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Has drawn us after thee.
Now let us run and never tire.
Unchangeable, thy gracious love.
Our earthly path as ceaseless. View 166 The Brotherhood started, please.
Verse 9.
There's 2023.
John 15, verse 9.
As a father hath loved me, so if I loved you, continue ye and my love. If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in My love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends.
Your.
And ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, He may give it you. These things I command you that you love one another. If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love His own. But because you're not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
00:05:03
Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord, if they have persecuted me.
They will also persecute you. If they have kept My sayings, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for My namesake, because they know not Him that sent me. If I had to not come and spoken on to them, they had not had sin, but now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth Me, hateth my Father also.
Thank you. Well we noticed that the 1St 8 verses have to do with discipleship. And again, there's a difference between salvation and discipleship.
Scripture always anticipates that they follow one after another. It never anticipates that a person would be a Christian without being a disciple. But salvation comes first as the foundation and then discipleship following Christ.
Comes next. I just want to read a few verses, don't need to turn to them because they're familiar with them. But in Luke 14, which speaks about what a disciple is. This is not salvation as some people are confused about that, but it is discipleship. Luke 14 and verse 25.
And there went great multitudes with him. And he turned and said unto them, If any man come to me and hate not his father and mother.
He cannot be my disciple, and whosoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Well, we could read more, but I think that makes the point. Discipleship is the basis of a happy pathway. We're going to read about that. And so we noticed the 1St 8 verses have to do with the discipleship and the Father's government.
His cultivation of the individual, but now it's been mentioned in verses 9 through 17 especially that we have that which characterizes the new Christian company, and it's been said that the full expression of fruit.
Demands a company.
The full expression of fruit cannot be expressed only individual in the individual, but it's expressed as part of a company. And as we mentioned, we don't have so much the body of Christ, but we do have the family of God here in John's gospel. And so we'll know that there are at least seven marks of the new Christian company in these verses 9 through 17.
Your father-in-law used to say we cannot do problems in crucial first year I.
What we think.
Of the.
The pathway of the Lord Jesus down here. He was a lonely man.
The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. God in his grace and goodness has given us more fellowship than the Lord Himself enjoyed.
Because he's given us one another.
We are to bear one another's burdens and soul fulfill the law of Christ.
We are to provoke one another unto love and good works. Usually we don't have a problem provoking one another.
In in stirring up some feelings.
That we should not allow in our lives but in our verse here.
Abiding in me, and I in you. This brings before us communion with the Lord. There's no substitute for it, and it's a very slender threat. It can easily be broken. An angry word, a bitter feeling, a feeling toward my brother or sister.
Will break communion with the Lord.
We are to abide in Him. We are to.
Cultivate that communion with the Lord day by day, when we start the day with that prayer. Preserve me, O God, for in Thee do I put my trust and.
00:10:07
There cannot be fruit unless there is.
Fellowship and communion with the Lord. Now there's also fellowship with our brethren. But first of all, we need to be.
In a good spiritual condition with our Lord, is there something in my life that is displeasing to the Lord? My brother may not know anything about it, but in the presence of God, is there something that I have not judged?
And put away it will hinder communion with the Lord. And as we mentioned this morning, self judgment is is essential. The branch cannot bear fruit of itself.
Except it's attached to the vine. This is our source of of nourishment, the precious Word of God and communion with the Lord.
And this will bear fruit. Now often fruit is looked upon as doing some great service for the Lord, preaching the gospel to the multitudes. I agree that that is fruit for the Lord. And we should, we should be more occupied in spreading the glad tidings to others. But there's many people.
We don't have a gift. In fact, usually gift is connected with public preaching. We have this mindset, but that's not so.
Gift may not be in a public venue.
You look at Romans 12. Several of those gifts are not connected with public activity.
They're they're.
There are certain activities in the body of Christ sharing one another and administration.
Helping one another, so on they are listed there. That is fruit for the Lord.
Fruit is really the manifestation of Christ in my life, and it doesn't need to be accompanied by some great outward activity.
A sister on a sick bed. I can remember a way back. I guess I was in my teens.
There was a sister in Ottawa.
Strange that her name was Missus Humble.
She was the.
They think now she was a mother-in-law of our late Charles Hajo. I'm almost sure I never visited Mrs. Humble. I knew the hospital where she was. I have visited there with the Gospel, but I never met her. And one day I did meet Missus Humble and talk about me and ministering to her. I that was not the way it was. She was a ministry to me.
As I saw that St. of God that had been on a sick bed for probably decades, could hardly feed herself, the glory shone in her face. I never forget that visit with Missus Humble. She ministered to me. Well. There was a sister bearing fruit on a sick back. I think my brother and know what I what I mean.
When we mentioned fruit, perhaps just a diversion from that event, I know we talked about that in Galatians in chapter four. First of all, we have to look at the fact that is fruit is singular is not the fact that we bury, we we, we bear 678 different fruit is one fruit perhaps. I remember Chuck Hendrick used to say one fruit, perhaps with 9 flavors. So it's the exhibition of that. Let's turn to Galatians Chapter 5.
With reference to that this morning and see what these exhibition of characteristics that will show the fruit. These are well known verses Ephesians, I'm I'm sorry, Galatians chapter 20 chapter 5 verse 22. So they said the fruit of the Spirit. So if we have that spirit of God working in US, it would exhibit these characters. First thing is love.
00:15:12
Laugh. Now, I don't think we'll have to spend much time on explaining that. I'm just going to read that through Joy.
Do we exhibit love now? Interesting to see in scripture, love is mentioned often, but very rarely as in this case as the first thing. Love is in a lot of things, but not first. So love is 1 Character, joy and peace. Now here's something that's even more interesting because he's now going to love suffering.
It's not as if it's something that we can be proud of or be able to display pride in that long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness.
Temperance.
To nine different characteristics listed here for us to to as an example for us to manifest.
Like the helpful to comment on this word commandment and so we hear people talking about the 10 commandments and all those sorts of things. But really if you keep my commandments. The Lord Jesus was introducing Christianity to his disciples. This gospel is as brother Eric has mentioned, his transitionary and its character. And so he was giving them different instructions. He was giving them instructions as to how to.
Live as Christians and how to abide in His presence and to enjoy communion with Him.
He was giving those instructions, so we could in a sense give that as a, a synonym. Perhaps if you keep My instructions, He shall keep that. You shall abide in My love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments or instructions and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you. That's plural. He spoke at two of them all.
That my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. So Brother Gordon used to often remind us that happiness and obedience go together.
And so as you mentioned, Brother John, you can have a real miserable Christian, and that's because he's disobedient and he, his conscience will never let him alone. The Lord is dealing with them. And so we want to have the joy of the Lord. We can have the peace of God. As it says in Philippians, the world is not in an uproar. Things are all out of order and there's all kinds of wars and rumors of wars. The world isn't at peace, but you and I can have the peace of God.
God isn't disturbed at all. He's not surprised at what's going on. He's at peace. Heaven is at peace, and you and I can dwell in the peace of God in this way, but we can also abide in His love and we can have joy in our souls as we walk through this scene. Isn't that lovely to think the Lord Jesus was a man of joy. Yes, He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, but He was the happiest man that ever walked the face of the earth because of obedience.
To his father's will.
So we might say the first three of these seven characteristics of the of the Christian community that was being formed. The first one is in verse 9, isn't it? The Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love. Sometimes we say we want to love the Lord more and we try to love the Lord more and it doesn't work. But what's the secret? Well, it's right here when we enjoy the Father's love.
For the Lord Jesus.
Love for us then that inspires more love in ourselves. How could it not? When we reflect the love of God and the love the Lord Jesus health has for us, it humbles us, doesn't it? And so that's the first fruit, the first characteristic, I should say, continue ye in my love. So that's the first characteristic here. And then the second you mentioned it is obedience.
I have a note here, and that's in verse 10. Of course, if you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love.
Even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love, Hamilton Smith says the love of Christ rests on the way of obedience and shines along the path of his commandments. So it's a great secret of the Christian life.
00:20:09
When we obey, we enjoy His love, and the secret to walking in His love is obedient.
And then the third one you mentioned, Brother Rob, and verse 11. These things have I spoken unto you that my joy.
Might remain in you and that your joy might be full. Now sometimes we distinguish between joy and happiness, don't we? Not to make it a person offender for a word in anything. But happiness, if we distinguish is something that may be quickly passing. I may sin and that may make me a happy 1St for for 5 minutes. I may go out and get a shiny car and that makes me happy for maybe a couple weeks. But joy is much deeper, isn't it?
It goes on, and the joy, joy comes from abiding in the Lord's presence and obeying Him and enjoying His love. That's what gives true joy, abiding joy.
Give us the other.
Complete your nine. Well, 707 I'm 79. That was in Galatians. But then we have in verse, verse 12. This is my commandment, that she loved one another. That's the 4th, isn't it? So first we enjoy the Lord's love for us and abide in that, and then it'll be reflected in loving one another. But again, obedience is brought in greater love hath no man than this and will and verse 13 and 14.
Is number 5 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. God has brought us into his intimate fellowship. He didn't call people in the Old Testament friends, with very few exceptions. Abraham was his friend, but he calls us friends. He teaches us the secrets of his counsel. A friend opens his heart to you, and that's what God has done to us.
I often say, and it it just, it just impresses me every time I think of it, that the Christian has the highest privileges of all God's creation. An Archangel is nowhere near a Christian. How about Moses and David and Elijah? No, nowhere near the Christian. And yet when we think of Christianity, we know we live in a Laodicean day. But on the other hand, the whole truth of God has been recovered in these last days.
Just think in the 1St century the whole scriptures hadn't even been written and they didn't have didn't have many copies of the scriptures. So and there was Judaism that confused matters. And then we know things went down quite quickly during the dark ages. And then the truth started. There was always, always light. God always has a testimony to whatever measure of light they had. But it wasn't until about the the fourteen 14th century that men like.
Wickliffe and John Huss began to be began the recovery of the truth, first the individual truths and then we know with Luther further individual truths and then men like John Wesley when the Reformation became stale, they recovered those truths and and added energy to it and then we know about 170 years ago. Thankfully the whole council of God was recovered. We can enjoy have fellowship with God about that.
That's been a rare thing and all of human history. That's our privilege today. And so he calls us friends. He brings us. Now later on, he's going to call his brethren. That's an even higher place, isn't it? We're related to him, not just in his intimacy. So that's number five, if I have it right. And then number six is in verse 16. We've been chosen.
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. That gives tremendous peace to know that God has chosen me. It wasn't just my choice. My my feelings are hot and cold, but God has chosen me for this great privilege. And then also in the end of verse 16, I've chosen you and and appointed you, ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain.
And then lastly #7 that whatsoever you may ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. This is the secret to answer prayer. If we pray according to God's mind, we get those answers that are courting God's mind. And that's the 7th is praying in a dependent spirit and seeing the prayers answered, because we pray according to God's mind.
00:25:19
But I'm sure there's much more there. Just a quick outline.
The apostle Paul could say, Rejoice in the Lord, and again I say unto you, rejoice. Where was he when he said those words?
Compare his circumstances with those of Solomon who had everything that heart could wish why a silver was like the stones on the ground. He had everything to minister to his comfort and even God-given wisdom to. If he had said that, you might say, well I could understand Solomon saying that he doesn't have a need of anything.
But here's the apostle Paul in prison, in a Roman prison, not so comfortable circumstances having been there as we were reminded about four years. And yet he speaks, Rejoice in the Lord. And again I say unto you, rejoice. He was able by the grace of God to rise above those circumstances that were contrary.
To the natural man, he had a source. He was in communion with the Lord we know, and he had that. He had that source and that.
Communication with the Lord even in those difficult circumstances. I know we often refer to that verse. The joy of the Lord is your strength. In Nehemiah, we often apply that verse to ourselves, and I would not object to that. But as another brother pointed out, really.
The meaning of that verse is the Lord's joy.
He gave an example. Now I am. You invite me to your home some night for supper, and I appreciate it, but the weather is terrible. The children are crying.
Things seem to be very unsuitable and you say I don't think I can come tonight. So you call him up and the brother says oh I know that but we are, we long to have you come.
We're looking, we're looking forward to your visit. Try to come. That person's joy stimulates you. You say you're to your wife. Well, regardless of all these negatives, we're going to go. That person's joy stimulates yours. Now to apply it. If we want to be happy, let's try to make the Lord happy. And you know.
The Lord.
Finds a joy in seeing His people walk in that possible obedience that we have here, delighting in Him, serving Him. Whatever little service the Lord may give, whatever little devotion, he delights in that. And that is what strengthens us. I sometimes say to the sisters on Lord's Day morning.
Sisters, you sometimes think what part of I got in this meeting? I can't, I can't speak reverently speaking. I'm not allowed to speak and but remember the tone of the meeting on Lord's Day morning very much depends on the state of each one who is present, sisters included. They don't participate publicly in that area.
But they are holy priests as well as the brothers just as much.
And they can offer the sacrifice of praise and Thanksgiving to the Lord and remember to see us. Remembering Him in his death, in a world that has rejected Him, brings joy to the heart of the Lord. You're going to be present the Lord's Day morning meeting tomorrow. The Lord doesn't come. That brings your presence at the Lord's Day morning meeting.
00:30:05
Brings joy to the heart of the Lord Jesus.
We have some last side to say in our own meeting in Nepean.
Knowing well they are neglecting, I think willfully, the remembrance of the Lord, and I say to them, remember brother, you are missing something that you will never regain for eternity.
Is that right, Robert? Yes. It's even more than that. If you look at Numbers Chapter 9, verse 11, I think it's.
9.
Well, verse 13 #9 Verse 13, The man that is clean and is not in a journey and forbearer to keep the Passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people, because he brought not the offering of the Lord in his appointed season. That man shall bear his sin. Now that was under the law.
We're not under law and grace. The Lord has requested our presence and he is normal Christianity, as Brother Eric has said, normal Christianity. A believer that knows the Lord Jesus as Savior is baptized and he also is at the Lord's table. He remembers the Lord in his death. That's normal Christianity. It's not normal to be a believer and not baptized, not at the Lord's table. Now, if I'm at the Lord's table, I remember the Lord Jesus and his death.
That I for bear. I say I'm upset with brother so and so, and I just don't like how the brethren are doing things whatever. And I for Bear to go. I may be robbing myself, that's true, but who am I insulting? I'm insulting the Lord himself. I'm robbing Christ. His desire is to have me in his presence. No greater delight to the heart of God than to have his own redeem with his own precious blood seeded in his presence.
As holy priests to offer sacrifices of praise and Thanksgiving and so.
Here it says because he brought not the offering of the Lord in his appointed season. So it's a serious thing in the sight of the Lord.
And Numbers 28 we get even a stronger statement, I think the 1St 2 verses The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, And notice the language here, command the children of Israel, and say unto them, Now notice here My offering, and my bread for my sacrifices.
Made by fire for a sweet savour unto me shall ye observe to offer unto me in their due seasons. Whose sacrifices are they? We think, well, there are sacrifices. We may share communion with the Lord, but there is sacrifices.
It thrills the Lord's heart, doesn't it, when we come together with sack, not just Lord, say morning, but day by day, when we're spending time in the Lord's presence.
It thrills his heart. They're his sacrifices, and so we can have communion with him regarding all the counsel of God. We've been speaking about the types of Scripture so neglected throughout the ages of Christendom. They've been opened up in our day, and when we enjoy that, we're sharing communion with the Lord regarding his sacrifices. What a tremendous privilege is ours, I sometimes think.
When we get to heaven.
We're going to have to face brethren that didn't have nearly what we had as far as knowledge goes. What are they going to say to us? I went to the stake. A man may say, for a fraction of what you knew, what did you do with what you knew? Well, you were too busy with business, you know, and too busy with this, that and the other. But I went to the steak and some of those people that went to the steak. I think if you read history, it's a wonderful thing to read church history, isn't it? Christian history?
We sometimes think, well, they must have been single men that didn't have any obligation.
You read about some that had families, some with young children, and they had to walk by those children to go to the state, knowing that their children would be impoverished when they were sacrificed on that state. But they went willingly. An alert took care of their children. They weren't just single people. I say that advisedly, but it was a great sacrifice, naturally, speaking to them. And what are we going to say to those men when we see them?
00:35:12
It's a privilege in verse 15, isn't it? It says I call you not servants. And so as you say, we've been brought into the councils of God, the knowledge of his will and the deep secrets of his heart and the Old Testament Saints, they didn't know what was really in the heart of God. He could say to them in Malachi chapter one, I have loved you, saith the Lord. And then a little bit further on, I think it's chapter 2. I, I am the Lord, I change not, but they didn't know how much.
He loved them and he says in Isaiah chapter 5, we read it this morning. What more could have been done that I have not done? They didn't know. What more could he do that there might be fruit in your life and mind, fruit for God. Well, greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. That's what they didn't know. They had a sense of it. They could have read those Old Testament scriptures. The Old Testament prophetic scriptures are divided, as we know into two parts, the sufferings of Christ.
And the glory that should follow. But they didn't understand. They were servants. David was a servant. Solomon was a servant. They called themselves servants. But you're not a servant. I'm not a servant, a son of God and heir, joint heir with Christ. And here he says, friends, so you and I have this privilege of being brought into the councils of God, and he has given us his written word to tell us all about it.
What a shame.
To face the Lord.
And to say I never read, never read the passage, never read the whole Bible right through, never read it through. And to think that he went to the effort to make it available to us and we just never read it. We never knew what those gifts were.
Those blessings in Christ, what are the great difficulties I believe we have is that we look at things from our perspective. We look at it and say, what is in it for me? Why are we here? What can I OfferUp to the Lord instead of looking at it from the Lord's standpoint? When the word I is in things too often it developed difficulties, doesn't it? And we would even come and say we're here offering the sacrifice of praise.
Well, perhaps you are with your lips, but is that a true sacrifice? We talk about sacrifices earlier on, but what really is a true sacrifice is something that should cost you something. If it doesn't cost you, it's not a sacrifice. You just going through the motion. This term will be briefly to the last chapter of second Samuel. We we find David had to make a sacrifice.
Second Samuel.
Chapter 24 And there David knows knew that he had to make a sacrifice just for time sake. I will read you that he went to Aruna the Jebusite. Verse 22 And Aruna said unto David, Let my Lord the king take and OfferUp what seemeth good unto thee. Behold, hear the oxen for burn sacrifice.
And fleshing instruments, and other instruments of the axons for word, All these things did Aruna as a king gave unto the king. And Aruna said unto the king, The Lord thy God except thee.
Isn't it nice that David needed to make a sacrifice and it was all there for him providing? Can you imagine how grandy would have looked that he could have made that burnt offering with the oxen and even using the instruments there as the firewood? But David's answer was beautiful and I believe we need to take your heart with that in verse 24. And the king said unto Aruna.
Nay, but I will surely buy it of thee at a price, neither will Ioffer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God, of that which that cost me nothing. So David Abbott, the threshing floor, and the oxen for 50 chatels of silver, If it costs us nothing, is not a sacrifice.
00:40:17
So when we offer up our offering, what does it cost you? It's not necessary money. Could it be time? Could it be there are many things in life? Could it be the fact of inconvenience that you have to stop? Would you been enjoying? What is something that cost you so that you can truly say I am making a sacrifice for the world?
I remember our brother late. Hey ho.
In Ottawa.
Times without number.
Repeating verse nine, he said You should say this verse every day of your life, as the Father hath loved me.
So have I loved you, Continue ye in my love. Don't try to love the Lord any more than you do.
That's not the the method.
Sit down and be occupied with His love to you. You look in your own heart. You see a lot of coldness.
As Eric says, you're up one day, maybe down the other.
The Lords love does not change.
And the assurance of his love for his people was given at times when you at least think it was possible.
Look in Deuteronomy. Yeah, He hath loved the people. All his Saints are in my hand. What about the way the children of Israel had acted for 40 years? Did they deserve those remarks that the love of the Lord's love to them had not changed?
No. Come to Jeremiah, chapter 31. Yeah, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore have I drawn thee. I think it is. They were just going to be taken into a captivity.
When the Lord made that remark, did His love change for them because of their sad condition? Go on to Malachiah. He starts the book of Malachiah. I have loved thee, say of the Lord, What was the condition of things in Malachiah?
It was very low. The priests wouldn't were offering animals that had defects not the best to the Lord. They wouldn't open the doors of the temple unless they were paid. The priesthood was defiled. Chapter two things were in a in devastation in the times of Malachi. That's when the Lord said I have loved you, sayeth the Lord.
His love for His people never cool down. And then there was that little company that gathered around there to speak of him as we are this weekend. They that feared the Lord spake often one to the other. And the Lord hearkened and a book of remembrance was written. You know a book of remembrance is being written for you today, the fact that you are here.
With the Lord's people over the word of God to encourage one another. That's in the book of remembrance. You got a page with your name on it. I don't think there'll be much on mine, but every act of devotedness in your life is recorded. Come down into the New Testament. Did the Lord love? Or you say the Lord must have loved Mary more than Martha, because Mary sat at his feet and heard His word, and Martha was cumbered about much serving.
Surely the Lord loved Mary more, no? You find when it speaks of the Lord Lorde love, Martha comes first. In John 12, the Lord loved Marsa. His love for Martha was. It wasn't any different to that of Mary, although she enjoyed perhaps the love of the Lord more than her sister. So it's encouraging for us brethren to know that His love never changes.
And if we're occupied with that love, the love of Christ constraineth us.
00:45:06
Here's his boys and girls here today. And I know when I was a boy I like to play with a magnet and I take the magnet and focus the sun onto a piece of leaf and maybe ignite it. I love to work with a magnet.
That verse that I'm referring to, the love of Christ constraineth us. 2nd Corinthians 5, you know the verse I'm sure it does not say the love of Christ should constrain us, Doesn't say that. It says the love of Christ constraineth us. Why? Because.
If I'm at a distance from the ward in my soul and the very truth that we are taking up in the chapter. If I'm not abiding in Christ.
I'm not enjoying eternal things. The Word of God, the fellowship of the Lord's people, I'm neglecting. As Neil and I were speaking before the meeting, am I neglecting the prayer meeting? You know, the prayer meeting, brothers, is the pulse of the assembly. Doctor Wolsten said that I couldn't express it better. The prayer meeting is the pulse of the assembly. If you take a person's pulse, you know you, the doctors pretty well know your condition of health.
Well, I've lost my train of thought.
But anyway, umm.
The point is that.
We should be enjoying the Lorde love and.
Then there will be there will be fruit, fruit in our lives that will be for the Lords, glory and praise.
Correct to say that as we are enjoying this love and.
Abiding in Him and that and that communion is sweet. That all the other relationships will be influenced, whether it be whether it's an assembly, whether it be with our spouses, with our children, with anything else, with our relationship is sweet with the Lord. All those other things will be in their right place.
And what I was going to say, Marlon, was that I didn't finish my illustration. You any boy or girl knows that the the closer the magnet comes to the the object, the greater is the the activity. So if we're close to the Lord, we're we're going to be ready to serve him.
Just a quick thought in respect to Lord Jesus, who said I do always those things that please the Father, How do we define commandments? It's those things that leads the Father. How do we find communion? It's those things that lead the Father. How do we find friendship with God? It's that which pleases the Father.
I do always those things that please the Father.
Amendments in the New Testament are different from the commandments in the Old Testament.
Somebody has summarized the difference between law and grace so simply. I appreciate it. They say in the Old Testament it was do and live in the New Testament, it's live and do. That's the difference, isn't it? We have a new life now that that gives us the desire to please the Lord. That's what was missing in the Old Testament under the law. But I just want to make a comment regarding friends again, which have a note here it says.
And friendship we enjoy the secret counsels of God and I just there's a there's a thing I've enjoyed in Ephesians 2. I've often mentioned that perhaps some have heard it before, but Ephesians 2 and verse 10 we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. I know this goes a little bit beyond our chapter because it includes the assembly and the one body and so on, but that word workmanship.
In the original is Poema.
It's where we got our word poem.
Christianity is God's home. It's the highest expression of his thoughts of blessing for the creature.
00:50:04
That's a tremendous thought, isn't it? Christianity is God's poem, and wasn't it, Mr. Hayhoe? I only remembered hearing him once, Brother John, but remember seeing him once as a young child. But he often used to say, as I recall, that in Christianity we have a mountain peak of blessing beyond which God himself could not go. Is that about right? That's right. I've heard it many times. Sure.
Vendors teen reverse 16 where it says ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you or have set you. I think is the new translation that you should go and bring forth fruit. Chosen here is the Speaking of election, isn't it? And so election is individual and you're we're just looking at diffusions and we might look at Ephesians chapter one.
Election is spoken of in different places of scripture, but it's really the same word I think. Chosen or elect. I'm not a Greek scholar at all.
But it says, according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world.
That we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. And so the fact of the matter is that He has chosen you and I as individuals, and now we find ourselves as a company of individuals that He has chosen individually to walk with Him and.
To bring forth fruit.
And so the servants of God in the Old Testament, they were chosen to be servants, you might say, and they knew what it was to serve under the law. They didn't have the motive to please the Lord. They didn't have the motive of affection for Christ. You and I do. The love of Christ constrains us.
And so here we have the truth brought out in the Lord. Jesus in John's gospel often times brings the seed plot of what Paul's doctrine is. And here he's bringing in election. It's individual. So God chose you in a past eternity before the foundation of the world. He chose you for himself.
It's a marvelous truth.
You might say just in summary, we've spoken of some of these verses, but in verse 14 we speak of really obedience. Ye are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you. So we follow His instructions. So we prove our friendship by obedience. And then a little bit further on in verse 16, we prove our friendship and our love for Him by bringing forth fruit.
And then in verse 17, we've had it as well in verse 12. But these things I command you, that ye love one another. So there are some proof, some evidence of divine life.
And so he gives this evidence of divine life, obedience to the word of God. Somebody says I'm saved, I know Christ is savior, I'm a Christian, but refuses to obey the word of God. You have right to say I don't know if you really are saved. And so if you really don't have that fruit, by their fruits you shall know them. And so there should be evidence, as James, the epistle of James brings before us, and then a love for one another.
This little expression the Lord Jesus uses, and it's used in the epistles as well one another because I love the brethren, I love them all, I love all my brothers.
But I really don't want to be in the room with this brother.
He says love one another so it's a one-on-one thing and it can be fostered. That love needs to be nurtured and love is fragile. I like Brother Haiku's little expression he uses in his.
Exposition on the Book of Ruth, he says. You know, kind words are so rare among us, you'd think they cost $10 apiece.
You know, and we need to foster love between one another and how can we do it in a marriage is kindness and love, kind words, kindness to one another, and love will be expressed. And so the Lord has expressed His love perfectly to us and we have the privilege.
Of expressing our love in practical ways.
Very important in the Christian community, especially in the assembly. Go to verse 18. If the world hate you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. And so as we live in this world and we are lights in this world, we're going to be hated. The Lord tells us to go and bring forth fruit.
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We are, we are lights in this world. We're ambassadors for Christ. We have a ministry of reconciliation. We have a job to do in this world and that takes a different forms for each of us. How we go about that. But if you do that, if you are obedient in this way, the world will hate you. It's not a real good marketing scheme to say come and follow me and the world is going to hate you and persecute you.
But it's true.
We need to be prepared that there will be persecution, there will be difficulties, there will be problems. Satan is very much against anything you do for Christ, and he's going to try to discourage you from being obedient in any form to Christ.
Tim, I wonder, you're talking about sacrifices. Is this a real sacrifice that we can offer to the Lord? Is a reproach of Christ? I think so. It's a beautiful sacrifice, isn't it?
Remember what they said about what Moses he chose rather to suffer a fiction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season of steaming the reproach of Christ, greater riches in the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect under the recompense of reward. So reproach for Christ is one of the greatest gifts, isn't it One of the greatest sacrifices we can we can OfferUp to the Lord?
And the the whole idea of a ordaining has been so misplaced in the Christian world today. If you have a gift from the Lord, that is the warrant to use it. You've been given a gift by an ascended Christ.
Only to the brothers that take part publicly as sometimes.
Mentioned No. Every person, every sister has a gift in this meeting. Now, ordination we don't find in the word of God for exercising the gift of a teacher or an evangelist or a pastor. There's no human ordination found in the Scripture. It's found in the clerical systems of Christendom. It's certainly not found in the Scriptures.
But we have been chosen and set apart to bring forth fruit for the Lord's glory, that your fruit should remain.
So there is, I know it's not the body of Christ here in John's gospel, but it's the family of God and every one of us have a service to perform for the Lord to every man his work and.
God has given you the grace unto everyone is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. You say the Lord has put me in a very difficult position. If only I could be in the place of that other brother there I could not I could navigate better. But the Lord has put you there. He's put you in the that place where you are. It may be difficult, but.
Honor the Lord where he has placed you. Serve him, serve your brethren. You know, we've been studying in Ottawa the Gospel of John, chapter one. We spent several weeks getting over chapter one. And what we've noticed, among other things, is that the Lord, the Lord of glory, never did anything to please himself. He never performed a miracle.
To make to avoid the exigencies or the demands of human life. He did for many others. He his whole life was a sacrifice for others we are so self-centered and selfish occupied with.
Our reputation or whatever it might be, something that concerns our own selfish comfort. Not like John the Baptist. He must increase, I must decrease. In the Lord's life there was never any selfishness displayed. He came down to do the will of God, but to serve to. I came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give my life a ransom for many.
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Look at as the the Baptist, he looked on while he looked on the the Lord Jesus as the Lamb of God. We know that verse well. Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. That's referring to the work the Lord would accomplish on the cross for our redemption the next day. John does not mention the work of Christ as he looked out there over the plane.
And he saw the Son of God, upon whom the heavens had opened, and God's delight was expressed. This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found all my delight. He looked upon the Lord. That's his walk, his behavior.
John looked on him. What did he say? Behold the Lamb of God.
The person of Christ was the object there of the John the Baptist. He filled his heart. He lost two of his disciples. Remember I forget was that Andrew and Peter. He lost two of his disciples. Anyway, they went and followed the Lord. That's exactly what Paul what John wanted. He wasn't disappointed his his object was to point to Christ and if he lost a couple of his disciples. Why? Well, that was the purpose of his ministry.
Should be the purpose of ours as well.
At that thought in first John chapter 3 of taking the focus off of ourselves. Verse 16 hereby precede me. The love of God because he lay down his life for us but then continues on and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren doesn't mean we necessarily need to go to the cross and nailed up and our actual physical life being but.
Lay down ourselves, our life, that it might be used of the Lord for aggression, not just for ourselves.
I've often said that the Christians motto was not I, but Christ.
That's a real secret, isn't it? And it's not just a matter of duty, but it brings real joy, doesn't it, in peace.
Christian motto is Galatians 220, not I but Christ. And it's not just a matter of duty, but it brings real joy and peace, doesn't it?
It's going to say from verse 18.
We had before us here following Christ, walking in His commandment, love one another, and then we were told that the world will be against us. And I thought from a practical standpoint to that there is actually one more condition sometimes we fall into, that is we walk partly before the Lord and we walk partly before the world, as if one foot in, one foot out so.
We might find something that will get.
A distracted with things of this world, especially the religious things. There are many things that are godly order. As we mentioned from the word of God. Even simple thing we found a society now have trouble deciding what a man and a woman is.
Now if we get caught up with the system of this world, we we would become the most unhappy people.
Satan is crafting. Satan doesn't always come and attack us in one form. He could be as a growing lion or a subtle serpent that when we lift our guard up and not have the armor of God before us, they will use whatever to discourage us. This turns to be to Revelation chapter 20.
There were three names given about Satan and that should remind us of how he works. Revelation chapter 20.
Verse two it says, and he laid hold on the dragon. That's the first name he used for him, the dragon.
That old serpent which is the devil and Satan and bound him 1000 years. Not my thought of the bounding of the 1000 years, but the names given. He was. He was called the dragon. It speaks of a dragon as his cruelty.
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That's a dragon. That old serpent speaks of his subtlety and the devil speaks of his wickedness and his name is Satan and we need to be careful. I know it's another type of all together. That's why we are told to take up the armor of God.
Just from verse 18, our time is almost, almost up. I see this meeting stops at 4:45 at 4:45.
From verse 18 down, really to the end of the chapter, maybe a little before, he's Speaking of reproach. And as I said earlier, the Lord Jesus himself gives the seed plot of the teachings of Christianity in the Gospel of John, and he teaches his disciples here that reproach.
And persecution is a normal component, the normal practice that they're the characteristic that they're going to face in Christianity because he was opposed.
And so in verse 22 he was opposed. If it if I had not come and spoken unto them, they have not had sin. So his words were rejected. And then a little further on in verse 24, if I had not done among them the works which none other man did, so his works were rejected. And then a little further on in verse 25. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled, that is written in their law. They hated me.
Without a cause. And so the words of Christ were rejected by this world, even the religious world. The works were rejected as a testimony of who He was, and then the person of Christ as he presented himself as a Messiah of Israel and the Son of God.
I'll just say this that just as a personal, you'll forgive the personal reference, but my father was saved out of Roman Catholicism as a 20 year old and he knew what normal Christianity was. Came among the Saints gathered to the Lord's name later later on in his life.
But he used to tell us as boys that, you know, you go to school and you're not swearing and you come to Sunday school, you go to the Bible meetings, that's normal. You're living a normal life. And then when you have you go to eat your meal at lunchtime at the school and you give thanks for your meal, that's normal. You're living a normal life. And So what the Lord Jesus was saying here, that if we live godly in Christ Jesus, we shall suffer persecution. That's normal.
Christianity and.
Beloved brethren, we've done everything possible to escape anything in connection with reproach or persecution. We'd rather water down the truth and escape the sharp edge of the sword. Make excuses, do whatever it's possible, but the day of suffering reproach for Christ is almost over.
We're soon to hear the shout and it's almost over. So let's be exercised about living normal Christianity, not trying to get the reproach and suffering, because we're Christians and we try to stand out. But if the reproach comes, let's accept it from the Lord.
One day at the refugee transit station in Malawi, there were 600, at least 600 people there. 300 were from Ethiopia, 300 from Somalia and a handful of Congolese.
So The Ethiopians pulled me into their big room. They wanted me to have a prayer meeting with them. Then we were preaching the gospel to them. The Muslims were outside throwing stones at the tin roof, trying to make a disturbance.
When we were finished, I was ready to leave in the Ethiopian said you can't go out there. Those people are dangerous. I showed them this verse here in verse 18. If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. I said don't worry, the Lord already knows about this and so I went outside and.
Someone had been given out calendars, Christian calendars and the the Ethiopian or the Somalians had torn them all up and throw them and throwing them in my face.
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I picked him up off the ground all torn up and I looked at the at the group and I shook my finger at them and I pointed to God up in heaven. I said, Jesus loves you. I didn't know their language. They didn't know mine, but they got the message. They all turned and looked at their leader. The next day I came back to bring some food to some of the Congolese and on my way out there are 200.
Somalians standing in the driveway, in the roadway, they wouldn't let me through. As I tried to get out, their leader came up to their door, stuck his finger in the window, and he said to everybody else in a disdainful voice, Christian.
I said, yes, I am a Christian and I'm happy that the Lord Jesus died for you too and you could be a Christian too. He said get out of here. And the crowd of people spread out like the Red Sea and I was able to drive out through the crowd. This world hates Jesus. They hated him without a cause and they will hate you too.
But it's a beautiful sacrifice offered up to God, isn't it?
To share his reproach.
His blood, his name, his reproach.
What a privilege.
117.
117.
Not to ourselves. We all like we.
Are watching.
The world.
Let's get it on the sunlight give you heart.