Address—P. Geveden
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Let's begin our meeting by using the first hymn of the prayer meeting that we had this morning #318.
318 O Lamb of God, still keep us close to thy pierced side. It is only there in safety and peace. We can abide with foes and snares around us, and lusts and fears within.
The grace that sought and found us alone can keep us clean. #318 some brother begin.
Shall we open our Bibles?
The Epistle of Jude.
Next to the last book in the Bible.
We shall read the epistle together and then seek to use certain verses in a particular way.
Jude the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James to them that are sanctified by God the Father.
And preserved in Jesus Christ and called.
Mercy unto you, and peace and love be multiplied.
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation.
It was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the Saints.
For there are certain men crept in, unaware.
Who were before of old ordained this condemnation.
Ungodly men turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
I will therefore put you in remembrance.
Though you once knew this how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
And to the angels, which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, yet reserved an everlasting chains under darkness under the judgment of the great day.
Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh.
Are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Likewise also these filtered dreamers defile the flesh.
Despise dominion and speak evil of dignities.
Yet Michael the Archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses Durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said.
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The Lord rebuke thee.
But these speak evil of those things which they know not.
But what they know naturally as brute beasts in those things, they corrupt themselves.
Woe unto them, For they have gone in the way of Cain.
And ran greetedly after the era of Balaam for reward.
And perished in the gainsaying of core.
These are spots in your feasts of charity. When they feast with you feeding themselves without fear clouds, they are without water.
Carried about of winds, trees whose fruit withereth without fruit twice dead, plucked up by the roots.
Raging waves of the sea foaming out their own shame. Wandering stars.
Doom is reserved, the blackness of darkness forever.
Andy Nick, also the 7th from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, The old the Lord cometh with 10 thousands of his Saints to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them, of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
These are murmurs complainers.
Walking after their own lusts and their mouths speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.
But beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.
How that they told you there should be markers in the last time who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
These be they who separate themselves.
Sensual or natural, having not the spirit.
But she beloved.
Building up yourselves on your most holy faith. Praying in the Holy Ghost.
Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
And of some have compassion making a difference, and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire.
Hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling.
And to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.
To the only wise God our Savior.
Be glory and a majesty.
Dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
We're glad to have this epistle included in the Canon of scriptures.
We lose much if it had not been included.
And it's necessary to give consideration to the precious contents.
Of this short epistle?
Jude wished to write to.
Those whom he addressed and evidently that's you.
Because he begins in verse one.
As Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James.
To them that are sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called.
If you're here as a child of God.
It is because you have been sanctified by God the Father.
It is because you have been drawn unto his Son and given to him.
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And in that way you have been preserved in Jesus Christ.
And the salutation follows in verse 2.
We find it somewhat the same in other places, but we're glad to see it here, for we especially need it due to the condition of things that are brought to our attention in this epistle.
Mercy unto you.
And peace.
And love be multiplied.
In school.
We learned to add.
And there are certain things that we learn in a very slow way.
We're told in the first chapter of the Second Epistle of Peter to add certain things or to supply them in our faith.
And often times.
We're very slow.
In doing what is suggested there.
In school, you know there were other processes that you learned in your arithmetic class in your math.
It was not only addition, there was.
A division.
And we should beware of that as those that know the Lord.
It's a serious thing to cause division among God's people.
That's to be.
Considered very carefully in soberness.
And whoever would promote such a thing is not doing the will of God.
There is also the method of the use of subtraction.
We might subtract much joy from our lives.
By neglecting the precious truths of this word.
Oh, it's a serious thing to take away.
To lose what you have.
For you are in a great.
Place of privilege and favor.
In God's ways, with men.
During this age of His grace.
But here we've got multiplication referred to.
Oh, we thank God for the multiplication.
Of his mercy.
We needed.
We were bankrupt. We were in the pit.
But God.
Was rich in mercy, saw us in our need, and gave his only begotten son that we might be recovered.
Given a new life.
Mercy unto you and peace.
Do you have a certain knowledge?
That your sins are forgiven.
Do you enjoy peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ?
And that is an elementary thing. It must be settled. You can never enjoy the Lord without knowing that all is well with your soul.
And then it's possible for you and your life to enjoy the peace of God, as to all the difficulties of the way, the disappointments and the sorrows and the troubles that come.
Allowed of God.
To teach you.
What is needful for you to learn?
Here in your wilderness journey.
As you move onward upward to the eternal destiny of your soul.
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Mercy unto you, and peace and love be multiplied.
Or if there were the proper multiplication of love among God's children. This not at the expense of error.
There would be quite a happier state among us.
Multiplication, you know, is a quick way of adding.
If you wanted to add 2525 times, it would take you.
Quite a moment or two to put it down and add it up all the way through.
But why not put it down 25 / 25 and say 5 * 5 is 25 and 3 * 2 is six 625?
Oh, we need this multiplication.
Among us.
And God has multiplied his grace toward us.
And we read about it, You know, after.
The Lord Jesus suffered on that cross and came forth in mighty resurrection power.
There is much fruit from his death.
The granary of heaven is being filled by that corn of wheat that fell into the ground and died that it might bring forth.
Fruit.
Now he wished to write unto them about a common salvation.
There's much in common that we enjoy.
Are you born again? So am I.
Do you know that your sins are forgiven?
So do I.
Do you know that you're indwelt with the Holy Spirit and that's mine too?
Much we have in common.
And in natural things we have much in common.
Perhaps you boys are interested in Mustangs, barracudas, transmissions and differentials.
New models.
And likely you girls are interested in colors.
The upholstery.
And an allowable interest in the driver.
According to the will of the Lord.
Oh, there's nothing more beautiful.
Than the friendship and the courtship.
Of a pair of believers.
Who are exercised unto godliness.
According to his word.
No doubt you are anxious for the unveiling of the 1965 models.
But there is something that you should be more anxious about.
God has unveiled the future to you and to me.
Its complaints, you know that we have no program.
But here it is.
It's not on just one sheet of paper.
Just think of all that God has brought to our attention in His precious word.
Always see some of the evils that encompass us in our day referred to here in these other verses.
Verse five brings to our attention the unbelief of God's people of old.
And unbelief is a terrible sin now.
And also we see there.
In verse six that the angels leave their original state.
Departing from the presence of God.
And falling into the everlasting chains of darkness by which they are bound.
Under the great day of judgment.
In verse 7, two cities are mentioned.
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Who gave themselves over to fornication?
And went after stranger other flesh.
And these are reserved.
Under.
The import.
Of the judgment of God.
Suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
For sin must have its proper consequences.
And if you do not get into the presence of God confessing your sins.
Accepting his remedy, the substitute that he has provided for you.
You will have to bear those sins of yours alone, and you will never be able to bear them sufficiently throughout this ceaseless ages of eternity.
The density of the darkness of Hell.
Is determined by the intensity of the light and favor of God that you have enjoyed in your day.
For God has spoken unto us in grace by his Son.
We read about these filthy dreamers.
Christendom. The religious world has been besieged by such.
Fill the dreamers, defile the flesh. Despise dominion, Speak evil of dignitaries.
When even Michael the Archangel wouldn't do that.
And in verse 11 we get a pronouncement of woe.
Woe unto them.
In the meeting this morning.
The power and preciousness of the blood of Christ was emphasized.
And also he had before us the power and blessing of the ministry that God has provided for his people.
By risen.
Lord the Ascended Head of a church in heaven.
Always wonderful.
To enter into these precious things, we also had to reference either this morning or yesterday.
To the power of the name of the Lord.
The power of His presence in the midst of his people.
These things perhaps we can refer to now before we finish.
You might be asked.
Just how old you would be at this time.
So keep that in mind.
Woe unto them, for they've gone in the way of Cain.
What is the way of Cain?
The Way of Cain.
Was.
Away of wickedness.
The way of King was and is the way.
Of self righteousness.
The way of Cain is the way of good works.
The way of Cain is the way of world improvement.
The way of Cain is the way out from the presence of the Lord.
He built a city.
Named his son or named the city by his son?
So the way of Cain is the way of pride.
And the way of Cain is the way of a sacrifice without the preciousness of the blood of Christ.
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You heard me say.
And you'll bear with me in repeating again.
That this country believes in blood.
Chicago is a city noted.
For its markets.
Of livestock.
The innocent little pigs that grow up in the country and the calves born in the field were sent into town.
For one purpose to be slaughtered.
Yes, Swift and company and Armor and company and all the other Packers believe in blood.
Because it brings in certain income and we boast in this country that we are a country of meat eaters.
And that this gives us strength on our feet.
And we can compete with other nations.
And we believe in blood when we're sick in body and land in the hospital.
And need revitalization.
There's a brother that breaks bread among us Who has?
Received.
227 transfusions.
That's over 25 gallons of blood.
Evidently, he believes in it.
And our young men are encouraged to devote themselves and patriotism to the death and the shedding of blood in the interest of the preservation of our way of life.
Better why this?
They've gone in the way of Cain.
It's only through the precious blood of Christ.
That salvation can be realized.
The Song of Eternity, The praise is the worship that will fill heaven.
All those courts of yawn glory are based upon the redemption that is ours through the precious blood of Christ.
Don't leave it out.
Don't listen to those who ridicule it.
And who wish that their children would not hear about it.
The Precious Blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Oh, that's the value of it.
Woe unto them, for they've gone in the way of Cain. That's the way of pride. In the dining room we were reading the motto the slogan of the college, and we understand what they mean when they say we can always fight.
But my young friends.
It requires very much more.
To be meek.
And take a lowly place here in this world as you follow along according to the precious word of God.
Our rejected Christ.
Oh yes, it requires more to master yourself than it does to gain the mastery of others.
So let us be quick to practice self judgment.
For only in that way can we please the Lord.
In Cleveland, an elderly sister gave me a statement like this.
Her mother laughed it with her children.
In the year 88, before this century began.
That New England mother said.
All that I wish for my children is that they might be thought little of for Christ sake.
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That's a statement that's well worth remembering. For which world are you living?
This one or the one to come?
Faith looks on to that coming scene of glory that has abiding blessing.
Then we read here that they ran greedily after the era of Balaam for reward.
That kind of thing operates in the Christian profession today.
There is much preaching, you know, that is wrong.
And the reason that it is done is because there is good pay in it.
So you can put the dollar mark along with this, running greedily after the era of Balaam for reward.
And the money, you know, is quite a regulatory thing.
In Christendom.
All the preacher may get a call to go to another place he thinks is the will of the Lord.
One told his wife that he had a call to another place. She says. Aren't you going to pray about it? He says yes, but you go ahead with the packing.
Well, there are other things that we might say.
But we'll notice something in connection with.
The last member of this verse 11.
And perished in the gainsaying of core. I was brought to our attention from the platform last evening in the Gospel.
What was that?
That was rebellion and resistance to divinely appointed authority in Aaron and Moses.
And we find a spirit of resistance and rebellion at large today.
We find it in the home.
We find it in the schools.
We find it in the shops and offices.
We find it in the governments or against the governments.
We find it in the assembly.
Now let's note two things particularly, the scriptures are full on every phase that has been mentioned.
Where we'll take the home.
A little 5 year old boy was corrected. He didn't get his way.
And he goes to his room.
He packs in his little things, his clothes.
And he tells his mother.
I'm leaving home.
He doesn't know what he's doing.
He is expressing A venturesome spirit he's launching out into this big, unknown world.
And his daddy comes in from the work.
And the mother says, Tell Daddy.
Always, says Mother. I'm not going.
We need to reverse ourselves many times.
In haste, we've determined to do our own wills.
But when we do, we'll necessarily suffer the consequences of our waywardness.
A teenage girl says. When I grow up, soon as I can, especially when I become 21, I'm leaving this home. I'm going out on my own.
God wonders, the scriptures say.
Or the home the assembly are divinely established institutions for the preservation of.
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Take the book of Proverbs.
There we get repeatedly in the first chapters or the 1St 7 chapters my son.
We're called upon to heed the instruction that is found there.
A young brother said this morning on the way to breakfast. I'm reading the Book of Proverbs and it encouraged my soul.
As many as the fingers on your hands In those first chapters of Proverbs you have that expression, my son. Perhaps more.
In one place it is a broader expression and says children.
And includes the mother.
All the parents, the parents, the father and the mother are the divinely established channel for your instruction. And Oh dear young people, you would do well to listen before you packed your clothes.
And leave.
And get away from the influences of godly parents.
Well then.
We'll take the assembly.
I don't like this place.
These naughty sheep irritate me.
I was received, you know, to the Lord, to his table.
But in going away, it's a question of leaving the meeting.
And discernment has been lost.
And those who do that to do not realize that they're leading the presence of the Lord.
We ought to know that the Lord is in the midst. According to His promise in Matthew 1820, he's there.
And some of us have proved this in a practical way.
There have been troubles in the meeting.
That would have caused the disintegration and dissolution of that meeting.
If the Lord had not been in the midst of His own, that's been proven to me in my life span of 59 years.
I know he's in the midst.
Remember that.
Before you get into a spirit of resistance and rebellion against the word of God.
Well, these are spots in your face.
These evil workers, who are they?
They feed themselves. They're clowns without water, driven about by the winds.
Oh, they're not established.
You know the ministry that is proper to the children of God is from above.
Oh, it's from an ascended head, a victorious Christ who conquered death and LED captivity captive that we receive that ministry of the word.
That establishes us so that we're not tossed to and fro by every slight of doctrine.
These are trees whose fruit willareth twice dead. How could you be twice dead?
Well, they're dead in nature's darkness.
And they are dead by apostasy.
They are dead as corrupters of God's grace.
As those who live according to.
There are those that approve the filthy stuff that gets into the racks of the news stands.
Well, judgment is coming. Enoch prophesied our just the 7th from Adam.
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Judgment will overtake the ungodly.
Banalis Pass to a further thought.
And that is.
Of his provision for us and how we can be preserved. He couldn't write to them of the common salvation.
He had to.
Write concerning earnestly contending for the faith which was once delivered to the Saints.
How can you do that?
You can't very well contend for the faith if you do not know it.
And to know it properly, according to the precious word of God, you must go all the way back to the beginning.
And pick up the truth as it was freshly ministered when Christianity was first inaugurated.
We need to contend earnestly for the faith that was once delivered to the Saints, and if we are occupied with that in devotion to the Lord and His will.
Will not be in a spirit of resistance and rebellion, and disobedience and departure from the truth.
Now we see here.
These are they who separate themselves, sensual or natural, having not the spirit.
Those are they who deny the deity of Christ.
Those are they who deny the virgin birth of Christ.
Those are they who chop off the scriptures eliminating.
In the beginning chapters and other portions as well that do not meet their expectations.
These are they who are modernists.
And whose energies are spent.
On the man here below.
These are they that who would bring together all Christendom in one mighty camp.
Perhaps some of God's dear servants might be mistakenly brought into such a thing.
But these are easily recognized by what they do.
We got 3 beloveds in this official.
But ye beloved.
Building up yourselves on your most holy faith. That's why you're here, isn't it?
Building up yourselves in your most holy faith. That's the word. You can't do it apart from the word, the scriptures. You need to give attention to them.
And praying in the Holy Ghost, you need to be in communion with the Lord.
Certainly so.
Underneath and you need to keep yourselves in the love of God.
Oh, when things are so cold and barren and harsh in this great world.
The Great House.
That great profession of Christianity.
All you need to keep yourselves in the love of God.
And looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Which member of the verse or phrase it refers to? His return is coming.
All let's be looking for him.
Are they any year that are 10 years old?
Are there any here that are 24?
You know, if you're 10 years old.
You will be 46 years old in the year 2000.
And if you are 24, you will be about 60.
You know there's a whole generation that will be taken to heaven without dying when the Lord comes.
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And you might well be that particular generation.
And it's possible it's imminent, and that could be very well true of all present here today.
For we are never promised tomorrow.
The coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
Now what is your response to this?
We got at least three different responses to the Lords coming indicated in the word, and for the first, we'll turn to Luke 12.
Luke's Gospel, chapter 12.
And while we turn to Luke 12.
A trace thought comes to my mind.
And it's this.
In Proverbs, it was my son.
In Luke 16.
When we come to the case of the rich man.
That found himself in torments.
And he cried and plead for one drop of water because he was tormented in that flame.
And there was a gulf fixed. There was number relief for him.
Well then, he pleads.
Saying to my father's house, I have five brothers, that he may testify unto them.
Or he wanted Lazarus to go and tell his brothers not to come into that awful place.
Was the rich man there because he was rich.
No, he was there because he rejected God's testimony.
And if you find yourself in outer darkness, you will be there because you have refused.
The precious gospel of His grace.
And note this difference.
And Abraham said.
He couldn't say my.
He said.
It makes a difference, doesn't it?
Son, remember, it will be an awful thing.
To remember.
That you have the opportunity of getting into the fullness of God's grace and refused it.
In Luke 12 here we have the case of one that was unfaithful. He was a wicked servant, and he said, my Lord, Delayeth his coming, verse 45.
Well, that's a man of profession.
That's a man that doesn't really know the Lord. Is there anyone like that here today that professes to be the Lord's? And whose heart is like this? My Lord delayeth his coming. And what did he do? He began to go according to his own will. He began to exert his authority.
He left the place of dependence and meekness.
And he suffered the consequences.
Oh, let's be careful, lest we're like him. Now let's turn to Second Peter, Chapter 3.
There we read of a different group.
Bursary knowing this first, that there shall come in the last day scoffers walking after their own lusts.
And saying where is the promise of this coming?
Well, these are men of intelligence and reason.
They say the Lord is not coming at all. Everything is going on just like it's been going on since the time of the Fathers. We don't expect any change like that.
That's man's reason. What did the Savior say? What did the Lord say here? He left the bosom of his little flock.
I will come again and receive you unto myself.
Then let's notice a final reference in the end of Revelation.
Verse 20 The last message to the church, he which testify of these things saith, Surely I come quickly, surely I come quickly.
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That's the statement.
He's coming soon. That's his promise and it's always had that character.
Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
He which testifies these things saith, Surely I come quickly.
What is your response? Do you join with the apostle John?
As he says Amen, Even so.
There's two amens.
Amen Even so.
Come Lord Jesus.
Well, here we don't have the man of profession, neither do we have the man of reason. But we have the man of God. We have the man of communion. And why did he have this response to the thought of the Lord's return?
It's because that he was faithful. He was on the Isle of Patmos for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
He was walking with the Lord in communion. He was happy in his soul and he was ready for the Lord's coming.
He was in the spirit on the Lords day.
All young people beware of the spirit of these times in which we are found.
Seek to be faithful according to the word and the testimony of Jesus Christ and be found in the Spirit on the Lords day and uncover all the other days of the week. That's the principal day.
The day of remembrance. The day of His resurrection. His victory. The day of the beginning of the Church. The day that the disciples came together to break bread. The first day of the week.
Or position will not keep us.
Coming to the Sunday school, to the meeting regularly and coming to the conferences, mere position will not keep us. That will not keep us.
Work inside must correspond, So devote yourselves to the Lord, Renew your minds according to Romans 12, and present your bodies a living sacrifice unto him.
Which is your reasonable or intelligent service and you will enjoy?
The fullness of God's blessing.
And that future will be unveiled to you.
Oh, what glory lies ahead?
Let's seek to be in the good of it now.
Knowing our Blessed Lord in a better way, before we arrive in His presence and to close our meeting, we'll use the hymn that was used at the close of the young people's meeting yesterday.
256 will begin, however, at a different verse.
1St 2:00.