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Why am I allowed close that's waiting on?
I started running on our sunlight and.
I'm free, no blood when heart spreads drying.
To stay.
My gracious.
Mum, our earth leaned by. I received so it's good.
And neurology.
15 projects and whatever you're going to do about it, that's very.
So, you know, uh, I had to go out and I was about to stand on that. I don't know, I'm pretty flowers.
Our God and our Father, umm, if we start this meeting, we give thanks for what we've had so far in these meetings, yes.
And, uh, I think of the wide variety of needs and conditions and spiritual states that are here and, uh, whether there's some here that have their hearts on fire that are earnestly attractive, like marrying, but they're those that are searching, like here, John worth the tomb. Whether there's those that need to be restored like Peter out in the lake and whether someone is doubting like Thomas. Father, whatever the needs are to give thanks that you are more than able to meet them through your Holy Spirit. So we pray for.
Help for each person that participates this afternoon that they would follow the leading of your spirit and the things that they say. The questions that are asked, the answers that are given is.
We pray that, uh, the rest of us that listen, that, uh, we would really listen with our hearts, that we would be willing to, uh, hear what you would say to us from your word and by your spirit and we ask for help and count on the blessing in Jesus precious name, Amen.
The burden on my heart would be to begin at verse 26, just thinking about verse, the grace, you know, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. And often we come to appreciate it the most when there's failure. And so we see that in the case of promise and then on in these next verses of chapter 21.
So maybe a breakdown Diverse 14 in chapter 21.
Or read the whole thing. I think we can send another 30 seconds and read the the whole chapter.
00:05:06
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach, hit her thy finger, and behold my hand. And reach, hit her thy hand, and thrust it into my side. And be not faithless, but believing.
And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God, Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through his name.
After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias, and on this wise showed he himself. There were together Simon Peter and Thomas called Didymus and Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee and two other of his disciples. Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth and entered into a ship immediately, and that night they caught nothing.
And when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore. And now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciples whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now in Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, He girt his Fisher's coat about him.
For he was naked, and did cast himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship, where they were not far from land, but as it were 200 cubits, dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid there on. And bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.
Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land full of great fishes, and hundreds, and 50 and three, and for all. There were so many, yet was not the net broken? Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine, and none of the disciples durst asked him, Who art thou? Knowing that it was the Lord? Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus showed Himself to his disciples. After that he was risen from the dead.
So when they had dying, Jesus saith to Simon Peter. Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto them. Yeah, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time. Simon son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yeah, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time.
Simon, son of Jonas, love a style me.
Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things, Thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep, Verily, verily, I stand to thee. When thou is young, thou girdest thyself, and walketh whither thou woods. But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldst not this fakie signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.
Then Peter turning about, see if the disciple whom Jesus loved following, which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter, seeing him, saith to Jesus, Lord, And what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tear it, shall I come? What is that to thee? Follow thou me. Then went the saying abroad among the brethren, that this disciple should not die. Yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die.
But if I will that he carries tarry till I come, what is that to be? This is the disciple which testifies of these things, and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written everyone, I suppose, that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written in them.
00:10:05
It's gone verse 24 this morning.
That Thomas was not there.
The first time the Lord Jesus appeared to his disciples.
Your wrist and then we find that verse 26, after eight days he was there.
And it's very instructive, I believe, to see.
What the words used to, to change Thomas's, uh, attitude or his, his thinking in verse 25, we read, we read that the disciples, the other disciples said to Thomas, we have seen the worst. They didn't say, why weren't you there yesterday? Or why not? You know, why didn't you come?
They just said we've seen the word.
And then when I was young, growing up in Montreal, I, I think fans will excuse me.
For referring to his, uh, great grandfather, 30 Lakefield.
If you, if you missed a meeting, a reading meeting back in those days, you would probably get a letter from Ernie Wakefield in the mail. Umm, not saying where were you, why weren't you at the meeting, but just telling us, telling, telling me. In some cases I got a letter like that.
Telling me what I had missed, what they had enjoyed, what had been enjoyed in the assembly.
In, in the, in that assembly reading, reading about Tuesday, right? So I believe it. That was what Ernie was doing. He was saying, we've seen the word. This is what we've enjoyed.
And I believe that that that.
That attitude, that way of encouraging somebody who might not be coming to the meetings regularly.
That way it works.
Drawn by the course above as well. Yeah, if we can, if we who have been at the assembly meetings.
Can really honestly say that we've seen the word and we've enjoyed the word and share something with the with the brother and sister like that. We see here that it worked because the next week Thomas was there. He may not have had all those questions answered and and for another verse or so. And so the Lord himself spoke to him, but he was there.
It's very significant that the Lord appeared to his disciples.
Two times in a row, uh, Lord's day, first day of the week. So first time was here in verse 19 on that resurrection day. And then on the 26th, he, uh, in verse 26, eight days after, it's really another Lord's day, He appeared unto the his disciples, He stood in the midst and said peace unto you. And then we have a little bit later on in Acts chapter 20.
Uh, the, uh, Apostle Paul and uh, he was uh, there in Trollis and Acts chapter 20, verse seven, it says upon the first day of the week when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them ready to depart on the Morrow and continue to speech until midnight. There is a prophetic element to that passage, but we'll just touch on it that uh, uh, it's the first day of the week.
They came into the presence of the Lord. They didn't come into the presence of Paul to hear, uh, a sermon or anything like that. It was after, I believe the breaking of bread that Paul had a little ministry and he had liberty there to be able to speak. And, uh, he was an apostle. It was the last time perhaps that he was going to be there. And he preached till midnight, said prophetically speaking, he's, he preached. Paul's doctrine was heard in the large upper room until.
The Dark Ages until the darkness of Roman Catholicism.
Enveloped the Christian profession, but it's significant that the first day of the week is that which is most prominent in Christianity and brother chapter Brown I never met him, but being very thankful to be able to listen to some of his ministry and recorded ministry used to say that every single assembly meeting that I miss, I miss something that God had in mind for me that the Spirit of God would have brought before me something that would have been for my prophet for my blessing, for my enjoyment.
00:15:19
Every single meeting that I miss, I missed the opportunity to be in the presence of the Lord himself. And the Spirit of God was not able to bring before me that which I needed to have. And that would have really, uh, been a blessing to me. But more than that, that I miss being in the presence of the Lord. He didn't get his portion. He didn't have me in his presence. And so we need to be exercised about this, these passages of Scripture.
Are prophetic in some sense as brother Bill brought before us that it's in a future day. The godly remnant of Israel and police Steve mentioned as well that the godly remnant of Israel will see and believe. They'll see Christ, they'll see the Messiah and they'll believe. But for you and I we believe by faith and we have a blessing we have the Lord has a portion for us if we'll be diligent in our responsibility to be found in his presence.
That all of the assembly meetings.
In Romans chapter 5, verse 20.
We have a principle brought out into the ways of God. Japan.
The last part is particularly What I would like to emphasize is reading the whole verse. More over the law answers that the offense might abound.
But we're then abounded great and much more abound. And so we can trace through the history of God with man. We look at the Garden of Eden and soil that garden then came in. So at the end of God's ways of man, he's going to bring him into a far better place in the garden that was lost in man's failure. And if you replace that, you cannot spoil. You see failure under.
Under the the conscience the failure in every every possible way that manifesting net rate over a balance.
And God's ways are no different than no different with us now until it was mentioned in the last meeting about those who were older.
If they had a chance that they hadn't used that time, they should have. The grace of God is not limited. And so we have with we have with Thomas here. He missed the blessing.
The great overbound at this the same scenario. We sat up again, though it was a week later.
Promises there Thomas received that lasting the Lord taking special care directly forth on us. Reach it with thy finger. It holds my hand reach it with thy hand and thrust into my side. Grace down the Lord didn't the Lord didn't punish promise because he wasn't there. He he gave more grace he he showed more grace and for myself and I'm sure many in this room will say the same. Often those signs were most appreciate the Lord's love.
Going forward, as our our after times move with easy sales, we feel our wretchedness.
Realize it only brings fresh opportunity to bring thought to shown.
Attending the meeting.
It's not a matter of continuing.
The Lord is there in this. What did they say?
Definite and spirit, all right, and we speak a verse, have to walk around. We read a verse. The joy of your Lord is your strength. I guess we all know that and we all apply it to ourselves, which I'm not objecting to. But if you see the true force of that verse, the joy of the Lord is your strength.
It's the joy that the Lord has to see us gather. It's an illustrator here. I'm invited out for supper to Howard. Howard.
00:20:04
And all right.
And, uh, the weather is terrible. I feel dead tired after a hard day's work. I called him up and I say, Howard, I'm sorry that I cannot come here. We get just all power except I'm, I'm so disappointed and, and we were expecting you. We're longing to see you right away. I get spiritual strength. Well, I said it, that's the case.
Inclement weather or whatever.
I'm going.
And the fact that He wants, they want to have him there gives me strength to go on. We go on. And so we often focus upon our joy, which is all right. But remember, and it's been brought out already that the Lord has support. And when He sees us, Gather your sisters here. How much part do you take in the meeting?
Well, that's not exactly correct. The sisters have a very important contribution to the need with your spiritual state. You're a priest as well as the brothers. The spiritual state affects the whole being. That goes for everyone. For your sisters, be encouraged will be a reward for your presence at this meeting here today.
And every meeting, every meeting that you missed, all eternity, never be able to regain. You've lost something that can never be regained. May God bless you.
Thomas did his house, Did he? What did he miss out on?
This is since the Lord is here, and say, Peace be unto you.
Well, if you missed out on the message that Mary brought.
Hold the disciples.
It wasn't part of that. And that really brings the force, our association with Christ, one in life and nature with Him.
His Father not our fault, His not our fault, missed out on receiving Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is the power of that new life, enjoyment of divine person and fellowship with God Father, God's Father.
He, uh, missed out on that Commission that the father sent me to somebody and missed out on that again.
And so really.
Though he very peace for him too.
He has the privileges that are pictured here of the Christian position.
And so it was a real in that way, a loss as pictures here.
Umm, again, we're only speaking as a picture.
Personally and uh, came into sort of all of those things that belong to through umm.
Christian and, uh, presence of sensation. But in the picture here, he missed out.
And get the remnant of Israel to other purpose. They're going to be blessed in thee and they're going to know that the peace that they have with God is on the same foundation as what people.
They're going to be surprised. We're going to need wounds in that hand.
And uh, so it's umm, but.
Just like Nathaniel Bowles, the Lord said that he saw him under the fig tree. So what's the first word that the Lord said here after?
Throughout, the thief is to put his finger right on something common. That said, when the Lord wasn't there, it's very much identified or complete.
So all things so he says, my Lord, and.
And this world will come to say that in the coming days, just like the famous said my God in 19.
Realization that this is a blessing that is theirs, but they wanted to sign. They demanded that the Lord assign it was fine. Show us now. Well, they're going to get a sign to come into the sunlight. We're going to get a sign when they see this hands, here's the sign. They're going to be just overwhelmed by the signs that they think.
00:25:18
So there's a.
No loss, you might say for Thomas, but nonetheless, uh, as with Israel, there was a loss and they're refusing to believe, but they're yet going to come in blessing. The Lord has a little word because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. That's what Israel's belief is gonna be based on seeing, seeing.
But for us, it's faith without having seen we believe. And, uh, there is a greater blessing for that.
Truth. It was very emotional, Uh.
Find.
It's a nice confession that he makes. Really, my Lord.
Oh my God. And brother Norman Berry used to have that little expression that he would say that the day that you got saved, you gave up your right to choose.
You acknowledged Christ as your Savior, but you also acknowledged Him as Lord.
You gave up your right to choose to direct your life. It's now do you look to the Lord to direct your life. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And so Thomas acknowledged Christ as Lord, his Lord and my God. He recognized the beauty of Christ. And so you'll have those that come to your door and say that he is not God, that he said he is a God, and all those sorts sort of things. This is one of the scriptures that you can use.
To that teaches the deity of Christ that he is God.
And right from John's Gospel chapter one to the last of the verses in chapter 21.
John presents Christ as the Son of God. God himself is eternal. He is the eternality and His.
Distinct personality in the Godhead. So it's a little word to us as well, isn't it? Do acknowledge the Lord Jesus as Lord. Do we get up in the morning and acknowledge Him? Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And do we give him that first place?
Well, it's nice to hear that until I see.
And it reminds me of Mary and how she didn't see him in the garden there until she heard his voice. And maybe she was a little off, but maybe Thomas was a little further off yet again. And he said, until I see, except I shall see in his hands the Prince of the Nails, and put my finger into the Prince of the nails and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
Mr. Kemp mentioned about.
Each one of us as we come into meeting.
And my wife has written on a piece of paper here that it is our privilege to come into his presence, and I believe somebody said that already.
And so when we consider what we've been brought into and it is a privilege to have that we should want to be there and the women were mentioned, but we could mention the children too, says every joint supply and so.
With these.
I guess I'm considering how I was, if I can say that, and I'm considering that I didn't go to meetings through the week.
And I'm considering that I was missing out. But ones would come and they would say, you know, your seat was empty and we missed you. And maybe I had something to provide in the way of encouragement to those ones. Thomas surely must have had something for them. They missed him. And they told him. They gave him an update.
And so.
A brother came to me and he said that you need to be out for the week night meetings with your wife and with your children.
And he told me repeatedly, week after week, that you need to be out the week night meetings with your wife and with your children.
00:30:08
Sometimes I would golf, sometimes my wife would go. It was never a.
All family going, and so with one there or the other, somebody was missing out.
And so when you go and when you take your children, when you go with your wife.
It's just collective.
Union is a part of that marriage, it's a part of the growth and learning the things that the Lord has for you and He wants to prove it. Thomas listed all those things while until this and until that. Maybe you do that. Maybe that's why you don't go to the meet week night meeting. Maybe you have a whole list of reasons.
But the Lord wants to prove himself to He proves himself more and more. I think of, uh, if it's OK to go back to Judges with Gideon, with the fleece.
He says, oh, I know, but if you would just do this too and just prove this to me. And the Lord did it. He proved it to him and he proved it to Thomas here, doesn't he? And then Thomas says in verse 28, my Lord and my God has been pointed out.
And so there's that great beginning.
Has been mentioned time and again to us.
And maybe you're just like Thomas.
Missing out.
But if your eyes were open.
You could see.
Two would say my Lord and my God.
It might just clarify that for the church we don't look for signs, do we? There are no signs for the coming of the Lord. We're not given signs. And so here it was proper Jewish hope, you might say, and that says many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples. But the church had not yet been formed. And so it was proper to Judaism that they would have a sign and they looked for signs.
And the Lord in his ministry umm in the Gospels speaks of signs.
Of his appearing and what would take place in the, in the book of Daniel, in the, uh, uh, some of the prophetic scriptures, he speaks of some of the things that would indicate that his appearing was very near.
And but when it comes to the rapture he speaks of umm.
Is coming in as a person for his bride, for his church and there are indications for us as we read the scriptures indications that the coming of the Lord is very near, but there are no signs. He doesn't give us a sign, but we can see by reading the prophetic scriptures that the state of things would be such that they would men and women would be living as if it was in in immorality. Let's read in Matthew's Gospel chapter 12.
So that we don't.
Mix the sauce here.
Umm, I'm missing uh.
Chapter 11. It's verse 20.
Chapter 11 of Matthew, verse 20. Then began he upgrade the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not. Woe unto thee, Quraizen, woe unto thee beside a For if the mighty works which were done in thee, you had been done in tire inside, and they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for tire anxiety in the day of judgment than for you and thou, Capernaum, which are exalted unto heaven.
Shall be brought down to hell. For if the mighty works which had been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained unto this day. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee.
At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank the Father, oh Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because I was hid these things from the wise and prudent and has revealed them under babes and then he begins to take up things really the nation the common people at at rejected him as Savior and rejected him as the Messiah. Chapter 12.
Chapter 12. The leadership of Israel.
Mentioned already verse 24 Beels above the Prince of the devils. And then he speaks of, uh, the character of things In chapter 13. He goes over those seven similitudes of the Kingdom or the fir, the first ones, uh, uh, parable perhaps. And then you have the, uh, 6 milliliters of the Kingdom. He gives indications as to the nearness of the coming, uh, of the appearing in chapter 24, chapter 25, he goes over the prophetic elements of uh.
00:35:19
The teachings from a prophetic point of view in Matthew's Gospel and how what would take place at the appearing and so we have a little indication of what those things that though that time is drawing near. So the church doesn't have signs about the Lord's coming, but has the indications that the coming is near.
Beautiful that we have a promise from the Lord himself in John 14. I will come again so even though.
We don't have a sign as to when.
He we have the promise I will, and that's.
An indisputable promise. There's nothing that's going to change that. And then when Paul speaks about the rapture in umm Thessalonians, he says the Lord shall descend from heaven. It's a it's, it's a definite event which is going to happen and it could happen.
Right now, this afternoon, before this meeting is ended.
So we have that promise and we are to be. We should be expecting it every day.
We might just notice too, that the Lord gives the seed plot in connection with the coming of the Lord in John's Gospel chapter 14, those first three or four verses, but he doesn't give any details. He says I'm coming back again, I'm going to return. But we he leaves it to the apostle Paul because it's a part of church doctrine. He leaves it to the apostle Paul to teach the details of what's going to take place at the rapture.
How the sequence of events, you might say first Thessalonians chapter 4 and then in, uh, well, Philippians chapter 3 verses 2021, he speaks of it. There's going to be a sequence of events that's going to take place. There's going to be a change that takes place. It's Paul's doctrine, Paul the apostle teaches that change and how we are a part of that new creation race, but he doesn't teach that there's signs to wait for that coming and so.
Here it's really just a seed plot given in John's gospel in connection with his coming.
We're here. Why? The signs are written that you might believe one, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. But go back to, uh, Matthew 22.
When the Lord brought this matter before the Pharisees.
Matthew 22 and verse 41. While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, What think ye of Christ, whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. He said unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord or Jehovah said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. If David, then call him Lord, how is he his Son? And no man was able to answer him. A word neither endures any man from that day forth. Ask him.
Any more questions and those two points have to be realized, don't they, that Jesus was David's son, that is the Messiah, but he's also David's Lord, He is Jehovah. They have to recognize he's not only the anointed one, he is God himself, and that was he is the root and the offspring.
Of David.
As deity and his his Messiahship as the King of Israel.
Yeah, the reason the book was written, and John's Gospel is unique in that it was written after the inroads of, of wicked doctrines as to the person of Christ. So when the Lord found, uh, John, what was he doing when he called him? He was mending that. And really that's John's ministry is those inroads of evil doctrine.
00:40:14
Had, uh, have you might say, put rent in the net?
And, uh, so he was given, uh, the job to fix those things, to make those repairs needed repairs. And uh, especially Gnosticism had come in and there was a denial as to both of those truths, the Lord Jesus being Messiah and Son of God. So in his epistle, umm.
First, John, you get that in chapter 2.
And verse 22.
Who is a liar or the liar?
But he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ.
There's his messiahship, that's Jewish apostasy. Or deny that Jesus is the Christ, he is Antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son. That's the full revelation of the Father and the Son, Christian truth. And so the liar is the Antichrist and he's the head of.
Not only Jewish apostasy, but Christian apostasy as well. And so those are two things that John touches on very strongly. And that's why this gospel brings out so much of that aspect our brother touched on and his address, the divine person of the Son of God in this gospel. It's interesting that the Lord Jesus calls himself throughout the Gospels by many different titles and if you add them all.
Up. He calls himself Son of Man more than all of them. And if you put them all together, he still calls himself Son of Man more than all put together. And you go to Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And it's the same with each of those gospels. He calls himself Son of Man more than any other title except John.
With John, he just calls himself the Son. It's fitting to that gospel because it presents him as the divine Son, Son of the Father from all eternity.
Might take us on to.
Chapter one. Verse three. To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion, by many infallible proofs.
Being seen within 40 days and Speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God, the resurrection was fully attested to thorough, uh, witness, uh, was had to the risen Son of God. And uh, even by any of man's standards by which he judges, whether a historical fact is accurate or not, there is nothing so fully testified to as to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And the apostle Paul received it by revelation. It says in first Corinthians 15 verse three, I have delivered unto you. First of all, last week I also received He got this by revelation. How that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he rose again third day according to the Scriptures, and that he was seen of Cephas. Then of the 12 after that he was seen of above 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain.
Under this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles, and last of all he was seen of me also as of one born out of due time, for I am the least of the apostles.
And so there was the evidence of resurrection and it's one of the things that is unique to Christianity is the teaching of resurrection. There is a resurrection and the Lord himself taught of the resurrection of the just and the resurrection of the damned. And this is the really one of the things that is characteristic. So verse one of the next chapter after these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias and on this wise.
Showed he himself. So it's wonderful the, uh, desire of the Lord to reveal himself to his disciples. Now they saw him physically, but you and I can have a glimpse of Christ himself, a glimpse of himself in his glory, a glimpse of his grace, a glimpse of his moral glories as we read the stories of himself in the Gospels. It's one of the things that is.
00:45:11
Characteristic of the Lord Jesus as arisen man, he desires to give a revelation of himself to his own.
We know that.
The first one that came out in his own power and rose from the dead. But the church is called the Church of the first born. Now that does not refer to the war cast. That mistake is made sometimes the Church of the first born.
Means us. We are the we are the first born in one. That is a term of, uh, the Old Testament Saints were not in that category, but we are.
Chapter 12.
The Church of the First Born Ones is a correct translation. There we are in a special place of nearness to the Lord.
Lord is the first born.
First form doesn't be referred to. 1St order is the first warning from the dead, first born in the blood. So we are going into that place of the enemy as the As.
The body of Christ. So that's not the result of God. No, in dawn it is the family, which is always intense. But we do have the light, of course.
We have the life of us.
Oliva.
Well, that's the same life as the Lord Jesus has and it's the life in One Direction and eternal life in John is something that the Old Testament saying did not happen. Eternal life in John, John Scott says we are studying, is a life that has intelligence. It's a life the characters dependent upon the death and resurrection of Christ, the different characters of life.
Monte is a different light, the different character of life, than the old questions and facts.
By the way.
The Spirit of God dwells in.
But we have the life of Christ. Lord, don't thank you. I don't think it's life going to be corrected. I don't think it's right to say that Christmas person.
Yes, in Colossians it says Christ in you, the hope of glory, but that's really the display of Christ, the character of Christ in the believer coming out and so.
We're not indwelled by two persons of the Godhead, we're indwelled with the Spirit of God, but we are, as we are occupied with that, blessed 1 The moral features of Christ are formed in the believer, and Christ is seen in this world.
As the believer walks in fellowship and communion with God, and so that's the responsibility that we have, is to walk with Christ and to display his character.
The overview of this chapter 21 That umm in the Jewish system, the Levitical priesthood and the ironic priesthood, but really the whole tribe of Levi were involved in the service of the Lord. Only the tribe of Levi and the high priest came in once every year, not without blood, and he was afraid every time he went. But in Christianity, we're all priests unto our God.
Every one of us and we might just read it as we consider this passage. Hebrews chapter 13 and umm, just at the end of the.
Chapter it says uh.
Verse 15 By Him therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
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And so you and I are priests, a Kingdom of priests, and our sacrifices are not physical sacrifices. They are sacrifices of praise and Thanksgiving to his name. And so everyone of us comes into the presence of the Lord. We have the privilege of coming into the presence of the Lord without any fear. And so instead of the Levitical priesthood being presented to us in a sense in chapter 21, he's presenting to us the truth that there's a transition from Levitical priesthood and Levitical service to the service of Christianity. Now we serve the Lord Jesus as those that are sons, those that are brought into relationship with him.
As family, as it were, and umm, so we're indwelled with the Spirit of God and we have intelligence. And so instead of the priest going to Aaron and Aaron giving every priest his work to do, we go to the Lord and the Lord gives us the work to do. So he says in verse 15, uh, feed my lambs, and then in verse 16, feed my sheep or shepherd my sheep, and then in verse 17, feed my sheep.
So that the work we are to do for the Lord as those that are called to do a little work for him, every one of us, none of us is exempt. He gives us that work of service for himself, in intelligence, affection for himself. And so there's that transition that was going on in John's Gospel chapter 21 from Levitical service to service of the Master in a different relationship.
In his next account here in chapter 21, you see the Lord's grace again being shown.
It's quite Marco's bowling. Peter was commissioned. Initially it was the Fisher demand and here we see him reverting to old habits.
Come in, whatever the case may have been, and here, he says, I go fishing.
And this is this is a very.
Sobering 4 should consider Peter makes the decision to do something and you said you count.
Daniel in Galilee, one just in Rusev, the sons of W 232 other disciples 4-5.
And Tory Thomas, uh, Thomas Paul didn't have fixed and Peter 7 that's that if you do the ratio of that seven out of 11. And so something around 65% of the disciples are drawn away because either one will go fishing.
And what does the Lord do? The department just fall as Peter.
And and just say, what are you doing? You may have asked you denied me did it and did that you did the other that's off in a way of a way of nature. Thou therefore my Son strong and embracing Jesus.
For you know the grace of.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, if if in the Gospels as we as we trace his ways as we as we come to trace his ways personally in our lives where you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. So it's touching as we see him here. He allows him to waste a lot of time.
It's about a whole night. Either have that occasion once before in his life at least.
The Lord worked in a very similar way to Lord Peter's heart. He works to address Peter and his responsibility in beating the other cycles away, but he works to draw the facts himself.
We we live in times where there's a lot of failures, a lot of weakness, and yet.
See, the Lord wants to store goals to restore my soul.
So we see him working and and.
Cycles are brought back to refocus to redirect it.
Is that that treatment is how the word works, even when when the course of March on, it's not. It's not at this direction.
Garden Town we have Umm Norman 13. The night is far spent and the hymn that we sing the days at the end of year exists all night and they caught nothing.
Warning the first pore. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore, But the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. And Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye 80 meat?
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Call.
Verse 30 and 31 are kind of a little break.
You might have a little pause and it, but it picks up again and, uh, in the beginning of chapter 21. So we've had an unbelieving believer with Thomas and he says, no, I want you to be believing believers. And then he goes on because then Thomas has that little picture of the remnant, uh, restored. There's a pledge there in that sense that he is going to restore Israel. They missed out, yes, on Christian blessing, but they didn't miss out altogether. They're not going to miss out altogether.
He will yet restore them. And so when we come to chapter 21 and those first verses, maybe 14 verses, uh, really lay out a little millennial picture.
And, uh, so I think the night is far past. There is not so much with our hope and expectation of the Lord's return as it is the night of the tribulation. And you know, they toiled all night and there was no, no results from their, their laborers.
And so in a certain sense, Israel is going to toil through the tribulation and nothing is going to be produced. But when the Lord comes and he restores that relationship, and that's what you see. You see the relationship that the Lord had at the beginning and the Synoptic gospels, uh, Matthew, Mark and Luke, where he calls the disciples and they're fishing and they forsake all.
And follow the Lord. It's like he just like goes back again. We're going to go all the way back to the beginning now.
And you blew it. So to say, We're going to start all over. We're going to start all over. Only this time it's not going to be dependent on you. It's all going to be dependent on me.
And so there's a renewal of that relationship, so to speak, that's going to take place with Israel. But the Lord is going to make sure they don't fail this time. They're going to be the elect and preserved by him and go on into millennial blessing. And that's in those first 14 verses, what's pictured in various details.
Some of the things that are similar, I think if we go down through them, we can sort of see them, you know, interesting to look at.
There we get the, uh, Lord shows himself to the disciples by the seaside. We think of the different ones he called there they were by the Oceanside when he called them, some ending their Nets, some casting their Nets in, you know. And so here he is again by the shore and uh, is uh.
Brother pointed out. How many are there? 7/7 fishers this time is perfection. It's completeness. The whole picture here is gonna be perfection. And so when, umm, he tells them to cast the net on the right side of the ship, that reminds us of how he told the disciples to let down their Nets before, you know. And what did they do? They drew in that tremendous hall of fishes.
And what happened? Well, the ship began to sink, and that was broken. You know, things were getting to be a real tangle. None of that here. No breaking of a net.
Nothing's lost of what they caught. There's no sinking ship. Everything's in perfection. And it's so. It's that millennial day that's pictured to us. You know, the gospel is gonna go out again. That gospel never said the gospel. That Messiah is here and he's reigning in Jerusalem and calling all, so to speak, to acknowledge him and to worship him. And Israel is going to have the blessing of carrying that out to the whole world.
And it's gonna be all dependent on the Lord. There's gonna be no fault with it. There's gonna be no problems with it. They're not gonna gather in the net like we have in, in, uh, Matthew 13. Oh, there's bad fish in here. Throw them on the shore, put the good ones in vessels. None of that. Every single fish drawn to shore here is a good fish. Every single 1. So it's a, it's a picture of millennial perfection and all dependent upon him and his renewal of his relationship.
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With Israel. And at first they don't recognize them, do they? Who is this? He says, children, have you any meat? They answer so sharply, you know, they don't recognize him. At first he wasn't that far away, but they don't. And so they have to be brought to recognize him. What a day that's going to be when he comes again and they realize who he is and they recognize him for the first time.
David could speak of that day coming Kingdom as a morning without clouds. A lot of clouds, a lot of darkness as they go through. But son of righteousness will arise with healing in his wings.
I'd like to add this to.
Practical.
Word, how the Lord asked them the question, children, have you any meat? He knew they didn't have any meat, but he wanted them to admit it and to confess it, that their, their, uh, fishing trip was for naughty. But, uh, I'd like to apply it in a little different way. They had to acknowledge that for all their laborers, they had no meat.
But there is something too, as we.
Would, uh, visit with one another? Do we have any meats? Do we have anything to share? Uh, the scriptures, they didn't have any for themselves. We don't have it for ourselves. We don't have it for anyone else. But I think it's a good word for us too. Do we not only do we have something for ourselves, we have something to share to others. Do we have any meat to share?
Well, the blessings to Christianity under Christianity is broad. The Jews, if someone during the, uh, Jewish era had wanted a blessing and needed to go to Jerusalem and that was the place where they had the word of God, they had the law, they had God's revelation and connection with the word of God. But in Christianity, the truth goes out to every nation. And so someone has pointed out that in Genesis chapter 10, Chapter 11.
You have 153 nations includes Abraham's family, but I've never really counted them all up but it looks like there's 153. So the bro, the blessing will go out and has gone out throughout the whole world in under Christianity. But in the future too prophetically, the world will be blessed. The earth will be blessed, all of the earth that says figuratively speaking in Isaiah, the trees will clap their hands. The whole earth will be blessed as a result of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
And there's going to be restoration. You know, some have suggested one of the writers says, you know, chapter 21 really is written. The Spirit of God has written of the restoration of Peter. We could just take this up and just read about the restoration of Peter and how God restores the soul. And so God was interested in that disciple and he was a prominent disciple. So the apostle to the.
Circumcision.
Is the first one that's listed in verse 2, The second one that's listed in verse two is Thomas. A little picture of the remnant, the godly remnant that we'll want to see a sign and will be restored. So God restores individuals. Isn't it the grace of God to restore individuals? And He knows how to bend the knee. If you're a rebel in your heart, God knows how to tame and bend the knee.
And he's in the business of bending knees and he knows how to bend the knees and he will bend the knees in his time and he will bring you to repentance and restoration. And so this is, uh, a little picture that we have of God's interest in Peter. Peter would never have been restored, never have been, uh, any, any, uh, recovery on Peter's part apart from the advocacy of Christ. So we have that truth given a little bit further on in, uh.
First John. We might just, uh, consider it at this point. First John. Chapter 2.
It's John's ministry, as you say, he's mending the Nets. He's telling us how.
To mend the Nets and how God mends the Nets.
Verse Chapter one. Verse 9.
Well, let's read verse eight. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in US.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in US. My little children, these things right eye unto you that ye sin not if any man sin. We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. So it's not a part of the family character to sin. You have a new life. You have the very life of Christ. You're indwelled with the Spirit of God. You believe in the Lord Jesus as your Savior. You know God is your Father.
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You believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
You have a new relationship, you're a son, you're brought into a relationship with him and it's not a part of that character of the son, the sin. But if you do, you step out of character. And if you sin, you have an advocate with the Father. The Lord Jesus prays for you as an advocate. He prays for you. And uh, the reason that you do get restored is that Christ has prayed for you.
And that he is working to restore you. We cannot restore ourselves.
And so he would have this little picture given to us in connection with Peter, of the restoring work of Christ. He's on high as our great high priest. He's interceding it for us in our weakness. But if we sin, he advocates for us. He prays for us that we might turn and that we might be restored. We cannot save ourselves, we cannot keep ourselves, and we cannot restore ourselves. We need Christ.
22nd Some we get a little.
Picture that kind of is similar in some ways to what we have in these two chapters. We get the Lord raised from the dead after His sufferings. Verse 21 Saved me from the lion's mouth, for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. And so he appeared to his own in that upper room declared the Father's name.
And that he would send them in the father's name. And really he is the leader of their joy and praise in that sense. And so it's a little picture of a present blessing that, uh, we have. He's in the midst of the congregation. And then he goes on and he speaks of a great congregation in verse 25. My praise shall be of the in the great congregation. I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
That.
Is the great congregation really of a millennial day when the Lord is going to come and bring in the good of all the promises of God made in the Old Testament, those prophetic, uh, utterances of blessing, uh, that will not only be the restoration of Israel, but go out to blessing and the whole earth. But this is what I wanted to look at verse 28. For the Kingdom is the Lord's and he is the governor among the nations all day that be fat upon the earth.
Shall even worship all the way that go down to the dust, shall bow before him, and none can keep alive his own soul.
Most of Christianity, the thought has been that it's going to be through man's efforts, he's going to bring in the Kingdom.
But like the little picture we have here in the beginning of chapter 21.
It's going to be manifest that they could produce nothing. It's going to be the Lord that brings in the blessing. He's going to be the one that brings in the blessing to the whole earth. None can keep alive his own soul. And the millennial day, it's going to be evident that all is sustained by the Lord, that all the blessing comes from the Lord, that He's the one that is doing it all. So he tells them, cast the net and they're the haul of fishes.
Brings him in and what does he have? He has something already on the shore that wasn't even their efforts, but he says now bring what you've caught too. We, we're going to enjoy your laborers as well and brings them in together. He still does that today with us, doesn't he? You know, we see it's his work and, uh, yet we get the privilege of laboring for him. And he says, now I want to eat the fruit of your laborers too. And so he has that which he's provided and he wants us to enjoy what he might use us for.
In his service.
But it's going to be evident that all is based upon him and his power alone.
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Found that the nations will be blessed with Israel in that day and I know it's a little bit different than what we're discussing, but I think it's important to to notice the distinction between the Gentiles blessed in that day and how they are blessed today. Just turn to Acts 15 for a couple scriptures.
This is the great discussion as it related to.
The laws applying the circumcision applying to the Gentiles that Paul and Barnabas, they went up to Jerusalem. Read verse 2.
I went there, for Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension in disputation with them. They determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain other of them should go up to Jerusalem under the apostles and elders about this question.
And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Finesse and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles, or it should be relating the conversion of those of the nations.
And they cause great joy into all the people. Now drop down to verse.
14 When James speaks, he says Simeon or Peter hath declared how God is the first to visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. In the coming day the Gentiles will be blessed as nations with Israel today. They're not being blessed that way. We sometimes speak of Christian lands. That's not scriptural. There is no scriptural land. The Christian lands scripturally the order of Christianity as God is taking out of the nations.
A people for himself, conversion of those among the nations. So God and a nation, Israel and now Gentiles, those of Gentiles which we largely are of been taken out of the nation. Ephesians brings us into the truth of Jew and Gentile brought into one body. But I believe it's important distinction that today God is taking out from the nations or out from the Gentiles a people for himself forming into one body ju and Gentile. But in that millennial day it will be the conversion of the nations. They will be blessed as nations.
With Israel, not as individuals.
As it is today and again it's Jew, Gentile and Church of God that God is taking out of the Jews and the Gentiles and forming one body for himself.
It's interesting to notice the order here. Scripture is very orderly and you have this expression that the Lord Jesus uses in verse 12. He says come and dine.
And he feeds his disciples. He feeds these erring disciples. He didn't tell them to go and fish. They went and fish was a fruitless night.
But he fed them in his grace and His mercy, His kindness. He fed them before there was restoration. And don't you feel nourished in your soul when you've been at a distance from the Lord? You come into the assembly meeting, perhaps you sit down with the Word of God and he nourishes your soul. Then he touches the conscience and he brings you into His presence as he speaks to your conscience. And there's restoration and there's a communion restored.
And so this is the order of things I believe in connection with restoration that.
There needs to be a feeding upon Christ and a recognition of the food. He is the bread of life, the water of life, and He has that food to give us, to bring us into a place where we can be restored.
I guess our time is up.
And you're saying 330?
330.
OK.
What race? The one race for?
John.
I wish I turned to the rainbow.
Your brother's heart.
Divine.
Oh.
Unreachable.
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So I love you.
There would be.
Oh my sure, oh oh, oh, oh 030 oh, oh oh oh, I have thawed and saw.
So crazy.
No, no, no, no. That's what I'm like. That's right.
Go and go play.
Uh.
How long?
Commit ourselves, our loving God and our Father. We thank Thee for Thy precious word that we've had before us. We pray that Thou is taped by Thy Spirit, Those, uh, passages of Scripture that have been spoken of and read together here in my presence this afternoon.
That there might be fruit for the our God. We think of how long this value the fellowship of thy creature man individually, every one of us, that noblest Savior. Now this desire is to be in communion with thyself, to have thoughts of enjoyment of the results of that finish and that holy work. That was the concept of the cross of Calvary, and that we have been sanctified, set apart by thee for the holy purpose.
Of being in fellowship with thee to enjoy thy coming blessed Savior, and not only soul, but have been.
Given a position of favor and blessing before Thee's sons are gone to be able to address Thee's father.
Something that the Jews never could have foregone. We pray that we might value what we have. Value these things. At the end of the day of grace, we thank Thee that Thy coming is so near. Help us to dig into the Scriptures and to enjoy these things for ourselves. So we ask before that blessing if there's anyone here that has been walking in a distance from Zycell, Blessed Savior, that they might have dined a little in my presence upon my word.
I just seen some of the sweetness of the person over Christ.
Seeking to draw these different ones to Himself, and that they too might be restored in their souls. And walk with thee. So we ask thee for thy blessing, our God, our Father, in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.