Address—Eric James
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Number 19 in the back of the book.
Read verse number.
4 Yet another morning my spirit may be free.
Is absent from the body at home. O Lord, with thee, O sleep, O rest till precious is guarded by thy care. I'm waiting for thy promise to meet thee in the air. We received a e-mail from our brother Wayne Coleman this morning, as some others did here, announcing he said wonderful news that his father was in the Lord's presence.
We, uh, and he mentioned that, uh, he often read that verse I just read to his father the last couple of weeks. He knew his father was in a great deal of pain and, uh, he knew that soon he'd be home with the Lord. I spoke with Wayne a couple weeks ago or so and he told me how much pain his father was in and, uh, I think Wayne, I said, Wayne, you know?
Uh, we so appreciated your dad. His dad had come and stayed with us in several occasions. He used to like to tell us and others that we were his home away from home.
And, umm, Anita and I got on the phone here a couple months back and we knew that he probably wouldn't live that much longer. And we spoke to Walter and we said, brother, among other things, we said we so appreciate the fact that you're finishing your course with joy. We had just finished the second book of Chronicles in one of our readings. And, uh, it's certainly noticeable, isn't it?
There's so many of the kings of Judas started well, but it didn't last too long and they didn't finish well. It's rare.
To finish well. And we told our brother Walter that we so appreciated the testimony, the encouragement. It is to us that he loved the Lord. He loved the truth, loved the assembly, and he was faithful to the end. And he finished his course with joy. Well, let's sing this. Him that was so dear to our brother Walter at the end of his life. Him #19 in the back of the book.
And help me.
Cortana.
Nsnoise.
And, umm.
I went to.
A lot of things for all of my hands and everything.
'S all good and lean on.
Let's bow our heads.
God our Father, we thank you for the sentiments of this hymn. We thank Thee that it lifts our minds up to heaven. We pray that we might be each one of our prayers that we would abide in that heavenly love. We do thank Thee that our brother Walter is home with thee, safe in court. We thank you for the testimony he bore. We pray that we would follow.
Those same footsteps to let us come to take us home. So we pray for help as we open thy precious Word, our God, our Father.
Who has requested that we would give thy people meet in due season? And we pray for help in that regard. We pray these things now. We give thee thanks in Jesus precious name, Amen.
I'd like to look first of all to some verses in First Timothy and Second Timothy. Return to the 6th chapter of First Timothy. Wanted to read that in the new translation because the language is a little different. I don't do that too often, but feel in this case it's important to do.
First Timothy, chapter 6.
In verse 20. Verse 20.
Keep the entrusted deposit, avoid profane vain babblings and opponents of false name knowledge of which some having made profession have missed the faith. Grace be with thee. What I particularly had in mind was that expression entrusted deposit. So I'd like to speak about this afternoon and then over in the over the over in the next page, the 1St chapter of Second Timothy.
Verse 12.
For which cause? Also again I'm reading from the new translation.
For which cause also I suffer these things, but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that day to that day. The deposit I have entrusted to him. Have an outline of sound words, which words thou hast heard of me, and faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus.
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Keep by the Holy Spirit, which dwells in US, the good deposit entrusted.
And then if you turn just a couple pages again to the first chapter of first Timothy, verse four expression, I want to read there reading from the middle of the verse there speaking about fables and interminable genealogies, which brings questions rather than notice this expression bringing questions rather than further God's dispensation.
Which is in faith, but the end of what is enjoined is love out of a pure heart, and a good conscience an unfeigned faith.
Little this afternoon. The entrusted deposit. What is it? The deposit that God has entrusted to us in this day? You know, I noticed we first came here. I'd never been here before and looked at some of the literature in the main hall and I appreciated some of the things that were there. I didn't know that this is the place where Mr. Tozier is buried. He was certainly a giant in the beginning of last century, and we appreciate his godliness, I remember.
Reading once about Mr. Tojer that.
He said he had preached themselves at of most of the pulpits of North America because he was a faithful man and people didn't always want to hear what he had to say. But I was reading this here. It says 1908 Montrose Bible Conference was founded by Doctor Ruben, a Tory pastor and evangelist. He saw the purpose of the conference as a place to bring people quote.
Into right relationship with God and to send them back to their work with a larger vision.
Of Christian privilege and service on fire with a love for men. We can add Amen to that, can't we? That's certainly a wonderful purpose and it's gone on for over 100 years now. I was struck too. I wrote down a couple of comments that I've enjoyed and various sources. I was struck by a comment by a man named William McDonald. Maybe you've read his devotional.
It's called one day at a time. It's probably my favorite devotional. If you've had a chance to read it, I would encourage you to, uh, read it. If you haven't, uh, you would enjoy it the day by day devotional. And, uh, I was struck by this comment he made. He said the tragedy of life today is that men fail to appreciate their high calling. And, uh, I wanted to speak about that high calling today.
What is our high calling?
What is the entrusted deposit that God has given to us? Now we know we live in the last days of the church. There's a tendency to give up truth. I know many people have the idea that the church is progressing and progressing and progressing. We have more truth than we've ever had, but it's not true. Speaking of Christendom in general, but what we have today is largely if we read Scripture.
A giving up of much of the recovered truth.
So I'd like to look at some things today. I actually thought of this little talk I had in mind. Today is kind of a multi, a multimedia presentation. I know that may sound a little strange to us in modern thinking because you don't see any screen or any such thing. I don't have an object lesson, but you know, scripture in a sense is multimedia. I want to first turn over to and you might just start.
Working your way over there over to.
Acts Chapter 20.
Favorite passage of mine. But in Scripture we have doctrine, we have types and figures that illustrate that doctrine, and we have examples of people that have walked in the truth of that doctrine. And let's say I think of that sort of as a multimedia type of information. The more we read Scripture, the more we see how that there are many, many parallels.
In scripture many types and figures that.
That illustrate truth that's taught in a doctrinal way. Well, let's start with the doctrine in Acts chapter 20 and then we'll look at some illustrations of that.
Acts chapter 20. This is Paul speaking to the Ephesians elders. He didn't know if he'd ever see them again and these were his parting words to them. Verse 24.
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I'll start at the end.
The ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the Kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Well, if you would just put a marker there perhaps, and turn over to a type or an illustration.
Of this truth, over to Matthew chapter 13.
Now this Matthew chapter 13 is a chapter that many have referred to.
I have to confess that I personally have kind of wrestled with the message in this chapter. What is it really speaking about? And I think some of the commentators have wrestled with it, too. It's not always as clear, perhaps as it might be. We know that some have had quite different thoughts about it. But I believe in retrospect, what we have in this chapter is what we have a number of times in Scripture, I believe at least three times in Matthew.
Twice in Acts, and that is we have an outline of church history.
And that's a helpful thing for us, isn't it? I know the interpretation goes a little bit beyond the church, not going to, don't have time to get into that too much. But the interpretation goes beyond the parables themselves. This is common, But what we have really is a outline of church history. You notice the first parable in Matthew 13 is the parable of the sower. The sower sowed good seed, and there was a mixture.
It fell on different types of ground.
Uh, some were real. Only one was real that fell on good ground. The others were not real. That's Christian profession includes both those that are real and those that are not real.
And then the second, just to be brief here because I wanna get to the last three, the 2nd is the tears that were sown in the field. And that again speaks of the work of the enemy, how we tried to dilute the testimony. And indeed he did dilute the testimony. And the weeds grew up with the weed as well. And then the third mystery, or the 3rd parable was the grain of mustard seed.
And it became.
A great tree. It's a picture of what happened.
Uh, the, in the, uh, what, 3rd or 4th century when Constantine embraced Christianity and actually made it the, uh, state religion. And as a result, uh, we have what we have what's called in, uh, in Revelation 2, pergamos. Pergamos means a corrupt marriage. And indeed, when the church and the world were married, that's a corrupt marriage.
And so, uh, we have the history moving on.
And it went further in the fourth mystery. We have 11. Notice what it says there in verse 33.
The middle of the verse, the Kingdom of heaven is like unto 11, or yeast as we know.
Which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till the hole was leavened. Well, that corresponds with what we have in Thyatira, doesn't it? In Revelation chapter 2? That was the low point in some respects of the church testimony. From that time a remnant began to be separated, as is mentioned there in the second chapter of Revelation. So I'd like to get on then with verse 44.
The 5th parable.
Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in the field, the which when a man hath found, he hide it, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Well, what is that? After the low point of Thyatira, the high point of Catholicism in this world, what happened? God began to separate a remnant. And we read about that in the Reformation. And I'd encourage you, young.
Especially, and those of us that are a little older too, to read church history, read what your legacy is. Uh, we read that many suffered under the, uh, under Catholicism. And yet there were those that were real and, uh, beginning with men like John Huss and Wickliffe, uh, sometimes called the morning Star, the Reformation. And some years later, Luther, you know, was called the Hussite for many years and he objected to that.
Until we read what John Huss wrote and then he said, and that's what I am, there's no difference, even though I remember about 150 years before and was burned at the stake. But nonetheless, we have the recovery. The the the truth was begun to be recovered. But a treasure, as Mr. Kelly points out, normally is made-up of numerous pieces. And I believe the recovery began with the truth.
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That's important for the individual believer. The recovery happened in stages, did it not? And so.
The Kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hid in the field. And so if we look back at Acts 20, don't turn there necessarily, but the first stage that we have there and the doctrinal stage that Paul mentions is the gospel of the grace of God. What is the gospel of the grace of God? It's the truth that God became a man.
He came to us in our need, just where we were.
And he wrought salvation at Calvary's cross, the gospel of the grace of God. We heard that last night, didn't we? I often feel that one of the clearest illustrations of the gospel, the grace of God, is the Good Samaritan, is it not? He came to that man just where he was and all his need and.
He wrought salvation for that man, and I don't want to spend too much time on that because we heard that last night and we often heard it, but that's certainly part.
Of the entrusted deposit we have, isn't it? And that truth is being given up. We wanna hold it firm.
That truth has a double aspect to it. Without spending much time on it, just remember what Augustus Toplity said he wrote in that hymn. That famous hymn Rock of Ages cleft for me. Let me hide myself in thee. Let the water in the blood from the ribbon, thy ribbon side which flowed be of sin, the double cure, cleansing from its guilt and power. You know, with many Christians speaking to somebody recently.
They said, you know, I had a good friend who was a Christian, and she said, all I want to know is forgiveness of sins. You know, that's just the beginning of Christianity, isn't it, to know forgiveness of sins. There isn't a lot of depth to that. Some people say, I just want to have my sins forgiven and then live the way I want to live. As long as I've got a fire escape to heaven, that's all I need. But that's not the blessing that God intends for us, is it? And so we know from the book of Romans.
And other books as well. That there's a double cure for sin, not only forgiveness of sins. Notice what it said in that hymn.
Cleansing from its guilt and power were delivered, and when we truly understand what our salvation is, we're delivered not only from the guilt of sin, but from its power as well. That's our standing in Christ. What a wonderful truth that is. Well, we have to pass on, but that's what was recovered. I shouldn't say that was recovered. I believe only the first half was recovered during the Reformation. It was some years later before.
Uh, believers understood the second-half of that, what Mr. Kelly liked to call the full gospel. But there's more to this. I believe as we read in Acts chapter 20, some more individual truth. That's, uh, turn back there real quickly. Keep our finger there. It says there in verse 25 of Acts 20, uh, I know that ye all among whom I have gone preaching the Kingdom of God.
Shall see my face no more. What is the Kingdom of God?
Well, when we read in the book of Romans, it tells us the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
It's the moral side of Christianity. When I become a Christian, and this is one of the things that was recovered as well in the Reformation, began to be recovered, at least in the Reformation. They started to realize that if you say you're a Christian, you better live like a Christian. In fact, I was talking to a brother the other day and I said, you know, the Lord knows them that are his. I have a brother who was raised in under the gospel.
But any professes to be a Christian in a certain sense, but.
I said, you know, there's no fruit in his life that we can tell at all, sad to say. And the Scripture says by their fruit you shall know them. So Christianity is not only saying you're a Christian, it's not only being saved, but it goes beyond that. And it's an issue of living like a Christian. And we've been speaking about that and these meetings, haven't we, salvation of this.
This present tends to salvation, which is salvation of life. We can have soul salvation.
But we may have a lost life. That's a serious thing. I hope each one of us takes that to heart. Over the years, we've seen that many times and been tempted to it ourselves. Haven't we that be satisfied with being saved? But what about the life that the Lord is entrusted to us as a believer? Do we walk like a Christian? Are we a light for the Lord Jesus in this world?
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Or did we just want to get that fire escape to heaven? We just want to make sure that when we leave this world, we go to heaven.
But then just walk as a worldly person through this world. When I'm saved, I belong to another, no longer myself.
And so that's what we have here. I believe in the truth as we read there in Acts chapter 20, the Kingdom of God, there's a moral side to it, and Scripture is full of it. As we mentioned yesterday, Mr. Kelly thought that when we read the word salvation in the New Testament, it more commonly speaks of this type of salvation.
How we're saved as Christians, not to become Christians, but as we live as Christians that have a life that's honoring to the Lord.
That's what the teaching of the Kingdom of God is, that we live a life that's honoring to the Lord Jesus. Well, there's so much more we could talk about there. Something else I wanted to mention. There's another little book that I've used a number of times. It's called More than a Carpenter. I like it for an evangelical tool. Maybe some of you have read it by Josh McDowell, and in that book he speaks about the person of Christ Josh McDowell was.
Raised in a dysfunctional family.
His father was the town drunk. That was a terrible embarrassment to him. And, uh, the time came where he was an agnostic. He thought of this is the kind of father he had and this is the kind of father that God is. He didn't want anything to do with them. But over the course of time, he realized that there must be more in life. And I think it's interesting in that little book called More than a Carpenter, again, I've given it out as an evangelical tool on a number of.
He begins with a quote from a 13th century philosopher. And that philosopher says something along these lines. He says every soul has a hunger or a thirst for meaning and happiness. Oh, well, that's interesting, isn't it? And that's how Josh McDowell began his search. He knew there was something missing in his life, knew there was something beyond what he could see.
And he had that hunger for happiness. He wasn't happy.
He had that hunger for happiness. He had a hunger for meaning in life. What's the meaning of life? It's a good question. People ask that all the time, don't they? There was a painter named Agon and he, he painted a famous painting, which is rather mysterious until you read the caption underneath it. And the caption underneath it says.
Whence what, Whither, Where did I come from?
What is my purpose in life? Where am I going? He had no idea he was a disciple of Roussel, and he found that there was no true satisfaction in that philosophy or any other philosophy that men have. But nonetheless.
The time came in Josh Mcdowell's life where he felt he had to deal with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, God has given us at least seven testimonies concerning himself. We can't go into that now. That's a whole meeting in itself. But one of those testimonies is the fact that God became a man. He walked into this world. He died in Calvary's cross.
And if he truly is who he said he was. If he truly is who the Bible says he is.
If he truly is who millions have said he is, then I have to deal with that fact before I leave this world. And that's why he wrote the book More Than a Carpenter. Again, I believe that's only one of seven testimonies God gives. We could talk about that another time. But nonetheless, that's a powerful evangelical tool. I might add to that philosopher.
He says men have a thirst for happiness. That's true. A thirst for meaning. What's the purpose of life? What am I doing here?
I might add also from a Christian context that we should have a desire to be fruitful in this world.
At least those three things. And that's important, isn't it? But you know, there's a caveat to all of that. And I want to look at our verse here again in verse 44. These things have to do with the individual truths that began to be recovered at the Reformation that we can be so thankful for that. Notice what it says in verse 44 of Matthew 13.
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The treasure was hid in the field. The witch, when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath.
And bias that field. Who's that man? Well, we know that was the Lord Jesus Christ, wasn't it? He sold all that he had and bought it. He went to the cross so that he might have a family, a bride for time and for all eternity. That's what the Lord Jesus did. You know, the philosopher again looks at himself and he says we have a thirst for happiness. We have a thirst for meaning. As I said, we might have a.
To be fruitful in this world for some reason. But in one sense that's backwards, isn't it? My desiring happiness by desiring happiness is fine, but by seeking happiness I'll never find it. Isn't that an interesting thing? So what's the secret of happiness? How can we find happiness? Well again, I jotted down a little poem I appreciate.
This is by a man named Simpson. Maybe it was a woman, I don't remember but.
Once it was the blessing, now it is the Lord. Once it was the feeling, now it is His Word. Once His gifts I wanted, now the give her home. Once I sought for healing, now himself alone. This is a great secret to this world through which we passed.
That if we make happiness our goal, we won't find it. If we make meaning, our goal will be like the philosophers that twist themselves in pretzel pretzels all day long.
And never get anywhere. But what's the secret to happiness and meaning? It's by putting the Lord Jesus first. That's the true source. We mentioned the acrostic of joy, didn't we? Jesus first, others next, yourself last.
And uh, and uh, Galatians 220, we have that key, don't we? I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live yet not live yet not I.
But Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God.
Who loved me and gave himself for me. That's the secret, you know. The man of the world makes himself the center of his world.
And many people after they're saved, they make the law the their rule of life is, it's sometimes called, they say, well, I'm saved now, I guess I have to be obedient. So they make the law the rule of life, and they think by some measure they can justify themselves to God by keeping the 10 commandments. And we saw the illustration this morning that the law doesn't do a very good job of that.
But I appreciated what Josh said. There's an attractive center.
And that's the true secret of happiness. That's the true secret of meaning in our lives and our fruit bearing. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Isn't that a great secret? So we seek these things. But again, it's not just the blessings. It's not intelligent to only seek the blessings or the feelings.
The greatest intelligence is we find as we mature that we.
Seek Christ, and then we get those things, we get true happiness. Uh, it's one of the saddest things again to see people who are pursuing happiness day after day. They'll never find it, not permanently, not for very long. Because the only true source of happiness is to put Christ first. Well, let me read another little poem. I'm sorry I'm reading so many, but I've enjoyed them recently. And I, we went over this with our young people not too long ago.
Maybe some of you have heard this poem before, but this again is the secret of true happiness in this world. True meaning, understanding our purpose, true fruitfulness. Oh, the bitter shame and sorrow that a time could ever be when I left the Savior's pity, plead in vain, and proudly answered all of self.
And none of thee yet he found me.
I beheld him bleeding on the accursed tree, heard him pray forgive them, Father, and my wistful heart said faintly, Some of self, and some of thee.
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Day by day is tender mercy, healing, helping full and free, sweet and strong and awe. So patient brought me lower while I whispered less of self and more of thee.
Higher than the highest heavens, deeper than the deepest sea. Lord, thy love at last is conquered. Grant me now my supplication. None of self, and all of the.
That's a sweet poem, isn't it? I found that somewhere and my wife said, oh, we used to sing that. So she sang it to me. There's apparently a a music that goes along with that. Well, let's move on. My wife always says don't jam too much in. You try to jam too much in and then you don't finish what you'd like to finish. So let's move on to what we have in Matthew 13 again.
Uh, verse 45. Well, before we do that, let's turn back to the doctrine.
In uh, Acts chapter 20.
We have the individual truths. I believe in the Reformation, the great truth that was recovered was the authority of Scripture. I believe we have the forgiveness of sins and we have to a certain extent, to the truth of right Christian living.
But I believe even later there were those who who valued that even more than those early believers. But what they learned in those times they were willing to give their lives for, even though it was just the beginnings of Christianity, just those individual truths. They didn't know any more than that. Well, later on, the holiness movement came along, and with all its faults, it emphasized the reality of Christian living.
In a way that would be honoring to the Lord, Yes, it was often legally based, I understand that.
But it was in a certain direction that was honoring to the Lord. And when we get to the 18th century, we find men like, uh, uh, Wesley and Whitfield that, uh, started a holiness club. They realized that, uh, they wanted to honor the Lord in their college campus where they were, and they began those clubs and they realized that true blessing would come if they sought to please the Lord. And indeed, that led to, uh, greater light.
Scripture, you know, Mr. Darby, uh, paraphrase a statement that Isaac Newton made. Isaac Newton, of course, the famous, uh, famous scientist made a statement that he stood on the shoulders of giants. He recognized that the things he discovered were the basis for that was laid by others that went before. And Mr. Darby used that same expression. He said, you know, I stand on the shoulders of giants. There's others that have gone.
Four, those reformers that often gave their lives and those in the holiness movement, many who gave their lives. Read about Gerhart as well as some of these others. We mentioned men like that who sacrificed their life, and many actually gave their lives for the cause of Christ, and we honor those men and we're thankful for them well.
What we have next, then an X, is all the Council.
Of God in verse 27 for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Isn't that a wonderful thing? Many Christians today are thankful that they're saved. Perhaps they even understand their standing that they're not only saved from the guilt of sin, but the power of sin. And we hear things like focus on the family and it's, uh, certainly has some things that are helpful.
Uh, living like a Christian in this world, That's certainly important, isn't it?
But God has more for us. The entrusted deposit includes those things, but it goes beyond. I think the song we had speaks about those things that are heavenly. This is the true source of blessing God has for us. You know, the Lord Jesus came into this world first of all, to meet our need. That's true. We had these needs and the Lord came to meet these needs. But Peter and I were speaking.
The other day, Peter Blair and I were speaking the other day about the distinction between the gospel of the grace of God and what Scripture calls the gospel of the glory of God. The gospel of the grace of God is God beating us in our desperate need. The gospel of the glory of God is the fact that he's gone back to heaven and he dispenses blessings beyond all we can ask or think. That's all the counsel of God, what we have here. How many Christians stop too soon? Don't get the.
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Blessings that God has for us in virtue of the fact the Lord Jesus has gone to heaven as a victor and in virtue of the fact that the Spirit of God has come down to indwell us and to guide us into all truth. So here we have all the counsel of God. What we read earlier about having an outline of sound words, didn't we? And some of the things that were recovered then about 170 years ago, we can be so thankful for it. I believe this is the.
Entrusted deposit, part of it, along with the things we've already mentioned, dispensationalism. That's why I read that verse in first Timothy chapter one, further furthering the dispensation of God. You have to get the new translation to get that language furthering the dispensation of God. God has entrusted us with that privilege and that blessing. What is the dispensation of God?
Dispensationalism is really.
An outline of Scripture. You won't understand Scripture unless you understand at least the rudiments of dispensationalism.
What are those rudiments? Well, in the most basic form, they have to do with Jew, Gentile, and Church of God understanding the origin, the purpose and the hope of those three people groups. Fact. That's the key to many things in Scripture. We understand that as members of the Church of God, we're very different.
And our origin, our purpose and our hope from Israel passed and and future.
And that's very important to understand. And so we have all the counsel of God that's been brought to light. Now God says I have a treasure of blessing that I want you to get a hold of. Let's look at the figure of that in Matthew 13 verse 45. And the Kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls.
When he had found one Pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had.
And bought it.
That Pearl of great price, of course, is the church, isn't it? And the church is the key to all the counsel of God.
The Lord Jesus said I love my Master, my wife, my children. I will not go out free.
And now he's gone back to heaven, and these things have been dispensed to us all. The counsel of God, you know.
When these things were recovered, first of all, we had an outline of Scripture. We understand there's the Old Testament in the New Testament, but we understand that God is speaking in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Remember, Brother Norman Berry used to often say that in the New Testament, the Bible is like a textbook. He said in the New Testament, it's like the text, and the Old Testament is like the illustrations that we have that illustrate the text. And that's often true, isn't it? So the Old Testament finally came alive.
You know, we went to, uh, there happens to be a full, uh, size scale of the Tabernacle near Lancaster here in Pennsylvania. We went there a couple days ago. I'd heard about it over the years and wanted to visit at some point. So we went there and it's run by Mennonites really. And, uh, we asked some questions about the types and so on, and mainly we got a blank look because they talk about the Tabernacle.
But they don't really understand that it's a type of things, an illustration of New Testament truth.
In fact, the Tabernacle is one of the greatest types of New Testament truth. I believe there's two great.
Types in the Old Testament that teaches New Testament truth. One is the Tabernacle, the other is the journey from Egypt to Canaan. Again, those are subjects for meetings all by themselves, but believe we have wonderful outlines in both the Tabernacle and the journey from Egypt to Canaan. But nonetheless, uh, she didn't have too much to say about that, didn't seem to understand that. But all of a sudden when those men began to understand the truth of dispensationalism, the distinction.
Between Jew, Gentile, and Church of God, all of a sudden scripture became alive. All of a sudden prophecy opened up. If you don't understand dispensationalism, you cannot understand prophecy. You cannot understand prophecy, you can't understand the scriptures, you can't understand prophecy. All of a sudden prophecy came to light. It's been said about 1/3 of scripture is prophetic. That's a lot to miss.
And so all of a sudden it became alive, and brethren could understand it, and they could pass it on to us.
That's part of the entrusted deposit.
Other brethren, I don't believe that this was really understood until the last 150 or 60 years or so. You know, in the 1St century, the Scriptures weren't all written and there was a big struggle between Judaism and Christianity, between the law and Christianity, and I don't think they really got a hold of a lot of these things. Of course, the apostles understood it and some of the prophets, but by and large, I don't think that truth is understood very well.
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After the Apostles passed off the seed, the Apostolic Further, the Fathers lost a great deal of truth if you reference some of the things they've written.
They lost even some of the fundamentals of Christianity. So for many, many years the truth was lost. It's only been in these recent years, these last 100 and 7000 and 50 years that the truth has been recovered. All the counsel of God, that's a privilege and a responsibility. This is the entrusted deposit that God has entrusted to us.
Another thing about dispensationalism when you understand the outline of scripture.
You understand, start to understand prophecy, you can understand those types and pictures in the Old Testament. They come alive and it's a wonderful study. Once we get into it, you find that it's thrills like nothing else. I remember some of you may have a struggle as we often have. We all have at times with getting motivated to read scripture.
Remember, Mr. Lundin used to often say, do you wanna have more interest in Scripture?
Then read it, read it and you'll start to get more interest and interest and interest. The more you understand the broad outline that you can start to understand the principles, start to see the the parallels in Scripture, the progression in Scripture, the parentheses. There's some important parentheses in Scripture. If we don't understand the parentheses, we're gonna miss the counsel of God. There's important parentheses and Scriptures as well as progression and as well as.
Uh, parallelism.
But these things start to come alive as we read Scripture, as we go to the meetings. Why would we want to go to the meetings? I know it's one thing sometimes to come to these conferences. Everybody looks pretty nice in their Sunday clothes. What about when we go back home? Do we make a diligent study of the scriptures? Are we anxious to go and be a help during the midweek meetings as well as during the meeting on large day? Or do we just kind of say, well, I've got my life to live?
I guess I am going to live, I guess I will live AC minus Christian life. You know, I taught for about 10 years in junior college level. At the end of the quarter, you had to give out grades and of course to get there I had to get quite a few grades too. But nonetheless, not very satisfying. Get AC minus. Is that, uh, is that the kind of Christian life we want to live AC minus life.
Well, the Lord wants far more for us, and so he's entrusted this deposit to us.
That was hid from generations in the past. In many respects, throughout the dark years of Christianity, it wasn't understood. We can be thankful with printing that, uh, many of these things began to be understood again. But in our day, I think particularly we have a special privilege because so much is available online. Uh, there's no excuse. I didn't don't have to have a huge library anymore because I can hop online to stemorbiblecenter.org or some of those.
Websites and I can get tremendous a tremendous library.
So all the counsel of God, and that's what we have in this Pearl here, when he had found one Pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Well, let's get on to the third part. I want to speak.
About verse 47 and Matthew 13 Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind, which when it was full, they drew to shore and sat down.
And gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. What does that mean? You know, I wrestled with that for a long time. And I think there's something helpful here that's, uh, been an encouragement to me. The truth, the individual truths were begun to be restored with the Reformation and then the holiness movement. I think they started to point us in the direction that if you're a Christian, we need to live like a Christian. And then the whole counsel of God was recovered some years ago.
Well, what does this have to say to us today? Talks about the net. Well that's the gospel net. We're often told I believe that's true the gospel has gone out in recent years in an unprecedented way and we can be thankful for it and then it talks about those that those fish that are brought in the gospel net are gathered gather the good into vessels but cast the bad away Well the vessel is the assembly that's.
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Purpose. And so when we read in Colossians chapter one, we have two headships there. We have two reconciliations and we have two ministries. The one ministry is the gospel ministry. That's the net that goes out. The other ministry is the ministry of the mystery, or what we've been speaking about is dispensationalism. But what does this mean then? Well, I believe there's some practical lessons for us.
Let's turn to get some examples, I said.
We wanted to speak about some examples here, as well as figures and as well as doctrine. Turn back to Second Chronicles chapter 30 to begin with.
Why does it bring this out in the last days? Gather the good into vessels? Does God have a purpose? Is it really practical in our day to walk in the light of these things that have been recovered over the last several 100 years? Or are we to go along with those who say, you know, it's all over?
We live in an evil day.
There's such failure. We can't argue with that. That's true. Are we to go like many others and say, well, we'll just give up and we'll just please ourselves? That's really what it comes down to, doesn't it? If I say there's no testimony, no responsibility underneath, I'm really saying I just want to please myself. That's not a very good motive, is it? I think we can judge that pretty quickly. But what does Scripture have to say? Well, let's look at some examples.
As I mentioned, this is part of the multimedia presentation. First we have some doctrine, then we have some types or figures. Now we have some examples that'll be a help to us. In, uh, Second Chronicles chapter 30, I read about King Hezekiah. Don't have time to read much in the few minutes we have left, but let's read what it says there in, uh, chapter 30 verse, uh.
25 Hezekiah was.
One of the later kings of Judah, he lived during the day of Isaiah the prophet.
There was still some 150 years or so before Jerusalem was destroyed, but nonetheless, there was a, a, a great deal of giving up in his day. So what did he do? Did he fold his hands and say, well, I guess it's a sad time we live in, we'll just give up? No, here's what he did. Verse 25 of Second Chronicles 30. And all the congregation of Judah with the priests and the Levites and all the congregation that came out of Israel and the strangers.
Came out of the land of Israel and that dwelt in Judah. Rejoiced. This was when they kept the Passover.
How did they keep that Passover? Verse 26? So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel, there was not the like in Jerusalem. Let's turn over a few chapters to chapter 3035. We have another man named Josias. I met Josiah this morning.
We have a king named Josiah. It's one of the very last kings of Israel.
Of the two tribes before Jerusalem was destroyed and in chapter 35 we have in verse 17.
The children of Israel that were present, notice it wasn't all of them. Now 10 tribes have been carried captive by this time, and they had invited some of the other tribes, the 10 tribes that have been carried captive, and some responded. And the children of Israel that were present, verse 17, kept the Passover at that time, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, seven days.
And there was no Passover like that like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet. Neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a Passover as Josiah kept, and the priest, and the Levites, and all Judah.
In Israel that were present and the inhabitants of Jerusalem here it not only goes back in its intelligence to Solomon's day, but we can see it goes all the way back to.
Uh.
What does it say here? All the way back to Samuel the prophet? They had intelligence that had been missed for many, many years. They acted in a practical way on it, and the Lord commends them for it. Turn over to Nehemiah. Nehemiah chapter 8. They kept the Feast of Tabernacles in Nehemiah's day.
They had kept the Feast of Tabernacles over the years. This wasn't the first time it was kept in Israel's history. But notice what it says here, verse 17 of Nehemiah chapter 8. And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity, made booze and sat under the booze for since the days of Joshua the son of nun.
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Unto that day had not the children of Israel done so.
And there was very great gladness. There was a day of even greater ruin than that of Hezekiah or Josiah. And yet they're commended for their intelligence and their practical carrying out of the truth that had been entrusted to them so many years before.
Just want to read a couple more things here that I had enjoyed. We live at a time, again I believe, when the Lord would desire us to walk in the truth. It's been recovered. Not only the recovery of individual truths, as important as that is in its place, but the recovery of collective truth.
The whole council of God, the church at the center. And what's the center of the church?
It's Christ, isn't it? People often say, well what do you mean gather to the Lord's name? What does that mean? Well, I my answer often is, what other center would God allow than that of his beloved Son? Isn't that simple? God would not allow any other center. What happened when they wanted to make 3 tabernacles? The Lord said to God, the Father said, this is my beloved son, hear him.
God only has one gathering center. That's the.
Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And we know all around us there's a giving up of that, an ecumenical movement. Let me just read a couple things here. In the few moments we have left. First of all, I believe we have a privilege that in reality is unmatched.
And all the creatures of God's creation.
Would you rather be an Angel?
No, an Angel is not going to be the bride of Christ. Would you rather have been lived in Moses day? How little truth he knew under the law. Would you rather live in David's day, see the Kingdom in its glory? Well that would have been an interesting time, wouldn't it? But they were still under law. How about the Apostle Paul's day? Well that would have been an interesting time, wouldn't it? But again, the whole scriptures hadn't been written in the 1St century.
Not till the end of the 1St century when the apostle John finished the truth there and there seems, uh, printing had not been discovered yet. Uh, the truth was not really that available to many people. How much those early believers really understood of all the counsel of God, I don't know. I don't believe it was very, very deep. Or would you like to live in the dark ages or even in the days of Mr. Darby when the truth was finally the whole counsel of God was being recovered? Well, that would have been a.
Nice time, we might say, but I believe the Lord has entrusted us with truth and, uh, requested that we carry it out in a practical way, as we have in that last of those seven parables. I want to read, uh, just two things here very quickly in closing.
This is a quote I got from Mr. Bellet's little book on Psalms. If you read it, you'll find it there on page 147. I read it some time ago, some years ago, I don't remember when, put in the back of my Bible because it impressed me so much. He was actually quoting from somebody else. That every Christian is treading the ascent of wisdom and goodness. And an era in his course shall arrive when superior, when supernal beings.
Ancient proficiency and virtue, those are those who read about in Hebrews 11, right? And all those who read about it in church history that have been such godly examples to us. So in his course, an era in his course shall arrive when supernal beings, ancient proficiency and virtue, shall count him. That's us.
Their worthy companion and delight in his converse.
Mr. uh, Witherby, in his book on Solomon's Temple, makes a statement that is Israel is the aristocracy of the earth, the Christian is the aristocracy of the universe. That's a tremendous privilege, is it not? But I want to read one final thing here, and then I'll stop. There's a great danger of ecumenicalism in this world today. That's the direction Christianity is gone.
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They reject what's often called the ruin of the church, which we find in Thyatira.
The woman who leavened in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened. That means that there was no could be no recovery to the original state anymore and a remnant from that time was separated. Let's read what some others said about ecumenicalism. Mr. McDonald. Again, unfortunately, this ecumenical unity is achieved through abandonment or reinterpret, reinterpreting fundamental Christian doctrine.
And then another person said by one of our times larger ironies, ecumenicalism is triumphant, and it is. That's what will lead to the harlot in the last days.
By one of our times larger ironies, ecumenicalism is triumphant just when there is nothing to be ecumenical about. The various religious bodies are likely to find it easy to join together only because believing little, they correspondingly differ about little.
Malcolm Muggeridge, let's bow our heads. God our Father, we thank thee for this time we've had over thy precious word.
We pray that we would value the high privilege that's been entrusted to us and that we would walk in its light to let us take us home. We do pray for Wayne Coleman and his dear family. We thank thee for the testimony his Father gave to us. We pray that we may follow in those steps as well. We pray these things. We give thee thanks in Jesus precious name, Amen.