 20 as well in connection with whatsoever is that this expression has come about about assemblies being bound, and it's nonsense. Assemblies are not bound. I don't tie up my wife and I don't think any brother here binds their wife.
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So what is found in Matthew 18 is the sin upon an individual. It's a judgment that is bound upon an individual. Now I recognize that. And so if a sin is bound upon an individual here in vessel, when it comes to Saint Thomas, that sin is bound upon him there. But Saint Thomas is not bound. We're not tied up with a rope, but for us to act independently and to receive such a one on whom a sin has been bound, to disregard that. It's not just to describe, disregard the brethren and vessel, it's to disregard the Lord's authority in binding that sin upon the individual.
I just say that because these questions come up on this word whatsoever is used, because it's a very powerful thing and so the Lord has given us.
In connection with these words, whatsoever you ask in my name, He's given us liberty to go before the Lord, and to ask in His name what would be suitable to the situation. And there ought to be that sense of liberty. We see that with an Elijah, praying that it wouldn't rain and that it would rain.
And I don't doubt that there are other thoughts in connection with that. I think particularly in connection with.
With this, that we have to be careful when we're Speaking of this that it is in his name.
John, Chapter 15, seven.
Because if you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.
Mr. Lord's words abide in us, we'll have the mind of God, and we'll be more able.
To to know what to pray for and what to ask for.
So that's another one. You put them all together and they, uh, they give you a picture, but if you take a private interpretation of one of them, you make a mistake, don't you? And, uh, I think that's important and verse, uh.
15 it says if you love me, keep my commandments.
I'm talking about loving the Lord and being disobedient at the same time. They don't go together, do they?
Love for him?
Demands obedience to the things that he asked us to do. Now there's a, uh, a broader thought in umm. I can lay my eye on it quickly. Umm.
In this chapter.
Verse 23.
If a man love me, he will keep What does it say?
Somebody help me out?
I might have the wrong translation here.
Verse 23 If a man loved me.
Keep in the word. Keep what?
Word. What's the difference?
Well, I like to think of it this way. I'm sure there are other things that the commandments are specific things the Lord has said to do, isn't it?
But keeping His word is more than that is to gather up the tenor of His word.
Is to take what he has communicated. In a whole sense. I like to think of those servants of of David who heard him say.
Oh, that I had a dream from the water, the well that is in Bethlehem. Had the did he send any of them to do that? Did he say, would you three guys go down into Bethlehem and get some water out of that well?
I'm sure that that would have provoked your response, but.
These people, you might say we're close enough to David to discern what he wanted and went and did it.
And that's, to me, that's so beautiful. And if you love him, that's keeping his word. Gathering up the the tenor of what?
Is his mind, isn't it?
Is much broader than individual commandments.
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118 sum.
Uh, we use, it was an expression there that is very used, uh, by the Spirit of God.
Umm, Psalm 138, verse two, I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and for thy truth, for thou has magnified thy word above thy name.
I used to read that verse. It was really, uh, wondered about that. There are many things that people are doing today. Oh, it's in the name of the Lord. Oh, we do this in the name of the Lord. You check them out. And it's not according to his word at all. It's contrary to his word, but they're saying they're doing it in his name. So we see the importance of his word, don't we? It says, umm.
Uh, thou has magnified thy word above all I need, but if it's not according to the word of God.
Then we have to dispense with it must be according to the word of God, and this is already been said that the word is very important there.
Connection in verse 18.
And I regard iniquity in my heart. The Lord is no not hearing.
Human habit, regardless of of right relationship with the Lord, and if we do not obey His commandments, we will appear He has iniquity in our hearts. The world will not hear well not answered by that request about French, am I right?
Doesn't it make it then all the more precious the area I'm saying I'll always hear it's me.
There was one who never had iniquity in his heart, and he was always heard. Always heard.
Beautiful to think of that blessed Savior always heard.
That's what makes all the more terrible the.
Hours of darkness on the cross when he says, Oh my God, I cry in the daytime and now here is not and in the night season and I'm not silent.
Why not heard the one who always did his will? God, my God, art thou forsaken him who always did thy will?
I don't think we can enter into what it meant for that Blessed One who was always heard.
Enjoy perfect communion with the Father.
Never did anything that was contrary to, never thought anything contrary.
Then to.
Have to cry out, Oh my God, I cry in the daytime and now here is not. And in the night season and I'm not silent now here is not.
It's a mystery, isn't it? You can only understand it in the light of the work of the Cross.
I think that's so beautiful. And the Lord prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. There he said it would be possible. Such as?
From me. And Paul prayed three times that the thorn in his flesh would be removed, but he took the answer from the Lord. He said, My grace is sufficient for thee, my and the Lord's strength is made perfect in weakness. And so we can come boldly, if in that spirit to the Lord to ask him if it's possible to do this. We can come boldly and ask, and He won't abrade us. And we're not wrong to ask if we receive that answer from the Lord.
But often you get the spirit that we demand things of the Lord, or to demand things of the Lord, but that's not the thought at all on His first.
Just looking at that verse Luke 22, where the Lord says verse 42, Father, if I'll be willing to remove this cup from the nevertheless not my will, but finally done. And sometimes it's distressing when you when you hear Christians almost demanding of the Lord to raise up 17 six, you know, it may not be the Lord's will to raise up that person, you know.
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We should pray that the Lord's will that such and such be done even if you have the power. I mean, remember the apostle Paul in this prophet must have I left at least a sick and some of these, uh, here I have to take it. Christians, you know, they, they feel that when you cry to the Lord, the healing that the Lord has to heal because you can work these miracles. Well, it's not always the Lord's will raise up even a fellow believer.
And the Lord sometimes answers those prayers, even though it's not as well.
Uh, as in the case of Hezekiah, and there was, there was sad results as a result of it. And so we have to be careful because sometimes, you know, I'm going to tell a little tale on a son, he won't mind, But he wanted to buy an expensive bicycle. He had the money. And I said, you know, it's not wise because it's going to get stolen. And he asked and he asked. And so finally I yielded to him and he went out and bought the bicycle. Within two weeks, the bicycle had been stolen.
Now I can say that because I believe he's really been a boy that's listened to me, but sometimes the Lord.
Our fathers have had to deal deal with us in that way, and the worst really judgment that can be is that we're yielded to our own will.
They entered up their desire and said leanness into their soul. That verse is a solemn verse. You pester the Lord to a point of where he's all right. You get it and you learn your lesson from it too. I often tell about the white station wagon that I wanted my kids to re remind me of it from time to time. I I really wanted a white uh.
Forward Ltd station wagon and didn't have to be wiped, but I, I saw one of the dealership and my wife didn't want me to get it and the kids were not enthusiastic about it, but I wanted it man. I went out and bought it. It wasn't long after that the, the wiring harness burned up on it and it was a total loss to me and uh, but a lesson, expensive lesson. He granted them their desire and sent meanness into their soul.
Well, it's one thing to get leanness in your, in your, in your pocketbook. It's much worse to get leanness in your soul, isn't it? And we, we have to remember that the word answers sometimes and gives you what you want. But we're sorry you did afterwards. I, I just want to remark one more thing about the Lord in the garden. And, and I remember an address, and perhaps some of you will too, an outstanding address.
That Chuck Hendrix gave it Palatine, IL at the conference on.
The ear dig opened.
And pierced.
Let's say if you can get that tape and listen to it, you'll be blessed. But he mentioned in the course of that message, he said the only time that the Lord ever expressed His will as something different from the Father's will was in that verse that group quoted. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.
He said why, Because he could not remember. He said my meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and he could not find his will or pleasure in being made sin. So awful it was, but he submitted for our eternal blessing. I pondered that so often since then. It's gotta be perhaps 20 years ago. I've thought about it and listened to that tape again and again.
Thought about that.
This is one who always delighted to do the Father's will, but there was that one time when He expressed His own will. Why so awful was it to be made sin that he could not find his pleasure in me?
In being made sin, but he submitted nevertheless. Not my will. The time we got precious saved.
And that's, uh, on, uh, giving us what we want sometimes in numbers 11.
He talks.
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They were they got tired of the man in verse Texas. But now our soul is dried away. There is nothing at all beside this manna before our eyes. If you drop down to verse 18, he's going to give them what they want. And say thou unto the people, sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and you shall eat flesh. For ye have weapons in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh thee? For it was well with us in Egypt. Therefore the Lord will give you flesh and ye shall eat.
Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor 10 days, nor 20 days, but even a whole month, until they come out at your nostrils, and be loathsome into you, because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you. And have what before, and saying why cameth before out of Egypt. And sometimes the Lord will give us what we want, just to teach us a lesson that that's not really what we want.
What the Psalm refers to when it says he granted them their desire and send leanness into their soul. I think it's specifically refers to that that you just read.
Can we always go pray with confidence that we have God's will for our brethren and our trials, that the purpose of God and the work in their hearts through that trial would be accomplished? Sometimes we pray.
That our brothers will be recovered out of the trial, but we don't pray that the work of God would be finished in their heart for blessing. And that really should be the first thing we pray for. But we're finished in their heart. You might be able to bring them out of the trial quicker.