Kentucky Conference: 2011
Table of Contents
Friendship
Address—J.N. Hyland
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84 in the appendix. If someone could please started.
Why should we?
Destroy smart, dare him.
Oh.
He loves.
Prove his name. We are forgiven, Thy word shall not.
Oh my God.
Let's ask God's health and blessing. Our God and Father, how thankful we are this afternoon for the Lord Jesus Christ. And we thank Thee that we have indeed found a friend in that blessed One, a friend for time, and then the enjoyment of Himself through all eternity in the Father's house. How our hearts rejoice as we think of the nearness of that moment when we will be caught away to be with and like Him forever.
But now, in the meantime, we thank thee for a few moments together.
With Thy precious living Word before us and our God as we open it and read it this afternoon, we pray that our meditation may be sweet, and that it may be of Christ that there would be that which would be for the edification, the exhortation, and the comfort of each one. Our God and Father, thou knowest the need of each young and old, and we pray that there might be something for every one of us to take away for our eternal profit and.
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So we ask thy help and blessing. We only have no might of ourselves, but our eyes are upon thee. We look to Thee for blessing in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and for his glory. Amen. Amen. Turn with me, first of all, please, to John's Gospel, chapter 15.
John's Gospel chapter 15 and verse 13.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever. I command you well as our him. And this portion we began with suggests I have it on my heart this afternoon to take up the subject of friends or friendship. You know it's a very wonderful resource that God has given us for the path of faith.
Through this world and for our lives here, in a natural sense. Usually when we think of friendship, we think of it in that way. That which is given for time, that which a relationship that God has given for our blessing and happiness here on earth. And that's the way we're going to particularly look at it. And what I have on my heart to do this afternoon, at least for the 1St.
Part of this meeting is to go to 8 different portions of the Word of God.
That bring before us 8 different attributes or qualities of a friend as seen in the Lord Jesus Christ because he's the greatest friend that anyone of us could ever have. Someone was telling us just the other day that they met a little boy and they got talking to him. And as it turned out, this little boy knew the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. But you know he said in parting with the person that was telling me this.
He said, you know, I really don't have any friends, not very popular at school. I just don't fit in and I just really don't have many friends. But the person he was talking to said, oh, remember, you always have the best friend and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. And isn't that wonderful? Maybe there's someone here this afternoon, a young person or someone who's not so young and you just feel like maybe you don't have many friends and maybe a good friend.
In recent time, but we want to bring before our souls the greatest friend that a person could ever have and we're going to see as we go through these qualities and attributes of the of the Lord Jesus as the perfect friend that hears one who will never disappoint US1 who will never let us down. And so I began here in the book of John where the Lord Jesus Speaking of what was ahead the.
He encourages his disciples and he calls them friends. Isn't that wonderful? You know, I would think that as the disciples sat and listened to the discourse of the Lord Jesus, that while it's true as we if we were to turn back a page, their hearts were troubled. They were afraid, many thoughts were going through their minds, yet to hear the Lord Jesus tell them that they were his friends.
Not a tremendous thing. Wouldn't you love to have the Lord Jesus come to your side this afternoon and say.
You know, I consider you my friend. That's what the Lord Jesus was really saying to these, to these disciples. Ye are my friends. What kind of friends were they? Well, you know, they weren't the most faithful kind of friends, were they? If we were to back up in their history and walking with the Lord Jesus during his public ministry, you would find there was quite a bit of failure here and there. There was sometimes a strife. Who would be the greatest?
Who would sit on His right hand and his left hand? In the Kingdom? They often misunderstood what the Lord Jesus was saying and doing. There were many failures amongst the disciples during the Lord's pathway. When Mary poured out her ointment at the feet of the Lord, all the disciples spoke against her, and so on. And there was plenty more failure to follow this. He calls them friends here, but he knew he had a perfect understanding of what was going to happen.
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That all his friends were going to forsake him and flee, That one of those friends was going to deny him three times with oaths and curses. And yet he could say to them, Ye are my friends, You know. Again, when we think of friendship, as I said, we usually think of it in the natural sense. And really natural friendship depends on a response from the object. It looks for something lovely.
In that object, and when it gets that response, sees that something lovely in the object, then your friendship flourishes and grows. And often, and I know we've all experienced it in our own lives, often when that response isn't there, when sometimes little idiosyncrasies and other things come to the surface that aren't so pleasant.
Sometimes friends, or those who were friends, they separate, they split ways.
There isn't a closeness any longer because of something that has come between them. But here was the Lord Jesus, as I say, the perfect friend, and he could say the disciples, in spite of all that had happened during their walk with him in those years previous, and in spite of all that he knew that was ahead in the next few hours and days he could say.
Ye are my friends, but I mentioned that I want to notice 8 different attributes of this friend, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And what I want to pinpoint here is that here was a sacrificial friendship. You know, true friendship is willing to make sacrifices if you have a friend who is a true friend. I suppose the ultimate test of friendship is, are we willing to make sacrifices? Are we willing to put our life on the line or to make some other kind of sacrifice for that friend?
And here the Lord Jesus, as he looked into the spaces of these ones that he loved so dearly that he could so affectionately address as his friends, he knew what the ultimate sacrifice was going to be. He knew what it was going to be. If I can and I want to speak carefully when we take up this side of things with the Lord Jesus.
But to to make sure.
That these this friendship, I want to be so careful because I know they were going to be brought into a deeper relationship with himself as a result of Calvary and the ascension of Christ and the Spirit of God coming and so on. But so that this relationship, this friendship could continue. He knew that he was going to have to pay the ultimate price, that he was going to go and lay down his life for his.
Friends for those that he had had around him as that inner circle during his public ministry, those who were closest to him as he walked through this world. It's just as if he said, in order that this might continue so that I don't have to set them aside, now I'm going to have to go and lay down my life.
For my friends and all to think what the Lord Jesus paid.
For you and for me, so that we could sing that hymn together at the beginning of the meeting. We have found a friend in Jesus. Oh, how he loves here. They He was anticipating the cross. Now we look back and the work has been accomplished, the sacrifice has been made, and we are now brought into that position.
Of his friends, the friends of the Lord Jesus. Oh how we appreciate friends.
But I say, here's a friend that made the ultimate sacrifice and as we go along, brethren, I want to just make some practical comments to.
Because, you know, we have the perfect example in the Lord Jesus and the Lord Jesus who made that ultimate sacrifice for us.
Of giving his life and shedding his precious blood, Then what is anything?
Any little sacrifice that we might make for one another compared to that.
You know, it tells us in first John chapter 3 after it speaks of Him laying down His life for us. It says, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Do we really appreciate in our souls the sacrifice that He made in the measure in which we appreciate the sacrifice of Him giving Himself for us in that measure?
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We will make that sacrifice.
For one another, we may never be called on to give our lives in sacrifice like the Lord Jesus did in death. We may never be called on to be martyrs, like many of our brethren have and are to this very moment. But we are called upon to give ourselves as a living sacrifice, to lay down our lives in that way for the service of Christ and for the service of one another.
To serve his friends, to serve those that he considers his friends. You know when you give a cup of water in his name, or any little service to one of his own, you are serving one that he delights to put in that circle as his friend. And so friendship makes sacrifices. True love, true friendship, is willing to give itself.
For one another and the blessing of others. Now I'd like to go back to Luke's Gospel for a moment, to Luke's Gospel Chapter 7.
Luke's Gospel Chapter 7 and verse 34. I just want to notice an expression at the end of the 34th verse.
A friend of Publicans and sinners.
You know, when the Lord Jesus was here, he was despised because he was a friend of publicans and sinners. You know, they said on one occasion really in derision, this man receiveth sinners and eateth with them. But you know, I'm glad, you know, the enemy said many wonderful things about the Lord Jesus and it's interesting to go through the Gospels. This is just a little side, but go through the Gospels sometime and see the things that were said by those who had no.
For the Lord Jesus, those who said things really in derision, but the statements in themselves are are wonderful. Have thou nothing to do with this just man? He was a a just man, Pilate said. I find no fault in him. There was no fault in in him. Surely this was a righteous man. And here we find a friend of publicans and sinners and we find with the Lord Jesus.
Here in this world, how he delighted not only to speak to the masses, not only to address crowds in houses and down by the seashore and up on the mountain, but he delighted to get alone with the Sinner. He delighted to make that personal contact with those who had a felt need. And doesn't it rejoice our hearts, brethren, to look back to that time in our lives?
When we realized that there was a friend of publicans and sinners. When there was that personal contact in our lives that brought us to the Savior.
And I know if we had time to go up and down these rows and talk to each individual, and each individual had time to tell their story about how they were brought in contact with the friend of publicans and sinners and how the Spirit of God worked with them. If there were 200 people here, we'd have 200 different stories because He takes us up all as individuals. We're saved as individuals and as His friends, we are individuals.
And so we find a friend of publicans and sinners. Now again, what I'm going to say next I want to say very carefully. I realize that the Lord Jesus being wholly harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners, He could touch the leper and not be defiled. Anybody else touch the leper? Under the Levitical law, they were defiled. And anybody who touched them and on down the line, He could touch the coffin of a dead boy and not be defiled.
Because of who he was, he could sit and eat with Republicans and sinners, and he wasn't defiled because of who he was. And I realized that in our zeal and energy, and I trust we all have to some degree, zeal and energy to reach out to sinners. I realize we need to be careful and we never want to compromise in reaching out to others, but how much are we a friend of publicans and sinners? I don't mean.
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Now in a social way, I know we have to be careful and I know even at work we have to be careful, but how much does our heart go out to those that we meet every day? Maybe it is the coworker or the student who sits at the next desk, Maybe it's someone that lives next door to us, or whoever it is, are we a friend of publicans and sinners? Do we have a desire to in some way?
Present to them the true friend of publicans and sinners.
You know, and I again, I want to say this very carefully, but separation is not isolation.
We are not to live like the monks lived in past centuries, isolated in some mountain retreat somewhere locked away from the world. That is no testimony. That is not being a friend of publicans and sinners. We are responsible here when the Lord Jesus was here.
He was a friend of publicans and sinners, and he has left us here to reach out with the gospel, whether it's on an individual basis or whatever way it might be, maybe a more public sphere for a few, but we are here to be a testimony and point to the greatest friend that this world has ever known. And so here he's a friend of grace.
We noticed that he was. He was. We noticed the the quality or attribute of being a sacrificial friend.
Hear the Lord Jesus was that friend who in grace sought to reach out to publicans and sinners, And we know that many who had a felt need were drawn to himself. Now let's go to the book of Proverbs, Proverbs chapter 17.
Proverbs chapter 17 and verse 17.
A friend loveth at all times. Well, we've spoken of the attribute of of making sacrifice. We've spoken of grace. But here's a friend that loveth at all times. Now, what other friend could this statement be made of? I don't believe there's really another friend. There may be, but it would be pretty rare to find another friend who loves at all times. You know, I have many friends. I have some good friends. I have someone I consider.
Best friend. But you know, sometimes little things come in and there isn't that outflow of love and friendship that there ought to be. Sometimes our friends disgust us. Sometimes they rub us the wrong way. Sometimes we don't show that affection that we ought to show. But here's a friend that loves at all times. Do you ever feel unloved? You ever feel like your friends just don't love you anymore?
You ever say, well that person? I really thought they were a good friend.
I really thought that person loved me, but boy, they've sure let me down. You know, I often think in that regard of what the psalmist said in the 119th Psalm, he said I've seen an end of all perfection. If you're looking for perfection in human friendship or relationships, you're always going to be disappointed. You're going to see an end of all perfection and certainly in the day in which we live.
Where natural affection is wanting and it's a day without it, it tells us in Timothy.
That that is one of the characteristics of the last day. And we see the breakdown of natural relationships at every level. But all there's a friend who loves and as we were singing, oh, how he loves. And I want to encourage you when you feel unloved and unwanted, just to get into the presence of this friend at a Bible conference, really, it was mentioned that how it's good sometimes to just sit and let this friend love you.
Maybe just not reading your Bible, perhaps maybe not even praying, but just sitting in a quiet spot alone with the Lord Jesus, feeling the warmth of his love, feeling those arms that are always about us. Just let him love you as that friend that wants to you to experience that great love. And so a friend loves at all times. I say there's only one friend that this could be truly.
Said about, but let's go on in Proverbs to the next chapter.
Chapter 18 and.
Verse.
24.
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A man that hath friends must show himself friendly, and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Now before I comment on the last part of the verse, which is particularly on my heart, I've heard the first part of this verse quoted the way it appears in the King James Version of our Bible, and I have no problem with quoting it the way it is, but it's really not the sense of the verse. If you look in the best manuscripts, you'll find that. Really.
Sense of this first part of this verse is a man that hath many friends shall come to ruin.
I want to say a little word and.
Again, I'm trying to be as circumspect as I can because I, I don't want to criticize. You know, I had somebody recently tell me that on Facebook, they have 365 friends. I wonder how many they've really met.
You know a man that has many friends comes to ruin. You know the trouble today is.
We've got these friends through social media, most of which we've never met, many of which perhaps we've only met casually, some of which perhaps we've only talked to through social media, perhaps rarely talked to face to face. Is that really what friendship is? I I'm, again, I'm not criticizing, I'm not saying that you can't utilize those things. And we'll speak of that a little bit later when we go to the New Testament.
But I'm just saying, let's be very, very careful. A man that has many friends shall come to ruin. But, you know, there's a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Aren't we thankful for that friend? You know, you might have someone and you always felt that you could go to them in a difficulty. You say they were just always there for me, and then something arose and they weren't. You know, I appreciate very much that verse.
46 Psalm that says of the Lord, he's a very present help in trouble. You know, I like that because he's always right there. You might have a friend and they're not always right there. You say, I just know that friend could help me, but I couldn't get a hold of him. He wasn't available. You ever call someone and you got a machine or a voicemail that said to leave a message and they get back to you and then they never did get back to you say I know they could help me or.
Hold of the friend and they listen to your situation and maybe they've always helped you in the past and they shake their head and they say well I'm sorry I just can't help you on this one you ever go to a doctor and maybe the doctors helped you for years and then the doctor reviews your presence status and he says I'm sorry this one's too much for me I'm going to have to refer you to somebody else or I think it's a little bit of a hopeless case there's nothing more frustrating than that but here's a friend that.
Closer than a than a brother, you know, I suppose it's to a great degree to my shame, but you know, the brother I grew up with in the home, I rarely see him because of circumstances and many things. I rarely see my, my, my brother. I'm speaking in a natural way now, but there's one that I can go to at any time. And not only is he always available, but he's able for the situation and I really believe.
The thrust of the statement in Philippians 4 that says the Lord is at hand, if you notice the context there, it's not so much the Lord's coming. He's talking about the Lord's coming is at hand too. We have plenty of scripture to verify that, but it's in connection with prayer and making requests and the difficulties and trials of the path of faith and what comes in between brethren sometimes and so on. But the Lord is always at hand. We can always turn to Him.
In every situation, to have someone at hand means they're right there, You know, again, the psalmist said, nevertheless, thou art continually with me. Thou hast hold of me by thy right hand. Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Don't you have someone you can feel that pressure on your hand? You know, they're holding your hand and helping you over that rough spot. And so there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. You know, the problem is.
We don't always realize He's there. He'll never leave you nor forsake you. You say I just didn't feel comfortable to turn to the Lord in that situation. Why? Because he wasn't there? No, because you've allowed something to come between you and Himself. And if you have, get before Him, confess it so that you have a sense of His presence. You know, we don't have to get up in the morning and ask this friend to be with us as much as we need to get up in the morning.
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Ask this friend that we would walk in the conscious sense of His presence with us. You know, sometimes we ask a friend to come and be with us in a certain situation or maybe we're going to take a little trip somewhere and we ask a friend to be with us. We just feel more comfortable and companionship to have them. But you don't have to ask the Lord to be with you. What you have to do is pray that you'll be in the state of soul to realize that He is with you and enjoy His company.
In that way, again, I want to go on in Proverbs to the 27th chapter.
So if I again can recap, we have perhaps in this that 4th attribute. We noticed in the 18th chapter, we have a consistent friend. We like consistency in people, don't we? And we have the most consistent friend that a person could ever have. Now in the 27th chapter and the ninth verse.
It says.
Oh, I want to read the sixth verse first. I'm first. I'm sorry. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Well, here we have a faithful friend, not a friend that's just going to lull us along when there's danger and not say something. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. You know, the Lord Jesus as that friend is faithful with us, isn't he? And I doubt there's anybody here who's.
The Lord Jesus for very long that won't attest to the fact that there have been times when perhaps she didn't always appreciate it, but the Lord was faithful in one way or another in coming in, maybe even in chastisement. You know a parent isn't faithful to their child unless they chastise and guide when there are things that need to be directed. None of us love our children if we let them go their own way when it's going to lead to.
Their detriment and hurt? No, we seek to guide and chasten our children for their good and for their blessing. And we have one whose faithful with us. As I look back on my life, I haven't always appreciated at the time the way the Lord has. A lot has dealt with me. I haven't always appreciated the things He's allowed others to say to me or do toward me. But you know, as I look back in retrospect, at least for many of those things, some of them I may have to wait.
Glory to understand fully, but at least in many of those things, I can thank him now for his faithfulness because I realized that I would have gone in a wrong direction. I would have brought done something that was a poor testimony, something that brought shame to the Lord Jesus, something that didn't bring glory to himself or was for my hurt or detriment. And I'm thankful now for the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus and I want to encourage.
Be thankful for the faithfulness of the Lord. Is he allowing something in your life that seems hard, something that seems really tough? You say? I just, if he's such a loving, consistent friend, a friend of grace, I just don't see why he's allowing this in my life.
You know, you may not always see it at the time, but you'll see it in retrospect. And as I say, there are many things I think you're going to have to leave till the judgment seat of Christ. You know, when the disciples, as I mentioned earlier, spoke against Mary, that was pretty hard, wasn't it? I don't suppose Mary really understood at the time, but you know, she never said a word about it. She just left it for the Lord to vindicate.
The Lord gave his approval, you say I tried to do something for the Lord, and even those that I thought were my friends and closest to me and would understand.
I thought that they would at least appreciate it, but they didn't seem to think of the Lord Jesus. You know, there was one in the company of disciples who was not a true friend of the Lord Jesus, and yet the Lord Jesus referred to him as a friend.
No, it says of Judas. Prophetically, it says mine own familiar friend whom I trusted, who ate bread at my table, had lifted up his heel against me.
Think of how the Lord Jesus must have felt at when he knew what was going to take place and he refers to him as his friend. He, the Lord Jesus, was misunderstood and then, as we've said earlier, misunderstood by those who truly were his own. And yet the Lord Jesus was that faith, faithful friend. And again, I want to just make a practical comment in this regard for our relationships.
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One to another, you know, there's not, there's nothing that's more hurtful and detrimental to our friendships and relationships with one another than not being faithful with one another. Now, you know, there's a way to admonish without scolding. There's a way to direct that I believe can be used in blessing to others. And again, we want to exercise grace, but faithful.
Are the wounds of a friend, you know, again, I didn't know. I haven't always appreciated at the time, but I can think back on friends and brethren who have been faithful with me, who have come to me. And maybe it did seem harsh. Maybe I felt at the time it wasn't always in the proper spirit. And in seeking to be faithful with others, I haven't always done it in the proper spirit either. I'll be the first to admit it, but faithful are the wounds of a.
You know, I would rather have a friend who would put a roadblock in my way and let me bump into that roadblock, then go full tilt over a precipice. You say, why did you let me bang into that roadblock? Then you see what's ahead. You say, oh, thank you for your faithfulness. A little bang on the head is nothing compared to what it could have been. And so we need to seek grace. Yes, in grace and love and in the proper spirit to be faithful.
With one another we see something in a friend that perhaps needs to be directed or corrected. Let's seek in the Spirit of Christ to be faithful one with another. Now let's notice a another verse in the same chapter. In the 9th chapter, the ninth verse, ointment and perfume rejoice the heart. So does the sweetness of a man's friend. By Hardy counsel. So we've seen the faithfulness of this friend.
Now we find one who's our counselor, you know, a friend is one who is going to take the time to counsel and one who is going to in a natural sense, seek to give the best counsel that they possibly can. But all again, we have one whose very name is Counselor. We have 1. And in incarnation, it's one of the names that's given in the book of Isaiah, you know.
You're young people, you go to school and you have counselors, guidance counselors and career counselors and so on. And they may be very necessary and helpful in bringing before you certain bends to your nature and abilities and so on, but they often just give the wisdom and counsel of this world. But there's one who will never give you false counsel, never give you faulty counsel, one whose very name is wisdom.
And he wants to be your guide and counselor. You know, it just seems today, even in business, there's a there's a consultant for everything. In fact, it just seems like if you can't get a job in your field, you hang out your shingle and you become a consultant. But do we go to the one who's our best friend and the best consultant that you could have? You know, the Queen of Sheba, when she came into the presence of Solomon, a picture of the Lord Jesus, she had a lot of hard questions.
Lot of enigmas, a lot of things that were really troubling her. She didn't understand, you know, when she got into the presence of Solomon, it tells us that he answered every one of our her, her hard questions. There wasn't anything hid from the king that he told or not. And her heart was satisfied with his answers. You ever go to somebody even with a question from the Bible and you ask another brother or sister and you get an answer and you say, yeah, that was good. I got a little light on.
Matter, but really didn't fully answer the question. I'm not just quite satisfied. Then you go to somebody else and you get another aspect of things. You say, yes, that was good as well, but there's one. You go to him for the answers. And again, I'm glad for brothers and sisters who can help us out with spiritual questions. But we have the answer book from the one who wrote it. We have one.
Who's above all those counselors and the wisdom of this world?
And I think it was David who said I have more understanding than all my teachers because I love thy precepts. When you get into the Word of God and search it for the answers and you get his instruction and counsel, you're going to find that your heart will be fully satisfied and everything will be answered to your satisfaction. So we have one who counsels us. He's our great counselor.
Now I'd like to go to John's Gospel Chapter 11.
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Just mentioning these things very quickly and then I'll leave them for your further meditation.
John's Gospel, Chapter 11.
And verse 11.
These things said he, and after he had said, he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepus sleepeth, but I go that I may awake him out of sleep. We're going to talk in connection with this portion of the Lord Jesus as the sympathizing friend you know here the Lord Jesus referred to Lazarus as.
Our friend Precious, isn't it?
You know there was this little home in Bethany was one of the few homes in the pathway of the Lord Jesus.
Where the Lord Jesus was really welcome, the foxes had holes in the birds of the air had nests, the Son of Man had not where to lay his head. We read later on. Every man went to his own house. Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But there was one home at least, where the Lord Jesus on a number of occasions delighted to turn his weary steps, to sit down in the midst of those that he considered his friends, and to have his Spirit refreshed by being encircled.
By those that loved him, you know, we love to be with friends that refresh us, don't they? Don't we? You say, you know, I just love to be with that person. I love to be with those people. You know, those young people when we're together, there's a lot of refreshment. They really encourage me on in the Lord. You know, again, David said I am a companion of all them that love thee and that keep thy precepts just a little aside from our portion. But are are those the kind of companions or friends we really choose?
I'm not talking about casual acquaintances. I'm not talking about our schoolmates. I'm not telling talking about our fellow workers. But those that are, we really consider our true friends. You know, someone has said that our friends are like the buttons of an elevator. They take us either up or down and they will they'll pull you either up or down. They'll be for your good and encouragement. They'll spur you on in the path of following the Lord, or they will drag you down and be a.
To you in your path of faith. Well, here we find that a sorrow had come into this home. And I have no doubt that this afternoon there are brethren here and sorrows have come into your home, and sorrows do come into our home. But you know the Lord Jesus, he had a plan for this home and this one who had died, He considered a friend. And later on, if we had time, we'd find that as He eventually goes to that home and then out to the grave.
As the sympathizing friend, he weeps with these sisters. He weeps as he saw the awful effects that sin had brought into the world. And he wept in sympathy with Mary and Martha, who felt the loss of their brother so keenly. And if you're going through a sorrow today, or just remember, there's one who weeps with.
There's one who sympathizes with you. The great physician now is near.
The sympathizing Jesus, he speaks, the drooping heart to cheer. O hear the voice of Jesus. He's there as that friend in every trial. He knows every tear. And in the Psalms it tells us that so much does he sympathize with us and know our sorrows, that he takes our tears and he puts them in his bottle, doesn't forget them. I've forgotten a lot of tears and sorrows that I've been through. The Lord Jesus has them all stored up.
His bottle and he's the sympathizing friend, no matter what the sorrow. Oh, go to him. Wonderful to have earthly friends and brethren that sympathize with us. But there's nothing, there's nothing like getting alone with this friend who weeps with us and fully not only understands. You might have a friend who understands and even weeps with you. But the Lord Jesus empathizes with us because then he was in all points tempted like us we are.
Yet without sin. Now one more attribute before we pass on this is the 8th 1:00 and it's back in the Song of Solomon. Song of Solomon chapter 5.
And I just want to read the last part of verse 16. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. In one way, I suppose we could use this to sum up the seven attributes that we've spoken of already in connection with the Lord Jesus as the friend. But you know, really this is.
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And the attribute of loveliness, because if we were to back up in this dialogue and we find that the bride has been speaking in the previous verses.
And she has been enumerating the qualities and glories of her bridegroom. And at the end of it she says, this is my beloved, this is my friend. I didn't read the statement. I meant to read the previous statement. He is all.
He's altogether lovely. You know, you have a friend and you first get to know that friend and there's some very pleasing qualities in that friend. But you know, the more you get to know that friend, the more you realize there are just some of those little idiosyncrasies and personality traits that aren't so pleasing. You say, well, I just wish there wasn't this, and I just wish I didn't see that in the friend. But the more you get to know the Lord Jesus, the more you realize.
He's all together lovely. You won't find any imperfection.
In the person of the Lord Jesus in fact, the better you know him, the better you understand and appreciate those qualities that he is altogether lovely and so before I pass on I just want to encourage each of our hearts to develop more the intimacy of friendship with the Lord Jesus. It's a wonderful resource and privilege that is given to us for the path of faith through this life we.
And appreciate what natural friendship is. Let's learn to understand and appreciate more the friendship of this divine person, the Lord Jesus. I want to then just very quickly notice two people who are referred to as the friend of God. We know them well, but let's go first of all to the book of James.
James Chapter 2.
James chapter 2 and verse 23.
And the Scripture was fulfilled, which saith Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness.
And he was called the friend of God. We often speak of Abraham as the man of faith, and he was, but he was not only a man of faith, but as a result of being a man of faith, he was a man of obedience too. And as a result, we find that he is referred to as the friend of God. Again, wouldn't you like that kind of a commendation from the Lord Jesus?
And how much, brethren, is it true in your life and mine?
How much is it true that we are characterized as men and women of faith and obedience? That's what He wants. And for every spark of faith there is in your life and mine, He's going to reward. Cast not away. Therefore thy confidence for of such is great recompense of reward every time there's an act of faith in your life and mind. Every time we simply trust Him.
For the circumstances of life, every time we act in obedience to his word, he values it so much that he jots it down in his book of remembrance. And he says, here's another commendation for my friend. Every time Abraham exercised faith, every time there was obedience, I just picture and I, I don't want to go beyond what Scripture says, but I picture that book of remembrance open in heaven with Abraham's name.
Abraham, the friend of God obeyed today, put his confidence in me today, took his son to Mount Moriah, whatever it was, moved his tent to where I told him looked heavenward like a wouldn't you like those kinds of things written after your name, brother and sister, so and so the friend of God, obedience and faith. There's one more. Let's go to the book of Exodus.
Exodus chapter 33.
Exodus chapter 33 and verse 11.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, face to face, as a man speaketh.
Unto his friend.
You know, I mentioned earlier in this meeting that really friends, and certainly in the scriptural sense of it, a friend is someone that you spend time with, not someone that you simply know through social media. It's someone that you get to know. You know, the problem today is there's more communication but less interaction, but what God wants and what the Lord Jesus wants with himself.
00:50:24
Is communication, yes, but interaction as well.
Here was the Lord Jesus speaking face to face with Moses. Do you and I really get into the presence of the Lord Jesus as our friend like that? Not just to speak to him as somebody that's a far off, somebody that's up in heaven, but somebody that is right with us in every circumstance of life. Who knows? And how could the Lord on this occasion speak to Moses face to face, you know, if we were to back up failure and.
Come in to the camp of Israel and very grievous failure and sin, and you only have to read to see.
How it really grieved the heart of God and it caused the governmental ways of God with his people. They hadn't got very far in their wilderness journey till this kind of sin came in. But you know, Moses hadn't been part of that. Aaron said to say had been, But Moses had been up on the mount with God. He hadn't been part of the failure and the moral ruin that had come in and because he had been in the presence of God previously.
And because he had been preserved in personal purity.
And holiness, He was able, as the friend of God, to have God speak face to face with him.
You want to have a relationship like that with the Lord. You've got to maintain personal purity. You say, well, everybody's doing it. You know, all the people of God were doing it. When Moses looked out, it was the whole camp, all the people of God. But Moses kept himself pure. Joshua too, but Moses kept himself pure. And as a result, there was a relationship, and he's referred to as the friend of God. We're moving very quickly. There's three more.
I want to notice before we close the first one is in James chapter 4. Going to change gears a little bit now at the end of the meeting. James chapter 4.
And verse 4.
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world.
Is enmity with God. Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world, is the enemy with God. And I want to read a verse in or two in Luke 16.
Luke's Gospel, chapter 16.
And verse 9 And I say unto you, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when ye fail, or really it's when it fails, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. Well, these two scriptures might at first seem like a bit of a contradiction, but first of all, we find in James that we are not to make friendship with the world now again.
That doesn't mean we don't need to be friendly.
And certainly we need to get along with our neighbors and our Co workers and our fellow students and those that we operate.
And rub shoulders with from day-to-day. But again, who are we really intimate with and what is what is it that really takes our heart? Is it those that are ungodly and is is it those things that will take our hearts away from the Lord Jesus and following him. What really has the first place in my heart and yours this afternoon? I really want us to search. I want to search my own heart, but if what searches my heart searches yours as well, then so.
But let's search our hearts. Where do our hearts go out? You know, it was impressed in going through the Psalms some time ago to notice how often we read of wholeheartedly heartedness. The Lord doesn't just want part of our heart. He doesn't want half of our heart. The psalmist said, with my whole heart have I sought after Thee? He wants all of our hearts and anything that takes our hearts away from following Him.
He calls it adultery.
Not interesting if it takes our hearts away from following the one who has espoused us to himself.
It's adultery. That's why he accused them of adultery in the Old Testament when they turned to idols, because it was a very serious thing for their hearts to go after something or someone other than himself. And so we are not to make friends with the world in that way, but just say, how does that correspond with what we read in Luke? Well, there is a way that we can take what God has given us in a natural way and use it for his glory.
00:55:14
I'm going to give you just a little story that perhaps illustrates at least part of the thought in this verse. When we were growing up in a suburb Of Montreal, we grew up in a predominantly English suburb Of Montreal, but there were those on the street who only spoke French.
My mother coming from a farm community in Ontario, she spoke no French and.
We all got along on the street. Everybody was neighborly, and the neighbor across the street could only speak French. My mother only could speak English, my father could speak French. But I remember the day my father went off to work, left mother home with two small children, my sister and I, and it wasn't very long after that that the railing on the back deck broke. My mother went over.
And broke her arm. The man across the street and he was not a believer. He came over when he saw what happened and though he couldn't communicate by word, he took my mother and my sister and I to the hospital. He looked after my sister and I while mother had her arm set. He was the epitome of solicitude and kindness. When we got home, he made sure that two small children had some lunch before he went off home.
If my parents had not been kind and neighborly when they needed the unrighteous mammon, it wouldn't have been there. There was an ungodly man who, because of the friendship and kindness that my parents had exhibited in their day-to-day life and their neighborly interaction on the street, it came back and the Lord used it to take care of my mother and her two children at that time.
That and I know it's only part of the thought in this verse and our time is gone, but.
That is at least part of what this verse is telling us about using the unrighteous mammon. And there is a way, you know, I carry a cell phone with me that can be abused, social media can be abused. But there are also ways it can be used for the Lords glory, the furtherance of the gospel and the blessing of the people of God. I do want to read one last verse in closing. It's in.
3rd John.
3rd John.
I'm yes, third John and the last verse, but I trust I shall shortly see thee and we shall speak face to face. Peace be unto thee, our friends salute thee, greet the friends by name. You know, I just say at the end of the meeting, we've spoken much about that wonderful friend that we have in the Lord Jesus. But let's learn then with amongst those that he calls his friends.
To cultivate that friendship too, for our blessing and encouragement as we go through this world so that we can refresh one another's spirit.
And that as iron sharpeneth iron as a face answereth to face in a glass, so an iron sharpeneth iron. So the counsel of a friend. I'm not quoting that exactly correct. But we can, as friends, encourage one another. And let's learn intimacy with one another in the context of friendship, and learn to greet one another by name. Not just casual acquaintance, but to greet one another by name. John had friends.
Brethren that he delighted to call by name. And I love to be at meetings like this and to be able to call one another by name and a hearty handshake and a a hug and sometimes a holy kiss too. And how wonderful it is to have these friends that encourage us, but more wonderful to have the greatest friend, that friend who sticks closer than a brother and who will never leave us nor forsake us. Let's pray. Our God and Father, we thank thee for the Lord.
And we thank Thee for these scriptures that bring before us.
Acts 1:1-14
Reading
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In my heart, I'd like to share, brethren, as a possibility of taking up in our reading, and that is.
The Lord Jesus.
As the man who send it up into heaven.
And uh, from thence united us together as his people on earth, a heavenly man.
I'm thinking about the 1St chapter of Acts, the first part of it, and then possibly going on to the 9th chapter where he revealed himself to Paul as the heavenly man.
Stop.
So you were thinking of the 1St 14 verses of.
Harvard uh, just the 1St 14 verses. Would that be enough for the first meeting?
Acts chapter one and verse one.
The former critiques have I made Oceanophilus of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up. After that He, through the Holy Ghost, had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them 40 days, and Speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which said he, He had heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but he shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, Wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel?
And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the time for the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power, but ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me.
Both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven, as He went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? The same Jesus?
Which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Then return they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a silent day's journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where bold goes Peter and James, and John, and Andrew Phillips, and Thomas Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelodes.
And Judas, the brother of James, These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
Luke, the writer of this.
Look referred in the first verse of his former treatise which is the book of Luke which gives us the ministry of the Lord Jesus on earth.
But Christianity begins after that. Christianity begins with the Lord Jesus going up into heaven. And there's a lot of confusion and mixing of these things, the things that apply to earth and the things that apply to heaven. And it's good for us to see that in Christianity. That is since the Lord has gone up into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit down.
That we have a relationship with him as a man in heaven, no longer here on earth. His place here on earth has to do more with what he will establish in the future day. A Millennium, a blessing on earth. And we must keep those two things distinct in order to be able to rightly divide the word of God. And I, I think it would, it's nice to notice.
00:05:31
In these verses that we read how clear it becomes that the Lord Jesus went up into heaven and the these verses explain how there is something new going to take place.
OK.
It's difficult for us in 2011 to really put our minds back into what these people to whom we've just read about, what they thought and what they saw, what they knew.
But these were those who had looked for the Messiah.
Their whole history, their whole background was connected with.
Being Jews and what we would call Judaism and a religion established of God for an earthly people, they knew all about Abraham and Moses and their forefathers both their what might be looked at as victories and what might be looked at as failures among them. And now one had come, and they had accepted him as the true Messiah, and throughout the whole of his life right up to his death.
They looked for him to fulfill the promises of the Messiah to Israel.
And they did not understand the over and over again told them he was going to have to die.
In John's gospel we have a number of chapters in the last few hours really, of his life and days which he prepares them for the period of time when he's going to die and be separated from them and return to heaven. In Luke 24 you find the two on the way to Emmaus and they're saying we trust that it had been he which should have restored Israel and so at his death.
There was a feeling of loss.
Because they had believed in Him as the Messiah and all their hopes were connected with Israel and the earth. And it carries right on here into this chapter. He's not only died, He's risen again. He's with them in resurrection. And what do they say? What's on their mind? They pick right up. Oh, it's so wonderful. He's raised from the dead. But they say they asked him the question. Verse 6, Lord.
Wilt thou at this time?
Restore again the Kingdom to Israel. In other words, their minds, their thoughts, their aspirations, their hopes, we're still connected with what they've had all their life. In spite of the fact that he had died and that He had told them clearly and plainly that He was going to leave them and return to heaven, He had said on the resurrection morning to Mary, touch me not. And he begins again to tell them about a new relationship that they were going to have with himself.
And here he is in the last of his 40 days on Earth, and he's leaving them, and they're still needing to learn that their relationship with him is going to be in a totally new and different way. They're no longer people of Earth, but he's going to disappear out of their sight into the cloud. He's going to go back to the glory. He's going to be glorified of the Father and that place. And then as Doug introduced the subject.
They were going to be brought a few days later into a relationship with himself that had nothing anymore to do with the earth except as a witness for him here. But their hope, their aspiration, their life, their object and everything else in their lives is now connected with a man in heaven.
I remember one time at a Bible conference just like this the question was raised what is Christianity and someone said well Christianity can be summed up in one word, Christ. But that needs explanation because it's been already brought out. It's Christ in a relationship that was not known prior to Christianity. It's not Christ the way the disciples knew him on earth.
00:10:17
They knew the Lord Jesus when he was here, they saw with their eyes and their hands had handled of the word of life, but has been brought out. They were going to be brought into a relationship with himself that was not previously known. And so Christianity is really an association with Christ in glory. And it's important to understand that Christianity not only presents to us a risen Christ. That's true.
Because if Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain and ye are still in your sins. But it also presents to us an ascended Christ, a Christ who is not here on earth the way he was physically in the days of his public ministry and the work that he took up and the work of atonement. And he's not associated with his own in the way he was. And as you say with Mary, it's, it's shown very, very clearly.
And so the resurrection and the ascension and glorification of Christ were God's Amen to the work of Calvary. And now the Spirit of God, as we're going to notice, has associated us with Christ in different ways. Henceforth know we know man after the flesh, though we knew Christ after the flesh, henceforth know we him no more. So it's not just Christ in resurrection, but it's Christ in ascension. And that's why our hopes and our goals in Christianity.
Are not connected with this world in any way. We have been detached from this world in every way except the fact that we're still here physically. That's the only thing that connects us still to this planet Earth, is that we're here physically. But in every other way we are associated with the heavenly man. And that's why we refer to ourselves as a heavenly people with a heavenly calling.
It's good to notice, too, that this book of Acts is a book of transition from Judaism to Christianity, and that the Spirit of God is very prominent throughout the whole book. And so in the second verse you have the Holy Ghost. He, through the Holy Ghost, had given commandments.
Under the apostles whom he had chosen, and so, in very real patience, the blessed Savior.
Had with his people Israel. It wasn't until the very last chapter of this book that the apostle Paul could speak and he says in verse 28, chapter 28 and verse 28 of the book of the Acts. He said be it known therefore unto you.
That the salvation of God is centered in the Gentiles and that they will hear it. And so when patience, the Spirit of God has been striving even to this day with those Jews. I would just mention that there's other one other thing that's very prominent that you'll find at the beginning, particularly the book of Acts, and that is the large upper room. And it is mentioned here, I believe in verse 13. When they were come in, they went up into the upper room. It should read where both Peter and John, James and John and so on.
And so the Lord had arranged that they would be together. And when the church was formed in chapter 2, I believe perhaps this is in the upper room as well in chapter 2 and verse one. And you'll see this little phrase that fused throughout the beginning chapters of this book.
They were all with one accord in one place, and so unity was one of the things that the Spirit of God had striven for, and is formed of God in connection with the Christian testimony.
In verse two it says after that He through the Holy Ghost had given commandments under the apostles whom he had chosen.
Well, that's.
I was thinking of Luke chapter 24.
Verse 48 He uh.
For verse 46.
And said unto them, Thus it is written, And thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you.
00:15:04
But Terry, in the city of Jerusalem until you be endowed with power among high.
I think it's sweet to see there the promise of my father.
And then in John chapter.
14 and verse 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things.
And bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.
Not, as the world giveth, give I unto you.
The.
16th chapter.
There's 13, albeit when either spirit of truth is come.
He will guide you into all truth, for He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak, and He will show you things to come. He shall glorify me, for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you all things that the Father hath our mind therefore said I, that He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.
I think it's sweet to see here that it's through the Holy Ghost that he gives those commandments.
And it's.
It's they're waiting, isn't it, those 10 more days?
And then you get real Christianity. Yeah.
That's probably why he doesn't answer all their questions in this chapter, because the Holy Spirit hadn't come down yet. That was needful for the believers to be able to lay hold of these things. The whole that's the what the when the Lord Jesus went up into heaven.
Then it was needful for the Spirit of God to come down and to link us with the man in heaven and to bring us into that relationship.
The Spirit of God is the power and the link between US and Christ. When we believe on, on the Lord, we receive the Spirit of God. We are indwelt by the Spirit of God. We are capacitated to enjoy that relationship. We have that unction, that power, the, the known relationship with him. And uh, then we can understand and enter into these things. So it, it separates us as a people unto him.
Yes, I was thinking of that, because sometimes we read the Gospels and, or even this chapter and we shake our heads and say, well, they ought to have known better because there'd been no lack of instruction as to what was going to take place. You pointed out some things in the Upper Room ministry, Lemoyne, and we find there that the Lord Jesus very, very carefully went over many things in the Upper Room with them.
Why did he do that? Because the hour was come that he should depart out of the world under the Father.
He had come from God and He was going to return to God, and in preparation He brings many things before them. But the Lord Jesus knew Himself that while they were listening to His words, they did not have the capacity at that time to understand the true significance of what He was saying to them. He says it to them, but then, as you pointed out, He remarks Himself that when the Spirit of God would come, it would bring these things to their remembrance.
What he had spoken and really confirm and give them understanding as to what he was saying. And so we shake our heads sometimes that the disciples and say, well, they should have known the things the Lord was Speaking of. They should have known that he wasn't going to establish the Kingdom and at this time and so on. But brethren, what about us? We have far, far greater capacity and responsibility than the disciples had before the day of Pentecost or.
Even in the early days of the church, because not only do we have the Spirit of God with us and in US to make these things good to our souls, but we have the completed word of God. They couldn't go to the epistle. They couldn't see the the see Christianity explained and the fruition of what was really in the heart of God as a result of the work of Christ and the ascension and so on. They didn't have that.
00:20:12
That's why in the early Acts you often find that Peter and different ones, they drew on Old Testament portions and gave almost what seemed strange applications, but they had nothing else to go on. And so I simply say we're far more responsible. We have all things that pertain unto life and godliness and to to. I'm going to use the word to regress from what has been given to us as to the.
Position and blessing of Christianity and the relationship it's brought us into, brethren, is a very serious thing. It was one thing for them. They were moving towards things as the light was being given, the Spirit of God was given and then further light. And as you say, Robert, it was a transitional period. They were moving toward the light and Christianity and full revelation. But brethren, as we see many Christians moving away.
Regressing from what has been given and going to back and looking for the Kingdom and so on and not understanding true Christian position. We're we're going to be held very, very responsible. We need to tenaciously cling to and go over these precious truths that associate us with Christ in Christianity.
Just like to briefly turn to Ephesians chapter one.
It was specifically given the revelation of what we're talking about. We've not really given to Peter or some of the other apostles, but after.
And chapter 8, if you will, anticipating what Doug said about chapter 8, we come to the apostle Paul. He is the one that is given of God to explain or to make known to us what was happening in Acts where we have the facts of the transition. But in Ephesians chapter one.
That he says to it and not to try to go over the whole chapter but just verse 5.
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, He and then verse six, accepted in the beloved, and then the work of redemption, and so on. And then He brings before us, umm, verse 13, In whom after he trusted, after that He heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and whom also after you believed you were sealed.
This is the Holy Spirit with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Umm, then he says, and he has a prayer for them, that they'll understand what he's saying to them. And so here in verse 18, it says the eyes of your understanding, being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints. Verse 20 which he rotting Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand.
In the heavenly places, that's His glorification that we've referred to far above all principality and power and might and dominion, in every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come and put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of him that filleth All in all. Or to briefly summarize this.
God purpose.
From the past eternity, that His Son in becoming a man would honor him on the earth and glorify him here as a man on earth. But then God was going to after his work was done, which cost him his life, and he died, raised him from the dead as one who had so honored him on earth among men and glorified him in the matter of sin. He said, Now, son, if you will Christ, he takes him out of the state of death, and he puts him at his own right hand.
In a place of honor and a place of glory. And at that point he can begin to act with people on earth and say, I have a calling for people on earth. I want them to be associated with my Son in this place in which he now is this place of glory and this place of honor. I want him to have a heavenly bride that is associated with him in his place of honor and glory.
00:25:09
And it's then in order to have such that He sends the Holy Spirit down on earth to form such people with a heavenly calling, to be associated with a glorified ascended Christ. And from that point on, God's work by the Spirit is to gather out of the nations of the earth people who will be associated forever.
With His Son in that place of honor and glory. And to me, a wonderful just extra thought about it.
When the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth and John's gospel, it was to make the God of heaven known, the Father known to man on earth. But now that the Son who made the Father known as a man to us on earth and brought God, if you will, down in the person of the sun to manifest him among men, now, as it were, he turns it around and he says, but I'm going to open heaven up to you and I'm going to declare what's in heaven.
And so I want you to know my Son as he now is in the place I have given him in heaven. And so the sun sits at the Father's right hand in heaven, and he sends the Spirit of God down on earth to work and us to make us know and enjoy and understand the what's going on in our home, in heaven, in the Father's house. And so a divine.
Just as the Lord Jesus, God was on earth the Son of God.
So God, the Spirit is on earth today for the, a purpose that connects us with heaven. It's wonderful, brethren, to see the provision of God for us to accomplish his purposes. Isn't that a beautiful answer to their question? Will thou restore again to Israel, the Kingdom? Uh, and the two of that are on the way to Emmaus and being sad and, and thinking all things were out of control and.
And and God and God's Son have been crucified. It just looked like every purpose had been frustrated when man rejected the Lord Jesus on earth. God says I got one better for you. I want to raise man up into heaven and glorify him there. And what we're discussing is the development of this. These verses in Ephesians are the full development of it that was purposed in the past eternity.
That God is now accomplishing in US and taking us, the people from earth to heaven.
And so if man will not have Christ on earth as a king here and to set the world right, then God says then I will have him in glory. And moreover, I'm going to give him a people to be with him there. And that's what's taking place now.
The Spirit of God is gathering together a people to gather them there. And when heaven is full, the Lord will take us all there. That is when the last one is saved. I mean, so when you see this, the development of it is just beautiful. The acts that we're reading are the beginning of how this is all working out.
And I'd like to say, too, to apply it to ourselves today, brethren, we see them. We see the end of that age in which he was working with Israel for a time. We see. And they saw it as total disorder. Everything was out of kilter. The Messiah had been put as they believed him to be, had been put to death, and everything was in total disorder.
And they were perplexed by what was going on. We're at the end of the next phase, if you will, of the ways of God with man. We're down at the end of it. We can look at it and be, oh, you know, the mess that's taking place in this world today. What's the financial situation going to do? And what's gonna, what's the end of the economy and how's the United States gonna be affected? And what about me and my job?
And what it's going to be like with me tomorrow or next week or next year. And we see this country morally going down every generation and every year and so on. And we can be perplexed, we can have anxiety, we can be frustrated even by it all.
00:30:13
But what's God's side of it?
He's finishing up a work.
The end result. What's the end result of all that's taking place right now? A completed bribe for his son. There's not a single thing happening in the world today that God isn't over all working out His purposes, which will have a perfect end result that to us, we might be frustrated because if we're not occupied with Him and what He's doing, then we're concerned about.
The way life is going, good or bad or elsewhere in our personal lives and so on. But if you were in heaven, if we could be in heaven this afternoon and we could say, oh, God is perfectly finishing this wonderful work that he is doing to create, uh, the, the, the bride in all that. And when all that work is done, then he'll bring to a close this period of time.
And the end result will be perfect according to God. And then he will start on. There's a transition going on perhaps right at this moment on the earth. And transition, that's what's coming after we're gone. And so he's lining things and preparing things, just like Axe was a transition period. The dispensations of God overlap and they have transitions between them. We may be this afternoon in the transition.
Period between the end of what we call the day of grace and the beginning of what's going to be known when it half starts is the tribulation, and we're in that overlap period between the two. Is everything going according to schedule and according to God's control? Yes, it is, and we ought to sit with thankful hearts and confidence spirits in that. Any moment it's going to come to its close and we might be just as surprised as the disciples were.
If we are in the same.
Lack of but we we shouldn't be, as Jim said, we have by the Spirit of God every reason to have an understanding that they could not and did not have on the when the acts one was taking place. And so we should be aware of what's going on around us in the world. As we said earlier in these meetings, we're not isolationists, but there's a difference between being aware and overwhelmed. And if we keep in mind what Brother Dawn has said.
We can be aware without being overwhelmed. And you talk to Christians today, they love the Lord and they're going to, we're going to share eternity together, but through Miss Teaching and so on, they're looking for brighter days down here in the establishment of the Kingdom. And we're a moral force to change the world and all these kinds of things you hear, but talk to them a while. You'll find that they're often overwhelmed because brethren, if we're looking for better things down here.
We've got to admit it's not getting any better things as far as outwardly, yes, God is in control, but outwardly things are not getting better in this world. They're getting more unstable all the time as far as the kingdoms of men and governments and social, political things and the morals and all that kind of thing. And if we're looking to build better days down here and prepare for the Kingdom now.
It's going to, like the disciples, overwhelm and discourage us. And not only were the two on the way to Emmaus sad when they thought of the Lord, the Kingdom and the restoration of it, and then it didn't seem like it was going to happen and so on. But even in the upper room, the disciples hearts were troubled and afraid. The Lord said to them, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Why did he say that? Because he knew what their hearts were like.
And he knew how they were feeling on that occasion.
And they were thinking about the Lord he was preparing to leave them and they must have thought, well now what are we going to do? We thought things were going to get better and we were going to be delivered and we'd be sit on his right hand and left hand in the Kingdom and we'd have a part in the administration and we'd be out from under Roman suppression and so on. And now it it's all falling apart. He's going back to heaven. But he gives them a number of things for their comfort there. In fact, if you just.
I know we've noticed it before, but just take a moment because it goes right along with what brother Dawn was saying.
00:35:06
Right at the beginning of that 14th chapter, he gives them really three things for their comfort.
He says, let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God. I'll stop there man. You know they had believed in God whom they'd never seen. Now he says, believe all, swing me. In other words, what he's saying is you believed in God whom you've never seen.
Now from now on you're going to have to believe in me in the same way you're no longer going to see me with the physical eye. And so after he had remained on earth long enough to give confirmation to his own that he had bodily risen from the dead, the cloud received him out of their sight, and they saw him no more with the physical eye. And Peter says in his epistle, Whom not having seen ye love, though now you see him not yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. He says, I'm associating you now with me.
Not on earth in a physical way, but you're going to have to put your confidence and trust in me in the same way you have believed in God, whom you've never seen. And then he gives in the second verse, the Father's house. This isn't your abiding place. This isn't your home. And brethren, this sad world that's getting worse is not our home. And then the third thing is the promise that He's going to come himself and take them to that home. But you see, again, He sought to detach them in every way.
From the hopes and aspirations that they had as Jewish men looking for the Kingdom at that time, yes, they didn't understand it. But we go back and we see it and we take it up and understand the significance of it. One other thing in connection with the the glorification of Christ in the 7th of John, it says that the Spirit was not yet given. Why? Because Jesus was not yet glorified.
The Spirit of God could not be given in the way it was on the day of Pentecost till the Lord Jesus had accomplished the work of redemption, risen from the dead, and gone back as a glorified man to be seated by God at God's right hand. And that's why the Lord again said to the disciples, It's expedient that I go away. If I don't go away, you'll never be brought into the relationship that I have, that God has for you that I have in mind.
Brethren, what we enjoy in as to relationship with the Father and the Son today.
Is a far deeper and more intimate relationship that anyone previous to Christianity ever enjoyed. Abraham was the friend of God. Moses spoke with with God as a friend speaks face to face, but they never enjoyed the disciples who walked in intimacy with the Lord. They never enjoyed until the coming of the Spirit of God on the day of Pentecost and the dawn of Christianity. The relationship and the blessings that were he had in store for them and everything that we have today and enjoy is a result.
Of the glorification of Christ, and then, and only then, the descent of the Spirit of God.
First aid is a nutshell. In a nutshell, the very last words that the Lord Jesus spoke to his disciples here and he told them what he was going to do as brother Dawn is brought before us in a very orderly way throughout the entire book of the book of Acts. And so it says you shall receive power. That's really chapter 2, the first few verses after that, the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me.
Both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And so we need to recognize that the there are a couple of divisions in this book. In the first approximately 11 Chapters. Really. Peter is very prominent in those chapters. And the Lord in very gracious way allows the gospel to go forth first in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then in Samaria and then in connection with Cornelia.
Cornelius is safe and umm, the Gentiles begin to come into blessing. And then you have in Chapter 11, I'm just going to point this out in Chapter 11 and verse 19, it says now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen traveled as far as finesse and Cyprus and Antioch, preaching the word to none, but unto the Jews only, and some of them that were men of Cyprus and Cyrene.
00:40:17
Which when they were come to Antioch, spake under the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus, and the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned under the Lord. Then tidings of these things came under the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem, and they sent forth Barnabas that he should go as far as Antioch. And then in verse 25 then departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek Saul. That was approximately 5 years after Saul was saved.
And he had been in the school of God now for five years, and the Lord was ready to use him, and he came down. And they were first called Christians in Antioch. But I think it's very nice, lovely to see in the book of Acts the order and the consistency of God with himself and in a holy character that he brings the gospel forth before those rebellious Jews. But in grace he does it in kindness.
So I wondered if that's why he didn't answer the question. Verse seven of our chapter with the guest or no, He says it is not for you to know the times of the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power.
Luke mentions in his gospel the 13th chapter in verse six about the fig tree which usually we attach to the nation of Israel. A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, came and sought fruit thereon and found none. Then said he, under the dresser of his vineyard, behold these three years that his ministry on earth I come seeking fruit on the fig tree, and find none. Cut it down like cumber hit the ground.
Any answering said unto him, Lord, Let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it and dung it, and if it bear fruit, well, and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. So it seems to me anyway, that He is giving space there for a continued work in the gospel to Israel in the beginning of Acts, because.
That's pretty much who the gospel was given to in the first, uh, 7 chapters. And then they stoned Stephen, who spoke to them with words that were spirit moved and they rejected that message. So in chapter eight of our book, we get the salvation of the Ethiopian unit, and that's from the family of Ham. Then in Chapter 9, we get the salvation of the Apostle Paul.
And that's from the family of Shem. And then in chapter 10, we get the salvation of Cornelius the Roman centurion, and that is from the family of Japheth. So that when he says in the Gospel of John, if I and I, if I be lifted up, shall draw all men unto me, that's all without distinction. It's not all without exception. It's all without distinction. And so.
We see this dispensationally worked out in these first ten chapters of the Book of Acts.
In that connection, it's nice to notice the very end of Acts, the third, the 3rd to the last verse, just to, to finish the circle, uh, how the book of Acts, this transition time, umm, ends up is uh, Paul is a prisoner in Rome.
The Roman Empire was ruling at that time and he says in verse 28.
Uh, Vietnam, therefore unto you that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.
So that was kind of the end of the outreach charge. The Jews and now the Gentiles are.
Are the ones that got specifically sends his message out too to the whole world. The Jews were the chosen people to receive the Old Testament ordinances and everything, but when they rejected it, they had first chance. But when they rejected it, God was free to bless anybody and everybody indiscriminately according to His grace and still be.
Just in doing it. And so in Christianity, all blessing comes to us because of Jesus Christ, the man who died and went into heaven.
00:45:13
Along these lines, to another thought of go to.
Romans, not Romans. Where do they want to go?
And 1St Thessalonians chapter one.
Here's the preaching of the Gospel to the Thessalonians. They are accepting it.
He summarizes to them what has happened.
Verse nine of chapter one of First Thessalonians. They themselves show unto us what manner of entering in we had unto you, how you turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven.
Whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus. And I'm going to read the new translation, Our Deliverer from the coming raft and then over in Revelation chapter 6.
For commenting on that verse.
In Revelation chapter 6.
And verse 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the captains, and the mighty men, and every bondsman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath has come, and who shall be able to stand?
We might think the world is in a mess today, and it is.
But.
It's nothing compared to what's coming very shortly. And what happened is that when the Lord Jesus Christ was on earth 2000 years ago and he was rejected and cast out, we will not have this man said the world. And they cast him out of the world. God at that point in time at the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus and the Lord himself said it now is the judgment of this world.
That is God at that point in time judged the world as a whole and said, you world stand responsible for having cast out my son. And there's going to be wrath, there's going to be judgment for it. And so God chose not to bring upon the world at that time the wrath.
Of His judgment for having crucified His Son, but rather He has withheld the time and seasons of what He is going to do. Is He going to do it? Yes, He is. But in His great love toward mankind, He said, no, I'm not going to bring my wrath yet. I'm going to have a period of time that you didn't know about, that you couldn't find in the Old Testament that none of your prophet knew about.
I'm gonna have a period of time which we today call the day of grace because it's a time when God's grace to mankind as a whole is going out to man in what we call the gospel of his grace. And it's to this we've had that transition. It's it's first to the Jew and now to the Gentile as well, and also to the man that has returned to the glory and sits at the right hand. And as the glorified man in the grace of God, he says, I have something better for those that will accept my grace.
And I'm going to carry them up and give them that place with him as his bride and the one who will be with him in his days of glory in the coming future of what we call the Millennium. But.
If I if I could put it this way, brethren, we live in a pretty good day. We live in a pretty good day compared to what's right around the corner.
The days of that, of what's going on, we think of as difficult and bad. They're good days by comparison to what's ahead and maybe just around the corner ahead. Because as he said to the Thessalonians, you turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven.
00:50:03
What is the end, if you will, of this period of time? The sun from heaven, delivering all of His own that are still to have this wonderful place and glory with Himself, our deliverer from the coming wrath. And as soon as we who may this afternoon be delivered from the coming wrath, then the bad days are coming, and they're gonna be awful days. And we read just the beginning of the bad days found in Revelation 6.
When they start to come, the people of the world, do you think they're just they're a bit worried about the economy and and a war here and a war there and the the weather and so on? Yes, they are. But what will their attention be then? Will it be on the economy? Will it be on the weather? Will it be on what's happening in this country or that? No, it won't. It'll say who can deliver us from the wrath of the Lamb? Who can deliver us from the wrath of God?
And then?
That's the worst days this world will ever know fall upon it. And so God wants us not to be worried or anxious, but to be thankful to have His promise that we have to deliver from what's just ahead.
Well, thank you. We I think we covered what I had on my heart.
Shall we sing 44 in the appendix?
The second verse says, deep in unfathomable minds of never failing skill, he treasures up his bright designs, and works his sovereign will. 44 in the appendix.
Wandering.
In there all the same predator.
Is taking.
The plow against all my stress.
Our Penguin.
Burger King and shall pray.
And glad to see you love your head.
I'm breathing out.
Floods of Judgement
Gospel—A. Coleman
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Will your anger hold in the straight of dinner when I'm Breakers roar? And the reason?
Why on the 3rd gentleman's no wild begging to blow shall be a angry raven's anger farms.
Let's get all right. Let's go live. Not much of A better.
When the water flowed into your fingers around.
On the right city by eating and then at the 1St place.
Wanna be a Manger? Hold.
On.
We didn't have an extraordinary 5 days.
God that is lingering over this world tonight and bidding lost souls to comfort to him tonight. And He saved. And we know that the door of the day of grace is closing, not closing. And so we do free for those that are still in their sins have never come as a guilty lost Sinner before a holy God.
Uh, we tried to be, uh, if there's anyone here tonight that is still not safe that they might decide for Christ tonight and have that anchor and that anchored that is the Lord Jesus Christ. We just turned upon you now for reflecting as we open that process worth giving me the Thanksgiving of our hearts. Lord Jesus, in thy persistent wording name, Amen.
I want you to turn with me to Genesis.
Chapter 7.
Genesis Chapter 7.
And the Lord said, You know, come thou and all thy house into the earth. Why did he say that? Because there was a flood coming upon this world.
Many years ago.
And there was an invitation there that they checked out, you know, the very first.
It says come, and I believe that that's one of the.
00:05:09
I'm thinking uh, as I pick up this first year, I'd like to preach the gospel on current events.
Now, what has happened in the last couple of weeks?
Hiring Irene.
And you know, as you heard of watch the storm progressing coming up the coast and the ravages that it produced along with coastline.
And many, many floods, many people were taken out of their homes and I was taken to that over the radio. They were warning people get out, get out because there is a flood heaven.
And sure enough, it came. And what a terrible destruction happens in many homes along the coastline.
I'm a reminder too, that there is another flight, another flood of God's judgment coming upon this world. I'm so happy to see that there was just a mass exodus out of on the freeways going out of the North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.
Do you know? And many people were saved, but you know, there were some that stayed behind.
Left behind for the judgment of God and and so adheres. This invitation is in Noah's time and it says come thou and all my house and God. I like that because you know, in many of the conferences we go to, there's families, a lot of families, a lot of children didn't decide their parents.
Families and God is interested in.
Families, and he wants family today.
And I've seen this over and over again, whereby God has saved one person in the family and it's gone breakthrough the whole time.
Come down and all lie out into the garden. What about Noah's time there? It was no one was building this ark and 400 years building this ark. And there were those that probably came by and say no, what are you doing and.
And you would tell them about a flood that was coming, a flood and, and everything. There was a lot of them that would just stop them and paid off. That's not going to happen. It's never rained before.
But you know one day that flood came, and if we looked farther off down in verse 16 it says this. And they went in male and female of all flesh.
And God commanded him and the Lord shut him in. The door was shut. The door was shut. And you know, one day God is going to close the door of the day of grace. And so it's so important that this message tonight is.
For anyone here that is still not saved.
This is something that I've done in the last number of gospel meetings I've taken, and I'm going to do it again, and I trust that you'll pardon me.
That this advertisement came as.
Advertisement To come in and buy a car.
And I thought it was so perfect for the gospel meeting that I showed me about the last four or five years from being such a statement. And that is it, it says.
I is running out.
Time is running out.
Time is running out for this world, you know, if the Lord Jesus were to come tonight.
And you might say it did be eternally lost forever.
00:10:01
A lot of people will say, well, you'll get a second chance now and God will send you a strong delusion and that you'll be able to believe Hawaii and.
But still God.
In this long-suffering, Mercy is lingering over this world and longing for souls to come to him. Can I, can I tell the story again? I told.
But in Nigeria, we were preaching the gospel in a prison and we got into this prison and the last, the last that we went into was the Senate House. And in that house there were six prisoners behind iron bars.
The state of kerosene being born, being there, no, no, no light, no channels.
I had and I had approved these jobs telling them about the Lord Jesus and we have one special verse that I thought it was and this is a very important first for you tonight. What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called the Christ? You have to answer that question. What should I do with Jesus, which is called the Christ?
Have you answered him? You cannot take a neutral ground and the things have gone. It's impossible.
You'll have to do with the Lord Jesus Christ. He says Savior of sinners and and he can save you.
They were taken out later on and shot. They were executed.
And you know, to my mind, it was so beautiful to think of how God gave them one more chance to be saved. Look at that.
And so tonight we say this, that God is giving you one more chance to be saved.
Would you like to save tonight? I'd love to ask. You know, we have this little disk at home and it's and it's only about 10 minutes long and maybe you've heard it if you don't, if you haven't got to hear it. And it's about this little white haired man who lived in Sydney, Australia on North Street and.
He was popped out of the doorway and he came up to the to a person and he said, uh, he'd give him a gospel tract. And he said, Sir, are you saved? Have you died tonight when you go to heaven? And he did that and he did that for many years and through that man that was collected to hundreds of souls got saved through that your man, he didn't know about it. And he just came out and he said.
Sir, are you saved?
Did you die tonight? Would you go to heaven? And there is a question for you tonight. If you die tonight, would you go to hell? And it is appointed as a man once to die and after this adjustment.
You know the Lord Jesus has made full permission.
Full provision and he went to the cross of Calvary.
2000 years ago because he saw you and I and our Richard Condition as guilty, lost sinners, guilty, guilty, guilty.
I'm able to save ourselves without hope and without God in the world.
And yet you went to that cross to die for the life of me.
And there in those dark hours, and Calvary's cross see more in my sins, in his own body, in this on the on on the truth. Do you know that you sinned against God?
And those scenes that separated you from the holy God. God cannot have skin in his presence. He is a holy God. God is of pure eyes than to behold iniquity. He cannot look upon sin. And so how wonderful it is that he's provided a way we're behind. We can be in His presence whereby we could spend an eternity with him. We're fine. We can hear that shout that'll take us to be with Him.
00:15:13
You know it says and John 10 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Do you know the voice of the shepherd? Do you know his voice?
You know, if you don't know Christ as your Savior, you'll never hear the shout, though you won't. You won't hear the shout. Everybody will be gone, left behind.
For the judgment of God. And so how important it is.
That, and I say this again, time is running out for this world.
And I believe that we're just about home. I believe we are just about home. How wonderful the the prospect that is for you and I that belong to the Lord Jesus Christ and know him as Lord and Savior of our life. And so here in Noah's day, there was this flood that came and you know, it says only eight souls were saved.
Only eight souls were saved when the Titanic sank back in 1919.
There were thousands of souls that went to a Wadi region.
But the carpet came along a little after the boat went down.
And picked up the survivors, I forget how many there were, that the Carpathia picked up and brought them into the New York, into the New York harbor. And there were loved ones there. And they were looking to see if one of their loved ones was saved.
If one of their loved ones were saved and counting the people that came by and looking eagerly.
He didn't know. We're looking tonight to you children that are sitting in your seat beside you, your mother and father.
Are you saved? Do you know Jesus as your savior?
All those souls came off the Carpathia, and then a man shouted. That's all, that's all, that's all.
What a solemn thing to see the door of the Day of Grace closed.
And forever too late, too late.
As the song says, too late, too late will be the cry Jesus of Nazareth has passed by.
Matthew, Chapter 24.
Matthew, Chapter 24.
1St 37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the thin man be for as the days that were before the flood.
They were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage until the day that no entity art and knew not until God.
Until the flood took them all away.
So shall it coming under the Son of Man be.
I was downtown on.
I think it was Thursday.
Downtown Atlanta and as my custom is, is giving out tracks down there, I've given out thousands down there.
And I came across a man at Woodruff Park.
And this man was sitting there, and I've seen.
What a a recluse or a.
A donor oder a homeless person. Looks like because there's many of them in downtown Vancouver where I go.
This man taught the mall. I have never seen the likes of a man like this to describe it. It would be I, I, I just couldn't do it. He was an awful looking man. And he was just sitting there and I came by and I said, Sir, here's something for you.
00:20:16
What his reaction? He said to me, go away, go away. And he was yelling at me, go away.
Think of the heart of God.
And a person hearing the gospel or a person getting the gospel tract and they're saying go away, don't bother me, I don't want that. Are you saying that?
Maybe you're saying we'll all waste time a little little older.
You see, maybe at when I'm about 6-7 or eight, and that's the time to come. No, he says. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of.
Behold, now is the day of salvation.
Sometimes you have a blank.
Wonderful. Have you come tonight?
Let's go to.
Solomon.
Chapter 8.
First six, set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm. For love is stronger, strong as death, jealousy is true as the grave. The coals there are, are coals of fire, which hath a most Bohemian thing.
Many waters could not quench love, nor floods drown it. I'm talking about my Savior, the Lord Jesus. When He was up there in that cross, in those three hours of darkness, many waters could not.
Quench love to think that the Lord Jesus Christ in those dark hours was thinking of you.
His love for you, it could not be quenched because he didn't want to send you a lost eternity.
He wanted to save you and take you to His wonderful home in heaven.
Oh God, what a savior. Do you really know this person?
Think of Him there on that cross, forsaken of a holy righteous sin, handing God darkness.
What He went through there, you know what he did? You know what he did? He bore my sin and his own body in the tree. Can you say that tonight that he bore my sins in his own body and tree? Oh, He's a wonderful Savior if you really want to know him.
You come to him tonight. Tomorrow may be too late. Psalm 69.
Psalm 69 again here the sufferings of the Lord on Calvary's cross. Save me, oh God, for the waters are coming into my soul. I think indeed, Myers, where there is no standing, I am coming to deep waters where there are floods overflow me. You think in looking in the book of Jeremiah, there was Jeremiah, and you know what they did to him.
Because he was preaching, because he was warning Israel upcoming judgment that was going to come upon them and he was warning them. And what did they do? They put Jeremiah in a in a dungeon. And it says that they let Jeremiah down. And Jeremiah, it says he sank in the mind, He sank in the mire. But oh, think of it. The tights fall so very, very short.
Our blessed Lord there on calories crossed, I sink in deep mire where there is no stand. What a God we have, What a Savior we have. He did this for you and I because we sinned against Him. He wants to save us. He wants to take us to His wonderful home in heaven. Do you know what it says in John 14 in my father's house or many mansions? If it were not so, I would have told you I'd go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you?
00:25:30
I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. You can be there. Yes, you can, because the invitation is there. And you know what is he saying to you tonight? He's saying, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. I want to save you. He wants to take you to his wonderful home in heaven. I think indeed, Meyer, where there is no standing.
There was Jeremiah. They put him in that, in that pit, and Jeremiah sank in the Meyer. Why? Why did they do that? You know, I got to say this. I hope this is all right to say it. Jeremiah is my Cheryl. Yes, he is. You know why? Because he kept on preaching.
He did. He kept on preaching that judgment is coming. And so tonight I'm telling you that judgment is coming.
And then we're gonna keep on saying it.
Time is running out.
It's running out. I feel that the Lord's coming is very soon. If I was to look and ask every quite a numbers of people in the audience say do you think the Lord is coming soon, it would be a resounding yes.
He's coming. His coming is as sure as it dawn. You think of that man quite a little while ago. He says the Lord's coming is going to be on May 21St, 6:00 PM Saturday. You know what happened? The Lord didn't come.
You know what happened. I believe that as many said, see, I told you so.
I told you so, but you know he is going to come.
What a terrible thing would be to be lost, to be left behind for the judgment of God.
Jeremiah Oh, I love that man. He just kept on preaching. And you know, beloved ones, it's a wonderful thing to just keep on preaching and keep telling out the love of Christ to a lost world.
How wonderful. What a wonderful privilege to hold forth the word of life to a lost world.
This last.
Three months or so, I've given out thousands of trucks in downtown Atlanta. I've had a lot of people come to me, and I've had a lot of comments come to me. I just pray that those tracks will fall into good hands and bear fruit.
And souls will be saved.
Jonah.
Jonah.
Chapter 2.
Verse 3 For thou hast cast me into the deep.
In the midst of the Seas and the floods compass me about all lie billows, and I waves passed over me. Verse FIVE. The waters compass me about even to the soul. The depth closed me round about. The weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains. The earth where the bars was about me forever.
Yet that was brought up my life from corruption. Oh Lord my God again, again thinking of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus on Calvary's cross. We'll never know the depth to what he he went through for you and I. I'd like to quote this and him 245 in verse two says this and I believe it's very nice that this hymn very fitting the depth.
00:30:22
Of all thy sufferings no heart could ere conceive the cup of wrath or flowing for us Thou didst receive, and oh, of God forsaken on the accursed tree, with grateful hearts. Lord Jesus, we do remember thee to think of what He went through there on that cross for you and I Why? Why? Because He loved you.
Because he loved you and wanted to save you. That's it. He did that all for me on Calvary's cross.
You can't even enter into it what the Lord suffered there on that cross.
But all I think of the love that held him there on that cross, not the nails, it's often been said, but love for you and I love, love, love.
Second Peter chapter.
Three.
Second Peter, chapter 3, verse 3.
Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? For since the Father's fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of that the world word of God, the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in water, whereby the world.
That then was being overflowed with water perished. But the heavens and the earth, which are now by the same word, are kept in store, reserved unto fire, against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
Again, I'm going to say that judgment is coming. Judgment is coming upon this world. Can't you see the course of this world tonight?
What an awful, wicked, wicked world in which we are living.
Man wants to do anything that comes into his mind and he does it.
The pleasures of sin for a season. That's it. The pleasures of sin for a season. And that's all it is. It's only gonna last for a season.
But you know something, the Lord Jesus shed his precious blood and Calvary's cross. Yes, he did. Oh, I think of it that there on that cross when the Lord Jesus was there.
He gave up his life.
Do you know the Roman soldier came by and they break the legs of the two thieves?
And when they came to Jesus, they said they saw that he was dead already, it says. But one of the soldiers took a spear and pierced his side. And forthwith there came out blood and water, that blood to save you and I, The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin. You cannot get to heaven.
The blood of Christ, you can't get to heaven without the work of Christ. It's all been done for you. Think of it there. The Lord was on that cross and he cried out those words. It is finished. Everything has been done and to accomplish your salvation now. Wonderful. What a wonderful message we have to to to tell to a lost world.
Finished work, nothing to do and so many are occupied with I'll do this and I'll do that.
That'll help towards my salvation. No, it won't. For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. You know, I believe this is an insult to God to say I can get to heaven by my own works. Yes, it is. It's all been done. Done.
00:35:27
Done. Everything has been done. He did it all for you and I, and there's nothing left for you to come and say. And I'll say it again. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest all you want to rest. And this world cannot give you any rest. This world has got nothing to give.
Let me tell you something.
Most of you probably don't know me.
I was I I was born and raised in Vancouver, BC.
And, uh, I grew up.
I, I came to Sunday school, yes I did. And I heard the gospel, I heard the news of salvation and I heard it many, many times over and over and over again. And you know, I would go out of the out of the room in Large St.
Uh, still.
A loss center.
I did that for 24 years.
Think of the 24 years. And yet God in his sovereign grace, Satan.
When's the time to come?
It's when you're young.
Remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth. I'm I'm looking at all you children that are sitting beside your mother and father here tonight.
The time to come to Christ is when you're young.
Just a simple confession of the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus, will you save me from all my sin?
Just a little prayer like that, you know, like the.
Uh, publicans said God, be merciful unto me, a Sinner. That's simple, isn't it? He, He? It only says a simple thing. Believe.
It only says a simple thing, believe and live. God didn't give you some something complicated to get saved. No, it's just a simple belief and what the Lord Jesus has done for you.
On Calvary's cross and shedding his precious blood for you. What a savior.
Where is the promise of his coming?
And you know that is true today of many souls. Where is the promise of His coming? For 2000 years the gospel has gone forth. Where is the promise of his coming? But you know, one day will be the last. I'll say this again, time is running out. You know what this this says to come in, come in. That's the invitation tonight.
Time is running out for this world. Come in. What a solemn thing it would be. Do you think of those?
Souls along the Atlantic Coast there, some of them stayed behind and lost their souls and lost their lives. Some of them challenged God, challenged Irene.
For their own destruction.
A solemn thing. I say this tonight.
Will your anchor hold in the floods of death? Will your anchor hold? You need an anchor.
Fastened to the rock net rock is Christ. Fastened to the rock which cannot move, He is the rock.
Long time ago.
Umm, in Newfoundland, Uh, Don Don Belasoli and I.
Uh, we were gonna have a open air meeting in this little village and, uh, I had to do some, some umm, uh, running around in town and he said to me, he said, well, I'll meet you on the rock.
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And I said, well, Don, where is the rock? Oh, you'll know. You'll know. And so I came back to this village. It's called Fox's Roost. That's the name of the village, Fox's Roost. And there in the middle of the town was this huge rock.
And it was a perfect amphitheater for talking to the children just there. There must have been fifty children there.
And I never forget that scene when I saw all those children. Uh, I wonder where they are today. I wonder if they're fastened to the rock, which cannot move. He is the rock.
He is the rock.
Firm and steadfast, do you know?
In Psalm 40 it says this. Uh, let's turn to that before I forget Psalm 40.
Psalm 40I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined into me, and heard my cry.
He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, and out of the miry clan, Set my feet upon a rock and established my going, And he hath put a new song in my mouth. Even Praise unto our God, and many shall see it in fear and trust in the Lord.
I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. Have ye? Has the Lord Jesus heard your cry?
Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
Don't wait for a day of trouble to come to him. Come now. And so it says here he brought me up also out of a horrible pit. That's what he's done for me, brought me out of a horrible pit. You know what it says? The margin says a pit of noise. A pit of noise. And isn't that what characterizes the day in which we're living?
Noise, noise, noise, the stereo, the television, yelling, screaming and everything else. Epitome. Thank God I've been saved from all that by His grace. He brought me up and set my feet upon a rock and established my door. How wonderful. He's given me direction in my life, and not only that, He's put a song in my nose. A song, dear, one that'll go on.
For all eternity unto Him that loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.
To Him be glory and dominion, forever and ever, for all eternity will praise that blessed One who so loved us and gave himself for us. Oh, what a God to praise him, to thank Him. Put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God. Turn with me now to revelation.
Chapter 22.
Revelation chapter 22.
Verse 17.
And the Spirit and the Bride say come.
Huawei, you remember in Genesis 7 and one it says, Come all thou and all thy house into the ark. Here it is that same word, the very last words of this precious book of the Word of God, come.
Come, and let the Spirit and the Bride say, Come, let him let hearest they come, and let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will let him take the water of life.
Freely it's free it's free think of it the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord It's free nothing to do but come to the Lord Jesus and this wonderful are you thirsty? That's what this verse is that is saying him that is a thirst come oh there are so many in this world that are.
Drinking.
Of the pleasures of this world.
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They don't last. I proved it myself as a young man.
Now none but Christ can satisfy.
He satisfy at the long and soul, and filleth the hungry soul with practice.
Yeah, if you come to Jesus, you'll find a wonderful Savior, one that will look after you and care for you and bless you and keep you every day of your life.
Every day of your life. So I guess I I don't know whether.
To say something like this in the gospel meeting. But in two weeks I'm gonna hit the big gate. Oh.
Yeah, when I looked back in my life.
Oh, friend.
What a wonderful God that I've had.
How he's looked after me all my life. I failed him so many times.
So many times that he's never failed me. I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Do you know this wonderful person, the Lord Jesus Christ?
And whosoever will see that word, whosoever that means everybody in this room, whosoever will let him taste the water of life freely, It's free.
Take the water of life freely.
One last verse, Luke chapter 16.
MMM, OK, I'll read from.
Verse 19. There was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and paired sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which laid at his gate full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores, and it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom.
The rich man also died and was buried, and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. And Abraham said, Son, remember.
That thou in thy lifetime receiveth thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted, and now are tormented. And besides all lists between US and you there's a great gulf fix. So that they which would pass from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass to us that would come from dance.
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou would send him to my father's house, for I have 5 brethren, that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham said unto unto him, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophet.
Neither will they be persuaded, though. 1 rose from the dead, you know.
The word of God.
Shows us the way of salvation.
You don't have to go into lost eternity.
It's all written here for you.
The way of salvation.
Here was this man, this rich man, He had everything. He had everything, but he didn't have Christ.
He didn't have Chris.
And he asked, he said, where you get Lazarus to come and just a little dip his finger and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. You know what I want to bring out is this. There's going to be no water in hell.
00:50:13
Nowhere. What a solemn thing to go into a lost eternity.
Tier One tonight. Are you saved? Do you know Christ as your Savior? If you were to die tonight, would you go to? Would you go to heaven? Would you? Can you answer that question? How about it, dear young boy, Dear young girl, sitting beside your mother and father, are you saved? If you were to die tonight, would you go to heaven? If I was to die tonight? Yes. Resoundedly, yes.
I would go to heaven and that's my future, my future.
Is all in crisis? What about your future? What about your future? Are you saved, dear one, tonight? Christ is the Savior of sinners. Christ is the Savior for me. Can you say that? Let's thank the Lord?
Loving Father, we just want to thank Thee for Thy precious word. Surely Thy precious word, word show us the way of salvation.
Everlasting God
Children—J.A. Kaiser
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Rich man and Lazarus and then I you know, I always pictured it that the two of them went to sleep one night and.
It says of the rich man. He lifted up his eyes.
In hell being in torment now if he went to sleep that night and died in the night.
That was a bad morning.
And so we have all this morning. Got a good morning.
A little bit rainy out there.
It's cooler.
And you know something else? God wants to bless us today.
God's heart is toward us, He loves us, and that's why we're here.
All right.
Who has a song we're we're primarily off the back of the new sheet? Does anyone need a hidden sheet? I guess I could just hear it.
How about a choice? Yes. What number?
46.
We just said no, we sang now.
Because right now we're occupied with time. A few minutes ago, I walked around the room to see if my watch agreed with these two clocks here. And I discovered these two clocks don't agree. But it's always now.
It's time to be saved right now. We're going to be talking about time and the absence of time this morning. Because someday time will end and there'll be no more clocks. And I'll be so glad.
That would be too bad for some people.
It'll be too late for them. All right, How about another choice?
I got bad eyesight. So if I miss somebody, somebody else help? Yes. What number 13?
13 All right, let's look at #13 That's a nice, that's a wonderful song. I don't know if I've ever heard a song in the Sunday School before, but it's what we're here for. Number 13.
Man of Sorrows.
Was running.
Lord of the God who came.
Fruiting.
All right, how about another show?
Yes.
#4.
All right, I think we'll sing the 1St and the last verse of #4 Her eyes is the Savior of the Savior.
00:05:07
For me.
Afraid.
This is the savior for me.
Save your Sinner Savior. Say you're a Sinner like me.
Sharing his life for my life long. This is the danger for me.
Notice.
Saying it says love with a love that's unchanging. Remember that expression, love with a love that's unchanging because that's going to be important in our lesson this morning. All right, Anybody else?
I don't get a choice from the front front row. We'll take a choice from.
A different row.
No choice.
Are we sung out already?
About 4747 all right #47.
When he comes, when he comes in, Jules on his jewel. France is gold. Here's life and hit along.
Right. And for him?
Is there anybody here this morning who won't be in Jesus Gem collection?
Are you all going to be there? Are you? We just said little children who love their Redeemer are the jewels. Are you a jewel this morning?
You know what a jewel does?
Jewel reflects light. People like jewels because they're nice to look at. They reflect light. And if we're one of Jesus jewels, we reflect his life.
Think about that. All right, We have time for one more 40.
40 Good, we got one. I got a choice in the front row and it's on the back, on the back of the hymn sheet. Good #40 We'll sing the whole thing.
Jesus belongs me, the final.
00:10:03
For the Bible, does it go, little one, to him being wrong? Then I think I'm here strong, yes.
I don't know when you have Jesus.
Laughing.
Yes, in the last day. The Bible tells me so.
Jesus loved me all. I'm fat and get away to make me laugh.
From here shining.
Into what she where I lie?
Young is not laughing.
Young Jesus, love me.
Yes, you thought the light was made. Oh, my Lord tells me so.
It will Take Me Home on my way.
Yes, she's got a lot of weird.
Yeah, she's not one. Being young Jesus who always lost the Bible tells me so.
You know, I was looking around as I was singing this and I saw some people saying, yes, Jesus loves me in the waving him cheat around, looking at the sky or the ceiling or whatever. And.
You know, I've seen some people really in love.
They were focused and they were excited.
If you realized how much Jesus loves you.
You'd be excited.
You should be overwhelmed.
He loves you so much.
That's thanking.
Our God and Father.
We thank you this morning that we are.
Assembled together.
By thy goodness and in thy love.
We thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, who lives for us, who's coming for us.
We ask you this day that we might appreciate more your goodness, your faithfulness.
And all that you've done for us, we ask in Jesus name, Amen. Amen.
Now there was a memory verse.
Anybody learn the memory verse for this Sunday? You know, every week you get a Sunday. Most of you anyway get a Sunday full paper and there is a memory verse. How many learn the memory verse for this Sunday? Anybody. Anybody know it? Anybody want to say it?
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I don't see volunteers.
Very good. Can you say the verse?
Very good. I am the Lord, I change. Not Malachi 36. Anybody else? That's an easy verse. Good.
I am the Lord, I change, not my own Tie 36. OK, OK, go ahead. I will not change, not Malachi to use it right? Anybody else?
No, I'll be. That's good. Yeah. I am the Lord. I change. Not now I.
Very good. Anybody else? I mean, I I remember when I was young, if I went to the trouble of learning the verse, I expected to get a chance to say it. But I understand some people don't value those things.
Quite the same way.
This is a wonderful verse. I remember when I first noticed it was in the Sunday school paper. It was about a month ago, and I was thinking about this conference and I thought, wow, wonder if I'm going to get asked to take the funny score. And I looked at that verse and I thought, hmm, what I'm going to say about that verse. I never talked about that verse before, never considered it, never seen it in a in a Sunday school paper before.
But let's look at it. It's a wonderful verse, and I hope before we leave here this morning that we'll all agree that it is a wonderful verse. Malachi, by the way, this book is just full of wonderful verses.
Malachi.
Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament that makes it easy to find Malachi chapter 3 and verse 6. And I'm gonna read the whole verse because if we understand it, understand this verse, the whole verse, it makes a lot more sense. I am the Lord, for I am the Lord. I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Now when God speaks of Jacob.
To Israel, he's reminding them of their failure and his faithfulness.
He says, I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
What God is talking about is His mercy. You know Malachi is the last book in the Bible.
And God had been speaking to his people for hundreds of years, and had had the people of God always been obedient to God?
Who knows the answer to that?
Have God's people always been obedient? What do you think?
Have God's people, the people of God, always been obedient? No, no, Oh no, not any better than us.
Have we always been obedient? Well, you know, God said.
I am the Lord, the reason God had not wiped his people out, consumed them because of what he was. And so we want to talk about what God is and he's unchanged. He says I am the Lord, I change, not now. I'm going to give you a little illustration this morning.
Have you ever seen that character before?
That you recognize that person.
No, you recognize that person.
You think so?
No, no.
OK.
OK, who did recognize that person you think you did? Yeah. Who is it?
Yeah.
60 years ago.
I changed and the number most people who didn't recognize it was the people on the front row here didn't recognize me. I don't blame them. I've changed in 60 years. Do you realize that your parents and your grandparents used to look sort of like you?
They've changed, too.
With everything in this life changes, let me give you some more examples of change.
Now we all like these things, apples and bananas. Suppose I put this apple and banana. Suppose I put them up here on the stage here, and I just let them sit there for a year.
00:20:03
We just leave the apple and the banana on the stage to sit for a year. Are they going to look the same?
No, the apple is going to shrivel up and turn brown and.
The banana, what? They'll get worse than that. It'll turn black and after a while start getting attracting flies and the skin will split and it'll rot. Bananas. Bananas don't last well at all. They're called perishables. They're things that don't last, that don't change. I mean, they do change. They change quickly sometimes. Now I've got something else here. This is a local product.
Picked up on the road down there. If I put this up on the stage and we leave it on the stage for a year.
What's it going to look like?
It's the same, yeah. Rocks don't change much. They have a reputation that way. People build things of rocks. They build roads out of rocks. They build buildings out of rocks. Because rocks are considered to be stable. They don't change much. Actually. You something about rocks, rocks can change. You put this in a really hot fire. Really, really hot fire. You could actually burn it up.
It would change into whatever rocks change into when they're burning, you know?
I don't know what.
It all depends what's in it, you know, but it would change. Rocks can be vaporized, they can be exploded, but they're considered pretty stable now. God says I am the Lord, I don't change, and that's nice. Let's look at a verse here to start with.
We talked about.
Rocks. We say a rock, by the way. Before we go any further, we'll say rock is It's not. Rocks aren't everlasting and eternal, but they are enduring.
Enduring rocks do endure, and so let's turn to some interesting verses in Deuteronomy chapter 33.
Here is a verse.
Umm, let's take a look. First look at yeah, Deuteronomy chapter 33 and verse 27. Deuteronomy 33 and verse 27.
It says the eternal God is thy refuge, or what's a refuge is another word for a shelter. Right now we're in a refuge from rain. It's raining a little bit outside, or it wasn't for a while anyway. We got a roof over us. We're in a refuge here. We're in a shelter. The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.
Now, when God met Moses out in the wilderness.
He introduced himself as the I am that I am.
The one who doesn't change. A God who is eternal and so.
Moses here is speaking to his to the people of God, and he says the eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And so we've got two more things to put up on the board here.
Eternal.
And everlasting.
OK.
Eternal and everlasting. Now there's things that go with that. God says the eternal God is.
Your refuge, your shelter. Now if if I have an eternal God for my shelter, what kind of a shelter have I got? Do I have a temporary shelter or internal shelter?
Which kind?
Come on, eternal. Of course it's because God's eternal. I have an eternal shelter. So I'm gonna put this word up here. I have an eternal shelter.
00:25:05
Or refuge.
But it says underneath are the everlasting arms.
Now you know.
Umm, some people saw me last night walking around with a cat.
I found a cat out by the motel out there and I was carrying it around. I was supporting it in my arms.
So we have an everlasting support.
All because.
All because of.
God being eternal and everlasting now.
A few days ago I got a word through the Grapevine, so to speak, that I was going to be asked to speak about this verse. And I started thinking about all the things that we have from God, which are everlasting, eternal, enduring. I'm putting another word up here. Endless.
And there's other ways. There's other ways to describe them.
And so I want to start going through scripture and I came up with a list of.
Over 40 things that we have we're told about in the Bible.
That are eternal. That belong to us who belong to God. Eternal, everlasting. I'm not going to tell you what they are. I'm going to ask somebody to suggest what they might be who can think of something else in the Bible that's eternal.
What?
Eternal life. I was sure that somebody's going to mention that. You're right. Eternal life. We get eternal life because God doesn't change. He's eternal. We get eternal life. So I'll put that down here. Eternal life, That was the easy one.
I'm glad you thought of it. OK, well, what's by the way, who knows the verse we need, We need to have scriptures for these things. Who knows a verse about eternal life?
John 316 Very good everlasting life, eternal life. Same thing. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Or if you were to say that verse in another language, language like French or Spanish, the word would be eternal. Matter of fact, I'm going to show you something.
In our Bible, in the Old Testament, we use the word Lord for Jehovah, where God had revealed himself to Moses.
But when I was up in Montreal some years ago, I I wanted a souvenir and I bought, I bought this. Who can read this?
Who can read this?
I know Jim Holly can read it.
That's right.
There, get somebody else back and out Of Montreal for years.
Right here, John. OK, go ahead. Great.
Well, this is Luigi Leternal.
That means praise the Lord. Let's say that together, Louis Leternal. Louis Leternal because in French the name for the Lord is lay Ternal. You get a French Bible and it says Leighturnal, a Montbage. The Lord is my shepherd, the eternal one, the one that doesn't change.
Just think what it is. Have a shepherd that never changes. He's always good, always watching le turn LA Monsieur. That's what David says in the French Bible.
Lil Wayne, eternal praise the Lord. Well, so we have an eternal God and we read about that, by the way, and I didn't put it down, it says the eternal God is your refuge. So of course we have eternal God, eternal shelter, eternal support.
Eternal life. What else do we have that's eternal or everlasting or endless or never ends?
I'm just going to get a short list here, yeah.
You said you give up. OK, I'll I'll take suggestions for the older ones.
Eternal Spirit, absolutely. It comes from the book of Hebrews, the Eternal Spirit.
Eternal day. Eternal what day? Day. All right, that's one that was not on my list. Congratulations.
00:30:08
Well, suggested by this one, yes. What's that?
Death, yes, in the sense that.
The Bible doesn't speak it that way, but it does talk about eternal destruction and eternal, eternal punishment. So maybe we'll put down eternal punishment because that's the idea of between death.
Eternal power. The other one's not. It wasn't on my list. Thank you.
Eternal power and Godhead, the Scripture says. How about another one?
Oh, that's wonderful, you know. And Jeremiah says, behold, I have loved you with him ever Lasting love. And we sang about it this morning. I'm surprised somebody didn't mention it sooner. Unchanging love, remember? Eternal love, Absolutely.
What else?
Eternal redemption. Oh, is that wonderful? What's that mean? Eternal redemption. The Bible tells us we're redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.
He has bought us, he has paid for us with his blood and he's done it forever.
That's what eternal redemption is. Did it once for all. Finished. He did it before I was born. He did it before I sinned. Eternal redemption for us. All right. Wonderful. How about another one? Just call it out.
Strength. Absolutely. The Bible talks in a couple of places about eternal strength. Absolutely.
Eternal home, Absolutely. That's in Scripture as well.
I'm getting ahead of myself down here.
Eternal home, wasn't it wonderful? We have eternal strength. Sometimes we feel pretty, pretty weak, but the Bible talks about us having eternal strength in God, and that's in the book of Isaiah. We have an eternal home. I will take one or two more because I got more things to talk about. My glory, Eternal glory, absolutely. It's mentioned several couple times of Scripture. Eternal glory.
What else?
The general inheritance inheritance and there was one else I missed here.
Eternal grace, pray absolutely OK, and we'll stop there. We don't mean we're on the board here anyway. Inheritance.
Now you say eternal praise. You know something?
Praise is a wonderful thing. We all like to get praise, don't we? And matter of fact, if we're in a good situation, we like to give praise. It's enjoyable, it does something for us. But let me sometimes we appreciate things by contrast.
How many here would like to be around eternal rumbling or eternal complaining or eternal screaming?
That's what Hell's gonna be like.
Eternal praise. Your praise isn't always noisy. Some praise is quiet. Praise can be beautiful.
In the in heaven, it is of course, eternal praise. These are the wonderful things that belong to us who believe because God is everlasting, eternal, enduring and you know.
I'm gonna tell you about a story about a man. This is a sad story. Let's let's read it in Luke chapter.
Luke We'll read it very quickly, though.
Luke chapter 12 I think it is.
Look Luke chapter, umm yes, Luke chapter 12.
Verse 16 And Jesus spoke a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
And he said, This will I do, I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there will I be so all my fruit and my goods, and I will say to my soul, soul thou as much goods laid up.
For many years, take thy knees, eat, drink and be merry.
But God said to him, Thou fool.
00:35:00
This night shall thy soul shall be required of thee. Then who shall these things be which thou hast providing? You know, people spend so much time and energy trying to get things in this life.
And then they lose it.
I'm gonna ask you, what are you living for today? Are you living for now or for eternity? Are you living in appreciation of, in anticipation of, in enjoyment of these wonderful things that belong to the children of God forever? Or are you just like a person with his nose to the floor looking at the stuff down this world? That's what this man was. And his neighbors probably thought he was Wonderful man. That guy's a good businessman. He's diligent. He thinks they had he plans ahead.
But he didn't plan for eternity.
Now I have something else here to show you.
You know what that man got for all his planning?
What's that?
What is it? Yeah, what is it?
It's great. Yeah. That's a great story.
Gravestone. That's my representation for gravestone anyway. That's all that man. I don't even know if man got that, frankly. He planned and planned and planned and he had this all this property and these crops and all these wonderful plans and he died. And you know, people in this world, they work for so many things. They say I'm going to be great and do great things and.
And they die, as the poet says, and lie embalmed and prayed a lot of good. It doesn't.
What was the man's name?
What was his name? Well, I don't know if he had a gravestone, but I know I can tell you what is what God called him.
Would you like that on your gravestone if you ever died?
The fool. He was a man who lived for just the things of this world. He didn't pay attention to the eternal God. He wasn't concerned with what was eternal Live for eternity. That man made a big mistake. He forgot about something.
He forgot about eternity.
Boys and girls, men and women.
This life is just the beginning.
This is the seed plot of Eternity.
Live for eternity. Enjoy what is really life, what is really yours.
Live for eternity. This poor man, the poor fool, he died and he lost it all forever. He lost all of this and more. I told you there were 40 things in my list and I'm we got two more added this morning I hadn't remembered.
There's only a 5-10 about 151617 up there.
God has so much for us, you know, I think of the.
When I got married.
People gave us wedding gifts and.
One person gave us a text that hung in our ro, our house for many years. I'll show it to you. It's not the same text, by the way, because the text they gave us faded. It looked terrible. It was hand done and uh, as it faded, the paint got splotchy and so on. And I finally took it down. But I recreated it just last week.
Thou remains we. That's this text hung in our home for years. Not this this, not this physical, but one like it, only bigger.
And it was a big comfort to me because a lot of things in our lives didn't seem to go right, but we have one who always remains.
God remains he Cha, he doesn't change. You know what's interesting back in Deuteronomy? The children we if you have still have your Bible there. It took look real briefly. Deuteronomy chapter 32 is another interesting expression.
Deuteronomy 32, verse 29.
Deuteronomy 3229.
All that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter and their final ends. Where's your final end going to be? It's going to be an eternity. Where are you going to spend eternity? Consider your final end and consider the one who determines it. What's it say next? The next verse here.
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How should one chase 1000? This is Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 30. How should one chase 1002 put 10,000 to flight? Except they're rock.
Had sold them and the Lord had shut them up, for their rock is not our rock. You know, even then the children of Israel could rejoice in a God who didn't change and they didn't know the hundreds of years later, God would say to them, I am the Lord, I change not. He was reminding them of who he was and why they had not been consumed. I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Here it says their rock is not our rock. Even our enemies themselves being judges. You know, there's lots of people who envy Christian security, but they don't want Christ.
A lot of people, I've had people say to me, I wish I had your faith, and I say I wish you had my Savior.
Because it's not our faith. The faith is not no good without an object. We have somebody we can trust forever, trustee in the Lord forever. For in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. Now our time is about up. I want to tell you another story.
About 100 years ago. 110 years ago.
There was a mission over in China called the China Inland Mission.
And they had missionaries in a lot of places in China.
And the government in China decided that missionaries were bad. By the way, what is a missionary?
You know, I'm afraid sometimes missionaries, we talk about them so rarely and people don't know what missionaries are. What's a missionary?
People who go out work, I know.
Around the world and talk about the gospel. Absolutely right. Very good. That's what a missionary is.
Uh.
One day, Sir. Wilford Grenfell.
Was at a dinner. I Wilfred Grenfell was a missionary and he was a missionary up in the north, umm, northern, eastern Canada, Newfoundland, Labrador. In that area he was at a dinner.
And this is a pretty fancy dinner. And he was sitting at the table, and the lady next to him looked at him and says, do I understand, Sir, that you are a missionary?
And he said, do I understand that you're not?
I hope we have a room full of missionaries. They go out and tell people about the Lord Jesus.
You can go where he sends you.
Anyway, there are missionaries in China with the China Inland Missionary Emissions Association and the government said kill the missionaries. There was a boxer box called the Boxer Rebellion or the Boxer Uprising. And so they started to hunt out the Christians and particularly the missionaries and kill them. Now I want to show you the text that was hanging at that time. I believe in the office of the China Emission, not the exact same text. And then obviously the.
Plastic frames and then plastic frames back then. But this is a wonderful text.
Read this for us louder. Can you read that kind of funny writing?
Iron, iron, iron is one.
This God is our God, forever and ever.
Gives a stricter references at the bottom you know in the Bible we read about a time when the sun says still God did it for his people. Another time when when an axe, an iron axe head was lost in the water and.
God made it to come to the top floor. Do you ever see iron?
Accent float I never have.
But God can do those things. And it says the sun stood still. The iron didn't swim.
This God is our God forever.
And ever can you say that this morning? This God is my God, forever and ever.
By the way, these texts are for sale.
00:45:00
And I can make more.
Our time is up.
Our time is up, time goes some time, there will be no more time. We will be with God forever. And by the way, about this word enduring this word enduring here. I believe you know God calls on us to endure things in this life.
Paul said to Timothy, my son, endure hardness. As a soldier of Jesus Christ, it's a good thing to endure. We appreciate things that have shelf life that are good longer than maybe we expect them to be. It's a wonderful thing just to endure because a God, that's one of God's characteristics. He makes things that endure and he can make us to endure as well.
Keep that in mind. God appreciates endurance.
Let's thank him now for this time. Our God and Father, we thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ, our eternal Savior, our eternal shepherd.
The World
Address—D.F. Rule
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20.
Farewell to this world's fleeting joys. Our home is not below.
There was no home for Jesus here, and tis to him we go.
To him and Yonder home of love, where he has gone before.
The home he changed for Calvary's cross, where all our sins.
He bore, He bore our sins that we might be as partners on the throne.
The throne heal shortly share with those for whom he did atone.
Up to our Father's house we go to that sweet home of love, many mansions that are found where Jesus dwells above.
And he who laughs at home above To be a sufferer here, has left this world again for us, a mansion to prepare.
His errand on the earth was love to wretches such as we, to pluck us from the jaws of death. Nailed to the accursed tree. The accursed tree was the reward.
Which this sad world did give to him, who gave his precious life.
That this lost world might live. We'll start singing at verse 8.
We didn't hear anything about that problem.
That's great.
General.
The rain, the weather and water.
Flash.
There's a little while, There's a while, Go away and legend world.
Living the whole night, woes and swords.
Will not happen anywhere.
Where it has gone?
The nursery.
Do it. I'm going to read before we pray Galatians chapter 6 and verse 14.
God forbid.
00:05:00
That I should glory saving the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world, Let's pray.
Our God, our Father, we do pray as we open thy word and read from it, that Thou would speak to us, each one of us.
We thank our God for the love that does speak to us from thine own heart. We thank Thee, our Father, that Thou does perfectly know and understand us as well. And that which is needful for our good and blessing we do return thanks most of all for thy beloved Son, whom thou did send to save us, to deliver us.
And we thank the Lord Jesus for coming and for faithfully doing the Father's will, being obedient unto death, that the death of the cross.
And so, Lord Jesus, we pray that Thou would speak to each one of our hearts this afternoon to draw us to thyself. We do pray, Lord Jesus, in thy precious and worthy name, Amen.
I guess it was one of the men of the world.
Said I never met a man I didn't like.
And I'm sure he would like to have thought of himself as somebody that didn't have any enemies.
And I suppose each one of us, in our way, would like to think of ourselves as somebody that doesn't promote any enemy against us.
But brethren, we do have enemies, and it's important for us to recognize it and deal with it.
Uh, it's been said of us that we have three of them. I think they're more than three, but there are three primarily primary ones that have been brought before many of us for many years. One is the world, one is the flesh, and another is the devil.
God has enemies as well. He says that death to him is an enemy that he is going to remove and so on. And this afternoon, uh, I would like to take up our enemy, the world.
And to do so, I would like to go back and begin where the world begins. It's found for us in the book of Genesis. There are many different ways that this could be brought out the subject, but in the time we have.
We'll only look at perhaps a few of the ways that we can see it.
But if you go to Genesis chapter 3.
Umm, and verse three. But as the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, you shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
And then, uh, we're gonna assume common knowledge about these things, so we're just gonna look at a verse here and there as we go along. And, uh, so it says.
Uh, in the end of the chapter and verse 22, the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become as one of us to know good and evil. And now lest he put forth his hand and take also the tree of life and eat and live forever. Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man, and he placed at the east of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword, which turned every way to keep the way.
Of the tree of life. Then in chapter four we have the story which we call it of Cain and Abel. And in the end of that story.
It says in verse 13, Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth, and from the face from thy face shall I be hid, and I shall be a fugitive and a Vagabond in the earth.
And it came to pass that, and it shall come to pass that everyone that findeth me shall slay me.
And the Lord God said unto him, Therefore, whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
00:10:08
And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived in Barry Knock, and he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son Enoch, and so on.
We all know these stories.
But we're gonna refer back to some of the things that we've read later on, but we're just reading them now.
But to begin with.
When man disobeyed God, it caused, of necessity, really a separation between man and God.
And because man had disobeyed God, he was God, if you will, was forced to take him out of the Garden of Eden, he said, lest he take of the tree of life and live. Because if he'd taken the tree of life, he would have continued indefinitely to live, and he would live, perhaps in his sinful condition, which God could not, would not allow to have a man. Go on, imagine yourself as you are.
On this earth and living forever in that condition. And so God prevented man from partaking of the tree after he had disobeyed. But in the Garden of Eden, a tempter comes into him, one who has conflict with God, one who was opposed to God's purposes, and man becomes the center of a conflict between God and Satan. And so.
Satan tempts man into saying.
You want to be like God.
Satan tempts man by the very thing that Satan wanted to be.
He wanted to be like God.
He wanted to have the honor and the place that God had. And so he then gets into a conflict with God over his creature man and he tempts him and he says, you know, God's keeping something good from you because if you had this, if you took of this tree, you would be like God.
And no good and evil. And so he immediately exposes his own character as a liar.
Because God said to man, if you take of this tree, you will surely die.
And in the conversation with the woman, Satan says to her, You will not.
Surely die. And so you have two statements, from God and from the liar, and they're in direct contrast to each other. They can't both be possible or true, but man chooses to believe the lie he commits.
Sin against God, He's put out of the garden and.
Then we have Cain and Abel.
And we know the story of Cain and Abel. We don't have time to tell all these stories and get through much of the subject matter. And so we do. We know the story. We know Cain rises up and slays his brother Abel. And God talks to him about it. And, and he says, now I'm going to be a fugitive and a Vagabond on the earth. I'm going to have to wander around because, well, he'd murdered. And if you do something, you'll think others will do it to you.
You ever lied, then you believe people will lie to you. Have you ever cheated? Then you'll know in your heart that people might cheat against you. So anything that any of us have done, we will also recognize within ourselves that somebody may do that thing to us. And so Cain was afraid that he was going to be murdered by somebody else and a consequence, he thought he was going to have to wander around and kind of be a Vagabond, move away from people.
Lest he suffer the consequences of his own behavior.
God in mercy says to him, no, I'm gonna put a mark on you and that isn't gonna happen to you. Does he respond to the mercy of God? No, he doesn't. He takes the mercy of God.
And it goes out from the presence of the Lord and builds a city. A city is a place where people can come together and live. Not as vagabonds really, but as people who have community.
And it's the beginning of the world. It's the beginning of the very principle of what we call the world.
00:15:06
The world is a place where man lives in separation from God.
For his own will and wishes and purposes. And so M Cain went out from the presence of the Lord. He builds the city. He begins to build it with a reputation for himself, because he's now man is for his own interest and his own good. And so he names it after his son. That is in honor of his family tree. And that's man, and that's the world.
But remember from the beginning.
Satan is behind it.
Satan is behind it.
Now let's go over to the New Testament briefly to the book of. We could do multiple places, but we'll go to the book of Luke.
And go to the 23rd chapter of Luke.
Luke chapter 23 and verse 18.
And they cried out all at once, saying, away from away with this man, release unto us for Abbas, who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder.
He's one of Cain's descendants, was cast into prison. Pilate therefore willing to release Jesus, spake unto him. But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I find no fault cause of death in him. I will therefore chastise him and let him go.
And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that He might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required any released unto them Him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison whom they desired. And He delivered Jesus to their will.
God in love.
Multiple times visited Mann and his condition and in his world, and as we all know, God for so loved the world that in the end of the course of time He sends the greatest of all his own son.
And he presents his son to man to deliver him from his condition that he had been brought into and in his world.
And so the Lord Jesus and love from God is presented to man. He's presented to the world itself, and this is the result. We will not have this man.
We prefer Keynes descendants, the murderer. And so Mann chooses a murderer. He chooses to perpetuate the condition of his world and refuses the love of God in sending his son into the world.
Solemn, isn't it?
The verse that we began with before we prayed. God forbid that I should glory saving the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom this world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. The world is an enemy. I would like to think we didn't have to say anything more this afternoon, that that's enough.
Who of us would dare wanna have anything to do with the system of things that said to the Lord Jesus, Crucify him.
But God has told us that's the world, that's the world, It has said to the Lord Jesus, crucify him. We will not have this man.
So we sang in the hymn.
Uh, farewell, Farewell, poor faithless world, with all thy boasted sore. We do not have joy where he had. Woe be rich where he was poor.
But sadly, we need to go on.
We need to go on with the subject.
Turn with me over to 1St John Chapter 4.
00:20:09
First, John chapter 4 and verse 14. We have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him and He and God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love. He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him.
And then over in chapter 5.
Verse 18 It says we know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not, but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one, that Satan toucheth him not. And we know that are of God that the whole world lieth in wickedness.
Something important here for us to understand.
The world.
Is dead toward God.
Death is separation. The world is a system of things which is totally separated from God.
Satan has established it to keep Mann away from God and to keep man as he can for himself.
And he's a It's opposed to God.
And as such instead.
Another characteristic of the world is it's a lie.
It promises things that it cannot fulfill, and Satan knows it cannot fulfill it, but he deceives man into using man's loss.
Using man's fallen nature as an entry point, he presents things to us that it's very easy to spend our whole lives or waste our whole lives and at the end have nothing for God come out of them.
The Flash, as another has said.
Engaged in evil, feeds on sinful desires and wastes itself without fruit. And Satan presents the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. Man feeds upon that and he wastes his life without fruit, and he comes to the end of his life and there's nothing for God in it, and there's nothing for him but the judgment. And so it's significant. It's important to remember the enemy.
Is a liar, a deceiver, and he can only work with the dead things toward God.
But what we just read is the contrast to that.
That God spoke to dead people on the earth and those that here live tells us in John. God's not limited by the fact that man spiritually dead when he speaks to him. And God has spoken to dead people. Some of us, all of us at one point in our life were dead spiritually toward God. And God spoke to us and we heard. And now God has given to us life and the character of the life that God has given to us, which we call eternal life, we read about it.
And as it says of that, that life itself, whosoever is born of God, sinneth not.
The life that God has given us.
Is not tempted.
By anything that is wrong.
There's absolutely nothing that can be presented to the life that has been given to us, the life of Christ that will respond to any temptation.
It Satan has absolutely no thing that he can present to that life to make it sin.
Nothing, and that's why it says the wicked one toucheth him not because in that life he has nothing that he can appeal to that that life is attracted to. On the other hand, God feeds that life with his beloved Son as as food for that soul for that life, and it finds perfect satisfaction in it.
And further than that, when there is that life in a person, the source of God's love is God, and you can think of that person as a vessel or a pool of water or something like that in which God's own love flows, as we have in first John four. It flows into that life, it fills it, and it overflows in love to others.
00:25:24
And in that there is a character of life which is perfectly unselfish. We're gonna talk about selfishness or self love in a little bit. And so remember that, that the love of God working, flowing into that heart that has that life. And from that heart flowing out the love of God. God dwells in US and we dwell in God in a practical sense, in that way.
So are we OK?
Everything is all right, right? We, we live sinless lives now. We have the love of God working in us. We have the life of Christ, which is a perfect life. We have a connection to our Lord Jesus Christ in heaven. We have a perfect object before our souls. So everything goes good all the time without exception, no.
Well, I think we need to go on.
Turn with me and I'm going to spend much of the rest of our time to go over with you.
What's brought before us in Revelation chapter two and three?
In a specific way. And that's how the world, it's an example, it's an illustration of how Satan works through the world in this case to destroy the testimony of God's church on earth. But in doing so, the church is composed of individuals. And so it's the work of Satan to destroy our lives as to a life for God.
So we have here in Revelation it says in just to get the connection, chapter one and verse 20, the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in thy right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks.
The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest, are the seven churches unto the Angel of the Church of Ephesus, Right these things, saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand. We're just gonna look. We could never go over the seven churches in a short moments of time, but we're gonna trace a thread through the seven, with special emphasis on Satan and the world.
And how Satan and the world have interacted with the church to destroy its testimony on earth and by illustration because the church is individuals that compose it. How he works in the lives would work in our lives and does work in our lives if we allow it. So here we find in this first Church.
Umm, it says.
Verse 4 Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen, and repent.
The one thing that we want to get clear out of the first church out of Ephesus is.
The fountain of life and every soul is the heart the way Scripture presents it to us. Keep thy heart with our diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. That heart in which the love of God is free to flow is a heart that Satan can't access.
The life itself he can't touch.
But if anything is allowed in the life.
To stop up the flow of the love of God and the enjoyment of that love.
And Satan has a point of access.
He has a point of access if anything is allowed in your life or mine. That stops the enjoyment of our fellowship with God on a daily, hourly basis, anything that comes between us.
Us, Satan has a point of access. The world has a point of access. We become, in a certain sense, powerless to the power of Satan to deceive us.
00:30:03
And so in this first church and this first picture of, yes, the church's history, but potentially an individual's history as well, we talk about the first law of a person and the first enjoyment of the Lord Jesus. And they can't have enough of him. And life goes on beautifully at first.
But then some some little things, some tiny things, some small little thing causes.
Break and fellowship between the soul and God.
Because to have fellowship with God, it has to be in all the standard that God is light and God is love. There's no in, there's no character of fellowship with God that comes short of perfection really, the completeness that God is light and God is love. Tiniest little unkind thought is inconsistent with God and will break fellowship with God because he can't have fellowship with it. And so if it's allowed in the life, it takes the smallest little thing to create a disconnect.
And consequently a door is opened for the enemy.
So that's the first church and the second, uh, we find it says.
And umm, the church to Smyrna, verse nine. I know thy works and tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich. And I know the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou suffer. Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, and so on. We're going to have to keep going quickly.
God in mercy.
Allows trouble to come into our lives.
To draw us back to himself.
If trouble comes into your life, we call it trial or tribulation, one of the first things you wanna do is stop and say thank you.
For it.
It's a mercy of God.
To us that he loves us enough.
To sometimes allow the enemy of our souls, in this case Satan, to persecute.
Because persecution is a time that freshens up the soul, if it turns to God that which may recover it from a loss of its character of love, the love of the heart of God toward us.
And so God allows it and uses it for good.
I would also notice in it he says about the same church and its history. He speaks about, uh, the synagogue of Satan.
Verse 9 Let's say they are Jews and are not. We're of the synagogue of Satan.
Satan's an imitator.
He imitates God for the purpose of evil. He substitutes something for God that's similar or looks the same and it isn't.
But he sets up shop, if you will. He sets up what God has established. He will set up something that imitates it in some way, and in this particular case, in a very subtle way. God had set aside Judaism because it didn't work to bring man to God. He had finished the test with man over whether man in responsibility could live up to what God wanted and get blessed by it.
So he sets it aside, and as soon as as soon as God sets aside the principle of law and what the Jew lived by and responsibility to God, Satan is immediately ready to set up shop to re to start it up again.
To put man under it as a basis of His blessing.
After God had put it aside and that's the way that the that Satan works and that's and often this case with the world. It presents something that looks just as good and maybe in some little respect to my flesh better.
And it promises me liberty. The word of God says as a believer, I'm a creature that's been delivered and I get into liberty. And what does the spiritual world come along and say to me?
00:35:01
Promises me liberty.
Doesn't tell me that the people that promise it to me are slaves of corruption, but it offers it to me as if it's real and if it's good, as we have in Second Peter.
Now let's go over to the.
3rd Church, Bergamos.
And it says there, verse 14, I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam.
Which thou has taught. They like to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
I think most know the story of Balaam Balak, a man of the world feared Israel and he wanted to them to he wanted the profit BA Balaam to curse them. And so he he hired him with that intent, cursed the people of God. He couldn't do it. God didn't allow it. He had to turn around and tell them that they were blessed.
So what does he do?
He says I can't, God won't let me curse them.
But I like money.
So I'll tell you how to get them. I'll tell you how to get them.
You go on the outside of them.
And you present yourself to them, and you get them to come out to where you are.
And then you present your idols, your fornication opportunities to them.
And so you tempt them into the your place. And Satan has very successfully tempted individuals in the church.
To come out.
And to partake.
And to be destroyed.
In their relationship with God.
Let's go on to the 4th, 1:00.
Verse 20.
Nevertheless, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess to teach.
And to seduce my servants, to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
And I gave her space to repent of her fornication, and she repented. Not verse 23. And I will kill her children.
Very solemn.
Time passes.
And instead of Satan getting the church, if you will, the separated people, the heavenly people to enjoy and be a light for God in the world, which was their responsibility, that's being judged here.
He says the doors open, go on in, so the world comes into the church. The world doesn't just tempt for man to come out.
But he says no. Come on in.
Come on in. So the Church brings into itself the world and its principles, and worse yet, it allows the principles of the world to be taught as if they were good in the Church.
Sad, isn't it? We don't like to live a life that leaves us in any zone of uncomfort.
Not have comfort in the character of our lives.
So what do we do if we're gonna go on with something that is not of God? We will change the way we look at it. We will change our teaching, if you will, to accommodate it after a while. So then we can go on and say it's all right. And consequently, when the world was allowed to come into the church and start to teach it, it starts to teach it to live by the principles that the world loves by.
The woman, Jezebel, was a worldling. She's allowed in. She's allowed to teach. She's allowed to corrupt and defile and to produce idolatry within that had once been only outside.
And worse than that, worse than that to my soul.
I'm gonna call it the older generation, except that the teaching.
And what did they do with it? They taught their children.
They taught their children.
00:40:02
They were I will kill our children. The Lord says He's not speaking physically, but spiritually. You bring up a generation that was born and bred on the principles of the world. What do you expect from them? What can you hope for them when you've done that to them?
Solemn, isn't it?
The next step downward, if you will, is found in Sardis.
He says there verse three of chapter 3. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
Umm and then in verse two I missed it. Be watchful and strengthened that are ready to die.
Here we see a condition in which you look at the world and you look at the church and they can't be distinguished.
They live alike, they act alike, they follow the same desires and the same interests. And they're so alike that when the Lord looks at them, he has to say to them, I'm going to have to judge you like the world. I'm coming on the world like a thief. You all have to come like a thief because you're no different. That's how you live. That's how you act.
Sad.
He said.
Things are ready to die. What's different between the world and the church is the world has life. I'm sorry, the church has life. The world is dead.
But if you animate the members of the body and feed them on the principles and activity and interests of the world, you can't distinguish, because that's the character of the life that's lived.
And so that's what he's saying in Sardis.
Go on to Philadelphia.
Inverse.
Nine chapter 3, Verse 9. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie.
Hmm.
Things degenerate.
To a point where Satan starts to use the church to accomplish his agenda in the world. He not only corrupts, it, defiles it, makes it like the world so it can't be distinguished. But having brought it to that condition, he then says I can use the church for myself.
I can make a servant out of it.
And he's done that and it's done with increasing force in 2011. It's going on right now in this world. I don't know how many here are familiar with terminology that's common to Christianity and so on, but some of you have probably heard the words replacement theology. That's what this verse is, replacement theology and its principle. It says as we had in Acts chapter.
Umm.
One yesterday in the reading, we're a heavenly people with a heavenly hope, and we don't have a connection to this earth because our head is a glorified man in the glory, and Our Calling is heavenly and our hope is heavenly.
But what's this talking about?
This is a what's come inside the profession of Christianity that Satan is now using is saying the church replaces Jews and Judaism. And all the verses that you see in the Bible about the Jew now have been Christianity has replaced them before God. And the place the Jew once held with God is now held by Christianity, and therefore Israel has no claim to the land.
And so say uses that.
False teaching, that false belief, those who say they are Jews, Christian Jews if you will, that Judaism has been replaced by Christianity. So we're the Jews today, we Christians. It's a lie. But he's used the lie to have Christianity, or at least part of it, support his agenda to destroy Israel in the land and say they have no place and no right there.
00:45:13
They're not there in belief, they're not there the way that God is going to have to bring them into blessing.
But it's still a lie, and it's still against the way God is going to work for blessing for his earthly people.
Before we take up the last one, which is the one that quite honestly, brethren, it scares me.
The more I've meditated on it, I don't even want to speak about it really in my own heart, but I believe the Lord wants me to. But before we take it up because I think it's it's an incredibly bad.
Where the the world as an enemy has taken individuals and the church as a whole. Turn back before we go there to Luke's Gospel chapter 12.
We're going back to where we were in Sunday school this morning.
Umm Luke, chapter 12.
And umm, I'm gonna read the 15th verse in the new translation. And he spoke a parable unto them, saying, the Lord, umm, the land.
And I'm sorry, verse 15. And he said unto them, take heed and keep yourselves from all covetousness. For it is not because a man is in abundance that his life is in his possessions. In other words, the parable applies to every man, regardless of whether he has money or not. It's not because you're rich, literally rich, that your life can be taken up in your possessions. And yet it still can be. And so he tells the parable of this man.
And uh, John read it this morning. We won't read it again except the end of it. It says in verse 21, So is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.
And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, neither for the body what you shall put on, And then going down. Verse 32 Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Sell that you have, and give alms. Provide yourselves bags that wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approaches, nor moth corrupted.
Verse 34 particularly. I hope you'll remember it when this meeting is over.
Umm, verse 34. And where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Now over to Second Timothy.
Second Timothy.
And chapter 3 and verse one.
Know this also, that in the last days perilous times should come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters proud, and so on. And verse 4 traders, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof from such turn away.
Now let's go back.
To Revelation chapter 3.
Verse 15. Revelation 315 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot.
I would that thou were cold or hot.
So then because our lukewarm and neither cold nor hot.
I will spew thee out of my mouth.
Lukewarm.
Half hearted.
Apathy.
Without zeal.
Just kind of take it or leave it.
Attitude.
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Here's somebody the Lord describes as lukewarm, or a collection of people also that are described as lukewarm.
What do they say about themselves? I'm lukewarm.
Shrug. Don't care. No, they say.
I'm rich.
I'm increased with goods.
And I have need of nothing.
The Lord says about them.
Thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind naked. You know these verses take pondering. They don't seem to.
That's when you look at them, they seem almost impossible to believe.
How could a person be blind and not know it?
How could a person be miserable and say I'm rich?
But that's what the divine testimony of the situation is. How can it be?
What causes it?
You might say, oh.
Well, they profess to be believers, but they're not.
Peter, when some of these principles in another place were being said, Lord, are you talking to us or I'm gonna say the unbelievers?
Notice it says a little farther along verse 19, As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Does he say that to an unbeliever? As many as I love, I rebuke and chase them. No, he doesn't.
There are people in this condition who are real. That is, they'll be in heaven. This isn't simply unbelief in the profession of Christianity. This is a condition of soul that anybody in this room who belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ can get into.
And it makes me tremble for my own soul.
How does it geek?
God is, if I can use the expression, he's hot.
Satan, by contrast, is cold.
And if you try to mix.
What's of God and what's of Satan?
You're going to get into this condition.
It's the end of the road.
A life lived halfway for God and halfway for Satan is going to end up in this condition.
Not only that, it's a condition of.
Self deception.
It's a condition that when a person gets into it, they're the last ones to know about it. Really, they're not aware of it.
It puts the soul in the condition of not even knowing. They say I'm rich.
I don't need anything.
Why? Because.
They don't have an appetite.
For what it is. So what they've got is seemingly satisfactory.
They don't know that they don't have the true riches, they have a substitute for them, or they have something that mixes the two together in such a way that they're apathetic.
And yet, seemingly at one level of the life, satisfied with it.
Brethren, it's a serious, solemn situation. So it's when you when you take what's of God and when you take what's of Satan, and you get him so mixed together it's nauseous to the Lord.
He uses the strongest, some of the strongest language that could apply to his own people. So I'm going to spew you out of my mouth.
There's nothing for me in it.
And so he he puts this terrible serious condition on before them to, she says, wake up.
Listen, Hear. See.
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You're blind, yes, but you have eyes to see. You need isav and so on that you can see.
Umm, so he counsels them. Verse 18I counsel they to buy and make gold tried in the fire.
We could look at this in a gospel application. I don't believe that's the primary intent or force of it here, but it's the practical side of it.
The Lords, the guld as in its divine righteousness that he brings to us. It's been tested in the fire, He says. Make that the treasure.
Make that the treasure of your soul.
The rich man, he was rich, but he wasn't rich toward God.
His heart was in his this life and in this life in his possessions earlier on to the second church, he said.
As it were, you're poor.
But you're rich because they hide the gold. Tried in the fire, they were rich.
In truth, they were rich, but here is a condition.
Where there needs to be the white raiment, the separation raiment often in Scripture connects us with the walk and watch the associations. And he says get rid of the mixture.
Get rid of the mixture. Don't try to have both or you'll have nothing.
You lose everything as to this life.
Thank God if he allows chastening.
Or discipline to come into your life if this is your condition, because sometimes God uses that to bring about the needed awareness of the miserable condition of which one might sound rich.
When you're not. When I'm not.
And finally in verse 20.
Somebody knocks at your door. At my door.
Will you let me in?
I have no place in the mixture.
You won't have an appetite for me.
Sometimes it's it's astounding almost the choices that people will make between something that's for the Lord and something that's for the flesh and not want it.
You feed the flesh and you strengthen its desire, and then you don't want the good, the old corn, if you will. It takes the appetite away. And so I'm satisfied with what I've got.
I don't. I have as much as I need and it destroys.
Any heart for God and the and the Lord Jesus, he stands at the door and he says.
Will you let me in? I wanna have fellowship with you. Let's sit down. Let's enjoy each other's company.
Will you accept me as the treasurer of your heart?
If you do as it says, where your treasure is there will your heart be also in. In that way the treasure is chosen and the heart follows.
The world gets chosen, and the heart follows it.
Christ gets chosen and the heart follows it, and we make conscious choices as to what we value and what we value in life.
And the Lord.
Loves us in such a way that.
He he comes to us and he knocks and he will let me in.
Can we enjoy one another?
May we allow him if we need to open the door, Let's pray.
Our God, our Father.
Acts 9:1-9
Reading
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Maybe the 1St 31 verses.
Acts Chapter 9 and verse one, and Saul yet breathing out threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, right under the high priest, and desired of him letters to the Damascus, to the synagogue, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them, bound them to Jerusalem. And at the journey he came near Damascus, and suddenly they're shined round about him alight from heaven.
And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou meat? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecuted, It is hard for thee to kick against the ******. And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journey with him stood speechless.
Hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Paul arose from the earth, and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man, but they led him by the hand and brought him unto Damascus, and he was three days without sight.
And neither did he nor drink. And there was a certain disciple of Damascus named Ananias. And to him said the Lord in a vision Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the street which is called straight, and inquire in the House of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus. For behold who prayeth? And have seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him.
That he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered More, I have heard by many of this man how much evil he hath done to thy Saints at Jerusalem, and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel, for I will show him how great things he must suffer.
For my namesake And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house, and putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus that appeared unto thee in the way of thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scaled, and he received sight forthwith, and a rose.
And was baptized, and when he had received meat he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogue, that He is the son of Bra. But all that heard him were amazed, and said, Is not this he that destroyed them, which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hit her for that intent, that he might bring them bound under the chief priests.
But Saul increased the more in strength and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very price. And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him. But they're laying in wait was known as Saul, and they watched at the gates day and night to kill him. Then the disciples took him by night and let him down by the wall in a basket. And when fall was come to Jerusalem, he is saved to join himself to the disciples.
But they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him.
And how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus, And he was with them, coming in and going out at Jerusalem, any faith boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians. But they went about to slay him, which, when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus. Then have the churches rest throughout all Judea, and Galilee and Samaria.
00:05:09
And were edified, and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost were multiplied.
Ethnic Moses of the last meeting, the reading meeting I made yesterday, we sang that him God moves in mysterious ways his wonders to perform. I really enjoyed the the the meditation of that him in connection with this book of Acts, though I know that is not the intent of the author of that hymn. The mysterious ways are more in connection with the practical.
Trials and involvements of Christian life. But it fits too in connection with the development of what the Spirit of God is doing in opening up the Christian testimony through the disciples. And we see it beautifully displayed in this chapter, where Saul an enemy of the Christian testimony who was fighting against Christianity, putting people to death.
If we think about it, it's like converting an Osama bin Laden to a Billy Graham.
That's no stretch of the imagination to say it in that way. This man saw was that kind of a person persecuting Christians. And God says, OK, you have that deal, I'll take you and use you for my cause on my side. And so he arrests Saul of Tarsus and brings him to the knowledge of who Jesus is.
In heaven, this was what converted and changed Saul to become the great apostle to the Gentiles, and he used that zeal. So you see how the Lord Jesus in heaven is in complete control.
And the Holy Spirit is here, active on earth, and none of the confusion and persecution.
And the events that are taking place against Christianity could thwart or stop God's intent in gathering of people to himself.
Earlier, for example, even you have the the umm, Gamaliel of the teacher, uh, when they were with the situation saying you can't fight against God.
He realized that God was doing the work. That was the beginning of the Christian testimony. We may lose sight of some of that power in the weakness that prevails around us, but the same God is working today, and we need to realize these principles in the last days in all our weakness, and not give up the Christian faith, but hold to us in our day as we see here.
What how the the Church began and its relationship with Christ and glory.
Just to back up a moment to what we have in the previous chapter, At the end of the previous chapter, I was thinking of it in connection with what our brother Dawn said in the address, because there is a great deal of talk about replacement theology. But as you go through the book of the Acts, you very quickly see that while we said yesterday it is a transitional book, yet Christianity is not a makeover of Judaism.
Or an extension of it. The Lord Jesus said himself. Do men sell new cloth on an old garment?
Do they put new wine in old bottles? What the Lord Jesus was really saying is that there was something going to be brought in that was brand new and a capacity that was never known and appreciated, nor could be under the old order, old Jewish order of things. And that was going to be set aside and something brand new brought in. And it's interesting that the conversion of salt of tarsus, just before that we have the Ethiopian eunuch coming up to Jerusalem.
00:10:13
I say it's significant because we find that when the Ethiopian unit came to Jerusalem, he found a very different Jerusalem than his predecessor, the Queen of Sheba. I have no doubt that the Ethiopian unit came up to Jerusalem based on report that he had heard handed down in the Kingdom from which he came from, a report of a glorious Jerusalem.
And a man on the throne who was exalted and known worldwide. And so on. No doubt that report had been handed down.
After the queen of Sheba had gone home, and generations later, the Ethiopian eunuch comes up to prove that report for himself. But he found a very different Jerusalem, didn't he? He didn't find Jerusalem in his glory. He found Jerusalem in its shame. The holy city had rejected Christ. They had taken him outside their walls and had him nailed to a Roman cross. The temple was no longer God's center.
As it was in the days of Solomon, they had rejected the true Solomon, and the true Solomon was the man taking a journey into a far country to wait for his Kingdom. The true Solomon had gone back.
To heaven, the Lord Jesus was now the rejected one, but also the ascended glorified one at the right hand of God. And the Ethiopian unit could not find blessing at Jerusalem. He'd come too late for that, so to speak. With Jerusalem in its shame and the true Solomon rejected. If he was going to find the blessing, it had to be outside the walls of that city that had rejected the their Messiah.
It had to be outside in a wilderness place, directed by, uh, the word of God in his hand and directed by an evangelist. To explain that this was prophetic of the Lord Jesus. He begins at the same scripture and preached his preaches to him, Jesus, but not Jesus in Jerusalem. This was Jesus, the one who had gone to the cross yet as the 53rd of Isaiah where he was reading had prophesied.
But this was the Jesus too, that was now risen and exalted, and if he was going to receive the blessing?
It was to be connected not with Jesus at Jerusalem, but Jesus as the Lord, as the man and the man of glory. And so this pre is the, uh, predecessor of what we have in this chapter then, and that Jesus that the Ethiopian eunuch had found, and not a re not to be reintroduced to Judaism and so on, but introduced to Christ in glory.
Then that's the one that from the glory then arrest this man Saul of Tarsus in his course. This is the one that Saul of Tarsus becomes connected with, and this is the one then that Saul of Tarsus is sent to present to the Gentiles.
It's a little light to Lord Jesus in the ninth of John when he, the man that had been healed, was cast out of the synagogue. Then Jesus went and looked him up after he had been cast out and revealed himself to him. And so after Judaism had failed and proved itself unworthy a blessing, the Lord Jesus is not stopped in his way of blessing.
Then he opens up heavenly blessings and he sends the Holy Spirit down. And you see the development of that in these early chapters of the book of Acts. And, uh, in that case that you mentioned Jim, about the Ethiopian eunuch, uh, the Lord in glory sent Phillip to meet him along the way as he wrote, uh, as he wrote in his chariot and, and he preached from Isaiah 53, it proves that the Lord in heaven.
Knew all that was going on on earth, and that's what you see developed in our chapter 2. The way Saul is converted here it he's brought to Northeast. Realize that Jesus is livingly linked with his people on earth and cares for them.
00:15:02
Might be good to look at Galatians chapter one and you get that heavenly connection and the authority that umm from heaven instead of Jerusalem in that link as you say in Galatians chapter one and verse 15.
It says, But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen.
Immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood, neither went I up to Jerusalem, to them which were apostles before me, but I went into Arabia and returned again into unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter in a boat with him. 15 days. Well, it tells us there, and what we have brought out in this chapter, very beginning of it. Is it Paul or Saul here? He went to Damascus, and he had authority from Jerusalem to persecute the Jews, to persecute Christians, and to destroy.
The name of Christ, but he was arrested, as you say, on that road walking away from Jerusalem. He goes to this, uh, city of Damascus and, umm, there he gets authority from heaven to preach Christ to the Gentiles and to magnify that name. And it's a power that, uh, he never had, had, never experienced in Judaism ever. And so that's one of the things that characterizes Christianity.
So it's late, but the person of Christ. I'd like to bring out an additional line of thought in addition to the Christianity being in contrast to Judaism.
Turn to 1St Corinthians chapter 15.
Reverse.
First Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 22.
Whereas in Adam all died, Even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
And then over in Second Corinthians chapter 5.
2nd Corinthians, chapter 5.
And verse 14.
For the law of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead, and that he died for all. That they which lived should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we?
Uh, no, we no man after the flesh. Yeah, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, or a new creation. All things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new, and all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and have given to us the ministry of reconciliation.
This is an additional line of thought that is introduced, or truth that's introduced to us in the Person of Fall.
Our saw and it's this up until the Lord Jesus died, man under as he is in Adam was under responsibility and being tested as to whether God could have anything from man from the first man, Adam or his race, and Saul represents the best of that race.
In the Old Testament, if you trace it out, King Saul represents the best in the Old Testament economy. Both of the salts. I wonder if God used their names to be the same for that reason. But Saul was the very best that man in the flesh could produce.
He How many of us in this room could say we as Paul looked at the 10 commandments?
Every single outward expression of them his life expressed. The one that got him was the inner one. Uh, thou shalt not covet. But as far as man could see him after the flesh, he was the best example of it. But when the Lord Jesus is crucified, it's the end of God seeking anything from man after the flesh. And even Saul was the best of religious flesh.
00:20:20
Because what God recognized at that time of man after the flesh was Judaism, and he was the best that Judaism could produce. He was the model Jew, if you will, as to what could come from that. And this new thing, Christianity or the followers of Jesus were antagonistic to that religion as far as they thought, so they tried to get rid of it.
And he's the most zealous 1 presented to us is trying to get rid of this new thing that has come along.
But God is saying to us in it, in Adam, all die. There's no thing for God in Adam's race. There's nothing for God after the flesh. So in Christ God begins something new in Christ, in resurrection.
God begins to work with mankind in a new and different way than he had publicly if you will. He had worked in seouls before, but now as a as a work collective thing, it's new in the earth.
And he takes that which represents the worst or best if you however you look at it, because the worst, the best of the flesh, was the farthest from God. It's not.
Really incorrect to say he was the chief of centers, because the farther a man goes in the flesh, in truth, the farther he gets from gone.
It's a solemn thing, but, and it's something you have to meditate on to see because we say, oh, but he didn't do this. He didn't do that. So he wasn't quite as bad as somebody that did this or that. But as far as his opposition to God, he was the ultimate expression, opposition to God. And in that way he's the chief of sinners. So God takes what man after the flesh is in his best condition, which is really an expression of his worst condition, and he says, I can take that.
And I can start a new creation. So 2nd Corinthians 5 is the expression of Christ that are all dead was a statement about Adams race and so Christ coming in the flesh dies to that condition of things is separated from it never takes it up again. But in resurrection he is the beginning of a new creation and in that new creation God begins to work to form something that.
Has no connection with the old and because.
Christ is in resurrection the heavenly man. He immediately associates the new work and new creation with a different origin. Adam was of the earth earthy. The new creation is a divine creation which begins with heaven and it has a heavenly character and the apostle Paul becomes the model.
Of new creation in his life. He is the model Christian. He is the pattern of Christianity as God has given it to us. The Lord Jesus even is not that because He was of the old order until His resurrection. So we don't see in His life the pattern of new creation, but we see it in the Apostle Paul. And that's what this 9th chapter of Acts is also introduced in.
To us is the whole change from the old to the new, including the religion of the flesh, which was Judaism, which is totally put aside that there be something, if you want to call it religious Christianity, but it's a Christianity that begins and is connected from its origin with new creation and heaven, where the old had been in Adam with the earth and that which is earthy.
It might be nice to read the first Timothy one, the verses that substantiate this uh, of Paul being the pattern, umm first Timothy chapter one and verses.
00:25:07
15 and 16 This is the faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief, albeit for this 'cause I obtain mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering for a pattern to them which should hereafter.
Leave on him to ever like everlasting. And then he burst out in praise. What a wonderful thing, this pattern that God gave us in Paul. And that's why it's so important for us in Christia and our Christian testimony to to hold to the doctrine that Paul gave us, because it's the foundation of the Christian faith. And you cannot give up all doctrine without making shipwrecks.
Uh, in Christianity Today, in fact, that's how the book of Acts really ends up is a picture of that in the shipwreck when they gave up Paul's advice and the testimony, uh, was broken up pictured in that shipwreck. So God gave us in this book of Acts, uh, beginning here with Paul, uh, the foundation crews of Christianity are.
Are given through him. He is that chosen vessel directly from the Lord in heaven. That's what differentiates Paul's ministry from the other 12.
They got their ministry from the Lord when he was a nerd and then carried over and went into the Christian testimony. Yes, but they had learned to know Christ on earth. Paul learned to know Jesus in heaven here in this chapter.
It's interesting too, to see that in the book of the Acts.
Through the 12Th chapter, there seems to be the major, uh, person that is focused on uh.
But from the 13th chapter on, it's the Apostle Paul and.
I don't know, maybe this is touched on yesterday, but I have really enjoyed it. In chapter uh, seven is the last testimony to the Jews as a nation, and it's rejected in the stoning of Stephen. He's the messenger that's sent back to heaven to say we will not have this man to reign over us. And immediately in the 8th chapter, the testimony extends beyond Jerusalem.
Do some area and like was mentioned to this Ethiopian unit, the 9th chapter of the apostles of the Gentiles is saved. In the 10th chapter is where Peter to whom was given the keys of the Kingdom of heaven.
Takes the second key, if you want to put it that way, and opens the door of letting to the gentiles.
So just it's interesting how I developed into the gospel going into the whole world. And then in chapter 12, you get Peter miraculously delivered from prison. And then Peter from that point on only appears once more in the 15th chapter. That's from the 13th chapter on the apostle Paul, who is the major.
Forecast that the spirit of God in the extension of the gospel and he's the one that takes it into Europe for the first time and Philippi was the first entry into Europe so the work continues to this day of the gospel of this world it's beautiful to see how the spirit of God directs the work of the.
The church and the development of the church.
It's helpful too, in that regard to realize that as you go through these chapters, you don't the Spirit of God is very careful to guard, lest we think that there's ever any of the ever more than one church. What you have in the 8th chapter with the Samaritans brought in and then in the 10th chapter where the Gentiles are brought in is not a repeat of what happened on the day of Pentecost.
00:30:04
Or something separate. It is a little extension of it. The baptism of the Holy Spirit took place on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit of God descended and they were baptized into one body.
And the Spirit of God came to indwell each individual believer to link those believers together and to dwell collectively in this new unit that was formed the church and to link them with their glorified head, the Lord Jesus at the right hand of God. And I, I think we need to take a minute and and stress this because a lot of confusion today. And I know some of our young people hear from their Christian friends.
About the baptism of the Holy Spirit and are you baptized with the Holy Spirit and so on. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is something that took place once and for all on the day of Pentecost, never to be repeated. As such. I'm going to use the an age-old illustration. I don't want to depart too much from this, but since Bob alluded to it, I think it's helpful. Going to use an illustration that helped me when I was younger and it's been used many times.
On the day of Pentecost, there were about 120 believers or so. It's not definite. It says about 120 believers gathered in obedience to the word of the Lord in the upper room. And when the Spirit of God descended, it was like we would say we can illustrate it this way. It was like we would have about 120 beads on a table in the middle of the room here, and they are individual beads.
But now we take those beads and we string those beads and we make a new unit. They're still individual beads, but collectively they form a necklace. And so we have a necklace with about 120 beads on it. But let's suppose as time goes on, we get some more beads. Now what do we do? We don't form a new necklace, but we take that same necklace and we add to it.
And that's why at the end of Acts chapter 2, it says the Lord added to the church daily, such as should be saved. And brethren, that's what's going on now. There's not more than one church. And so in the 8th and 10th chapter, the Spirit of God is careful lest we ever think there's a Jewish church and a Samaritan church or a Gentile church, or we ever think there's a Jewish Gentile church with A-NO.
What God established at the beginning, He has added two sins. Now there had to be a special work of the Spirit of God, and I know it perhaps doesn't convey completely by the, I'll say again, there had to be that special work of a little extension of what took place on the day of Pentecost, like reopening the necklace and adding those other beads that we found so that the Gentiles could the Samaritans and the Gentiles could be brought in in that way.
But I say again, it's important to realize that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not something that has been or is repeated today, and it is not an individual thing. People say you're baptized with the Holy Spirit. I'm in dwelt with the Holy Spirit, and we all need to be exercised to be filled with the Spirit. But the baptism of the Holy Spirit was a collective thing for the formation of the church.
On the day of Pentecost, one other little comment in this regard, Saul of Tarsus, when he struck to the ground here in this in this chapter, he immediately from heaven receives the seeds of the truth that he himself is used to later develop.
And that is when the Lord speaks to him. He doesn't say, Saul, why are you persecuting the believers? It's true, he was persecuting the believers. He doesn't say, why are you persecuting the Christian? He was persecuting the Christian. He says Saul, Saul. And he, Saul is one of seven individuals in Scripture who when he received a call, who, when they received a call from God or the Lord in the New Testament, their names were repeated twice.
Saul, Saul, why persecuted? Thou notice it's very important me solve Tarsis. Though he perhaps didn't understand it at the time, he immediately is given the truth that in touching one of the Lord's own on earth, he was actually touching the Lord. He wasn't just pre persecuting believers, he was persecuting the Lord Jesus their head in heaven. So close.
00:35:16
Were these believers linked with the Lord Jesus as a result of what took place on the day of Pentecost, that in touching one of those believers, they were, he was actually touching the Lord. And that's why you have to then go to Paul's ministry where this truth is developed to get the real truth and meat of what the church is our position and calling and blessing Saul of Tarsus as the apostle Paul.
Is then later used to develop, but he gets the seed of it right here.
Jimmy mentioned that, uh, today we are received the Holy Spirit when we believe the gospel of our salvation. And I suppose we can say to end that that moment we are added to the church.
God, so much confusion in today's world about this question of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I found it helpful if you want to go back to the first chapter and you had it yesterday.
In the baptism of the Holy Spirit that occurred on chapter 2 is mentioned in verse five of the first chapter. John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
Not any day again.
Then go over to the 11Th chapter in connection with what took place in Cornelius's house.
Chapter and it uses that same expression verse 16 of Chapter 11 and remembered I this year speaking the word of the Lord, how that he said John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. That was like saying and extension.
Of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and it was it took place one in the beginning of the church period to form the body of Christ, and from then on believers are added to that church.
The baptism with water is an application to the natural man for cleansing and appropriate holiness before the law. The Lord to be prepared to meet the Lord John baptized in preparing the way for the people to receive their king, the Lord Jesus. So that's an an action to the natural man. But the baptism of the Holy Spirit is to the Newman. It's new life. It's the it's conveying the resurrection life of the Lord Jesus.
When we get saved, then they were sealed with the Holy Spirit. And that's not an action just on natural man. That's the new creation that Don was referring to earlier, which is our relationship with the Lord Jesus in the church. The only way we could be linked with the Lord Jesus was after he died and rose again, because in the first creation there's no way humans can be linked with the Lord Jesus in oneness.
But in new creation it's possible. And it's that's how we are linked with the Lord Jesus in the church is by new birth we're born again, we receive a new life. It's the life of Christ that he conveys to us through faith in Him. The Holy Spirit brings it to us.
Day of Pentecost was the collective action of it, but there was an individual action there too.
It was two parts to the work of the Holy Spirit, uh, individual and collective.
Just a comment in connection with Paul. We rightly, I believe, refer to this as his conversion.
And uh, the mark of it is in verse five. And he says, who art thou, Lord?
We know from Romans 10 that thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead. Thou shalt be saved. And every person that really comes into a knowledge of salvation is that work in the heart that confesses Jesus as Lord, and Paul does it here. Who art thou Lord? The man in John 9?
00:40:20
Uh, the blind man, the change in his life, he didn't know who.
The one that was given him taken away his blindness, he had never seen him. He had been told to go do something in his blind condition. He does it, he receives his eyesight and he never physically seen the person that did it at that point. So when he cast out of the synagogue and the Lord Jesus comes to him and talks to him, he, he says, well, who is he? more than I may believe on him. Peter's conversion is given to us and.
Luke's Gospel chapter 5 And Peter had known the Lord for a while before. He isn't instantly saved the first time he gets to know who the Lord Jesus was. But when the Lord uses his boat and takes him out on the lake, and then he sees the load of fishes, he comes and puts himself at Jesus feet and he says to him, depart from me.
For I am a sinful man, O Lord, and that's Peter's conversion at that point. And so it is. We all come into the Christian faith with a work, not always at the same time with our understanding, but in the heart. There's a submission to this person and that submission to his person, and faith in the fact that God raised him from the dead.
Is Jesus is Lord?
And we see that with the thief on the cross too, didn't don't we? We see those two things. He turned and he said, Lord. But then he said something else. Remember Me when thou cometh into thy Kingdom. He was looking toward resurrection, wasn't he, in a future day? And so it says in Romans chapter 10, If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, or Jesus as Lord, really the thought, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead.
Thou shalt be saved. So it confirms what you said. Another interesting comment made about Saul Two, that when Ananias is told to go and to see him and lay his hands on him, you can just imagine the beer. And this man said, well, Lord, this man persecuted the believers, and he's come with the intent of hauling all the Christians he can round up away to prison and so on. And he had letters of authority, and you want me to go and make myself known to him? But it's interesting the confirmation that Ananias is given.
As to the reality of the work of God in his soul and his conversion, just notice it at the end of verse. Well, I'll read verse 11. And the Lord said unto him, Does the Lord talking to him, and I arise and go into the street, which is called straight, and inquiring the House of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus. Now notice this, for behold, he prayed. That was the confirmation to Ananias, that this was a real work of God in this man's soul of Tarsus soul.
Because prayer is the breath of the divine life and it's one of the proofs that there has been a work of God in the soul. And I think it's a good little test for us all. And when we hear of someone who says they've got saved, here's a another confirmation. They recognize, as Don said, Jesus is Lord, their submission to that. But there's also then that attitude and spirit of prayer. Prayer is the expression of dependence and confidence.
And I say it's the breath of the divine life. So no, this was confirmation meant there was to be no doubt in the mind of Ananias of the work of God, and to go and to confirm, uh, and lay his hands on this man and confirm him and draw him into the circle of those who had already believed.
So Ananias says Lord in verse 10 too. Behold, I am here, Lord.
Saul says Lord twice and uh, maybe someone has a thought on that. It's uh, verse five he says, who art thou, Lord? And then in verse six he he trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?
00:45:14
One is connection with who Jesus is and the other is.
Who what he would have him to do?
I said I said it's a good model for us. Maybe someone has more thoughts on that because it's really in owning the headship of Jesus as Lord in the church that things will function well if any one of us get out of sync with the Lord.
The function of the body of Christ is not gonna go on well, but here you see it functioning well. Ananias is waiting on the Lord, and he does what he didn't expect to do in that chapter. The Lord in heaven is controlling the whole theme here. He's working a mighty work. Each one doesn't know what the other is doing, but the head in heaven knows.
First time that Paul says Lord, he didn't know who the Lord was.
So he says, Who art thou, Lord? And.
Umm, but it's interesting, he says in verse five. It is hard for thee to kick against the bricks.
Interesting all. It has tricks of conscience that I would guess as.
Saul relates his time saw even die.
By stoning with his face shining like an Angel.
And that's been a tremendous testimony. Pricked his consequence terribly.
So this is kind of a confirmation of the fact that there was something wrong and now.
When he asked, Who art thou Lord? And Jesus said, I am Jesus, soon thou persecuted. Then he says, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? That's the natural consequence. Once you know who Jesus is, he is Lord.
Then if he is the Lord, brethren, we in effect are saying I renounce any authority in my life anymore. There's somebody else who is in command here.
One other comment along with respect to this term or.
Title, Lord, in contrast to the word or title or Christ. Uh, turn over to Ephesians chapter one.
Ephesians, chapter one.
And verse 20 which he wrought in Christ.
Not Lord, but Christ, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. And have put all things under his feet, and made him Christ, and putting the Word in there, the head over all things to the Church, which is his body, the fullness of Him that felleth All in all.
When Christ is brought before us, in the epistles of Paul particularly, it's the headship overall, the whole the body, and we individually, as members of that body, are identified with the head of Christ.
But whenever he is referred to as Lord, the emphasis is individual in contrast to collective, and E everyone of us, while we're brought into a collective relationship with Christ as our head, we are also at the same time in a very individual relationship.
With the Lord, and consequently there are some collective things that are brought before us with a very individual emphasis connected with them. The Lord's Day, the Lord's Supper, the Lord's Table, and so on are all to appeal to our conscience for obedience in a very individual way, and sometimes because of collective failure in these things.
00:50:04
We step aside from the Lord's individual authority over us, no matter what the condition is, in a collective way, and we don't act in obedience to his individual authority over our lives. But even though Paul was to bring out the glorious truth of the church as a whole, of the body of Christ as a whole, of the Assembly of God as the House of God, the different characters of this new thing.
At the same time, his initial and immediate relationship to that one was Lord.
And every one of us needs to recognize that and own it in our everyday, every moment life. When I say Jesus is my Lord, I am saying this person has absolute authority over every detail of my life.
So it's one thing to have Jesus as our Savior, and that's wonderful. And we all thrill when we hear somebody say, you know, I just came to know the Lord Jesus as my savior or someone says, you know, so and so they just got saved and they've made a bright confession. But you know, I'm just as thrilled when I hear about somebody who says, you know, I really want to follow the Lord. I really want to own the Lordship, whatever he has for me.
Wherever he directs, that really thrills my soul. You know, when I hear about a young person who says I really want to follow the Lord, I really want him to be Lord of my life, I don't worry too much about that young person anymore because I know the Lord wants to then show them the way. And Saul of Tarsus, when he confessed Jesus as Lord and asked what he should do, the Lord said, I'll show you. And if we truly own Jesus as Lord, then he'll show us what he has for us.
It may not be a path like the Saul of Tarsus to be raised up and in the way he was. He had a special Commission given to him as an apostle and, as we pointed out, a pattern for those who would hereafter believe. But if you're willing to own Jesus as Lord of your life to, as Dawn said, give him complete sway and control over your life, to, in other words, set aside your rights.
For his rights and claims over you, then he wants to show you what he has. And if I don't know or you don't know what the Lord has for you, it's not a lock on his part. And so it says. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he might direct bypass no, and he shall direct thy path. And Saul of Tarsus learn to acknowledge him here on the Damascus Rd.
And I believe for all his life, Saul of Tarsus, as the apostle Paul, he acknowledged.
Jesus as Lord, the Lord directed him. Not that there weren't times of discouragement or even failure, but he acknowledged overall the claims of the Lord Jesus in his life and what a path he was shown and what a service. And in a practical way for each one of us. Who knows what a blessing we can be if you and I are willing to own Jesus. Lord, you know we used to sing.
When we were young people, that him Lord of my life, I crown thee now, thine shall the glory be now. Brethren, I trust there's no thought even in corners of our heart as to the Lord reigning outwardly now.
We see not yet all things put under Him. He's the King in rejection. And again, as we said yesterday, there's been a lot of confusion in this regard. The Lord is not raining out now. This is not the Kingdom period, but He does want that place in our hearts. We sometimes sing rain Thou within our hearts alone. That's where He is to reign now and should be reigning now. Not outwardly in this world, but He should be reigning and have absolute sway.
In your heart and mind as Lord of our Light. And just as with solid Parsons it will be showing you what you will do, so it will be shown every one of us when we come to that point in our lives.
But like you say, gym runs. I think Robert had a word to say here, Bob, just, uh, excuse me. I just was, uh, uh, enjoying brother Doug in connection with, uh, your question here. There's a sequence of events that takes place and it says, uh, in the end of our street, a light from heaven.
00:55:10
And the light from heaven had to shine first before the apostle or Paul, Saul here.
Could say, Lord, who art thou Lord? And uh, just, uh, with this point out in Matthew's Gospel chapter three, I think it's chapter 3. It's chapter 4. It says of the Lord Jesus.
In verse 16, the people which sat in darkness saw great light, and to them which sat in region and shadow of death, light is sprung up. And so the Lord Jesus is the light, the greatest light that ever shone in this world. And so he shone, and the children of Israel, his own people rejected the light. But now Paul sees not the light on earth, He sees the light in heaven. And that's what characterizes ministry. And so here he says, Who art thou? The Lord? And he's speaking.
To that one in heaven and if you just turn over to Acts chapter 22 you see that there's the spirit of God gives us a little more progress if you will in connection with the testimony. It's not so much that Paul is important here in Chapter 9. The light is important and what God was going to do with this vessel. And so in chapter 22 of Acts it says in verse eight he says I answered.
Who are the Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth. That defies 1 The rejected one whom thou persecutest men in verse 10. What shall I do, Lord? And then a little bit further on in verse 18, just the three words. And I saw him, saw him well. We're going to own the Lord Jesus as our Lord if we see him as the risen man in the glory. And that's what Paul calls my gospel. He saw the Lord Jesus in heaven, a heavenly man.
And umm, so it's just important for us, I believe, to realize that, uh, we have to have a sense that there is a risen man in the glory.
Before we really can truly acknowledge Lord.
And after Paul saw that light, he remained 3 days blind. He didn't see anything else for three whole days. And God gave him, the Lord gave him plenty time to contemplate that light. Excuse me, Bob. I, I, I saw Robert over there trying to have something on his heart, and I interrupted you. Excuse me.
So I just wanted to play a condition with what Jim was saying that what you say about practically only in the Lordship of Christ and this and individual thing runs totally contrary to the culture which we are part of.
Humanistic, and we are taught to do what we want to do. You have the right. Supposedly this is the case in the democratic society. And if you're talking about democracy, I suppose that is true. But Christianity is something completely different. And I think it is important to see that the culture we're passing through, brothers.
Makes us think that we do have rights and in the measure that we think we have rights to bring that attitude to assembly meetings, there's going to be trouble.
Do not have rights. If there is any rights we do have, it is in the lake of fire. But beyond that, Jesus has saved us now. He has the right. And it's so important in our lives here in this world to recognize His Lordship and everything.
And also, Paul asked a very important question and he asked two important questions and they asked them in the right order. First question is who are thou? And until we know who the Lord is, we won't have a clue as to what to do for Him. It's true in any service you get a job in the company, the first thing you need to know is who you're working for and what their purposes are.
You can't just simply walk in and say, well, I know I'm qualified to do this and start doing something.
So, so Halton, instead there's Saul says, Who art thou, Lord? This is the first place in our lives to know who the Lord is.
And to know about and then he says, Lord, what's going to happen to do? And this is a common question. I mean the question that exercises a lot of young people. Perhaps we start asking that question before we ask the first question. We can at least begin to feel as we grow older, we have mobility. The life is opening before us. We want to know what we want to do. We want to do something for the Lord.
01:00:20
It's the first question just get answered is who is the Lord? You get to know him. Then we can ask the question. Well, without happy to do. And they often said, well, I, I have used the building because I have these opportunities and uh, we get these ideas of things that we might do. It's interesting. Paul came to Damascus, he left, he set up for Damascus with a lot of plans. So when the Lord told him what to do, did the Lord give him a set of plans?
No, the Lord gave him one thing, he said Go into Damascus.
Basically with the large plan but go into the masters and list.
The joint of the mastiff. And it shall be told you what you must do. Should be told me what now Let's do.
His responsibility when he got to the masses and was to listen.
And until we learn to listen to the Lord, we will never know how to search. And Paul had to learn to listen. He had an education. I'd like to suggest that after some time, as a matter of fact all his life, that we finished that on our own experience is taking a lifetime to learn to listen. But it's amazing. But it's aversion like to suggest First Thessalonians.
Chapter 4.
Verse 11.
And that you study to be quiet and to do your own business. We don't know how to be quiet, but before the Lord will never know how to serve.
I could just, uh, point out if there is an uncertainty between 2 translations and the, uh, the King James translation adds a little bit more in these verses. It, it, it adds, uh, what Bob Bob brought out about, uh, uh, uh, picking against the tricks. But it also adds that second question, what without having to do in, uh, in Darby's translation.
There's only one question, and that is who our art thou, Lord? And then there is there is instruction of the Lord as to what you should do. And Darby's translation, he doesn't ask what he should. He recognizes the Lordship of the Lord Jesus and under His Lordship he follows his directions. And I would suggest there's a lesson for us in that.
If we truly do feel the lordship of the Lord Jesus, we will wait for his instruction. We don't need to be occupied with what my Lord wants me to do. And I think that we, we often fail in this. We, we, we think that we need to help him out in his Kingdom service, but really all we need to do is listen for his instructions. And so I just bring out that little discrepancy because I think they're and if we it's, it's nice that we turned over later on in Acts.
When, uh, Paul was, was giving his account, uh, that that, that, that part that the King James translation ads is not in there. So it may be an indication that it wasn't in the better manuscripts that you should begin with.
I'd like to make an additional comment on the light if you turn over to Acts 22.
As Doug mentioned.
The natural sight for three days.
And uh, it's because of the light. But when he recounts the instance and tells us why he couldn't see in Acts 22 and verse 11, he says and when I could not see, for the glory of the light. Now go over to First Timothy chapter 6.
First Timothy, chapter 6.
01:05:04
And verse.
16 First Timothy, 6/16.
Who, referring to the Lord Jesus, only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach, unto which no man hath seen, nor can see, to whom the honor and ever honor and power everlasting. Amen.
And then one more verse before commenting on them and the Lord's Prayer. John 17.
In John 17 and verse 22 he says, And the glory which thou gave us, may I have given them, that they may be one even as we are.
Blonde and his essential being dwells in light. That is so.
Majestic.
Umm, that we the creatures, will never enter into that in the full essence of what God is. It is beyond even the revelation of Himself to us. He dwells in light which no man can approach unto, and which no man ever will. But God has come out of His essential glory to display His glories in that extent to which we, the creature man.
Can enter into them, but the glory of God in that way was not seen in the Old Testament day.
But Christianity also brings us into something new in that way. Uh, Moses wanted to see his glory and he said, you can't, Moses, I'll show you my back part. That's as much as you can enter into. But now when Paul sees the light, it's also.
In introducing us into something, that's another thing that's new.
In the ways and revelation of God, he's entering, he's beginning to open up to us, entering into the enjoyment of the glory of God in a way that had not been revealed to man before. And the glory is connected with God, so it's connected with his essential being, which is outside earth. And so he begins to open it up. And Paul is going to be the one specially suited to start to make known these glories to us.
In his ministry and as the Lord Jesus in his prayer in, uh, John 17, because we are linked to him as the glorified man. So the Lord is going to make us participate in some of those glories. I say some of them because the glories is a big subject and there are glories that he has as.
As God the Son.
There are glories he has as Jesus the Man. There are glories that are His as the Son of Man. There are glories that are His as connected with his work and what he's accomplished and so on. There are various aspects to the glory, but those that are shareable.
Some of his glories could never be shared with any. They're part of his being. But there are those glories which are shareable.
And he's saying in John 17, I want to bring my body, my church, to participate with me in these glories. And in doing so, the apostle Paul, immediately, he's blinded for three days because he's being introduced into something that the creature has never known before. And it's an elevation of his condition, his state before God, that is.
Hard for him to.
To take hold of, to add it a little bit more, when you go back to the Lord on the mount of Transfiguration and millennial glory was shown when the Lord Jesus displayed himself in the shining garments and Moses and Elias are seen with him on the Mount of Tribulation Transfiguration. What was the effect on him? Wow, this is wonderful. No, it was fear.
01:10:09
They were brought into a glory which in their condition at that time, they really couldn't enjoy.
With peace and so on. And uh yeah, we are introduced and we gradually in our souls are brought to enjoy the glory of the Lord. And there are glories that he said in that Saint John 17 I will that they be with me, that where I am that they may behold my glory.
That we don't yet have revealed, haven't seen yet, that we won't be able to enter into until we're in a fit condition to be able to enter into those floors and and and not be afraid, but be able to see them and and enjoy them as glorified Saints in heaven and one other connected with it.
The Apostle Paul was taken into the third heavens.
And the effect upon him and making him the model believer was to totally take out of him as to any desire for anything in the world or the earth. He had been given to see a vision in his soul in a condition whether in the body or out of the body, didn't know because he wasn't really yet in that state of being with the glorified body. So he couldn't even talk about the body aspect of it.
But he was taken in to get a glimpse of the future glory in that instance, in a way that totally spoiled him for this earth. He wasn't interested in anything that man goes after, after the flesh and God.
Chose him as a special vessel to give him that experience, that he might live it out in his life and be the living example to us.
Of what it is to be a heavenly citizen, a heavenly man, heavenly by calling, and not have an interest in the passing things of the world that says we will not have this man.
There's another contrast in this chapter that's lovely to see, and that is that Saul, or Saul was going out with great pomp and with authority from the chief priests and coming to Damascus with a, no doubt a great company of people. And he was used to that great display of power and authority and Judaism. But here we find that a man, a simple man, Ananias in humility, we don't even know really.
Who he is, it just happens to be a certain disciple in verse 10 at Damascus and uh, named Ananias and he said to him.
Good morning and said to him, and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias and he said, Behold, I am here Lord, he sowed. Humility is one of the things now that is prophet for us and what characterizes Christianity in the large part, if we're going to imitate Christ is humility. And Ananias instead of some Peter or the great apostle coming and laying his hands on Saul, know what was going to be this humble man.
Who was walking with the Lord? And that the Lord could trust, as it were. And I think it's a real encouragement to those in this room, every one of us. And it's a good thing to be a nobody and to really not walk in a noticeable way that would attract attention to ourselves. And I see that Ananias was one of these people that God could trust, but the Lord Jesus himself could go and could see Saul there in his condition and speak to him. And I think that's a lovely experience and a lovely.
Encouragement. So humility. Let's just remember that this is what is part of Christianity.
200 and 12:00.
212.
As Hillary's here received a heavenly mole, our portion in the age of the Sun.
We are constraining this year in Vermont's trade a home on earth or streaming by the Graves nightclubs discovered highs for the wildest fear sites off our treasure in a brighter sphere 212.
01:15:48
I worship him in the day disguise.
Her all about the same.
I never breathe, mine cannot help me.
Umm.
Really.
I can't run.
Reconciled
Gospel—R. Thonney
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For one thing, everybody's like four days run from the Matrix. It has made me crazy drinking behind the feeling. Once Upon a time, there was a bit.
However, lighting my.
Wherever it is, anywhere.
I say unto you.
Maryland is implication that I've heard.
Of us on the sun is true.
And I've never heard the last day of life.
In my life, I'd like to sing.
Shall we gathered at his time?
Understand.
00:05:09
That there can be him. That's just now I'm not getting it for my name's.
Yes, you have to go back to the rocking.
OK, the Gloria, the glory of God.
The rest of his life is coming.
And watching the same girls love.
When you plants they're at the squad of them shall not get one to cluttering bridge and everything when I don't know if you're taking some money, but not one person when I'm due to take and pregnant. I'm saying anything. You know what I mean you know what I mean you know that's what I'm aware of the reality of God.
It's glory and it's Gloria's coming.
You have your wisdom saying that it's gone.
You don't understand, let's say I saw her, but if you call the Lord, she can do why it has no.
Hell of a God. You've got a lot of things and it's gone and it's laundry us. It's glory of God.
For the Word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two edged sword.
Dividing between the dividing asunder between the soul and spirit and the joints in Morrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest before him, but all things.
Our naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
That's great, gracious God our Father.
What is solemn moment? This is when we deal with the question.
Of time and eternity, of the salvation of lost souls, Father.
We don't know how many might be here in this room and still not ready to meet Thee. We pray, Father, for help tonight as we open Thy word and speak from it. Thy Spirit may be at liberty to press home Thy precious word to the heart and conscience.
There would be lasting blessing. We pray and give thanks, Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.
Let's turn to 2nd Corinthians chapter 5.
2nd Corinthians 5.
Verse 19.
God was in Christ.
Reconciling the world.
Unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.
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And hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech.
You buy us, we pray you in Christ dead be ye reconciled to God, for he that's God hath made him that's Jesus to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God.
In him.
We have in these versus the story of the gospel. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.
God did not need to be reconciled to the world. It was we who were sinners that needed to be reconciled to God.
But we have done absolutely nothing to be reconciled to God. It was God that.
Acted on his own behalf that to lay the groundwork so that we could be reconciled to God. Wonderful story of God's grace story I'm sure everyone of us has heard.
Again and again. But you know what I find? There is power in simplicity of the message of the cross of Christ simply to present it.
Nothing new, but always true. Wonderful message of the cross of Christ. God was in Christ the Lord Jesus.
Is the Son of God He always?
Was the Son of God. He never became at any point in time the Son of God.
Is the eternal Son in the bosom of the Father?
There was a point of time in which he became a man. He became Incarnate. It was necessary because God, as such cannot die. He is immortal. And so to be able to reconcile this world to himself, it was necessary that death should take place. And so God sent his only Son.
And he came into this world as a little baby boy.
Oh, the marvel of it, the glorious Son of God born in Bethlehem.
You know, it must have been a wonder to the angels as they came down and viewed their Creator for the first time.
God in his essence is invisible to any creature.
And so the angels had never seen their Creator before Jesus came into this world.
But when he came into this world, nobody seemed to know what had happened.
The tremendous event that had taken place.
They were totally ignorant. There were people that had the Bible in their hands, at least the Old Testament scriptures. They could answer the questions as to where he was to be born. They had no clue that the creator.
Of the universe that entered into his own creation in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A little baby.
And they told his poor mother that she could go out into the stable.
Where the animals were, and there she gave birth to the Lord Jesus Christ. The angels came down and I'm sure they must have wondered, where are these people?
Don't they have a clue as to this tremendous fact? And they go out to try to find somebody to give the news to. And the only ones they could find that were out and about were some poor shepherds up in the countryside. And they came and gave them the news. Wonderful news that this day has been born unto you, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Oh, what a wonderful story it is.
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But what a tremendous thing it is when the Creator of the universe came into this world, there he was in a stable, and his mother wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in the Manger.
Oh, the story. What a story. And so the Lord Jesus passed through this world relatively unknown. There were a few who recognized him.
I think we have the names of six people who were waiting for him, of course, Joseph and Mary. And then there was Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist. And then there was a Simeon, and there was an Anna, and it says that Anna spoke to him of all those that looked for salvation in Jerusalem. So there were a few, but the vast majority were totally asleep.
You know, I just wonder if that's what it's gonna be like on the Lord's second coming.
You believe in the Lord's second coming.
Do you really believe it? Does it show in your life that you believe it?
Oh, the Lord grant that these things may not be simply so much knowledge stored up in the head. They may be a real, practical, living reality to us. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. The Lord Jesus went through the paths of this world.
Showing that God is light and that God is love people didn't appreciate.
The light that showed them their condition.
I get all muddy.
And I'm out in the dark. I might not appreciate somebody coming up to me and say, hey, man, you're all muddy.
But that's the truth of the matter and the more I get into the light, the more it's going to become evident that I'm Almighty. The life light shows that which is our condition and that's what people did not appreciate about the Lord Jesus. The religious people were the 1St that were at enmity with Him. They were the ones that arrested him, had him arrested and took him to Pontius Pilate to condemn Him to the death of the cross.
Pilot recognized that there was a man that was totally innocent of all the charges they brought against him, and yet because he was a real politician, he accepted the will of the people and condemned the Lord Jesus to the death of the cross, the most awful death. If you study the history of this world, the different forms of capital punishment that were executed on people.
Almost the worst type of execution was.
Crucifixion. And so the glorious Son of God was taken and condemned to the death of the cross. It was delivered to the soldiers, and the soldiers beat him with their fists. They crowned him with thorns.
Pilot had him scourged even though he knew he was innocent.
Read a book about Roman scourging and they called it The Living.
Criminals often did not survive scourging. They scourged Jesus, and then they laid the cross on him to take it outside the city of Jerusalem.
He was replaced by another man, Simon the Cyrenian. But when they got to Calvary, there they took the Lord's blessed hands that it extended such mercy and blessing to mankind.
Nailed them to the cross and his feet.
There he hung between heaven and earth, the glorious Son of God, the Creator of the universe.
What a story, what a story.
There he hung from 9:00 in the morning. We calculate time till 3:00 in the afternoon.
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When he died, he hung in life. The first three hours he was object of the ridicule and scorn of the people around.
He said prophetically in the Psalms, Reproach has broken my heart, and I'm full of heaviness, and I look for some to take pity. And there was none and for comforters, but I found none.
They said he if he's the Son of God, let God deliver him. Did God deliver him?
Now it broke his heart.
You know, these are not the atoning sufferings that we're talking about, but they are very real and they show how much He loved us. Nothing could staunch the fountain of love in his heart.
Then came.
The noon time and the Scripture tells us that for three hours it was dark and there was silence on that center cross for three solid hours. But we're not for the testimony of Scripture. We wouldn't know what happened. But Isaiah the prophet tells us very clearly.
He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.
In our verse here it says, He hath made him to be sin for us.
Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
You know, we get kind of used to sin in our lives. We see it so much on every side and we kind of get used to it. But here was a one who was intrinsically holy, the glorious, spotless, sinless Son of God.
When the Angel Angel announced to the Virgin Mary that she was to be the mother of the Son of God, he said.
That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
He was holy, sinless, spotless, not only.
Did he not sin? But he could not sin, not only because.
He was God in the flesh, but because He was holy humanity, he could not sin.
There he hung.
The holy sin bearer. And in those three hours God laid on him.
The inequity.
Of us all.
And that storm of divine judgment broke in all its fury on his head.
For three hours there were billows and waves and billows of God's judgment passed over him.
God takes sin seriously. Maybe you laugh at it.
God does not laugh at sin. Sin wrecks people, Sin ruins people. And if you choose to go on in your sin, it will wreck you, and if you don't face the issue, it will wreck you forever.
God doesn't want that, and that's why he's calling you to repentance.
The large Asus at the end of those three hours cries out. My God, my God.
Why hast thou forsaken me?
In the moment of his most awful need.
God forsook His Son because He was resolving the issue of sins.
Have you faced the question of your sins? You may say, well, I've never done that much that's that bad.
Did you know that one little lie will keep you out of heaven forever?
It tells us very clearly in the Book of Revelation that no lie will ever enter there, and if you do not face and deal with that question of your sins, you will never enter that holy city. It won't happen. God has told us very clear. God takes sin seriously sometimes when we preach the gospel in the prison where we go.
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I say to the men, remember how old Adam lived to be when he.
Was created and put in this world. Some of them remember that he was 930 years old when he died. I say, hey, what happened to us? How come we can't hardly get up to a hundred, 930 years?
Sin has wreaked havoc on the human race and some people that get into sin in a major way look.
Old beyond their years, because sin degenerates.
Synrex havoc on people. That's why God hates it. Yes, He hates your sin and he wants you to repent and realize how serious the question of sin is.
God took it seriously. He sent his only son and the Lord Jesus his Son.
Took on him the question of our sins before a holy God.
I don't think we grasp sufficiently.
How holy God is, He cannot stand sin in his presence, and that's why when his own beloved Son was hanging there.
In that awful agony.
God had to turn his face from him.
Because sin had to be put away, and the only way to do it was by the sacrifice.
Of his own beloved son. And that's what took place on the Cross of Calvary.
Another moment later, the Lord Jesus Christ it is finished.
He pronounced as God. He pronounced the conclusion of a finished work.
All the judgment that was against us as guilty sinners was.
Gone. It's done. It's forever gone.
Thank God we can say there's a way back to God. There is a groundwork now to be reconciled to God.
Oh, what a wonderful story God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and has committed unto us the Word.
Of reconciliation he hath made him to be sin for.
US who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Isn't that wonderful?
We were the sinners, but if you simply repent of your sins.
And believe in the Lord Jesus. You will be made the righteousness of God.
In him, in other words, God shows his righteousness in bringing guilty sinners into the very presence of God for all eternity. How in the world could God do that if God is righteous?
Because of what Jesus paid on the cross of Calvary.
Oh, how important it is to be clear about these matters.
Dear young people, do you have settled peace in your soul? We're getting close to the judgment of this world. It's getting close. And I want to use the last part of this meeting to talk about the Lord's coming. We sang that last hymn about that. The Lord is coming back again, and He's coming soon.
Are you ready? Do you have peace in your soul about it? I'd like to invite you, if you don't have peace about it, to come and talk to me or somebody else after the meeting, because it is very important that you understand that Christ has made.
Expiation through his precious blood. He has put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. You know there's a word used in the Old Testament again and again.
Atonement and atonement means a covering in the Old Testament times.
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Sin was covered by the blood of a God ordained sacrifice.
But when we come to the New Testament, we find it's really not used that word.
It is in the King James translation in one place, but it really should be a different word there.
Christ has put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. It's not merely covered, it's completely put away. Oh, the wonderful sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. Jesus bowed his head and died, and he was taken down and buried, and the third day he rose again. It was just as if God could not wait until that moment came when three days.
Three nights ago, and he lifted him out of that grave. The Lord Jesus is a living man. God accepted the sacrifice that he made, and the testimony to the fact that that sacrifice was accepted is the presence of the Lord Jesus at the right hand of God. Thank God for that.
But the Lord Jesus is coming back again, and that's what we want to talk about. Our brother last night talked about briefly Matthew 24, and I'd like to go back, go to that chapter again and go over it briefly to talk about.
Things that we are seeing in our world take place that make us realize that we're getting close to the time when Jesus is going to come back again to this world.
Things are not going to continue the way they are going today.
God is going to intervene directly.
You know, people think that we're in a crisis, an economic crisis now. Yeah, we are. But just like all the other economic crisis, we'll pass through it and we'll keep on going.
That's not exactly the picture that Scripture paints, and I want you to just look at this chapter as we read through it.
Want to make a statement before we get into reading it that what we are talking about in this chapter is something that will take place after the rapture of the church. Every true believer in the Lord Jesus that is here and God only knows if you're real. I just want to stop and say if you have not got it straight with God yet, please don't delay tonight. Take care of the matter. Get.
Right with God.
Make sure you're right. Make sure it's way too important to fool around with.
But at that moment of the rapture, the Lord Jesus is going to descend out of heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God.
And the dead in Christ will rise 1St, and we which are alive and remain are going to be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. That is what we wait for momentarily.
No date setting here. People like to set dates.
And they show their folly when they do that. What was set the other day has now been readjusted to October 21St I understand.
I don't get it how people are not grounded in the word of God and they keep on being deceived.
No, it could happen at any moment. I wonder if it's gonna happen before October 21St. Very well could happen at any moment. Only God knows that moment. But the Lord is gonna take his people out, and then what? You know, I've often commented I think the United States of America is gonna be one of the most awful places to have to live after the rapture of the Church.
I'm not planning to be around.
I hope nobody else here is either.
But if that happens, it's gonna be awful, awful, awful.
Let's just read this chapter in brief.
Jesus went out this is Matthew 24 verse one and departed from the temple and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple.
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Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not.
Be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Now the temple that existed when the Lord Jesus spoke these words was Herod's temple.
Herod had evidently built a temple that was very much appreciated by the Jews of that time. And Jesus said, not one stone of these stones will be left upon another. This these first 2 verses have already been fulfilled in human history. In 8070, about 40 years after the Lord Jesus was crucified, Titus, the Roman general came into Jerusalem.
And destroyed the city. He gave commandments, according to the historical account, that they should preserve the tempo. But some soldier threw a torch through a window of the temple, and it set it ablaze inside. And so hot was the fire, according to the record, that the gold melted and ran down in between the rocks of the temple. So that the word of the Lord Jesus was literally.
Fulfilled. Not one stone was left upon another to get.
The goal that was in between those rocks, they actually threw down every single one of them. This is a good point to realize. Now what we have from verse three on is future. But remember when God says something that's going to happen. So now verse three, it says as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came into him privately saying.
Tell us when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of thy coming?
And of the end of the world. Or it could be the end of the age.
And I suggest that perhaps that refers to the times of the Gentiles. The times of the Gentiles was a period of time that began when Nebuchadnezzar, the first king of the Babylonian Empire, came into Jerusalem and took the authority of government away from the Jewish people.
God had allowed His people to reign until that time, but they were so unfaithful that He took it away from them from and gave it to the Gentile powers and the times of the Gentiles extends from Nebuchadnezzar right down to the time at the end of the tribulation period when Jesus is going to come back and take the kingdoms as his own.
That's the times of the Gentiles.
I suppose that that might be what is said here. I'm open to correction on that, but uh, we'll leave it there. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take he that no man deceive you, for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ and shall deceive many.
And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that ye be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass.
But the end is not yet.
For a nation shall rise against nation, and Kingdom against Kingdom, and there shall be famines.
And pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places. All these are the beginnings of sorrows.
Notice anything that relates today's world? I think you can.
Remember, we're not talking about today's world. We're talking about what's going to happen after the rapture of the church. But somebody has said coming events cast their shadows. Do you see a black cloud with Thunder and lightning in the distance? You say the storm is coming. And when we see these things happening that relate to what we've been talking about.
In the world, we say the storm is coming.
Most awful time of the history of this world.
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The 1St 3 1/2 years of the tribulation period, which is a period of seven years.
Like to ask sometimes, what is it that signals the beginning of those seven years of tribulation?
Sometimes people say the rapture of the church. No, it's not the rapture of the church. What is it?
It is a pact that will be signed between the Roman Prince, the head of Western Europe, and the people of Israel. When that fact is signed, there will be seven years that pass in this world and Jesus will set his feet down.
On the Mount of Olives.
Oh, hyperlink it is to see some of these things starting to take place. Are we asleep? Are we awake as to how when we're living here in this world?
The beginning of sorrows that mentions in verse eight is the first generally thought to be the first 3 1/2 years.
Of the seven-year period.
Says verse 9. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of all names nations, for my name's sake. He's talking to these Jewish disciples.
This is going to be the truth of the matter for the Jewish people in the coming day. We can already see it happening over there.
In Israel. Seems like Israel's predicament in the world gets more impossible every day.
I don't know how in the world are able to deal with it. I suppose that the problems that Syria has is having in their own country deflects from attention to Israel, and perhaps that is a temporary mercy from that sector. But Israel is going to be hated of all nations. It already is.
And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many, let me tell you.
If you do not read and base your faith on the precious word of God.
You will be deceived.
Terrible to think about it, and it's scary when I see people who call themselves Christians who don't read their Bibles and don't have no clue what's going on in the world around. God has put these things here so that we have our eyes open and understand what's going on.
Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
We heard about being lukewarm today.
Verse 13 But he that shall endure unto the end.
The same shall be saved.
Now it's not saved in the sense that we are talking about for a Christian in this time period.
Saved here is for those Jewish people who will be passing through the Great Tribulation period, and if they endure to the end, they will be saved to enter the Millennial day.
Under the reign of Christ.
This gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness, and to all nations. And then.
Shall the end come? Gospel of the Kingdom is not exactly the same gospel that we preach today. We preach today that if you have faith in Christ, if you repent of your sins, have faith in the Lord Jesus, you will have forgiveness of sins, you'll have eternal life, and you'll have a home in heaven. But the gospel of the Kingdom was the gospel that the Lord Jesus preached at the beginning of his ministry. It's the same gospel that John the Baptist preached. Repent.
Straighten out your ways. The King is coming and he's not going to put up with those sins of yours.
The axis led to the root of the trees.
God takes sin seriously, and if you don't take sin seriously, you're going to suffer the consequences.
Now we come to verse 15.
And just like to say there is verses that we could read but for times sake we're not going to read tonight. The verse 15 really takes place at the middle of the tribulation week after the 1St 3 1/2 years.
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And you if you read in Daniel chapter 20, Chapter 9 and verse 27, that's where you'll find it. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet.
Stand in the holy place. Whoso readeth, let him understand.
I believe this to be the.
When the Antichrist goes into the temple that will be built in Jerusalem and declares himself to be God.
It is what is called in Scripture, the apostasy. We have apostasy today.
But the apostasy is when they turn from even the outward form of the worship of God in heaven.
And worship a man on the earth as if he were God. And the Antichrist is a man that perhaps is living in the world today.
And he's going to go into the temple and he's going to say enough, no more sacrifices here to a God in heaven. I'm God you worship me under pain of death.
These things are in the works.
That's the abomination of desolations. And so the Lord Jesus is saying to these Jewish believers.
And I suppose they'll read these verses. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains. Let him that is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house, neither let him that is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them which are which child, and to them that give suck in those days. But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day. It shows that it's Jewish.
For then notice verse 21.
Shall be.
Great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world.
To this time.
No, nor ever shall be.
The most awful time of judgment in the history of their world is just ahead, and most people don't have a clue.
Many Christians so call Christians God knows.
Don't know it either.
Oh, the awfulness of what's just ahead for this poor world. Except those days should be shortened. There should be no flesh saved, But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened.
Then if any man say unto you, lo, here is Christ, or there believe it not.
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets shall show great signs and wonders.
Have a lot of people talk about signs and wonders today. They like to talk about signs and wonders. Be careful.
Insomuch that if it were possible, it's not possible to deceive the elect, but if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth. The holy is in the secret chambers. Believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even into the West, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.
You know, when it talks about the Lord Jesus coming as the Son of man, it's not the rapture, it's the appearing when He comes, because as a man He's coming to judge this world in righteousness. Verse 28 For wheresoever the carcass is, there will be Eagles be gathered together, all the Jewish people that fear the Lord and that respect his precious word.
Are going to get out of Jerusalem.
And what will be left?
The dead profession of those Jews that stayed behind.
Wheresoever the carcass is there, will the Eagles be gathered together?
Rather strange that the symbol of the United States of America is an eagle. I suppose the Eagles would mean the different nations. They're all interested in that little piece of real estate in the Middle East.
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Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.
And the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken.
The sun, the moon, the stars, figurative of this earthly system of government that we are used to. President of the United States is the number one man of authority in this country.
He has other authorities that are derived from him, Vice president. There are lesser authorities. The stars, it's gonna all be replaced. The Lord Jesus is coming back to set up his Kingdom.
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn.
And they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power.
And great glory. Oh, the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. You know what?
We talk about the rapture. They're relatively few scriptures that talk about the rapture. But when we talk about the glorious superior of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, Scripture is full of it. I suppose the end of the Tribulation period, when God introduces his man into power in this world, when he vindicates his own Son who hung on that cross as a condemned criminal, he's going to vindicate him.
It's gonna be the most glorious display of power at this world has ever seen or ever will see. Oh, I'm looking forward to that day. I don't know. There's many others that are looking forward to it.
Sorry.
Verse 31 And he shall send his angels with a great sign of a trumpet.
Great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together. His elect from.
The four winds from one end of the heaven to the other. This is not the rapture. We want to make clear this.
Sometimes people think that it's re the rapture and they say that's why they think that the rapture will be after the tribulation. But this is not talking about the rapture of the church. This is talking about the regathering of these scattered, of the 12, the 10 tribes that are scattered in the earth.
Notice, when He comes to receive us to Himself, the Lord Himself shall come with a shout here. It's not the Lord Himself. He's going to send His angels out and gather His elect, those elect of the nation of Israel, from one end of heaven to the other. Now learn a parable of the fig tree. When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, you know that summer is 9. Victory is one of the figures of the nation of Israel.
In 1948.
After almost 2000 years of non existence, the nation of Israel reappeared.
When ye see the fig tree putting forth its leaves, know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
But of that day and hour, no man.
No, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
And as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.
For, as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying, giving and marriage.
Until the day that Noah entered into the ark and knew not until the flood came and took the mall away.
So shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Then shall two be taken, be in the field, the one shall be taken and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill, and one shall be taken in the other left.
Again, this is not the rapture. We wanna clarify it. It's what takes place when the Lord Jesus establishes His Kingdom in this world. He's gonna send forth His angels, according to Matthew 13, and gather out of His Kingdom all things that offend. The one that's taken is cut off from the earth. The one that is left is left to go into the millennial day under the reign of Christ.
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Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. Know this, that if the Goodman of the house had known and what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh. I want you to jump over to chapter 25, verse 31 now.
The verses in between are rather a parentheses. And here we pick up on the coming of the Son of Man. Again, verse 31. When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he shall sit upon the throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them from one another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.
He shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Here is the Lord Jesus setting on the throne of His glory, and this is what is called a sessional judgment.
And all the nations that are not dispatched by the war of Armageddon are going to be gathered before the throne of His glory here in this world. This is what is called the judgment of the living.
There will be a judgment of the dead as well, but this is the judgment of the living, and all the nations that are alive are going to be gathered and he's going to separate them and divide between them. I want to make clear here that.
This is not we're, we're not in this picture either of the sheep or the goats. We're not in this picture. We are with the Lord at this time when he judges, perhaps we will have something to do with the judgment. But he divides between the sheep and the goats. And verse 34 says, When then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Here is the sheep on his right hand.
And it's a Kingdom they're going to inherit that was prepared from the foundation of the world. Those of us who are believers in the Lord Jesus were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world because the Church is a heavenly body. But here it is those who will inherit earthly blessing under the reign of Christ. There are those that have heard the gospel of the Kingdom.
And have shown kindness to the messengers of the Kingdom. And what follows, we're not going to have time to read it all, is that they gave one of those messengers a drink of water. They took them in, they showed kindness. They were naked and they clothed them. And in that way, they show they have faith and they're going to go into the millennial Kingdom on the earth. But then we come down to verse 40.
And he addresses the goats on his left hand. King shall answer and say unto them, I'm sorry. Verse 41 Then shall he say also unto them on his on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Oh, how awful.
Those goats, those that heard the message of the Kingdom, perhaps someone who?
Perhaps is sat in a gospel meeting like we are in tonight and did not deal with the question of their sins and they kept refusing.
In the Great Tribulation period, if you are one of those persons, you will be deceived.
And you will face the Lord Jesus. Notice very clearly in verse 41, He did not prepare everlasting fire for the human race. He prepared it for the devil and his angels. God doesn't want anybody to go to this place.
And that's why he sends forth the message of the Gospel, pleading with souls to be reconciled to God.
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The way it is prepared, what he wants from you is repentance of your sins.
And faith in the Lord Jesus.
But those that do not do that.
Will go to have.
Their company with the devil and his angels in everlasting fire.
These are the words of the Son of God who could not lie. Please take it seriously PE please get right with God. If you haven't done it, do it right now. Again, I say, if there's any questions or doubts that you have, we are being more than willing to talk to you afterwards. To get clarity in your soul is very important, especially in view of the.
Momentous times that are just ahead for the history of this world.
Let's just close in prayer.
Gracious Father, thanks for thy precious word.
Acts 9:9-31
Reading
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There is, but I'm waiting on the brethren. Is there? What's the brethren thing?
The Lord put something on your heart that carry it through though.
What do you think, Robert? We go on from verse 10 or?
It'll be fine. I I think we did comment on that verse, but that's a good place to get the thought connection.
Acts Chapter 9 and verse 10.
And there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. And to him the Lord said, The Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the street which is called straight, and inquire in the House of Judas for one called Saul Tarsus. For behold, he prayeth. And that seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him.
That he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man how much evil he hath done. Should I think that Jerusalem? And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on my name? But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way, for he is the chosen vessel unto him to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.
And Ananias went his way and entered into the house, and putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hast sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scaled, And he received sight forthwith, and rose, and were baptized. And when he had received meat he was strengthened. Then saw then was Saul certain days.
With the disciples which were at Damascus, and straightway he preached Christ in the synagogue that he is the Son of God.
But all that heard him were amazed, and said, Is not this He that destroyed them, which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hit her for that intent, that He might bring them bound unto the chief priests. But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ. And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill Him. But they're laying in wait.
It was known of Saul, and they watched the gates day and night to kill him. Then the disciples took him by night and let him down by the wall in a basket. And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he is saved to join himself to the disciples.
But they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. And he was with them coming and going out at Jerusalem any state, boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians. But they went above to slay him.
Which when the brother knew, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him forth to Tarsus. Then had the churches rest throughout all Judeans, Galilee and Samaria, and ratified. And walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, he multiplied.
I think it's very significant here that the Apostle Paul was forced to go to the assembly, the brethren of the assembly there in, in, uh, the Damascus to get his instructions. The Lord appeared to him and, and smote him down on the way. And he, he learned to say, uh, yes to the Lord, that is to own the Lord's authority in his life.
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But the Lord doesn't tell him directly what he was to do. He was told that he would be told when he went into the city. And and so in that way, the Lord connected the work that he began with Paul Saul of Tarsus and, and identified him with the work that was already ongoing. Because this instrument, though he was a chosen one of God for special work, must work together.
With the assembly that was there.
It's interesting too.
Very instructive as we see here in this chapter that the, uh, man that's just saved here, Saul, needed to be trained in the school of God. He had been trained in the school of Camelio, but now he was going to spend some time in Damascus and in Arabia, and you have this little phrase that the Spirit of God uses.
In umm verse 19 he says, and when he had received meat, he was strengthened, then was solved certain days with the disciples which are were at Damascus, and then in verse 23.
And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him. And then we find in verse 30 that umm that he was sent forth to Tarsus. It might be good to just turn to Galatians chapter one and see what he says there.
Of Umm chapter one of Galatians, verse 17, he says neither when I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me, but I went into Arabia and returned against Damascus.
After three years, I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter and abode with him 15 days. And so we know that he was there for three years in Arabia and Damascus. How long he was in each place were not certain, but he says there by the Spirit of God that he was there three years. And then we know that he was in Tarsus for approximately 2 years. And so he was in the school of God and it was there in, uh, Tarsus that, uh, Barnabas went to get him.
When that work in, uh, Antioch had taken place and by the Spirit of God, he went to Acts Chapter 11, verse 25, then departed Barnabas to Tarsus to seek Saul. Well, the whole point here is that, umm, he was in the school of God and umm, how we must appreciate that. We ought to appreciate it when we're younger in the faith that the Lord deals with us as individuals and trains us as individuals.
In a very loving and careful way, Paul now, or Saul was going to learn something of the Lord in private, and so he didn't begin his work immediately among the Gentiles. It does say that he preached the gospel there in Damascus and he was faithful in, umm, presenting that the Lord Jesus was very Christ, but he was in the school of God. And so we need to recognize that the Lord deals with us in this way.
In the, as individuals and be thankful for it. And so if you're young, perhaps a young brother, uh, a young sister in this, uh, little company, this AF this morning. Umm, and you wonder why, you know, maybe the Lord hasn't just given you something to do right away and you're saved and you just want to get active in the things of God. And it's a nice desire and, umm, do the little work that the Lord does give you a little bit of gospel work. And that's how Paul started. He began to preach Christ.
But then a little bit later on, when he was trained of God himself, why the Lord sends Barnabas just at the right time?
And he begins to do his work among the Gentiles. Wonderful thing.
So there are two things that are necessary, I suppose, in all of our lives, not just at the beginning of our our lives as Christians, but as you and Doug have brought out, we need to be alone with the Lord in the school of God. We need to learn lessons quietly in his presence. We cannot effectively serve the Lord in whatever sphere and ministry he's given each one of us.
Unless we spend those times in His presence learning from Himself, and then we need our brethren as well.
And not only to work in fellowship with our brethren and that which God has established, but our brethren teaches, God uses our brethren to teach us many things too. And they're a check on us as as well. And you find, and I was thinking of what Doug said at the beginning, you find with the Apostle Paul or Saul as he goes on, and later the apostle Paul and so on, that even as an older man in many years of service in the position.
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And ministry that God gave him and it was a wonderful he had a wonderful ministry, but he always appreciated the fellowship of his brother and he delighted to associate with fellow laborer laborers and he delighted to make sure later on he was on intro as on a Lord's day. Why? So he could break bread in fellowship with his brethren at the Lord's table and in the presence of the of the Lord Jesus.
Gathered to his name and in answer to his request, and I believe it's, it's vital God gives us all a little service. And I'd like to just say something very practical and I, I don't want to pick on those who are younger because we all need to be reminded of these things. But again, we're thankful for and I'm thankful for the energy of and zeal of you. I'm not as young as I once was and I'm thankful for those who are coming on behind who have a lot of energy and.
Desire to please the Lord and serve the Lord. But remember this, there's a pattern in the act that shows that whatever ministry or service the Lord gives us, and He gives us each something to do for Him.
We need to be exercised to do it in fellowship with the Lord, yes, but also in fellowship with our brethren, in fellowship with that which God has established as His testimony and where the Lord Jesus is in the midst. And we do not have to step out of that, that of the fellowship of the brother of the of our brethren gathered to the Lord's name, defined opportunities to serve the Lord.
There are plenty of opportunities and ways that we can serve the Lord, be it in our home sphere or perhaps in a little wider sphere if the Lord calls us to that. But there are plenty of opportunities. And we don't have to pray for opportunities as much as we need to pray that our eyes will be opened and our hearts ready to avail ourselves of the opportunities that present themselves. But I used to hear an expression when I was a young person.
In our service for Christ we need to keep one foot in the assembly and I believe that's good advice for us all. We need to keep one foot in the assembly and just give you, we won't take time to turn to me, just allow me to give you 2 scriptures that have been a help to me over the years in balancing this subject. One is Paul said to the Corinthians, we labor that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
And in our service for Christ, that is our first responsibility. And Paul was misunderstood by the Corinthians. They questioned everything about his service and his ministry and his apostleship and his ability to deliver his ministry. He said that's OK, we're laboring for his acceptance. But there's a little, there's a, there's something that needs to go with that. It says of Asher in Deuteronomy. Believe it is, it says and of Asher, let him be acceptable to his brethren.
You'll never effectively serve the Lord and your brethren if you don't do it in a way that is acceptable. And if the Lord has a little service for you to do and the time is right, not only will He not allow your brethren to stand in the way, but He will work in their hearts so they recognize it as a service for Christ. And you will have the fellowship of your brethren. You can't please all the people all of the time.
But the Lord will work in their hearts. And you see that with the apostle Paul, don't you? Yes, he had many misunderstandings. Yes, he had many things said that could have discouraged him. But as Paul, Saul is led on in his service and ministry, we find that slowly. Yes, but the brethren recognize that this was a servant of God, raised up of God, and that he worked in their hearts.
So that generally speaking, his ministry was accepted and the brethren realized that this was a work of God.
It's the truth of the one body, isn't it?
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Happen to say every member of my body, and there's a lot of different members of my body is directed directly from the head.
So it is in the body of Christ. Directions must come from the head. But this finger of mine, if it gets directions that are to be severed from the rest of the members and to activate in another area, it's not going to happen. It's not going to work. It has to operate in conjunction with the other members. And that's the check that you mentioned. And I think that is really important. Remember, the Lord directs His people.
And we need to have a sensitivity before him as to what he wants us to do, but then to do it in conjunction with our brethren around. It's important.
Another thing that characterized the apostle Paul from the beginning is what we had in the end of verse 11. And I know we made a comment about this in connection with prayer being the breath of the divine life and the confirmation to Ananias that there'd been a real work in solidarity, soul and real conversion. But we find when we trace the ministry of Paul, that prayer was what characterized his life. It was the secret of the of the power.
Of Paul's ministry you wanna have power in your service for Christ you know we sometimes read the stories of.
Individuals in the scripture or the missionary story, early missionaries and we, we shake our heads and we say, wow, they sure had a lot of power and fruit in their in their ministry and their service for Christ. But you read carefully their lives and you find that they were men and women who were characterized by prayer. We cannot have power and ministry, our power in our ministry and fruit in our testimony.
Unless we're characterized by prayer, and so often we find Paul in writing to the Saints later on, not only praying for himself, but praying for his brethren. What gave him a heart for the people of God? It was prayer. What gave him power in ministering to them? It was a love and a prayer. And so we need to be characterized as servants of God by by prayer. There's no other way to have real power.
You mentioned Robert, about that each one of God's services put through school, uh.
Can you say a little bit more about that? Are you still in school, brother?
We never get out of school.
But, uh, it's interesting how the Spirit of God works with each one of us differently. And we find that, uh, Joseph was in prison and, uh, treated in, uh, an awful way unjustly and, uh, thirteen years. And then he comes into public service. He comes before Pharaoh. And it says in the Psalms, I think it's 105th that the word of the Lord tried him. And he must have wondered having those dreams.
And here he was that the Lord had said to him in a vision, a dream, two dreams, that his family would come to bow down before him. And he wondered about that. Then you have Moses. And he was framed in the wilderness 40 years. He learned what it was to be humble before his God. And so I just mentioned this in connection with the apostle Paul at the beginning of his Christian walk with the Lord.
He was going to have to learn what it was to be humble. He came to Damascus in great pomp and, uh, public ceremony and, uh, so on and, uh, pride. But he left Damascus in a basket going over the wall. And the Lord knows how to deal with each one of us to recognize that we might recognize his power, his authority, our own nothingness. And it was sweet in Paul's life as he learned these things that.
It was going to have to be in the power of the new light and not one being the power of the flesh that anything was going to be done for God that would be of any fruit. And so the energy of his youth. He was a young man and then it says it's still Steven stoning and then one year later God answers Stevens prayer approximately 1 year later and Saul is saved. Lay not this sin to their charge and God heard his prayers save them. And so this first lesson is humility and we mentioned it yesterday.
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It's an important lesson in every servant of God must learn it.
Robert, I'd like to just back up and ask a moment in connection with what you've just said about Moses to the 7th chapter. I think there's a very significant comment that Steven makes in his final presentation to the leaders in Israel concerning Moses might just say that when you read the Old Testament, you don't find Moses life delineated as far as it spelled out that it was three sets of 40 years. But when you come to the 7th of Acts, Steven takes it up in those three segments.
Of 40 years, but I just want to notice versus 23 and four, No versus 22 and three. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and deeds. And when he was fully 40 years old it came to his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. We find that for the 1St 40 years of Moses life, as you say, he spent it in the court of Pharaoh, in the schools of man.
And the schools of man teach us that man is everything that we can do it. There's a spark of divinity within each one of us. And if it's placed in the proper environment and flamed and it'll flame up into something beautiful and wonderful, and you've got natural abilities and used those abilities to their full and so on. And so the schools of man teach us that we're something. But you know, when he came out of school of, of man, he was a man mighty in words and deeds, but that wasn't the kind of material God could use. Now it's interesting that he had a heart for his people at 40 years of age.
But he wasn't ready to really serve the people of God in the capacity that God had for him. In fact, if we read on, we find that his spirit really wasn't right. His heart was right, but he hadn't learned the lessons that God had for him. He'd learned the lessons in the school of man. And so we find then that he spends the next 40 years of his life in what Robert and Bob have been talking about, the school of God. And it's interesting if you go back to the Old Testament when the Lord appeared to him.
Uh, after that and SE was gonna send them to Pharaoh, he said, oh Lord, I can't go in and stand before Pharaoh. Why I can't even talk properly. He as much as said, well, I just stutter and stammer. That's not the man we just read about coming out of the school of man. He was a man mighty in words and deeds. But in 40 years he learned that man is nothing in himself, that you have to depend upon God. But when he came out of the school of God, that was the kind of material God could use, a man who had learned.
His the faithfulness of God and his own nothingness. And so he was to go forward depending on God. And we know that God then sent him to Pharaoh and used him in a mighty way, and to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt and across the wilderness, and so on. You say, but God won't have a great work for me to do like that. No, but for every little service and ministry we must come from learning that man in himself is nothing.
That God is everything, and that we can go forth with that in that little ministry depending on God, and be used for the blessing of the people of God and in testimony to others. So we need not the schools of men, and Paul had been in the school of men, as you say, but in Philippians. After he got out of the school of God, he counted the things, even the things that he had learned in the religious schools of men and all those natural things.
And religion after the flesh, he said. I count them, but nothing. I leave them behind. They're nothing.
I've got Christ now and that was his whole goal and object before him in the 7th of Acts there, Jim, where you're talking like they call attention to verse 35 in connection with Moses says this Moses, whom they refused saying, who made thee a ruler and a judge, the same did God send to be a ruler.
And to deliver by the hand of the Angel which appeared to him in the Bush.
Interesting those two comments, a ruler and a judge.
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It's relatively easy, brethren, to be a judge of matters, to see things that are not right and say that's not right.
But what did it cost Moses to become a ruler and a deliverer? It was those 40 years in the desert when he learned.
Or shall we say he unlearned all the wisdom of Egypt, and he learned in the school of God that God was sufficient. Then God could use him not as a ruler and a judge, but as a ruler and a deliverer.
Brethren, I must say it's been a challenge in my own soul. So often we see difficulties amongst God's people. It's relatively easy to be a judge of those matters.
Are we deliverers or are we judges? And that's why we need the school of God and we're all in it. And like you say, Robert, we really never get out of the school of God. But there is a time when God prepares his servants. In the case of Saul, it was Arabia. There were three years there. We don't read what happened in Arabia. We don't know. He was alone with God. And it's important to get our bearings with the Lord.
I see sometimes young people really want to serve the Lord. It's nice you appreciate that, but you've got to get your bearings with God. That's so vital, so important. And then we have to work in conjunction with those that are fellow members of that same body. But it's important to get our our direction from God. But I think it takes the the school of God.
To bring us down to where we can be not rulers and judges, but deliverers of God's people. What a tremendous man of God Moses turned out to be.
You might say 40 years most is what are you doing out there in the desert? 40 years? You're wasting your time out there taking care of a few sheep. Come on, Moses, you were learning all the wisdom of Egypt.
It wasn't wasted time for God.
And what a man of God Moses turned out to be. The other case you mentioned, Robert of Joseph, often thought of those 13 years.
Because he was 17 when he went out of his father's house. He was 30 years when he came to the throne. 13 years. Everything seemed to go wrong. Just everything. Nothing seemed to go for poor just. But he kept on. And one day.
Just one day you woke up in prison. At the end of that day, he was Prime Minister of Egypt. What a story. What a story. Oh, young people, be faithful to the Lord. Don't question the circumstances in your life that you can't seem to understand. God is in it, and if you can take it from the hand of God, it's going to be a blessing for you now.
Just like to call attention to Moses as well. Just to add to what you said, brother Bob, in Exodus chapter 32 and verse 30. And here you see the effect of being in the school of God in those forty years. Instead of being a ruler and a judge. Now he's an interceder for his people. Exodus chapter 32, verse 30. It came to pass on the Morrow that Moses said unto the people, he has sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord, her adventure. I shall make an atonement for your sin.
Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, O this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold, yet now with thou wilt forgive their sin. And if not, block me, I pray thee out of thy book which thou hast written.
Well, you know, he interceded for the people of God and, uh, a true shepherd he had become. He put himself in the harm's way, if you will, and uh, would desire the blessing of God's people. And so instead of just ruling, it says, umm, in connection with Ruth. Uh, I'm not going to quote it, right. So maybe it will just turn to the book of Ruth.
The first verse I think it is.
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It came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, Not when the judges shepherded, not when the judges interceded for the people of God, but when they ruled and perhaps they their heart was not right with the Lord. Oh, what a lovely to see how Moses had a care and love, a genuine care and a love for the people of God. You find it with Paul too, and the Lord values that.
That Paul the Apostle could pray for the Saints and those two prayers are recorded in Ephesians and, uh, many other prayers to the apostles. So we find in Acts Chapter 9 here the first prayer that he prays.
And he's got to get right with the Lord, but the Lord works with them for five years, that he might intercede for the people of God.
There are three things here in verse 15 that Ananias tells, uh Saul that the Lord told him.
Says that the Lord said unto him, Go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me.
To bear my name before Genti, the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel.
We've been speaking about the school of God and, umm, it would seem that Paul.
Here Saul, umm, the first thing given to him is Gentiles, but really in his life it seems like in the reverse order he applied them.
And the school of God finally, in the end, gave him to, uh, express, uh, extend his ministry principally to the Gentiles. I don't say that that was all wrong about Paul, but it's, uh, those three things that he was commissioned to do. And he had a real love for his brethren. And it probably took precedence in his ministry in the earlier years. And it got him into trouble, as it were, when he went up to Jerusalem.
With the thought that he could still do something towards them. But it does prove the heart of God towards Israel in the way that he did it. His motive was right.
In it. And so it is, uh, it's nice to see that how the Lord uses, uh, a servant like this who was so faithful and he did fulfill these three things.
It's also important to see that.
The large, the one that gets the work.
And in fact, he chooses the work.
That a vessel does.
We say.
I need to do something for the Lord and God puts that desire in our hearts to do something for the Lord. But the actual it's God's work. It's not man's work, it's God's work. And and God in doing his work has chosen to use people to do it for him. And he decides who's going to do what. And he tells each one what he wants them to do.
And sometimes it's just well to set before the Lord and.
Weighed upon him to make a choice as to work to be done and then communicate that and as it's done here. In truth, Ananias knew because the Lord told him, but he isn't the one that tells Paul what his work is. Ananias didn't say Paul, the Lord wants you to do this, that or the other. And so when Ananias goes his way and he's been told this.
But.
The Lord says to Ananias in verse 16, I will show him, not you will show him, but I will show him. And the Lord isn't going to tell you to tell me I'm going to suffer this or that for his namesake. But the Lord directly with Paul is going to have to say to Paul, you are going to suffer this for my name's sake. When it comes to that side of it, uh, we would like to tell somebody maybe a great thing or a nice thing that they can do for the Lord.
Well, what about the other side? Would we wanna say, you're gonna really run into trouble when you do this or that? No, the Lord himself as Lord enters directly into the matter. And in verse 17 he says, 16 I will show him how great things he must suffer. And then when Ananias actually sees him in verse 17, what he says to him is the Lord even Jesus hath appeared unto thee in the way that thou camest.
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And has sent me what? That thou mightest receive thy sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately that takes place. And we have the fellowship, uh, that Paul needed. And the use of Ananias is in service to him and so on. Just to further show the same point, go back to Moses.
Umm calling if you will to service in Exodus.
Chapter 3. I Yes. Chapter 3.
Here's how Moses is told what he's gonna do for service for the Lord.
Verse 7, Moses is out in the desert. He's feeding his father in law's flock. He's not thinking about what am I going to do for the Lord. He's just doing what he does. What had been given to him He had no, he had a heart for the people of God, but that wasn't the reason to be doing anything really in itself. He's just living out his daily life at this point.
And, uh, the Lord had prepared him, unknown to himself. He didn't know he was 40 years being prepared for something, although he was. And he's living his daily life. And so he says, the Lord appears.
Uh, and not to get too much detail, he says, verse 7, the Lord says to him, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. Now who's going to do what?
Per SE, I, Jehovah the Lord, and come down to deliver them. That's the first words out of his mouth of the Lord with respect to something that's going to happen. I, the Lord have come down to deliver. We already talked about Moses being a great deliverer, but in truth, the beginning of it wasn't Moses.
And the emphasis that's kept in Moses heart for the whole of his life and his service from this point forward is.
Always, from the very beginning, the Lord having said to him, I, the Lord, am come down to deliver.
Out of the hand of the Egyptians to bring them out of the land and so on. And uh, verse 10, he now says to Moses, Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh. And uh, Moses objects. I think there's 10 objections he gives to doing what he was being told to do and to do the service that he was being called to. I think he objects over 10 things until finally, as it were, the Lord says Moses, stop objecting and just obeying and get on with it. And Moses does that.
And, uh, the work begins and goes forward. But again, I say, brethren, it's, it's important to start with. God has a work to do and he chooses servants to do it. He then communicates to his, the one that he has chosen to do that work. And then you get the fellowship of others seen in it. You can see it in Acts 13 where the, the, there's several servants sitting there waiting.
Well, let's turn to it. Only take a moment more to finish the thought. Acts 13 and verse one. Now there were in the church that was in Antioch certain prophets and teachers, as Barnabas sent me in, that was called Niger and Lucius of Cyrene and Mayon, which had been brought up with Herod the teacher, Arkansas. Now here you have a, you might say, uh, A room.
And there's these capable men of God sitting there and seemingly idle.
But what's the work of God? Well, verse two, they ministered to the Lord and fasted and the Holy Spirit said, separate me, Saul and Barnabas. Now of the collection that was there, the Spirit of God made a choice. The Spirit said I want this one and I want that one and the Spirit chose them. And for the work wherein I have called them, as he only could do the calling, they couldn't choose among themselves.
00:40:13
We see at work over here, we see a need over here, which one of us should go do it. Umm, and, and off they went. But it says verse 3. And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, here's the fellowship side of it. They recognized together in fasting and prayer that yes, this was really a word from the Spirit. And then they go and show the fellowship with them and send them away.
It's true we see later instances where for example, Paul was called come over into Macedonia and help us and so on. And there is that expression of need, but.
And request for help and so on. But in the principle of it, it's always God's work. He chooses the servants. The servants are sitting there as that were available and waiting. He communicates the word to them and then they go do it.
Going on to the next verse, UH-16, we have the suffering.
For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.
Now, I don't believe that was just a punishment upon Saul for the way he had lived.
Uh, he had persecuted the church and God works all things together.
Yes, Paul would have to accept and say, yes, I deserve to be persecuted myself because I, I did it to others. But the wonderful thing about it, this, this really is, I believe, a path of blessing. This is learning something of our risen Christ in glory, uh, the suffering man who was delivered and taken up into heaven.
And I believe in a certain sense it characterizes us in Christianity. We're following a savior that was rejected. And in as much as we associate with him in heaven, we have to accept a part of suffering here on earth rejected. The testimony of Christianity is not an accepted religion openly well received in the world.
It is the opposite. And so it is a good thing for us to learn this, that we're not following a hero that's well accepted. It's good to learn that we are following a rejected savior, though He's been delivered from this world and there's much this could lead us down along, uh, meditation, I'm sure the, the subject of suffering, but I just like to turn to.
Philippians chapter 3 to see how that I believe Paul learned the blessing of this following the Lord Jesus, uh, and being suffering for it in Philippians chapter 3.
Uh and uh, verse, uh, I'll begin with verse 8.
Paul is speaking here. Yeah, doubtless I count all things but loss for the Excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.
For whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but done, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, that I may know him. That's Christ, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his suffering being made conformable.
Unto his death. It's so beautiful to see and Paul hear one who realized experimentally in his life the blessing of accepting this course of being persecuted.
And suffering and what a what a testimony it wrought in his life as a servant of Jesus Christ, he became so occupied with the wonder of his person. There isn't man in glory that he had seen that all of these things here on earth became.
00:45:04
Unimportant as far as the the suffering part of it. And he really counted it a privilege to follow this kind of a path. I think this is a real secret for us as Christians to learn a little in some measure the reality of this. I know we aren't outwardly persecuted in this country like in early Christianity, but still there's a stigma and you have to go against the current.
As it were to be faithful to Christ and be rejected. Uh, it may not be nails and whips and lashes, but there are insults and other kinds of persecutions that we must bear. And in, in as much as we do that, I believe we will learn to know more of this man in the glory Christ Jesus that Paul, uh, got acquainted with through the experiences of life.
Philippians 1/29, right?
For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for his safety.
So there are really two kinds of ways we can suffer. As Doug has pointed out, many of our brethren today are suffering physical persecution, imprisonment, and facing martyrdom. But as Doug has said, we may never face that kind of thing. And I used to read a verse and ponder it and wonder how it really applied to us in North America and other countries. And that is the verse that says all they that will live godly in Christ Jesus.
Shall suffer persecution. It doesn't say they might, but they shall suffer persecution. How do we suffer persecution in our circumstances here? Well, there's another kind of persecution that Doug alluded to, and that's reproach. We may not suffer physically, but there will be a reproach connected with the measure in which we live godly reflects something of Christ in our lives.
And seek to follow him and serve him, but particularly brethren, in connection with what Paul presents to us.
Part the ministry that Paul was going to be given was not going to be a popular ministry. And Paul suffered much not simply because he became a follower of Christ, but because of the ministry he was given as to the truth of the one body and the heavenly calling of the believer. And I believe that in the measure in which you and I seek to walk in the good of Paul's ministry.
And we seek to practically express what is brought before us in Paul's epistles in our lives. We're going to find that it's not going to be popular and I'm going to dare to say it not simply in the world as far as the ungodly, but amongst the Christian testimony. You know, Paul at the end of his life had to say all they in Asia have turned from me.
They hadn't turned from following the Lord necessarily, but they had turned from Paul. Now I know that was true physically in Paul's day, but we can take the application. I believe the moral application there is that in the measure in which we seek to follow what Paul sets before us by inspiration, we can't expect to be popular even in amongst other believers.
And but, and yet Paul could say to the Ephesian elders in the 20th chapter.
While he had had in every city bonds and afflictions, and he served the Lord with many tears and so on, he spoke of finishing his course with joy. There was a joy in the heart and soul of Paul at the end of his ministry, and you and I can finish our course with joy if we seek by grace to walk in the practical good of what Paul presents to us. I think that's what it means.
Uh, Jim and Colossians, chapter one.
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Where Paul is speaking about, uh, being made a minister and he says in verse 424, now rejoice in my sufferings for you fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church where I am made a minister. Suffering is not something pleasant.
But it is something necessary since we live in a world we're passing through, a world where Satan is its God and Prince. We're going to have to suffer. And it is in suffering there is the proper testimony to our heavenly calling.
Judaism was a religion given for people in this world.
It was something recognized in the Earth.
And the constant effort of the enemy is to make Christianity something great in this world too. But it isn't that, brethren. We are called to heaven in heavenly glory. And I think that's why Paul suffered and why he was such a tremendous instrument of suffering, because he brought in the heavenly calling of the church, and that was bitterly opposed.
By those who wanted to make it something great in this world, then even today if you say you don't get into politics, that's not our sphere.
You're looked down upon by Christians, they said. That's your duty to get involved in the political world and do what's right. And they refer back to those in the Old Testament, like Daniel, like Joseph, who were high in the political world.
But that was in a time when it was, uh, the calling of the people of God was in this world, but we are called to heavenly glory. So there is a particular reproach connected with it. It's not easy, but it is real, brethren.
We should make it clear too that we don't court suffering or persecution. We don't go out and look for opportunities to suffer. I know there are some that feel some Christians that feel we need to go out and look for opportunities to suffer and create those opportunities and so on. That's not the thought, is it? And you find in this very chapter, Solitarsis wasn't courting persecution. He didn't live on the edge, so to speak, on purpose.
And when there was a difficulty, they let him down out of the basket and he escaped. He God gives us wisdom as as well. But the thought the the point is, while we don't court persecution or go out and look for opportunities to suffer in the measure in which we are faithful to Christ and the truth of God, there will be those opportunities not because we looked for them, but because we were faithful to Christ.
My mother-in-law had a little text on the wall.
And she asked me to repair it about 30 two years ago, needed a little bit of work on it and it was just very simply.
No cross, no crown, and it made a deep impression on me at the time. No cross, no crowns. But I think here in connection with the Apostle Paul at the beginning of his testimony for the Lord, it was for his namesake.
It was the name of the Lord Jesus that he had hated, but now there was no more name that was more precious to him. And it's the name of Christ that we ought to adorn and to mention upon our lips as we love and have affection for that blessed one. And as you think of it, it cost Paul his life to give you this, these epistles that we have, the 14 epistles that he wrote. It cost him his life. He suffered even unto death, and it cost the Lord Jesus.
But as you say, not to court umm, a persecution, but ineffection to mention the name of the Lord Jesus in a faithful way.
00:55:11
It's interesting that the Lord Jesus, the end of his pathway, seemed to, as far as life down here in this world is concerned, seemed to be a total failure.
Same is the case with the Apostle Paul when he is encouraging Timothy at the end that all those in Asia have turned away from me. Seemed like it was a total failure in his life.
Brethren, it's not to make something great down here that we are here. We are called to heaven, heavenly glory. And so if it seems like things are not.
That nice down here is because God is preparing us for something greater up there.
John the Baptist was another, wasn't it? You know, he might have thought his ministry was a failure. In fact, he says he was a voice of one crying in the wilderness. And I often think you get out in the wilderness place and start talking. You say, well, nobody's listening to me. Nobody. Nobody's here to hear me. But the Lord placed the value on his ministry. And that's what we need to do, is serve the Lord in whatever he gives us and leave it for his commendation.
And the Lord said of John the Baptist, there had not risen a greater than John the Baptist. John might have felt his ministry was a failure, but the Lord placed the proper value on it. I just want to say too, that Paul, Saul of Tarsus here, when he goes to up to Jerusalem, they're afraid of him. Well, he can well imagine why they don't take him in right away. Did he let that discourage him know he had Christ before him now? And I just want to say in a practical way, maybe sometimes you try to do something for the Lord.
And you say, well, nobody appreciates it. They just don't accept me for what I what I am and just you get discouraged. This didn't discourage Paul. He had some lessons to learn and he seemed to realize that it was going to take time to gain the confidence of his brother. And you know, it does take time to gain the confidence of your brethren. Sometimes you do something from for the Lord and maybe your brethren are a little skeptical. Maybe there's been something in your past and they just find it hard to say. Has there really been that kind of a change? And is that per.
Really directed for the Lord now, but give it time. Let the Lord, let the Lord work. The Lord worked in the hearts of these brethren eventually, so they recognize that there was a real work work of God. But don't be discouraged by what seems to be the negative attitude and reaction of your brethren so often. Leave that again for the commendation of the Lord.
Just like.
Comment to that thought too oftentimes as especially as we're young, we we would like to understand the Lord's ways and the circumstances that arise in our past. And many times it's not for us to understand what God is doing. And it may be that at some future time will understand a few things, but it's best for us to pray for the peace that passes understanding.
And.
If, if we can follow your Lord. And, and if we're talking about going through the school of God, and there's often times as we're going through the school of God, especially when we're young, that we just don't understand the Lord's way. We would like to be able to understand, but it's better if we learn.
The peace that passes under. There's something better than understanding the Lord's ways. That's the peace that the Lord gives that passes understanding.
I'd like to just read, uh, second Timothy chapter 2 and verse 15. And this is a part of the thing, part of, uh, what will help us to understand God's ways with us and appreciate them. Second Timothy 2 and verse 15. Study to show thyself approved unto God, a Workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the worst of word of truth. Well, you notice here that.
Saul spent three years in Arabia and Damascus, but then he spent two years in Tarsus. Now why does God tell us this?
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Tarsus was a city of learning. It was also the place that he was from. And so there needed to be a testimony before his own brethren in his own home, as he was there before as, uh, Saul of Tarsus in a different way. But now he was going to render a different testimony. And I believe the Lord allowed him to be there in Tarsus, that city of learning, that he might study the word in a different way, and he needed to be in the word.
I'll just say this is an encouragement. Perhaps there's a young brother as a young person just wants to do a little bit for the Lord, spend time in the Word and, uh, study to show thyself approved unto God. So Paul learned, read the word of God in a different way, and he was there in parses for two years.
I've been impressed in this 18th and 19th verse where, uh, Paul gets his initial introduction to the Saints and to the things of God according to the revelation of God, much further than what he had as a Jew.
And, uh, immediately.
In verse 18.
He was to receive a sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost and immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scaled. So now he is receptive to take in the things of God and he received sight was the first thing in verse 18 he received sight.
He received it. There it was. He was exposed to it, just as we all are.
In Western civilization, which is called Christendom, even as we are, as we grow up in the home, especially receiving these things from our parents and hearing them in the assembly, they were before the Apostle Paul. What did he do with it? Well, there are two options you can.
You can, uh, put your finger in your ear or you can receive it. And he received it. It was there and he received it forthwith, not with hesitation. He was ready now to receive these things. And so he did. Then he arose. That takes energy. And he was baptized. Well, this is something that he didn't put off until he felt like it.
There was the opportunity and he was baptized. That's the putting in the place of death the old man. There's no profit for him in that in the old man anymore. And so he is baptized. Then there's the third thing he was he received me in verse 19. It was there was provided for him at the place where he was taken.
He had the opportunity for it.
And again, he didn't sleep through it. He diligence himself, opened his ears to listen to these things. There was meat there, and he received it.
And in doing that and what he had already previously done.
Receiving sight, baptism received me. He was strengthened.
And so are we as we take in the Scriptures. These are vital. These things are vital. That's why we're having these reading meetings and that's why.
That opens the Bible in the evening and the family and reads and explains these things. It's a tremendous Bible school, the home when you have Christian parents that bring these things before you.
So he was strengthened.
Then was Paul, Saul, certain days with the disciples. That's the collective side. He he chose his friends. This is important. He chose his friend. He was with them.
He picked who he was going to be with. There was the opportunity, of course they were there. And so it is with each of us here and this is, this is such a vital thing.
He trafficked now with the disciples.
Who are we going to spend our time with when we have the opportunity to spend time, you know, when we're not at work or at school and even there, there are opportunities.
When I was in the Navy, in a squadron, there were 30 people there.
01:05:02
I think there was only one other believer that I knew of.
But the fellow that I flew with, I was in the back seat, he was in the front. Spent two cruises flying with that man. He got saved.
And one of the persons that I was in the same stateroom with the department on the ship.
He got saved and they're still going on for the Lord.
And they're picking those, uh, with whom they will associate with the disciples.
And then there is finally, as just a flowing forth from this in verse 20, straightway he preached Jesus in the synagogues. Well, he knew that was going to be hard work. He knew what goes on in the synagogues and how that would be received. But with the boldness of faith and character, he did it anyway.
He preached Christ in Jesus in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
His person.
Well, there are six or seven things in these just short two or three verses, I think that we can lay hold up with both hands and make them our own. And it's the life that's profitable that now is.
Like to say a word in the end of verse 17.
One of the things that.
Ananias said to Saul is that he would be filled with the Holy Ghost, and it's interesting in the book of the Acts to see how often it mentions those who are filled with the Holy Spirit.
In the book of Ephesians chapter 5, we find an exhortation in that connection that I think is helpful for us.
Says in verse 18.
518 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord.
Every believer has the Spirit of God dwelling in him, but.
Question of filling of the Spirit of God. There's a responsibility on our part and I think that's why it's given an Ephesians as an exhortation be filled with the Spirit. Sometimes we are filled with other things that impede the Spirit of God. Filliness says in John chapter three. I think it is God giveth not the Spirit by measure.
And we are the ones that determine, Are we going to let the Spirit of God fill us?
Oh, it's a beautiful thing when you see a person that is so occupied with Christ. There seems to be the filling of the Holy Spirit. Don't say that we should be occupied with ourselves, but that's God's desire is to fill these vessels of ours with His Spirit.
Steven was one who was filled with the Spirit of God and it's interesting in Acts chapter 6 to see some of the characteristics that are mentioned about those filled with the Spirit of God noticed in chapter six of the Acts verse 3.
Wherefore, brethren, look ye out seven men of honest report. These are the deacons that we're going to do serve the tables.
Full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.
Wisdom is characteristic of them.
Verse five, the same place, the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost. There's another characteristic full of faith and the Spirit of God and then verse.
Eight and Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles amongst the people.
01:10:01
But in Chapter 7 you find him at the end of his life there and his testimony. Verse 55 of Chapter 7, He being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. Person that is filled with the Spirit of God is not occupied with himself.
Nor even with the Spirit of God. He's occupied with the Lord Jesus. And so Stephen looks up and he's filled with the Holy Spirit.
So God wants us to be filled with the Spirit of God. That's His desire. What are we allowing in our lives that impedes Him filling us completely with His Spirit? Sometimes give the illustration in that verse and that and Ephesians 5 says be not filled with wine. Wherein is excess person that's filled with wine?
You can tell it.
By the way they walk and by the way they talk.
Person that's filled with the Spirit in the same way, brethren, by the way they walk and by the way they talk.
May the Lord help us that we would be filled with the Spirit.
I think that's very important because there's a lot of emphasis on spirit field as a self occupying or being occupied with the Spirit of God. There's a verse, a couple of verses in John 16 that give us the ministry of what the Spirit of God is. That might help us to to see that it's not being occupied with the Holy Spirit itself that makes us full of the Holy Spirit.
It's, uh, really, umm, the Spirit of God is, well, let's read the verse here, uh, John 16, John's Gospel chapter 16 and verse 13.
Albeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth. For He shall not speak of himself or from Himself, but whatsoever he shall hear that shall He speak. Then He will show you things to come. He shall glorify me, that's Christ, or He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you, and so on.
This this Lord Jesus gave in his dissertation to the apostles before he left in connection with the Holy Spirit coming down. And it tells us the mission, what the purpose of the Spirit of God is. And so that when we're filled with the Spirit, totally guided by it, we're not talking about the Spirit itself nor ourselves. We're.
Occupied with Christ and the things that concern him, this is the mission of the Spirit of God. And so it's good. It's it's Christ in glory, that sense, the Spirit that is before us.
Just in that, sorry, but go ahead. Just like to add, Brother Bob, there's three other things in the portion that you read in Ephesians chapter 5. You have verse 1920 and 21. I'll just read them. It says speaking to yourselves in psalms and Psalms and hymns.
And spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submitting yourselves 1 to another in the fear of God. So you have those three things that are really evidence of being filled with the Spirit. You have a joyful spirit, you're joyful in the Lord, and then you're thankful to the Lord. It says spirit of Thanksgiving and thankfulness for what he's done. And then their submission. It's not the will at work, but a spirit of submission because we love one another.
Those two things.
Just say also, too, in connection with these comments, that what Doug brought before us is perhaps summed up again in the Upper Room ministry. But in the end of the 15th chapter, when he speaks of the Spirit of God, he says He shall testify of me.
And then I was thinking of what Bob pointed out in the in the 7th of Acts in connection with Stephen. You know, it's interesting that Steven, when he looks up, he's occupied with the man in the glory as a man full of the Spirit. And then Bob, you're talking about what we say in the very next verse. He opens his mouth in his last testimony on earth and he says, behold, I see heaven open. Doesn't say I'm full of the Spirit. You ever hear somebody tell you they're full of the Spirit?
01:15:23
I doubt whether they're full of the Spirit if they're telling you so, but Stephen, a man full of the Holy Ghost last testimony, and what a testimony it was. He says, behold, I see heaven open and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God. Now if someone comes to you and brings you something of Christ and occupies you with Christ and the man in the glory, then maybe you can say, well, there's a man full of the Spirit, not because he told you he was full of the Spirit, but because he was so occupied with Christ in glory.
That he couldn't help but share it with you and that is a great mark of someone who is filled with the Spirit.
That they are sharing something of Christ with others, whether it's in testimony, in the gospel, or in sharing with one another as believers.
We can thankfully say that in a large way that characterized it also fall throughout his life. And he was faithful in many ways. Uh, and he threw him. We received the teaching, the revelation of these things, not just in a teaching format, but in an exemplified way in his life that went along with what he taught. That's consistent in, in a great measure. We can be thankful for it. And so that's why the apostle Paul's ministry is, is so important to us.
In this day, the closing days of the church that its occupation with Christ and glory, uh, that will preserve us on. And the Lord has gathered the people, uh, to his name that are aware of these truths and in feebleness seek to carry it on in this day. And this is a great heritage of truth that we have.
As gathered to the Lord and seeking in much failure we know, but yet in a certain appreciation of our relationship with Christ and bearing witness of it in our lives, and may the Lord keep us and that these things not be given up. It's so easy to in a practical way, give up the reality of our relationship with Christ.
Not that we ever lose our relationship, but that we can lose the enjoyment of our relationship to him by becoming earthly minded here on earth. And that's the great effort of Satan. We have a, a glamorous world out there. Uh, there's a lot of things to do.
Your your days can be so full of occupation with things that aren't necessarily bad in themselves, but they are just earthly things.
And they don't bring us into the good and blessing of our relationship with the Lord Jesus in heaven. And so they are a hindrance to us. And so we are. We ought to appreciate Paul's ministry as it's initiated here in these early chapters of the Acts.
Might be nice just to comment on the last verse that we read here. In verse 31 it says then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria and were edified walking in the fear of the Lord and in comfort of the Holy Ghost were multiplied. I'd just like to point out in Isaiah chapter 32 a verse that we know well in verse 17 it says the work of righteousness shall be peace and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.
Now we know that they have a little bit of rest. There was a time of peace that the Lord allowed for the assembly, and we ought to be thankful for those times of rest and peace. But there was going to be further conflict later on. But the Lord allowed that there was a restful time. How thankful we can be for it, and we yearn for it and seek to present those opportunities in the assembly not to trouble the Saints and to desire that there would be a peace among our brethren.
Danger of Feeding on a Victory as a Source of Strength
The Lord Having Companions in His Work
The Character of the Lord Jesus
Honey & Meal, He Called, Gave & Sent, The Open Ear
Open—D. Buchanan, R. Boulard, L. Smith
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I'd like to share a few thoughts.
We've been singing about being led on.
We've had a wonderful conference. Lord has given us good ministry.
My own soul has been encouraged.
And, uh, there's.
It's been said, well said, that.
The most the time we're in danger, the most vulnerable is right after we've had a victory.
And I would like to look at 2 portions in scripture that would, uh, give us a contrast.
In the life of Samson and then our Lord Jesus as a contrast. So if we turn to Judges chapter 14.
Judges, chapter 14, verse 8.
This is speaking about Sampson.
And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion. And behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion.
And he took thereof in his hands and went on eating.
And came to his father and mother, and he gave them.
They did eat, but he told them not. He told not them, that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion.
Now let's go on and read in John's Gospel, and then we'll come back to this.
Chapter 4.
And verse 31.
In the meanwhile, this is the Lord Jesus. His disciples prayed him, saying Master eat.
But he said unto them, I have meat to eat, that ye know not of.
Therefore said the disciples, 1 to another, hath anyone brought him aught to eat?
Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, there are yet four months, and then cometh harvest. Behold, I say unto you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, for they are white, are ready to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathers fruit unto eternal life, life eternal.
That both he that soweth and he.
That reapeth may rejoice together.
We have here.
Two occasions where we might say there was a victory.
Samson had had a victory.
A lion had had come at him in the way, and he had been victorious, and he had slain the lion.
But afterwards we see that he went back to check it out.
And when he did that?
He found something there, and he took it. It was honey. It was sweetness.
And I would look, I would look at this as an example of after we've had a victory.
And then we go back and contemplate it and feed on it.
As a source of enjoyment.
Our victory.
00:05:02
It's a dangerous thing to do that.
It was unclean for him to do that.
He should not have done that.
In fact, if he'd have kept his Nazarite ship, he would not have done that.
He was separated to serve the Lord.
It's a wonderful thing to enjoy the victories that the Lord has given us, but to go back and to feed on them as a source of strength or a source of sweetness is dangerous.
Enjoyment with the Lord's different matter, but to feed on something that you've had a part in.
A success story or a or a victory that the Lord has wrought in your life.
We ought to lay it at the Savior's feet and thank Him.
And not let it become a source.
Of feeding and strength.
The result of Samson doing this was he went down and he gradually lost his Nazarite ship, his separation to Jehovah and his strength.
And his heart was enticed in other things. This was the beginning of a pathway.
That started out, you might say, in such a simple matter.
But what a contrast we have in John's Gospel with the Lord Jesus.
Let's turn over and notice it.
The Lord Jesus in this chapter.
I just finished a conversation with the woman that said when he sat on the well of Samaria.
A soul had been delivered.
And brought into a relationship with himself.
And that this dear woman had just gone into the city and said, come see a man, which told me all things at ever I did.
It was the beginning of a work. We might say it was a victory.
Deliverance.
In that city.
And now that now it's over and the Lord Jesus is sitting alone there.
His disciples come along and they have bought food.
And if we might look at it like this.
These disciples are saying it's time to celebrate.
I know it doesn't say that there, but I'm reading this into it. At least they're saying it's a time to eat.
And the Lord Jesus uses these, it might seem, strange words. And what does he mean by them? He says, I have to, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
I believe his soul was rejoicing in that moment.
But he wasn't feeding on a victory.
Himself, his meat to eat. Wasn't just that a woman.
Had been converted. I believe he's referring to his enjoyment of the joy with his father in seeing that blessing there.
And that was his meat to feed on.
And he would refuse the natural food. He wouldn't feed on natural sweetness.
There was nothing natural sweetness for him there. He was a man of a stranger. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
This world had no natural sweetness for him. He couldn't find a bride here on Earth in that condition.
He's going to get a bride, but the natural sweetness for him was not to be obtained at that moment.
What his soul would feed on is.
Rejoicing with his father in doing his will.
00:10:07
The will of the Father, his soul was completely taken up with that.
This could have been a snare to many a man at this moment when a soul had just been delivered and brought into a relationship as a worshipper even, and going out and telling the men of the city.
But how guarded and how holy is the Lord Jesus? How perfect he is at this moment, a victory. And so he says these words with that thought.
The disciples don't understand this communion and enjoyment he had with his Father at this time, and they asked about the food and anybody.
Brought him food. But he wasn't referring to natural food. He was referring to spiritual food. He was referring to the enjoyment he had with his father.
In seeing blessing, yes.
But not that his soul would lower himself down to that act and appropriate it to himself as a as independent of God, the source of of a of a dependent man in action here.
In service to his fellow men, and so the Lord Jesus.
It is food for his soul.
I suppose you could say it on in a sense it took away his appetite for natural food. I think all of us have ex experienced occasions like that when we're so, so rejoicing with the Lord that the things of Nat of nature, they lose their their attraction. Not that we can live our life without eating. We do have to eat, the Lord knows that. But we don't eat bread unless the Lord gives it to us. You know, that was one of the temptations.
At the very beginning of the ministry of the Lord.
And the Lord answered in perfection when he was presented with the hunger, and he was presented with making stones into bread by Satan. And so and so beautifully he he, he soul is perfect, and holy and obedient.
Man shall not live by bread alone.
Just because you can make stones into bread doesn't mean you should do it, neither because you're hungry doesn't mean that you must eat right now. God will give you bread when you need bread. God will give you joy in your heart when you need joy, God will sustain you. This is perfection of obedience and the time that it's we're most susceptible to it is right when we've had a reason to celebrate and a victory and.
We're apartment to go for it. We're apartment to let down our guard. We're apartment to imbibe something without saying. Lord is it for me now?
He did and so that's the perfection that the Lord Jesus here.
Well, the uh, my meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work.
Every one of us has a work to do.
We're, we've, we've as we're ahead, our batteries recharged here spiritually, we've been energized, we've been blessed. We are encouraged and we felt, uh, the Lord's blessing upon us in many, many ways. We're thanked for it. May the Lord help us now as we go on our home, on our ways to, to remember this, that.
Our delight is not in just seeing the blessing.
But our delight ought to be with the blesser.
The Lord Jesus in that sense never departed from the bosom of the Father in this Gospel. He always remained there. He was always consciously aware of his Father and his relationship with him as showing the Father what the Father was like, so we would know, and so he so in.
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For him to take and imbibe that victory at that moment without going back and rejoicing for the Father would have been a wrong action for him.
I delight to do thy will.
And to finish his work, it wasn't finished yet.
He wasn't finished till he was hanging on the cross.
Then he said it's finished.
It's a hard path.
Wasn't an easy path. It wasn't full of always seeing victories, apparently.
Souls blessed and our life may not be that way either. We don't know what the Lord has things come along and test our faith and those difficulties prove themselves to be opportunities to show these kind of things that the Lord puts in our pathway. And so I just, I just woke up this morning thinking about this.
Uh, portion something happened here that brought it before me here at these conference and, uh.
I enjoy thinking about the Savior doing the will of the Father and his heart rejoicing in that. And then it goes on and it brings out one more point there and that was this, that the Lord Jesus recognized that he wasn't the only one in the participating in this ministry and he told the disciples.
I sent you.
Umm, well, I'm skipping over verse 35, but verse 36?
He that reapeth receive his wages, and gathers fruit unto life eternal.
That both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
In in this I thought, I see that the Lord Jesus recognized even in all his perfection, he wasn't the only one used on this day to bring fruit to God to reap souls here for blessing. Others had labored and what he did was a fulfillment of that and what he was sending out his disciples to do. You know, every one of us were just a little piece of the big, the whole picture, a small piece.
And when there is blessing, remember there are others that have participated in it too. And so it would be wrong for us to claim all this for ourselves as our work, that we've had such an important part in it.
Now, if the Lord gives us to see a part in it, yes, there's there's a place to rejoice with the Father in it. But don't claim the whole thing as your home. Others have labored John the Baptist. Think of him how he sowed.
And labored and, uh, his life was taken from him. He didn't see all the fruit The Lord Jesus and his disciples can carried it on and finished the work. And so it is in our day too. Well, this these, those two little thoughts that might carry with us.
Just like to turn to Luke's Gospel Chapter 9 and just read the 1St 6 verses.
Luke Chapter 9 and verse one.
Then he called his 12 disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves nor script, neither bread, neither money, neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house you enter into there abide, and thence depart. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust.
From your feet for a testimony against them and they departed and went through the towns preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. While we know that the disciples were sent to preach the gospel of the Kingdom. And here in this little passage of scripture of just enjoyed in connection with the Lord Jesus and his love for his disciples love for his earthly people that there was a divine choice that he made in that was that he called.
His 12 disciples and then a little further, the second line here, it says and gave them power and then it says he sent, then it says he said. And then when they were fully fitted, it says they departed. And I think this is a lovely order here because the Lord Jesus in his grace, in his wonderful desire to have companions in the work, chose these different ones. I just want to refer to, uh.
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Uh, Mark's gospel chapter, uh, I think it's uh, chapter 3 in verse 14, we have a similar, the similar account here. And it Mark is often is the case, he adds a little bit of detail, something that, uh, Luke doesn't add, but umm, Mark chapter 3, verse 13, he goeth up into a mountain and call us unto him whom he would. And they came unto him, and he ordained 12 or he appointed 12.
That they should be with him.
Lovely. You know, the Lord Jesus as we've just had before us, a perfect example in his work and his will to do the will of the Father, uh, one man, God's man that never had a desire that was out of communion with his Father. And here the Lord desired that there would be those that would accompany him in the work. And uh, you know, it says in the 102nd Psalm, it says that I am alone.
I'm not gonna quote it right, so I'm gonna have to turn to it.
102nd Psalm verse six. I am like a Pelican of the wilderness. I'm like an owl of the desert. I watch and am as a Sparrow alone upon the house talk. Mine enemies reproach me all the day, and they that are mad against me are sworn against me. Oh, how the Lord delighted to have the companionship of those disciples. And if you and I and I just want to say as a word of encouragement.
To those particularly a burden on my heart is those of you that are younger, younger men, younger sisters in the Lord. It's a worthy thing to, uh, desire to be a companion of the Lord and that these twelve, they had been with him before. They knew what it was to be in the presence of the Lord and the Lord desired their companionship. The Lord really does desire your companionship and if we have any desire at all, to walk in communion with himself.
To be in his presence, why he's going to perhaps if we make ourselves available to him, there may be that opportunity that he will take to use us in some small way. But here it says in Chapter 9 and verse one that he called his 12 disciples together. And so there was a a divine choice, a call that he made. And we just read in the reading meetings in connection with the apostle Paul, we know that Moses, it was the same thing.
And, uh, Joseph and others of the Old Testament Saints, and they were called of God right at the right time, prepared of him to do just a little work for him. And then it says he gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases. And so, you know, he gives not only the authority for the work that goes out and for the gospel of the grace of God that is preached and for the ministry of the truth of God in the assembly.
And in different places, but he gives the ability to do that work.
And it's of himself. And so the apostle Paul could say, what hast thou that thou hast not received of him? Let's just look at that. It's First Corinthians chapter 4 and it's in, I believe, in this context.
And.
Chapter 4. First Corinthians 4.
And.
Verse seven For who maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it widest, thou glory as if thou hast not received it. And so when the Lord gives a gift, he gives the ability, he gives the authority, and he gives us a heart desire to to go and to do a little work for himself. And then it says, he sent them to preach the Kingdom of God. He sent them. There was a divine Commission.
And we read of how Paul saw when he was Saul. I think I was looking at the meaning of those names recently. And Saul means little. It also means unrestrained, unrestrained Saul. And he lived in unrestrained desire of the flesh to persecute the church. But then, you know, once he became a believer and was.
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Fitted, fully fitted by the Savior for the work that he was going to carry out. The Lord changes that one letter and his name. It means Paul means restrained. So he went from being unrestrained to restrained by the Spirit of God and your life and mind. How we need the restraint of the Spirit of God, how we need the restraint and to go as it was in the Old Testament. They went to Gilgal after the victory and there was a cutting off of the flesh.
And we know that, uh, in Mark's gospel chapter six, I think it is after this event, this calling, we have umm, in verse 30, Mark chapter 6, verse 30, it says the apostles gathered them together, themselves together unto Jesus and told them all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. Isn't that lovely to, uh, go and just perhaps to a little something that you had on your heart to do for the Lord?
And umm, and then get along with him, tell him about it, tell him what you said, tell him what you did. And it's lovely here that, uh, in the record of scripture, as we see this, uh, little event take place, we don't have any record of what they actually did. We don't have any record of what they actually all the things that took place in Luke Chapter 9, it's, uh, it says, umm, in verse 10, the same event, he says he took them and went aside privately into the desert place. And so we need to get along with the Lord.
Even though there is a little work that might have been done for himself. But then it says in verse three that he said unto them, he gave them instructions. And this is so important too, isn't it, that the Word of God gives us instruction as to how we should conduct ourselves in what we do and how we do it. And so in the Christian era it's a little bit different and we have instruction that's given to us in the epistles as to how our work might be acceptable unto the Lord.
And we need to go to the word of God and receive that instruction. I believe that this is really what Paul was getting. Or Saul, when he was two years in Tarsus, he was, uh, over the word of God And, uh, he learned what it was in the presence of God, how to serve in a right way. And then he went to serve and he went to Antioch. And he wasn't as prominent at the beginning of that work among the Gentiles as Barnabas was. And so Barnabas.
Took the lead and he labored with the apostle.
And so how necessary it is for us to take note of the words of the Lord Jesus and the instruction that's given in the Word of God, that we might not labor in a way that is unfit for the holiness of God and might not be productive. I'll just point out one little scripture.
In umm, uh, I think it's Deuteronomy chapter 22 in this connection.
As being mentioned earlier, that it's nice to have the fellowship of our brethren and our laborers. And umm, he says, umm, here in this Old Testament passage, Deuteronomy chapter 22, he gives instruction. He says in verse 9, Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds or two different kinds of seeds, lest the fruit of ice seed which thou has sown and the seed, the fruit of thy vineyard be defiled.
Or in a new translation it says 4 footed.
And so the fruit and the seed ought to be pure.
And so we need to sew. And the vineyard speaks of a private little work, perhaps a little work in the Lord's vineyard and a place of fruitfulness for the Lord. But it's to be with the seed of faith and in obedience to the Word of God. It's not to be mixed with the energy of the flesh and the ways of the natural man, how he does things. And then it says, if we use the flesh fleshly means to try to accomplish a spiritual end. Why? It says.
The seed which less the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard be defiled, are forfeited.
And so we might go, and we might preach the gospel and involve ourselves and.
And umm, in a mixed work, if I could use that terminology and preach with those that maybe are not sound in doctrine and so on. And so souls might get saved. But if we do something in a mixed way, not according to the truth of the word of God, the wisdom of God, why the fruit might be forfeited. We might not get that reward at the end of the journey. But then it says in verse six, they departed and it takes spiritual energy. We had that word before us in the passages that we had in the.
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New Testament in, in the book of Acts, Paul arose and when you have that term given in the New Testament, oftentimes it means spiritual energy arose with spiritual energy and energy that he didn't have before. And there is a time to arise up into, uh, begin that work. And so I just want to encourage you that our young men in the assemblies that you are in, we need to be very careful not to rise up and try to usurp the, uh, place that our older brethren that God has given our older brethren. But there is a time when we begin to take up.
The responsibility in the assembly and to seek to, umm, offer a prayer to the Lord in uh, in weakness, but independence upon the Lord and try to do it for him and uh, perhaps give out to him, uh, perhaps read a scripture and it says in the book of the Proverbs, the fear of man bringeth a snare. And so often times, uh, I've in my own soul sat in the presence of the Lord, perhaps on the Lord's Day morning or something, and still do it. And, uh, just.
Speak with the Lord and say just how weak I feel. But if it was, I will that I take any little part at all. Give me the strength and not me not be afraid of man. And so we need to encourage, encourage you in that way. But here we need to feed upon Christ and remember the instructions that he's given and labor in a right way. Now I just want to very briefly mention that there were four things that, uh, in connection with Moses when he was called of God to do a little work.
And he offered as our brother Don mentioned some umm, objections. So Exodus chapter 3 and, uh, verse one or verse 11, it says, Moses said unto God, who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt. And he said, the Lord said, certainly I will be with thee, and this shall be a token unto thee, well, that I have sent thee.
When thou has brought forth the people of the out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. While the first objection that he has is really in connection with humility. And he learned his lesson in the wilderness, that he really was nothing, and he still perhaps had to learn that God was everything, but it was an objection. And he said, Who am I? Well, this is a good attitude that Moses had. I believe the Lord respected this, but he answered Moses, and he said really that he would be sufficient for the.
Journey and that umm, there would be a time when they would come and they would serve God on that very mountain. And so he answers the objection and love and kindness. And you might have an objection and think that you're just so weak. It's a wonderful thing to have a sense of our weakness and the sense of the strength of the Lord. But then he has a second objection and he says in verse 13, Moses said unto God, Behold, when I am come unto the children of Israel and shall say unto them.
The God of your Father's hath sent me unto you, and they say unto me, What is his name?
What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you. And so Moses says, What authority do I have to go and to speak to the children of Israel? They won't hear me because they won't. They won't think that I have the authority to speak to them on this lovely. The Lord just says, I am that I am. And he says, I've given you the authority. And that's not an objection, you just need to go.
Encourage and mention my name before my people and then you have the third objection in chapter 4.
Of Exodus verse one he says, Moses answered and said, But behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice, for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. And the Lord said unto him, What is in thine hand. And he said, Iran. And then he gives them three signs. We don't have time to go over those 3 signs. But I just say this, that you know Moses distrusted the ones that he was going to be sent to. He distrusted man.
And he said, umm, they will not believe me nor hearken unto my voice. And sometimes that's how we are. You know, we think the Lord has given us a little something that we desire to just, you know, simple affection for Christ and obedience to his word, a love for the people of God, just to seek to do a little work for him, perhaps just in the little assembly or in the Sunday school work, whatever it might be. And umm, we distrust how others will react. And this is how Moses was he distressed, distrusted men, destroyed, distrusted the heart of those that were his brethren, and when he went to them and how they would react to the message.
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That they wouldn't believe him and that those that were he was being sent to Pharaoh and so on wouldn't believe him. And umm, why God says he answers this objection and he gave him these three signs that would be a testimony of the power of God and that would overcome this objection. Well, the 4th objection that he had in verse 10, it says Moses said unto the Lord, Oh my Lord, I am not eloquent.
Neither heretofore nor since thou has spoken unto thy servant, but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? Who who maketh? The dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. And he said, Oh, my Lord, I send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, while we know the end of that, that Aaron was called to go with Moses.
But this 4th objection, you know, it's, he tested the patience of the Lord and the Lord got angry with Moses. He called him to do a work. He gave him the authority for that work. And he knew that he didn't trust the ones that he was going to be sent to. And he answers that objection, gives him the three signs to show to those that he was going to be sent to. But he just didn't have the courage. And I just say this to those of us.
That are younger in the faith and those perhaps that are a little bit older and haven't really, uh, put their hand to the plow, if I could use that term. And the Lord, perhaps you have a sense that he just wants you to do a little something for him. Maybe teach that Sunday school class, maybe just, uh, uh, just a little work somewhere.
And he's, uh, perhaps you feel a special call of the Lord to do it and, umm, it's there is such a thing as dragging our feet and, uh.
Not trusting the Lord for how he's fitted us to do that work. And so these four objections Moses gives and then he, the Lord gives them Aaron to go with him as a companion. Well, we know that there was failure because Aaron was one that fell into idolatry along with the children of Israel. But I just thought that we had it on my heart to just look at these four things in connection with the Lord Jesus and how he called I just.
Look at them again, Chapter 9.
Of loop to just summarize that he called, He gave, he sent, he said, and they departed. What a lovely spirit. They departed. They went in obedience and submission to as well. Well may the Lord give us to have a desire to be used and himself and tell Him that we want to be used in this day of weakness and that we have affection for Him and do do want to.
Build up the little testimony and just be a help to our brethren and help in the gospel work.
Yeah.
Turn with me, please, to Isaiah chapter 50.
Hmm.
Well, I think first let's turn to Hebrews chapter 10.
Hold your place there in Isaiah.
Stop.
Hebrews 10 and verse 8.
Well, no, I guess it's verse five. Sorry. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not.
00:40:07
But a body as thou prepared need.
Verse 7.
Then said I lo, I come.
To do thy will, O God.
Verse 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
In Psalm 40.
In verse.
6.
He reads sacrifice and offering. Thou didst not desire my nearest, hast thou opened?
Burnt offering and sin offering, hast thou not required? Then said I lo, I come.
In the volume of the book it is written of me. I delight to do thy will. Oh my God, yeah, Thy law is within my heart.
In Isaiah 50.
We see this body.
As we have a body in Hebrews and we have.
Ears opened verse 4.
The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.
He wakeneth morning by morning he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned or instructed.
Instructed the Lord God hath opened mine ear.
And I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.
One of the beautiful things we view in our Lord is the evenness.
Of his character.
Brother Doug mentioned.
That communion with the father.
And I've enjoyed meditating on this portion.
Let's look again and we'll hold our place there at John Chapter 8.
And he is speaking.
To Pharisees.
Verse 21.
Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and you shall seek me, and shall die in your sins. Whither I go, you cannot come.
Then said the Jews, will he kill himself, because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come.
And he said unto them.
Ye are from beneath.
I am from above.
Ye are of this world.
I am not of this world.
I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins, For if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
Yesterday we had a word.
From a brother about lukewarmness.
And we see here.
Stark contrast, don't we?
You're from beneath, I am from above.
You're this world. I'm not of this world.
Oh, before them is a person.
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Who dwells, as was mentioned earlier, in the bosom of the Father?
And they have no idea.
Who is speaking to them?
If he believed not that I am he, he shall die in your sins.
Verse 25 Then said They unto him, Who art thou?
And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.
Well.
Verse 28.
Then said Jesus unto them, When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall you know that I am He, and that I do nothing of myself.
But as my father hath taught me, I speak these things.
He that sent me is with me.
The Father hath not left me alone.
For I do always those things that please you.
Back to Isaiah 50.
When we think of our Lord Jesus dwelling in the bosom of the Father, those ears opened. I've enjoyed meditating on that, precious.
Instantaneous communion between Father and Son as we get in verse 6.
Can I think of that? Can you and I think of that.
As the father and the son in communion said today, son.
They're gonna smite your back.
I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to the neck, plucked off the hair.
Oh dear St. of God, think of the Lord Jesus.
That day, as in communion, he faced ever so many adversities.
From his creature as he dwelt in the bosom.
Of the Father.
Amazing evenness in his character, he is never surprised by anything.
In the Gospels is he?
You can hear the most awful things out of man, the most awful actions.
And yet our Lord Jesus.
Goes on.
With the perfect will.
Of God the bosom he dwelt in, sustained him in every step.
Verse six I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
Think of those last days as they wended their way to the cross, the sun in the bosom of the Father.
Sun today.
Tell the women, weep not for me.
Wait for your children.
If they do these things in a green tree, what will they do in the dry?
Speaking the words the Father gave him.
Verse 7.
For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded.
Therefore have I set my face like a Flint. I know I shall not be ashamed.
He is near that justifieth me.
Oh, think of that blessed one, precious child of God.
As you think of these words.
The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back verse 5.
As your.
I scan that verse and see the things your blessed Savior goes through.
Oh, let's a heart.
Go out in affection to that blessed man.
Very soon we're going to see beloved brethren.
No wonder he set his face as a Flint.
00:50:03
They refused him. In one city the disciples would call down fire from heaven says you don't know what spirit you're out.
He must go to the cross.
He must have you.
And I and there's only one way it can happen.
Those ears digged.
That heart.
Doing the perfect will of God.
Walking in perfect communion.
Being nailed to that cross, all those things measured in communion.
For the one who was the light of the world.
Knowing that it had.
You would hang.
In darkness.
Judged by God.
But on the way to that cross.
I am not alone.
The Father's with me.
John 14, we read.
He that hath seen me.
Has seen the father.
All this Blessed One is worthy to win every affection of every heart.
In this world.
Is there someone here that doesn't yet know the Savior?
Can you say this afternoon? Oh gaw.
I know I'm a Sinner.
Please.
Dig my ears.
To hear your will for me.
Help me to see by faith that blessed Savior who was obedient unto death.
Because he loved me.
MMM.
Our time is past gone.
There's so much you can pursue on your own.
In thinking.
The things the father shared with the son.
And the.
Went on in perfect obedience and confidence.
To the very end, and then in Hebrews, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross.
Despising the shame, oh what it was to enter.
The Father's presence, His perfect will accomplished.
Each one of you here.
Who knows the Lord Jesus as your Savior?
I was included.
In that will praise God.
Praise.
The Lord Jesus.
Can we just close in prayer?
Blessed Father and our God.
What a site.
When we look on thy blessed son.