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35 in the.
MMM.
John chapter 8 and verse #31.
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him. If you continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
They answered him, We be Abraham Seed, and were never in ******* to any man. How sayest thou ye shall be made free?
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committed sin is a sermon that sin. And the servant abideth not in the house forever, but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make he free, shall be free indeed.
And I know that your Abraham's seed, but you seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
I speak that which I have seen with my father, and you do that which you have seen with your father.
They answered and said unto him, Abraham as our father. Jesus saith unto them, If he were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.
But now you seek to kill me, a man that I told you the truth which I have heard of God.
This did not Abraham.
Ye do the deeds of your father.
Then said they to him, We be, but not the born of fornication. We have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, you would love me, because I proceeded forth and came from God. Neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Why do you not understand my speech even because you cannot hear?
My word.
Your father the devil and the lust of your father, you will do.
He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not on the truth because there is no truth in him.
When he speaketh the lie, he speaks speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, he believed me not.
Which have you convinced me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God's words. He therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well, that thou art a Samaritan?
And hast the devil.
Jesus answered, I have not the devil, but I honor my Father.
And ye do dishonor me, and I seek not my own glory, but there is one that seeketh and judgeth.
Verily, burly I send to you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast the devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets and Alcius. If a man keep my sayings, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead, and the prophets are dead? Who maketh thou thyself?
Jesus answered, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my Father that honoreth me, of whom ye say that he is your God.
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Yet you have not known him, but I know him. And if I should say I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you, but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he thought, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet 50 years old. And hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I sinned to you before Abraham was.
I am then took they upstone to cast at him.
But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
I think it's very beautiful to see how that the Lord connects. Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
True freedom, true liberty is from knowing the truth and Him who is the truth itself, the blessed Lord. They were in ******* ******* to sin. They did not know the truth. Truth sets us free, doesn't it? Free from our own thoughts, free from our own.
Opinions and the opinions of men, they don't. There's so many poles that are being taken nowadays to get the opinions of men. They really amount to nothing. What we want to know is what God says about things and that's the truth, isn't it? And we find that in him and by the Spirit of God and by the word of God.
The truth.
Truth sets us free so that we are not shackled by and and turned aside by man's thoughts and man's opinions. Once the the truth enters a person's soul, he becomes stable and he can walk that straight path with his eyes fixed on the glory above, and he knows where he is and he knows what he's been delivered from, and he knows where he's going.
He has the truth now.
A very wonderful thing to have.
It's faith that gives us that freedom, that liberty. And in this gospel, three times we find there was a division in the 7th chapter. We might just look at it and the 43rd verse.
There was a division among the people because of him, his person.
Now we all always ought to believe, and certainly they should have seen him in his person, who he was.
But there was a debate, and some believe and some believe not.
Now if we go on to the 9th chapter.
We find there is a division because of his works he had.
Given sight to this blind man.
And in reading verse.
16 We see therefore said some of the Pharisees, this man is not a God because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, how can a man that is a Sinner do such mirrors? And there was a division of him among them over his work. Now, because the 10th chapter we find it's his sayings.
Verse 19.
10/19 There was a division therefore again among the Jews.
For these things, that is, those to whom the Lord was witnessing could have believed because of His person and should have. They could have and should have believed because of His Word, and they could have and should have believed because of His sayings.
So faith cometh by hearing, and we have this blessed book and his faith in Christ that sets free.
The revelation of God. And that's what it is, isn't it? Connection with the restoration of the soul. We had that before somewhat yesterday. And here again, I think it's beautiful to see and perhaps a great word of comfort to our hearts. The beloved brother, you know, as I look around this audience of people.
There's not one of you that couldn't tell me a story of sorrows and burdens and trouble that you've had in your life. But I was thinking of this. If we could recognize in connection with all that we go through this thing is from me. And then when those trials come, we can be encouraged in the fact that we know that God is working, as we've said, by bringing the truth before us. If we lay hold of it by faith in the 25th verse of our chapter it says.
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They say who are.
Who art thou? They didn't know. Only revelation will bring this before us. And so I wonder if we could just for one moment look at the.
13th or rather 12Th chapter of Hebrews.
Mm-hmm.
Verses 9 through 14 Here furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh, which corrected us, and We gave them reverence. Shall we not not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live, For they barely for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but He for our prophet, that we might be made partakers of His Holiness. Now no chasing, for the present seem of joy as grievous.
Nevertheless, afterward it yielded the peaceable fruits of righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands that hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way. But rather let it be healed.
How precious it is to our hearts to realize a brother was bringing before me the other day, something he enjoyed in connection with a great trial that he was going from going through. He said I had to realize that it's and it's true of every one of us here. None of us have arrived. The Lord is working in his priestly care, maintaining us daily. And how solemn it is to think that if when we get away from the Lord, we would never return if it were, if it were not for the work of God in our souls daily.
And so to recognize that He brings the truth to bear on our consciences and on our hearts, that we might be restored to Him and our souls.
In connection with the truth.
A brother in the Lord had written a book.
And he was being interviewed about it, and the one that was interviewing him was a new ager with these modernistic ideas that.
Everyone has his own view and his own opinion and so on. Nothing absolute. And so she asked him. She said, How can I know that what you write and what you say is true?
And his answer was you can never know that.
What I say is true unless you know the truth.
And you can never know the truth unless there is a truth to know.
There has to be an absolute standard that we can appeal to. Otherwise it's your opinion versus my opinion versus your opinion, and none of those opinions is worth a straw. What does God say? I thought that was an excellent answer that he gave.
Lord Jesus himself said to those in his day, You do her not knowing the Scriptures. And when he spoke to Nicodemus of being born again, he said, Art thou a teacher in Israel? And know us not these things? If Nicodemus had been reading the Old Testament with exercise in the way that he ought to have been, he would have known from Ezekiel what the Lord Jesus was speaking about in connection with being born again. And I might just say that it's wonderful to sit in these meetings.
And to have the word of God before us and to hear it ministered. But I've appreciated in connection with the Bereans who listened to Paul minister the truth orally. It says then that they were more noble than those of Thessalonica. Why? Because they searched the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so, what things, The things that Paul was ministering to them orally. And I sometimes said to the young people, you might say, well, if anybody's word for it, couldn't they have taken the apostle Paul's word for it?
No, it's true. They availed themselves of the ministry of the apostle Paul, but then they went home and got out the word of God and they searched these things to see if these things were so. And young people, it's so important. I don't want to underestimate the value of sitting under ministry in the assembly in any way. I'm thankful for that privilege as I was growing up, but it's not enough in itself. And I think there's more difficulty in Christian circles today because.
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People are not encouraged to search these things out and to read the word of God for themselves. They listen to a man at the front and because he has a few letters after his name, they never question what he says. They never search it out for themselves. And so often error can is propagated and people don't even know that they're imbibing that which is not according to the word of God. And so I don't think we can overestimate the importance of searching the truth out for ourselves.
From the Word of God. But I say again, let's not underestimate either the importance of availing ourselves of ministry in the assembly.
There are various things in the 5th chapter that bore witness and the bear witness.
To the Lord Jesus, just look at the 5th chapter and.
He says in the.
31St verse.
No.
Well, we read it.
If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. Now that was for men to see that there is another that beareth witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witness of me is true. He, Senator John, he bear witness some under the truth, but I receive not testimony of man. But these things I say, that he might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light, and he he were willing for a seed to rejoice in that light.
Then he says in verse 36.
I have a greater witness than that of John, and here he talks about his works for the works.
Which the Father has given me to finish the same work that I do bear witness of Maine.
That the Father has sent me now more. And the Father himself which has sent me, hast borne witness to me more. Witness. Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape, and He have not His word abiding in you.
For whom he hath sent him ye believe not that they weren't believing Jesus. But then he comes to what my brother Hyland was talking about. Search the scriptures.
For in them you think you have eternal life, and they are they which testify me. The Scriptures certainly bear witness. All these witnesses to the Lord Jesus were true.
You young people who will be going to college, you have to be armed in order to withstand the lies that you will be subjected to in those higher institutions of learning. One of the lies is the they'll they'll repeatedly tell you, they tell you this in lower grades as well, that evolution is an established scientific fact.
That is an unmitigated lie and don't buy it.
If you're armed with the truth of Scripture, you will know that God, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and everything else that is in it. In this scene, they speak with great positiveness of assertion, and if positiveness of assertion establishes their point, they establish their point.
Because that's the way they speak. I want to read to you 2 verses in Acts 19 that show that the world hasn't changed. It did the same thing back in the 1St century that it's doing in this century. Verse 35 of Acts 19. And when the town clerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not that the city of the Ephesians is a worshiper of the great goddess Diana?
And of the image which fell down from Jupiter. Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet and to do nothing rashly. These things cannot be spoken against. Everyone knows that that great goddess Diana came down from Jupiter, came down from heaven. Everyone knows that. That's an established truth. Well, of course we know that. Wasn't it true? And you find that in science, the scientists are.
00:20:02
Constantly. Every generation of scientists.
Refute what the previous ones had established as truth. So be careful that you don't.
By the lies that will be fed you in these.
Institutions of learning, the sad thing is that they were created initially, initially way back when they were established so that people could read this book and understand this book, which is the standard of truth. And now they're just the opposite. They've thrown this standard out. Our country is on the way down, Someone has said because of the morals of this country, if God doesn't judge the United States and Canada.
He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.
The.
God doesn't apologize, of course.
I think it's important to see that that the ultimate standard is the word of God. And that's why we all have our Bibles open in our laps. What may be said about Scripture may be helpful or it may not be helpful. And that's why Scripture says let the prophet speak two or three and let the others judge because what we say about Scripture may be good, may not be good, and we need.
Correction, we need to be helped in that way. But the ultimate standard is the word of God. And sometimes I've seen people go away from conferences and they say, well, such and such. A brother said that, and they seem to be fixed on what that brother said. What that brother said may be helpful. It may not be helpful. What's going to stand is the word of God. And so as you look, as you're listening in these meetings, you look at Scripture, get your understanding.
Right from Scripture itself, listen to what's said. It's important to be listening.
To what's said, but then go to the scriptures.
Another thing that I've enjoyed is that we've spoken a little bit about the spirit of truth in these meetings too. The Spirit of God is present and He gives testimony to the truth, and so He will never give testimony to that which is not true. And sometimes there's souls that listen and they say that person was speaking, but it didn't ring right. I don't know what was wrong with it.
The Spirit of God.
That's here to tell us what the truth is, but just to keep that really clear in our souls. I think it's so important for young people too, because.
Sometimes what's said in public meetings may not be totally correct.
We're not fall of, we're not infallible in our expressions.
Make mistakes.
But Thy word is true, and we need to keep that clear before ourselves. So get what you get for your own soul from the Word of God itself. It will hold under all circumstances. The Lord Jesus said Heaven and earth will pass away, but my Word will not pass away.
I want to just re establish, reaffirm what you're saying is so important when this book is rightly understood and rightly interpreted, and then say, say you're a geologist when you.
Rightly interpret the geological find that is before you. The two will agree.
The two will agree there was a time in history, the history of the church, when the Roman Church, which was the leading church.
Would put someone excommunicate someone I think was Galileo was almost excommunicated because he said the earth was round and the Catholic Church said no, it's flat and the Bible says it's flat because it speaks of the four corners of the earth. Well, the Bible uses poetic language like that and.
The Bible is not a scientific textbook. It also speaks of.
He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth. So if you wanted to take that verse.
You can prove that it's round. We know as we look up into the heavens, everyone can see it that the moon is round.
And when during an eclipse you can see of the the earth is round too by the way it casts its shadow on the moon.
00:25:07
So man has known for a long time. My point is the the church can misinterpret the scriptures and then punish those that don't agree with that or try to prove that the Bible is wrong.
Not scientifically accurate, and unfortunately there are different views today existing as to creation, and they're not. They're not both correct too, especially a young earth and an old earth.
I'm not going to go into that here, but I'm saying that if if the word of God is properly interpreted and understood, it will not contradict science.
That's why it says in Hebrews Chapter 11 by faith.
We understand, in other words, it's not unreasonable to simply believe God's testimony. If God is who he is revealed to be in the Scriptures, it is not unreasonable to believe in the creation of the universe. And I'd just like to say this for the young as they meet up with this philosophy. And really, it's a religion in schools that teaches evolution.
Be careful not to be LED off the ground of simple faith in the Word of God.
Sometimes I've seen young people that think that they can rebuke evolution and they come.
Down from the place of simple faith in God.
To start refuting on the same grounds that evolution is defended. And sometimes they get mashed because it's a matter when we take that ground of my mind against the mind of another person. And if he's smarter, he might mash me into the ground and I may feel crushed. But faith is a different position completely in that it takes first of all.
What God has said, we understand by faith.
We understand and faith is not unreasonable. They use this.
Illustrations Sometimes I was talking some time ago to a doctor in a hospital who is a.
He was a very good doctor, intelligent man, and happened to meet him in the cafeterias when I worked in a hospital and I was.
He had AI had a tract in my pocket and he read the title. So I gave him the tract and he pushed the track back across the table at me after he had read a few lines and said trouble with you people is that you are blind. You believe what you don't understand.
So I simply said to him, Doctor, excuse me, but supposing.
You never made a mistake in your diagnosis of disease.
Or in giving the right medicine to cure that disease. That's the fame that you have. And I come to you and I know that you never make a mistake. You tell me I have a certain disease and you give me the prescription for the medicine that will help me. I don't understand a thing about the disease you say I have. I don't understand anything about the medicine you're giving me. I only understand one thing, that you don't make mistakes.
Am I blind to believe you even though I don't understand you?
He thought for a minute and says no, I said, neither Am I blind to believe a God?
Who cannot lie?
He just shuffled his feet and said we'll talk later about this and off he went. But that's the point, It's faith. If God is God, the way He is revealed in the Word of God, brethren, we can trust Him. And even though you and I, there's a lot that we don't understand and may never understand down here, we can simply believe what His Word tells us.
I would like to ask a question about the two verses preceding where we began reading. I don't think we spoke of the 30th.
I mean the 28th and the 29th versus.
00:30:03
Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man.
Then shall ye know that I am?
And that I do nothing of myself.
But as my father hath taught me, I speak these things.
And he that sent me is with me. The Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things which please Him. Then the 30th verse. I just want to know how, how deep was this believed? And as He spake these words, many believed on Him.
Were they believing his words about the cross?
And was this real faith?
Well, he goes on in the next verse to say, then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him.
If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
There's always the possibility that one believes or professes to believe and doesn't continue and falls away.
Which would probably indicate they were not true believers in the 1St place. But if I think the evidence of a a true believer is that one continues in the word.
Well, that fits with what we have stated about the division over his person.
Or the division over his works, or the division over his sayings. Some believe and some did not, but the gospel comes to us of the Lord Jesus as the Son of God.
And as the one who can't do anything wrong, Bobby got before us, and the one as to who's sayings are always true. And we can be saved for each of those reasons or all of them. But it ought to be real. It searches which side am I on? Which side are you on?
There's always the pressure.
Of going along.
In your beliefs with your parents, your brothers, your sisters, your brethren.
The Christian company that you move amongst.
There's always the pressure of.
You know, we don't like to be different.
So we go along with that and we see, I believe that. But do you really, when the test comes, do you really believe it's there's a when the seed was sown, there's some that fell on Stony ground and, and immediately it sprang up. But when persecution came, when the problems came, it withered up. They didn't continue in the word. So every one of us will be tested.
On what we profess to believe, everyone of us, whether it's sometime in our life be tested. Do you really believe it? If you do, you'll hold to it. And that truth that you really have gotten ahold of will form your character and it sets you free from man's opinions and man's thoughts. And you're not moved by them, no matter with what certainty they may speak their opinions as though it's absolute truth. You have a higher truth than anything that man can say.
But you have to be real in that, otherwise you won't continue in it. The parable of the solar really helped me.
Answered him leading Abraham seed, and have never been bonding to any man. I'll say it, You shall be made free each of the same people. And then they go over and go down to the 39th, where they answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said unto them, If he were Abraham's children, by faith you would do the work of Abraham, but now you seek to kill me, a man that told you the truth.
Like I have heard applause. This is not Abraham. Abraham, he acted in faith and brought forth life. Produce Isaac's seed. They were trying to kill the seed. So these were spurious believers. They didn't really believe at all. The parable of the solar helped me to understand that that Chuck has alluded to because I used to wonder when he spoke of the seed falling on Stony ground.
00:35:02
And the disciples came and asked him what it meant. He said it was those that Anon received the word with joy.
And I used to puzzle over that. Wasn't it good that they received the Word with joy? Well, I believe the thought is there was no root. There was no work of repentance in the soul. It was all an outward show of things. It was mere profession. And when the sun rose up, when the test came, it showed that there was no reality. And we find that in the life of the Lord Jesus, when things got tough, shall I say, there were those who turned from following the Lord.
It showed that there was number reality. But I think there's something nice to connect with the verse here that we started with in this connection. Because he says, if you continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. Now just go over to the 15th chapter where he has his own around himself in the upper room, giving them what we sometimes refer to as the upper room ministry. And he adds something here.
Here they're told he speaks of continuing in his word. But I believe in John 15, where he has his own.
Those who were true disciples around himself, He links it with something else that they are to continue in verse nine of chapter 15. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. Now notice this continue ye in my love. If you keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. So they were to continue in the word here as a proof. But then in John 15 where he's speaking to those who were true, true disciples.
He says, Continue ye in my love, and then brings in continuing in His commandments in the word.
And I know it's often been said on occasions like this, but it's a good reminder for my own soul.
And that is, brethren, that the word, the truth is for more than our intellect. And if it only, if the truth of God only affects our intellect, then there's not going to be a going on. There's not going to be a true understanding. And there's there's going to be a turning away when the tests come. Because the truth was written not nearly for our intellect. But Brother Larry alluded to it earlier.
He spoke of two things, the conscience and the heart. I sometimes put it this way. The entrance of the truth is the mind because we need to read the truth, the word of God. We need to have a knowledge of the truth, and that's right and proper. But then as the truth enters the mind, it is to affect the conscience. The channel is the is the conscience, and the truth always is to reach the conscience if it's going to have its proper effect.
When the Lord spoke the truth to these ones, He sought to reach their conscience, to stir up their conscience, as we had before us earlier in the chapter. And then the dwelling place of the truth is the heart. So if I can say it again, the entrance of the truth is the mind, the channel is the conscience, and the dwelling place is the heart. And I believe that when the truth takes hold of us in that way, then there's an understanding, then there's a reality.
Then there's true discipleship, because as we've already had before us, there's only one way to be a true disciple, and that's to have a heart where there's only one object in it. And when the truth, when the truth of the person and work of Christ grips our souls, grips our hearts, then our feet are going to follow in the path of faith and service.
Yes, sometimes the question is asked.
How do we know if we? How do we know what the truth is?
And the answer is quite simple. If God said it, it's the truth.
If God said it, it's the truth. How do we know of homosexuality is wrong?
Well, God says it's an abomination to him. He abhors it. That settles it. End of discussion. End of discussion. How do we know adultery is wrong? Thou shalt not commit adultery, God said that. How do we know that lying is wrong? Thou shalt not bear false witness, God said. So that settles it. You don't have to have a discussion.
They have these discussion groups are all over the place in the the media and what is being said by the people of the world is worthless, absolutely worthless. The opinions of men means nothing when it comes to moral and spiritual matters is what God says. He sets the standard. He's the governor of the universe. He tells us what's right and what's wrong and that settles it. You throw this book out and you're totally at sea.
00:40:25
You don't have a standard. I think it's so important, though, that we realize that we don't have the truth unless it has gotten into the heart and soul, like you were saying, Jim. And for that to happen, it must necessarily be a moral matter. It affects me. It has to touch my conscience. It can be. And like you say, Jack, I agree fully that it's not a matter of.
Negotiation, the truth of God is the truth of God.
Can never be negotiated. Sometimes I say the truth of God is the most exclusive thing there is.
It excludes all other options. It's it's there and I may understand it. I may not understand it. Still it stands. But if I'm going to have it properly, it has to go through my conscience and be find its lodging in the heart and soul. I say that because.
So often we talk about people who have given up the truth, and brethren, I have had to search my heart about that. I really do believe that OFT times we have had. I'll have to confess that it's been my experience, a knowledge of the truth.
But it never has worked its way through my conscience properly into my soul.
Can I say I have it if that's the case? Well, I have an understanding of it, but I don't really believe that I can say I have it until it is affected. My conscience, the light of the truth has shown on my whole life and exposed there what's not, According to him, and then it's got found its way into the heart. Then you have it. And when you have it that way, that's the proper way.
Then you have it rightly. But I think that OFT times we think of those who given up the truth. Perhaps they've had a knowledge of it, but it hasn't gone beyond that. And it comes as a challenge to my own heart. I can't point the finger in any other direction, but at my own heart. How much is the truth real to me? It's so easy to talk about, so easy to have an understanding and have a discussion about it. Like you were saying, Chuck.
But how much is it real? Is it a part of Maine?
I fully agree, but there's there's a **** in that question. That is, if you carry what you just said out to the to the ultimate extreme, then we're all condemned.
Because we have not arrived yet, not that I have already attained either. We are already perfect, Paul says. But I follow after, if that I may get possession of that which I'm taking possession of by God. In other words, we're growing. We have not reached perfection yet, and we won't reach it down here. If God has set a standard that is a perfect standard before us, that's the Lord Jesus, we will not attain to it.
Down here and to condemn us because we haven't attained to it down here. That's all I'm saying.
Is going too far. We will attain to it when we get home. The flesh will be gone. It won't be anything to hinder. But we are growing and it's. It's a question of sincerity. It's a question of integrity. It's a question of being real, as you say. But we're not perfect yet, and we won't be until we get home. We had verse.
30 and.
As he spake these words, many believed on him. I believed there would be more than the Jews.
The Jews are a part of those many. And then the Lord turns and speaks to the Jews. Now in Chapter 7, there are five, I believe five classes of people that the Lord uncovered when he got into Judaism. And one of them was the Jews. They were the followers of the Pharisees. The other is the the common people. I think Brother Darby translated proud. And there are his brethren, the Lord's brothers.
00:45:08
Whether I think that I noted one time they were like 5 different classes of people that were.
Uncovered in the darkness when the light got there.
And these when he would say he would, many of them believed on him, and he turned to the Jews who believed on him. With this further comment, you and I.
No, I think we're just not to believe what people say just because they say they believe.
And we have to understand that in our day, you know, the devil was trying to teach the Lord the Scriptures and the amount of transfiguration. And you got a lot of agents around today with Bibles under their teaching the Bible.
You and I and I fully agree. We have a perfect standard and we have a perfect word.
That is.
We don't have to defend it. It's been said it's not up for negotiation, but it is a perfect word. It'll never fail. It's God's word and that's what we have before us, rightly understood and.
Brother mentioned hearing words in a meeting like this. We need one another.
But I would just say one thing. You can't have the knowledge of the truth just because you want it.
It comes from doing it. Walking in it you see someone whose path is is a path of error.
Are you going to believe him? And are you going to tell you the truth when he doesn't even know it himself?
That's where we're left and this class of people called the Jews.
They were those who had committed themselves to the Pharisees. I think Chapter 7 will show that.
Now he would say to them a different thing from just the crowd, the common person.
That is there but beloved, if we're willing to negotiate these things because somebody says he's a brother.
You see, that's the danger that we would find ourselves in today. Instead of saying God says, and brother or not, God says and stand on it, stand on the ground. You don't have to give it up. I have just struck, as was said earlier about Genesis 11.
God created.
God created.
Let open me their understanding. He restoreth my soul. How important it is. We're speaking about understanding or understanding the truth, Knowing the truth. We read the Word of God. Brethren, we're not smart enough on our own to understand it. It's the grace of God. It is the work of God.
That opens our understanding of these things. As you were saying, Brother Bill, how good it is for us rather than to recognize that He is the source. If I understand the truth, if I find myself here today enjoying the things of the Lord, it's the work of God that has done it. And so it is, brethren, with each one of us. But for His grace, but for His blessed work in our souls, that continuing work, where would we be?
Eminent, eminent, eminent that God created.
And all of a sudden we hear these words.
Hath God said?
You ever heard those words before?
Well, we must.
Learn to stand on what we do have. There are a lot of things we don't know, but what do we know? And the first verse in God's book, man's book, is not an accord with the first verse. And we have to see that, that whatever it's man's thought, whatever does not come from this book. And it's true, we don't know everything and we don't understand much, but what do you know? What do I know?
Stand on that.
And then, as we just heard, He guides us into these things, may give us a heart that's firm for what God says, no matter who is against it. He's a brother or not.
I'd like to ask a question that I think might be running through the minds of a bunch of young people.
00:50:04
We have we Christians have the Word of God.
It's the truth. We know the Lord Jesus who is the truth. We're all indwelt by the Holy Spirit who is the truth. Why don't we agree?
Well, if we believe God, we will agree.
When Paul was about to be shipwrecked.
God spoke to him and gave him all those that were on board with him. They were all going to escape. So he called them together and told them to report. He didn't say I believe in God, I believe God. What you said about the word of God, if there's a direct word.
About sin from God. We know what it is, we don't argue about it. We don't have to search about it. When God says it, it's true. It's always true. Now, if we would all believe the word of God, I think we would agree. And if we were all taught of the Spirit on all things at all times, there would be agreement, would there not? Yes. Why isn't there agreement then?
Could I quote something that Brother Darby makes a comment on about that?
You can learn a system of error in six months.
And exhausted.
You can't learn the truth of God in its completeness in a lifetime.
That truth of God is coming, and it's finding resistance in US.
There is that which is pride and self and sin and lust. That's resisting the reception of that word. It's the divine word.
Well, a system of error. You can go to school a few months and you're an expert. You can be a a leader among them. But what we've got is God's book. And if we don't agree, what difference does that make? Has no effect on this book if we don't agree.
It has effect on us.
With someone, any young person here that has trouble about agreement? Oh my.
This book defies anyone to agree with it.
This book is the revelation of God himself who could reach up to those heights and agree with that, submit to it, yes.
No, agreement is not the solution. Submission is the solution we found in the presence of God.
Manor requests that Philippians 4/15.
315 Excuse me.
Philippians 315.
Let us therefore as many as be perfect. Be thus minded, and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
If we couple with that.
The verse in the chapter. The previous chapter, Chapter 7, verse 17.
This verse that we so often quote perhaps will find a little secret as to why they are differing thoughts too. Here we read, if any man well to do his will, he shall know the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself. There's many who want to know. But the well at work is what blinds our eyes. And so he that welleth to do his well. It's a moral issue with us. It's a state of soul with us that blinds. Aren't so often that blinds our eyes.
It ought to concern us.
Certainly concerns me if I have a different view of a passage from my brethren.
I don't feel good about that and sometimes it's easy to to to see what the real truth is. But.
I'm not perfect. None of no one's here is perfect. I may be wrong, you may be wrong. Maybe we're both wrong.
If we don't agree, maybe neither one of us has really reached the mind of God on the matter.
00:55:01
And that ought to exercise us. And when we hear a thought, oh, sometimes we might just quickly reject it, but you should go home and weigh it and say, is there anything to this?
Just because you say I've never heard that before doesn't make it wrong.
We have to test everything by the scriptures, but it has a lot to do with our state of soul, doesn't it?
Wouldn't Ephesians 4.
Particularly verse 3 and so on.
Be good in this matter, it says, endeavoring to keep.
The unity of the spirit in the bond of peace and goes on stage seven things that are.
Now, as I understand, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit.
Is a child of God.
Guided according to the Word of God by the Spirit of God.
Is one who is endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit. It's a child of God guided by the Spirit of God according to the Word of God, that really is keeping the unity of the Spirit because he can't teach two different ways, but the child of God.
Guided by the Word of God according to the Spirit of God, for the Spirit wrote it.
And we ought to do that in the bond of peace and never argue about these things because I fully believe that what God says is true, that you said if God says it, it's the truth. And God doesn't tell us to understand. He says believe. And then then through believing, why understanding does come.
But it's slow and coming. Sometimes we grow in the truth too, don't we? And I think that's good to realize. And sometimes we have to wait on one another in the matter. A child of seven years old doesn't see that's things like a young person of 18 years old and doesn't see it like a person of 50 years old, that there's a different ways of doing it according to growth. And we have to realize that as well. I'd just like to go back to that verse that Larry.
Read there in John 717. I think perhaps we could just notice it a little more closely for the young people here. I know we go over it quite often and but I must say that a lot of folks went over it with me quite often. I didn't really get the point, but notice it very clearly.
In verse 17 of Chapter 7, if any man.
Will do his will, he shall know. Notice it does not say. If any man will know his will, he shall know.
It's if any man will do his will. It's the predisposition to simply obey.
Cost what it might.
That's what honors God and that's what God will reveal. That's the attitude that God will reveal His truth. And sometimes, like it's been said, our own will gets in the way. And I must say that oftentimes I've looked into the Scriptures.
But I've had a secret desire for my own will.
Maybe I didn't even recognize it myself. Because our hearts.
Are deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. And sometimes we don't recognize the secret desires of our heart. And so I looked into the scriptures and I didn't come out with His will because secretly underneath was a desire to do my own will. I wanted to see what God had to say about it. And if that would have agreed with my idea, then I'm would have been glad.
But if it didn't agree, well, maybe I wasn't quite ready to simply bow to what God had to say. And that is a problem. It's our will that gets in the way of understanding the Scriptures. I think that's a really important point to get ahold of then.
That other verse that slips my mind right now, sorry. I think that's very important. And Mr. Darby's translation is helpful on that Scripture. He says if any man desire to practice his will, which bears out what Brother Bob has been saying. And I think sometimes an example from Scripture is helpful in these things because God teaches by example as well as precept. There might be some here who say, well, you brother's on the front row, you don't know how difficult it is at school today to stand for the truth.
01:00:18
You don't know how difficult it is at the shop or at the office, you don't know how difficult it is sometimes in the local assembly where I come from.
But I've enjoyed, in connection with what has been said, the example of Daniel, because when Daniel was brought to the court of Babylon, he might have said, well, it's a different day now. We're not home in Judea anymore, and it's a different day here. We used to believe and practice those things when we were home, but everybody's going along with it. I've often wondered just how many men were brought in to be tested. But I'm sure there were more than just Daniel and his three friends. And they might have said, well, everybody's going along with it and you've got to compromise a little bit.
But what was it that preserved Daniel? It says, and Daniel purposed in his heart.
That he would not defile himself with the portion of the King's meat, nor the wine which he drank. In other words, it was more brethren, than just a desire. Sometimes I've heard people say, well, that person has a nice desire. Well, I'm glad when I hear that, but I think of what it says in Proverbs. The slugger desireth and hath nothing. David said in the 27th Psalm, One thing have I desired of the Lord. That was good, that was a good start, but he didn't stop there.
That will I seek after, and there must be that purpose of heart, that energy of faith exhibited, if we're going to stand for the truth and live for God's glory in a world like this. Babylon wasn't conducive to a young man brought from Judea. Much compromise and many things going on, but he purposed in his heart. It was not just his intellect, but his heart had been affected by these things.
And he was preserved. And I know it's a little bit out of context, but at the end of the first chapter of Daniel, there's an interesting little expression. And I'm just going to make a little application here that helped me.
Been an encouragement to my own soul, it says. And Daniel continued, just meditate on that young people. Here was a man who taken as a young person from his home, placed in these circumstances. He has this purpose of heart. And what was the result? He continued. And just read his life through and you come to the 6th chapter now he's an elderly man. Is he giving up? No, he's still going on faithfully for the truth.
Standing against all kinds of odds and difficulties.
Because you and I can stand for the truth, even in 1998. We don't have to give up.
We don't have to compromise, but again I say if there isn't that purpose of heart with us.
When the tests come, we're not going to be preserved. And I fully agree with what Chuck said earlier. None of us have arrived. And I believe we need in these difficult days to pray that prayer of the psalmist every day. Preserve me, oh God, for in thee do I put my trust. And brethren, if we are preserved in any measure, if there's any desire in your heart and mind today.
To go on for the truth in any measure, it's God that works in us, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. And it is, in the final analysis, only the grace of God that preserves any one of us and the power for that.
The Lord stated in the 16th of John, which goes along with what we have been saying.
And so we can, with peace, go on and face the circumstances that may come against this, no matter how terrible. They can be pretty bad, but we have everything that's needed. I refer to John 1613. Howbeit, when he, the spirit of truth, is come, and He is come, and He is here, He's with us collectively. He's in US individually, what does it say He will do? He will guide you into all truth. He won't leave out any of it, but it's little by little.
Here little there little line upon line.
So doing one thing, we might say we're pleasing God.
An Anil lead us another step. We don't get it all at once, but we have the power for it. I'd like to read 3 verses in Acts 4 connection with what Clem said earlier about Ephesians 4. Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace. I think that simply means in a very practical way is to walk in fellowship with the divine person here on earth to have his mind.
01:05:20
But in Acts chapter 4, remember the Lord prayed Father, Acts John 17. He prayed that they all may be one, as thou Father art in me, and I and thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. That was his prayer. Now here you have the fulfillment of that prayer in Acts 4 verse 31 and when they had prayed.
The place was shaken where they were assembled together and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and they spake the word of God with boldness. This is a most remarkable passage. They were all that whole multitude of those that believed as a company were filled with the Holy Spirit. Wasn't just an individual that was filled, as we read in many passages, but the whole company. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost.
And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul. In Mr. Darby's translation. Here's how it reads. And the heart and soul of the multitude that believed was one. That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee. Now here's the literal fulfillment of that The heart and soul of the multitude that believed was one.
Neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things common, and with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. What if in an assembly a matter is before it, and not everyone is in agreement? That happens quite often.
It could be that just one brother.
Has.
A bad feeling about the matter? As to what?
The others want to do. He may not even be able to articulate it properly. Well, why do you feel that way?
I just don't feel that's right. Let's wait, let's wait. Let's wait a little more on the Lord.
He may not be the most intelligent, he may not be, but.
We can wait. The Spirit of God is able.
To give us that oneness of mind if we're subject to Him.
They were all filled with the Holy Ghost. They all had the mind of God and the matter.
That's beautiful. That is just beautiful. The flesh for all practical purposes was inactive and the Spirit of God had his way. He can still do that. He can still do that with us if we let him. If there is one that has a sincere.
Question as to a matter, it might be the wisdom of the others to wait and to cry to the Lord to make His mind clear as to it. I remember right last year when here we had the second of Philippians and I think the 1St 2 verses bring out something of what you're saying. Chuck, you may not have been here but reading Philippians 2 verses one and two.
If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, and there is, if any comfort of love, and there is, if any fellowship of the Spirit, and there is, if any compassions and mercies, and there is then he says, fulfilling my joy that.
EB like minded now this is practicing together and carrying these things out, having the same love.
Being at 1 accord and of one mind, this is good practical instruction for doing what we're talking about, I think.
Yes, I'd like to.
Go back and make one more comment.
The question was raised about someone who might really have an honest question about.
The validity of the Bible because we don't agree.
If there's one here.
I trust all you young people are looking in on those of us who are a little older and and talking and you see that this book.
01:10:11
Has mastered everyone of us.
This book has no master. It has no equal down here.
There's no man that can take this book and analyze it. If you can see what you hear here is people who are mastered.
Confessing we can't master, we can't dominate this book. You'll never find another book on the face of the earth like it. They go to school and they'll take last year's textbook and chew it all up.
Not this book. This book humbles everybody around, brings everybody around to their knees.
Because this is God's book.
She never feared trusting this book.
And never fear, if it's in competition with anything else on the face of the earth, it will win. It is God's book and I would just suggest.
If you have a question about Is this book true?
Step in and walk in according with it, brother or sister. Was that what you'll see? You'll see it's far too and can never be mastered or dominated. And it'll solve every problem and make you happy every step you make. But when you come down to put it up as something that can be challenged or put in competition with something else, as though it is a word.
That's just exactly what man is doing today.
But this is the Word. This is God's word.
Trouble with you is you've just been brainwashed by the Bible. And I think how wonderful to think that this whole audience, all these people here today have been brainwashed by the Word of God. May it be morsel with us, brethren. May the Word of God be that which really influences our every thought. That's what Paul brings out in the in that 5th chapter of Patience.
It says that he might sanctify it and cleanse it by the washing of water, by the word he. It's in view of our pathway here, isn't it, brethren? And it's like somebody that says, I may not understand it. I got a memory like a sieve, some of us have to admit. But you know, it's a good thing to get this Sid cleaned out.
It's the only book that's living too, isn't it? Every other book written by man can be exhausted. It may take some doing, but you pick up a book and you read it and maybe you enjoy it. And then after a while you pick it up and you read it again. And you say, well, I missed a few things the first time. Then you read it a third time because you enjoyed it and wanted to get a little more out of it. But eventually every book written by man can be exhausted. But this is the only book, brethren, in this world that's living.
It says it's living and operative, and that's why it will never be exhausted. That's why we can take up portions again and again, and they're always fresh. The Spirit of God can take these portions at different times and apply them in different ways in connection with our circumstances. You've experienced this. You're reading in your regular, reading privately, and you're faced with some step in your Christian pathway, some problem, some difficulty, and all of a sudden.
The Spirit of God takes that portion and makes it good to you and applies it in connection with the answer that you needed or.
What a help it was that you needed at that time. You say, well, I never meant that to me before, but that was what you needed for the time. And the Spirit of God took the truth and applied it in that way. And again, that's why it's so important to store up our minds with the word of God, to read it and read it and read it.
Maybe sometimes it won't mean that much to us at the time, but read this book because as the Lord said in the upper room, He said that when the Spirit of truth was come, He would bring all things to remembrance that He had spoken to them. But they had to listen to what He said for in order for it to come back to them by the Spirit after the Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost. The Spirit can't bring back something to us and apply it for our present need.
If we haven't been into this book and been reading it so let's remember it's the Word of God.
And it's the only book in this world that's living using the figure.
01:15:00
That Bob used of the mesh. Young people, when you're young, the mesh is very tight. When you get older, the mesh gets real wide and far apart. Right brother? It gets real far apart and it just goes through. I read something yesterday, I'll remember that today. I don't, I don't what I what I read when I was in my 20s. I remember it, but not what I read yesterday.
And you'll experience that. Don't wait till you're my age. It's too late. Read the word now. When you're young, bring it into your soul. Make it a part of your life. That's the most important thing you can do. Do it when you're young. Then you'll have it for all your life.
God never once admitted a theory or an opinion.
Please the word of God, someone who said we've heard this many times, but good to be reminded.
Until you're so saturated with it that you think in terms of Scripture. And unless we read it, we don't realize how much we how much we lose. It's grand larceny to our souls to be robbed of the reading of the Word of God. It's rich, it's accurate. So often we read and we thank God for the writing of dear brethren, Brother Darby, Brother Kelly, and we could go on and on. We thank God for these helps, but they are not the Word of God.
All brethren, as we have already had before us, search the Scriptures daily whether these things are sold. There we find purity. There we find accuracy. It is the unerring word of God. There's not a mistake in it.
The greatest challenge I've ever found in the Word of God is instruction about these things, and it's Second Corinthians 10/5. It fits me very well, what's been said.
Now this is a challenge, and it's a challenge every day.
And it says casting down imaginations or reasonings, the thinking mind.
And every high thing that exalteth itself.
Against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. That's what will keep us and our minds that want to wonder. Go back to this book and obey what's written here.
Bob, go ahead. I was just going to say somebody did make a suggestion about how to keep water in a sieve is to immerse it completely.
Something also that flows from this we find in Ephesians 6. As we consider the the whole armor of God that we're encouraged to put on, we find that.
We're to have our loins in verse 14 gird about with truth, and I have a note in that I enjoy. It says that the loins speak of the intimate affections and movement of the heart.
And it's been mentioned by brother Bob and others have mentioned how important it is to have the word of God get a hold of us, the truth to get ahold of us. And if it really has a hold of us, there's going to be the walk that follows. Perhaps an illustration as Paul wrote to the Romans. Perhaps it was from Corinth. He says, Gaius, mine host. You know, it's a wonderful thing to host Paul, as it were, and each one of us.
Here have been privileged to be brought under truths that many of our brethren.
In the in throughout Christendom do not have that privilege to enjoy. We should be very thankful if I could use the expression to host Paul to to have that truth, but Gaius perhaps is not the same Gaius, but let's look at third John.
In 3rd John we see Gaius mentioned again, and if it's not the same exact Gaius, perhaps we can enjoy it morally at least. Gaius is who?
The apostle John writes to he not only hosted Paul, if we could say it this way, he also received John.
There were difficult assembly conditions, but he still received John, that is, and that's brought out in the verses right at the beginning of this book.
In verse two, beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in hell even as thy soul prosperous. For I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth, that is, envy, even as thou walkest in the truth.
01:20:15
So here's a wonderful expression. A brother who hosted Paul. A brother who had.
A truth in him, and the result of that it it got ahold of him, and he walked in it. And not just that, but Brother Bob earlier mentioned that it's necessary not just to host Paul, but to receive John. Now what do I mean by that? John was one whose ministry was full.
Of the affection of God. He spoke of himself as a disciple whom Jesus loved. And you know, the result is, is that he enjoyed that affection and it went out to others. And so if we truly hold the truth, if the truth has got a hold of us, there's going to be the flow of God's affection through us. And so it says, verse four. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren.
And to strangers which have borne witness of thy charity, thy love before the assembly. And how wonderful if you and I could be marked by these two things to day. But the truth would truly get ahold of us, and the effect would be the affection of God flowing through us to our brother.
What number 6161?
Click right. Our God and Father, we are indeed once again thankful for thy Son, our precious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and we are thankful for how thou hast undertaken for us in these readings. We thank thee for this portion that we've had from John's Gospel. And now we pray that.