Kentucky Conference: 2013
Table of Contents
Being Gathered to the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ
Address—Doug Buchanan
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
All right, well, I want to do this.
10, 10-4 93.
81 Shallow Hill Clerk and Clark, just like I'm leaving.
Can we look this morning right?
Blessed God, our Father.
We thank Thee for the relationship Thou has brought us into through the Lord Jesus Christ.
To be a special people, chosen to be loved and cared for.
Along our way, while we wait, our Savior who came once to save and is coming again to deliver.
And take us to that place where his thoughts prepare to place, and where thou, our God will be glorified in every sense of the word. And that we as a people would be so close.
As the bride of Christ.
The one who took our place on Calvary's cross in order to give us his place in thy house. Now, Lord, we're still on earth.
We have been committed many wonderful truths and blessings from our forefathers.
They've been handed down through the years to us, and our desire is to keep them, to honor thy name in the use of everything given to us.
And to shift the broad.
The love that was in thy heart to this world.
That is so filled with violence and corruption.
We believe, Lord, we're down to the near the end of the time.
When thy patients.
Will give place to.
Judgment.
This is a solemn thought.
And yet, Lord, it is a day of opportunity.
And so, Lord, we have some burdens on our heart today that we want to speak of. Help us to give expression.
00:05:01
Help us to take it in.
Help us to live it out in our lives practically.
We have so much.
We are so responsible, We are so privileged.
We thank you for this.
May we be worthy of it.
Bless us now as we open the Scriptures and guide us. We pray for the glory and honor of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.
I would like to speak this afternoon.
As one gathered to the Lord's name on the ground of the one body.
Of some of the practical ways that.
We who have received much truth.
By our forefathers who dug these things out and put them into practice, they've been handed down to us. Many of us are 3rd, 4th, and even 5th and 6th generations Christians that have been taught these things.
And yet I think there's a new generation, they're young ones among us that.
Need to hear these things.
We need to go back to our source.
The scriptures and connection with being gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus on the ground of the one body because there is always an effort of the enemy to.
Discredit. Destroy.
And otherwise ruin.
This truth that is the most dear to the heart of the Lord Jesus, that He would identify with human beings in order to have one body.
United to him for all eternity, like a marriage relationship.
About 180 years ago.
There were brethren from different areas that in.
Searching the scriptures.
Realized that to go on with the standard of Christianity that was in their days, the status quo of denominations with names and various creeds.
Was not God's best way to represent Him here on earth.
And so they came out of some of those systems.
And realize that.
The truth is that one body included all believers, and it was the basis, the ground upon which every believer had the right and privilege to meet.
And I'm going to touch on four points that I believe became very.
Real and precious to them and that are important for us to remember. Not that these are the four only points of the ground of gathering, but these are four things that I would like to call attention to.
And then I would like to go on.
And give some practical comments about how to properly represent these truths, because they're not just things that we have in our head or they're not just things that we speak about in meeting.
Or they're not just.
The meeting principles.
They are the basis upon which God has enabled us to be together like today, and united in a living way through the Holy Spirit to our Head, the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven.
The verse like Matthew 1820 for where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them, was one verse that became very important to those early brethren, and it has been a favorite and a very dear verse to many of us to see there that.
00:10:27
The name of the Lord Jesus is sufficient.
As a title, as a basis of coming together as Christians to give expression in our lives of what God has called us to.
That's why.
Over our meeting rooms, we don't have any denominational name.
The name of the Lord Jesus is sufficient.
As true a basis, a title.
A person around which to meet.
We don't need the other human organizational structures.
That are so prevalent.
In Christianity Today.
Do you believe in the Lord Jesus as your Savior? There is none other name under heaven.
Given among men, whereby we must be saved. I think everyone in this room, and probably most all Christians everywhere, would recognize that there's only one name that saves.
There's only one savior.
But how precious to realize.
There's only one name upon which to gather together.
We don't need the structural human support.
Of man's ways of gap keeping people united together.
And so the first point is the sufficiency or the supremacy of the Lord's name for gathering.
That's what our early brethren realized.
And so, from many different groups, as they came together to read the Scriptures, they realized that the name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, was sufficient.
And they gathered in that way, and they began breaking bread, according to Matthew 1820.
That Matthew 1820 isn't just a saying.
That we can hold to as true of everyone. It's a living reality that the Lord promises if we own Him in heaven, and only Him as the supreme name upon which to gather. He recognizes us in that capacity and identifies.
With those people.
We don't have a glory cloud that comes down and witnesses to all of this, but we can have an assurance of it in our souls.
That if we honor his name.
He never failed his people.
Another verse that we could turn to is First Corinthians 5 verse 4.
Do you want to turn to it in your Bible? As we cite these, you may. I'm going to read some of them rather quickly because there's quite a few scriptures I would like to go over to this afternoon. 1St Corinthians 5, verse four, and the part of the verse that says in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together in my spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul wrote this to the Corinthian assembly.
And this was true of them in that day.
Early brethren realized that, and so it is that over the years, we who gather in the name of the Lord Jesus owning His supremacy there.
00:15:08
This is a wonderful thing.
The second point.
Is obedience to the Word of God.
The whole scripture, not just taking a set of creeds out of the Bible and setting them up as the creed for your so-called group of brethren. That's not sufficient.
Its obedience to the whole were.
Paul could say, I have not shunned to declare unto you all the councils of God.
And so if we turn to Second Timothy, chapter one.
Paul in writing to Timothy.
Gives him an exhortation.
Second Timothy, chapter one and verse 13.
Have an outline of sound words.
Now I believe maybe this is the.
JND Translation.
I'm reading from my notes.
To help me.
Have an outline of sound words, which words thou hast heard of me in faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus.
Paul was largely the apostle that God used to reveal to us church truth.
The ground of gathering Paul was the apostle that God or the Lord Jesus first revealed the truth of the one body.
Too, on the road to Damascus, when he was smitten there, the very first thing God said to him touched on this point, that Christ and his church, the assembly here on earth.
Is one body, and he said to Paul.
Saul saw Why persecutest thou me?
And Paul as an educated man.
Was wise enough to understand in those simple words.
The reality that Jesus in glory was alive and connected livingly with his people here on earth who Paul was persecuting.
The Lord Jesus.
In heaven after he went back to heaven 40 days after his work on the cross, and then ten days later on the day of Pentecost, sent the Holy Spirit down to unite us and baptize us together in one body. And that's when the Church began. That was the beginning of the one body.
He is ahead in heaven and we the members here on earth. This is the truth of the one body.
It's true of every believer, whether they realize it or not. The wonderful thing is to realize it and to walk in obedience to the Word of God.
Another verse that we could, could, uh, read and to give emphasis of the truth of God or the word of God is first Timothy 3. And again, this is, I'm going to read this one in the new cancellation, first Timothy 3 and verse 14 and 15.
These things I write to thee, hoping to come to thee more quickly, but if I delay, in order that thou mayest know how one ought to conduct himself in God's house, which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.
The Word of God, the pillar of ground or base.
00:20:03
Of the truth.
And so when we take the whole New Testament scriptures and particularly Pauls epistles, we have the truth of the one body, and there must be that obedience and walking and conforming to it in order to enjoy practically in our lives here this privilege.
Of being gathered to his name on that basis.
The third thing that I believe became a reality.
Before those early brethren was.
The realization and subjection to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit to guide and direct.
If you read through the ER the book of Acts, you see how it was the Spirit of God who was directing those early brethren, the apostles.
They were in the Spirit and the Spirit said this and they were filled with the Spirit. The Spirit of God not only unites us together in this body of Christ and maintains that living link with us and the Lord Jesus in heaven, He's also here to guide and direct and when Christians get together and give liberty and submit to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
What happens?
There is growth and there is blessing.
And souls are instructed.
It's not a matter of human direction and ordinance and control.
There's a place for the human side.
But the early brethren, when they came together, they realized.
That the clerical system and the hierarchies and the various ways of ordaining and and controlling the Christian testimony.
Instead of helping, the Spirit of God became an obstacle and a hindrance.
President, when you come together in your little meeting and you feel your weakness, and maybe there's not gifted teacher, remember.
Waiting on the Spirit for guidance. Maybe sometimes there are some long pauses and that's to be lamented.
Were we more healthy? Perhaps it wouldn't be that way. But it's better to wait on the Spirit of God for guidance than to step forward with human control according to man's thinking.
John 16, verse 13.
John 16, verse 13 Howbeit, when He the Spirit of truth is common, 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, and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me, that's Christ, for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.
These were the words that the Lord spoke about the Holy Spirit before He went back to heaven.
And so it tells us the purpose and the order. Without ascended head in heaven, though, it would be impossible, impossible for the Spirit of God to come down and unite us to Christ.
Because it's not in Christ's life on earth that we are united in one body. That's an impossibility. But it's in the new life and the resurrection life that the Lord Jesus took when he rose from the dead. A new creation was opened up, and in that new creation he ascended to heaven. And that new creation is ours.
00:25:06
When we believe the gospel and we get saved and the Spirit of God seals us, we have that new life.
And in that new life, in that born again life.
We are united together in oneness with Christ.
And so the Spirit of God.
Is the active agent here on earth that's doing that not only keep it uniting us together in one body, but guiding us in the practical way, individually and collectively in our meetings? And so we need to wait on the Spirit of God. And then when the Spirit of God speaks to us, we need to move, we need to act.
And not be fearful.
There will be blessing.
We've seen it.
We see it every day.
Another verse is First Corinthians chapter 12, verse 7.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. Now drop down to verse 11.
All these worketh the One and the Self, same Spirit dividing to every man severally as he wills.
As he will. This is in the chapter where we get the order of the Assembly, the Church here on earth, in the local.
Function.
And so one of the things spoken of in this chapter is the spirit.
Yes, young brethren, when the Lord by the Spirit lay something on your heart, do it. Don't quench the Spirit and don't get in the way of others too that are active in the gospel or in serving the Lord.
And grieve the Spirit by hindering in one way or another. We can do that.
But thankfully.
God is supreme and He does work, sometimes in spite of us.
We're not a perfect group of brothers. We have a lot of flaws. We have a lot of weaknesses and failures. We haven't always upheld the truth of God, always as we should. We haven't always been bright lights in testimony in the world as those gather to the Lord's name. But no matter how weak and how small.
We have this basis, and the Spirit of God is present.
Let's always count upon him.
The last thing is the truth.
Of the of the one body as the ground of gathering. We could turn to 1St Corinthians 10 or a verse that, uh, would speak of this. There are many, many verses. I'm just trying to hit one or two verses of each one of these to give you a reference point.
In First Corinthians chapter 10, verse 16, these verses are often read even in the remembrance of the Lord.
The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
For we being many are one bread.
And one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread.
That's the reason when we come together to remember the Lord, we have one loaf, and as we look at that loaf before it's broken, we see the representation of the whole body of Christ. We're only a few gathered locally in each locality there, but the representative of the whole group.
The whole body of Christ is seen there. It is impossible in this day of failure.
And and division and that has come in the Christian testimony to get all believers to gather together in one place at one time. That is an impossibility in the early in the early church, it was that way.
But division already started in Corinth at an early day and it has progressed until there's thousands perhaps of.
00:30:04
Professing Christians that gather under various names and creeds and places and ways.
Can we put it all back together again? I don't believe God would call us to do that. Those early brethren, they saw the need to come out of those human organizations and to gather on the ground that there is one body. That's Ephesians 4 verse four. There is one body. That is a truth that will never change in spite of all.
Man's confusion and division.
That has come into the Christian testimony here on earth.
God sees.
One church, one body.
In the 11Th chapter we have, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna read those verses, but umm, we have not the the ground of gathering, but we have the body of Christ as seen in the loaf as it is broken.
And in verse 27, we have, uh, the words there, he that eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. Now that's not the body of Christ mystically as we are members of it. That's the body of Christ who died for the believer. And so in a sense.
We can think of that too.
As important when we come together to the remember the Lord.
Now I would like to after, uh, the mentioning these four.
Cruise that I think are important and there again I repeat there it's not exclusive to those four. There are many other principle things that could be spoken of, but these came to mind as important for us to hold and maintain.
In in our efforts to go on for the Lord in the day that we live. And I believe, as the Lord promised, to set before his people an open door, that the Lord will provide a way and a means whereby Christians up until the Lord takes us home, would and should be able to be gathered together on this ground of the one body.
Now I would like to say in connection with.
Gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus on the ground of the body.
Notice those two expressions? I'd like to just focus a minute on that point.
We are not just simply gathered.
As members of the body of Christ, we don't just look around among Christians and say, oh, there's one body, there's one member, there's another member. Let's get together and we'll have a meeting and we'll gather and we'll, we'll call in these members of the body of Christ and we will gather in that way.
That's not the way it happens.
Matthew 1820 says where two or three are gathered.
Who's the active one in that verse and who's the passive 1?
It's it's the lower by his spirit and his word that gathers.
And so we do not pick the place and the time. The Lord does. It's the Lord's table.
And so our focus needs to be on the Lord and his person have him before us. There are many Christians that will take that verse and apply it or they will say when we speak about the truth of the one body. Oh yes, I believe that. Yes. We, we're, we're gathered too, as we're umm, we, we're members of the body of Christ and we gather that way. But you go outside the door of their building and what you see, do you see gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus there? No.
You see something else?
And who started that?
And what's their creed?
00:35:01
What's their doctrine?
You see, this starts from God. It starts from the Lord.
We must be obedient to him when the Lord when the when the the Lord sent the disciples to on that last night of the Passover and when they said wear wheel towel, the Lord gave them instructions. He didn't just leave an open-ended thing and go find a place.
And he did it in such a way that proved that he knew where the place was and he set up all the circumstances and everything so.
Everything worked out. It was planned beforehand by God. The Lord Himself knew it.
And so there has to be that relationship and re recognition in connection with the truth of the one body with, uh, to the head of it. If you're not listening to the head, the body, the members on the of the body won't know how to function just like in our earthly body.
You gotta go to the head for the instructions and.
And so this is so important for us.
To own the head.
And the head is the one who sent the Spirit of God to direct us.
And if we are obedient?
And follow his directions, we will find the place.
He will see to it.
He has made abundantly clear it all starts with Him. This whole thing, our old salvation, started with God.
It's it's God from beginning to end. It's a wonderful thing to be one of those called to understand and enjoy this kind of a relationship so many of our dear Christian brethren.
Are in the dark about some of these things. They're so faithful in the in what they do and understand of the scriptures and now and oftentimes we have so much truth.
And yet we're a little bit careless with it.
Let us never find fault with our brethren elsewhere.
That in the measure of truth that they have, they walk in.
And we who have so much truth and understanding of this relationship and of our privilege, and to sit at the Lord's table and to remember him from week to week in such.
Appreciation of worship to Him.
How thankful we are.
How thankful we ought to be.
Now there are two things that.
There that oftentimes are seen to be in opposition to each other or contrary one is separation from evil.
And the other is owning all members of the body of Christ.
Those things sometimes are presented as impossible to bring together. Not so.
Brethren, when we gather to the name of the Lord Jesus, there must be separation from moral and doctrinal.
Any kind of evil.
On the other hand.
The ground of the one body is large enough to include every born again Christian, and there is a place there for them if they will take it.
But sometimes we're not walking in such a way that we can take that place that is really there for us. Or maybe there's not the desire to be there.
It is sometimes presented in this way too.
As.
Conservative and loose.
And some brethren will say, oh, this bread, this, this group is very conservative group and this group is a very liberal group.
Brethren, that's not.
The basis of the ground of gathering.
Those gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus on the ground of the one body, sometimes they're gonna be very conservative and sometimes they're going to be very open.
00:40:13
If we go to the head.
We can't just set up a standard of conservativism or liberalism or open or closed or many other expressions that are often used as a basis upon which to gather and say we are this or we are that.
Brethren, if we get our eyes focused on these things, we don't have them focused on Christ.
And so if conservativism is to the exclusion of Christ, it's wrong.
If openness is to the exclusion of going to Christ, our head is wrong.
That's not the measuring stick for being gathered to the Lord's name.
It's going to the Lord, His word, submission to the Spirit of God, and He will guide us whether to be tight or open.
And we see it that way in the where.
And I wanted I wanted to call. I want to bring up some examples of this.
As in for us.
There's this another thing. The, uh.
The test of reception turn to Romans 14.
Verse one.
This is this is often a point upon which there are differences of opinion about reception to the Lord's Table.
The Bible says very little about it.
I suggest one reason is that.
If the Lord had given us a list of things to uh about how to receive, we would have probably started just looking to the list and forgetting the Lord in heaven.
The Lord wants us to go to Him for every 'cause He's the head that cares for the body, and He will direct us in every situation. And it's not enough for Assembly A to say Assembly B does it this way. Let's do it this way.
You missed the. You missed the point.
Go to your head, go to your Bible, wait on the Spirit of God. He'll guide you who you should receive and who you should not receive. There are many cunning things out there that Satan will put out. Sheep, wolves in sheep's clothing and so on, and others that are like our verse in Romans 14. Him that is weak in the faith, receive ye.
But not too doubtful. Disputations. Verse three. The end of the verse.
Let not him which eateth not judge him the Edith, for God hath received him.
Notice that point God has received him. These were non essential questions about eating or not eating certain foods.
It wasn't a vital issue.
There was such a thing as growth, and some were weak and others were better informed as to the Scriptures, and maybe they had certain liberties that other brethren didn't. Brethren, we can't get all people together to the same stage of growth at the same time to be in an agreement on that basis. Upon what basis can we be together in agreement? You go to the head, I go to the head, everybody else goes to the head, and we're gonna get the same answer.
In this case, God received him.
No more, no further questions.
I know this is not necessarily at the Lord's table, but I believe the principle applies.
In umm.
Chapter second John.
John's epistle.
00:45:03
Another ex, another.
Uh, contrasting.
Point.
Second John chapter verse verse 9 and 10.
Whosoever transgresses, or it could be read progressive, that is, goes beyond what was given by God.
And the bite is not in the doctrine of Christ. Hath not God he that abideth in the doctrine of Christ? He hath both the Father and the Son, If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house.
Notice here that the test that the Apostle gives this elected lady as to reception was not.
How she perceived or how brother so and so?
Or.
Anything that had to do with them. The test that was put before her was what does this person.
Think of Christ.
What is this person's relationship with Christ? Not what is his relationship to your group or to your family?
No, that's not good enough when somebody comes along and wants to be received and to break bread with this.
It's not enough just to say, well, how does this person fit into our assembly?
Wrong.
What does this person think of Christ? What is his relationship with Him?
What does he say about the Lord Jesus Christ?
That's the criteria.
That's the standard.
Now there's another issue.
And that is the.
Hui call.
US and then.
Us being those gathered to the Lord's name, them being other Christians elsewhere.
Now this can be a problem.
And it didn't start with us.
Luke's Gospel, Chapter 9.
Verse 49.
And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and we forbat him, because he followeth not with us.
Jesus said unto him, for that him not, for he that is not against us, is for us.
I don't think I need to say too much about this, I think it's quite self-explanatory.
It's so easy to look at other Christians through our own eyes.
And again, the focus is off of Christ. He didn't say.
Master, He follows not thee, He says. He follows not us. Brethren, our understanding, our way of holding the truth, is not the standard.
Again, it's Christ.
Now we have a contrasting one in chapter Luke, Chapter 11 verse 15.
And I'm going to quickly go over this because there's one more point that I want to touch on in a case in the Old Testament.
Umm Luke 11, verse 15.
But some of them said, He cast casteth out devils through bills above the chief of the devils, and others tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them.
00:50:04
And now drop down to I believe it's verse 23.
He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathers not with me. Scattereth. Now we have a very different situation. It's not them and us, it's them in Christ.
And this is different. This is vital.
Without Christ, what are any of us?
Will anybody ever be without Christ? Nothing.
Lost in our sins.
This is vital to hold to him. You reject him and accuse. In this case, they were accusing him of doing power miracles through the deals above the Prince of Devils and that that was a very impo, uh, very critical issue.
No part, no part in the Church of God on that basis.
Now, at the time that's remaining, I want to go back to an Old Testament story.
And quickly in Second Samuel chapter 3.
As I thought about this subject.
I.
The King David came before my mind and I decided I was going to read through the Book of Samuel or Second Samuel and notice with whom did King David eat?
Now we know that the act of eating together is the expression of fellowship, and so it is at the Lord's Table when we come together and break bread together, we give expression of fellowship together to those who eat. Sometimes there are those that sit back and they're not in fellowship. They do not eat. They do not express that same fellowship. Maybe it's because they haven't asked, or maybe it's because they're under discipline or want some other reason.
But the act of eating together is fellowship. It's always been that way.
And so, in my curiosity, I started reading through the Book of Samuel to see, well, who did King David eat with?
And I was greatly surprised to find out the 1St man that's mentioned that King David ate with after he became king.
Who can tell me who their name is? I wonder if anybody here knows.
I already gave you a hint because I think I told you the chapter, it's First Samuel. It's Second Samuel. Sorry, Second Samuel, chapter 3, verse 12.
Let's read a part of it.
Second Samuel 3.
And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, Whose is the land? Saying, Also make thy league with me, and behold, my hand shall be with thee, to bring about all Israel unto thee.
And he said, well, I will make a league with thee. Now we're going to go on down verse 17. And Abner had communication with the elders of Israel, saying, you saw for David in times past.
To be king over you. Now then do it. For the Lord hast spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David, I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies.
And Abner also spake in the ears of Benjamin. And Abner went also to speak in the ears of David and Hebron. All that seemed good to Israel, and that seemed good to the whole House of Benjamin. So Abner came to David, to Hebron.
And 20 men with him and David made Abner and the men that were with him a beast.
Isn't this interesting? This man who was before aligned with the enemy or?
Or at least the one who fought against and resisted King David.
00:55:02
Is now sitting down at table with him and a feast.
And David received him.
What openness?
I believe it shows us.
That David did not allow his own personal feelings about the issue to get in the way.
It says here that Abner recognized that the Lord had given David the Kingdom, and when he took that position, David accepted him. Isn't that wonderful?
And this is what I suggest in connection with the ground of gathering rather.
When people give the Lord their right place, we can receive them.
Even if they're aligned or is out there somewhere connected with those things that we're not agreement with them.
Now we know we don't have inter communion with different denominations, but if the soul comes in simplicity as a member of the body of Christ.
There is no need to check out their background where they broke bread 2 weeks ago.
If they come in that right spirit.
Owning the Lord.
Him that is weak in the faith receive.
You say, Doug, you're opening up the doors for all kinds of things. Not if you receive it from the Lord.
Who is gonna guard our?
Our testimony and the holiness that belongs to God more than Him.
And so it is, brethren. I fear sometimes that we're in a rut, that we only receive those who.
We know.
As recognized as in fellowship.
Yes, there is.
A bond of communion between assemblies and we use letters of commendation.
And we do not receive from outside on the basis of belonging to such and such.
But we do receive those whom whom the Lord receives. And I suggest that this example here of David is a, is a witness to this. I know it's an Old Testament example and, and, but I believe that it is, uh, given for us to teach us this principle later on, King David rejected a man of his own household.
Who came back to the city and that was absolute.
And he came to the city, and David would not eat with him, even though he was own son.
He rejected him. Interesting.
Well, our time is up.
I'm thankful for the godly care that is that is extended to maintaining the Lord's Table as a holy place.
But I'm also concerned that if we only receive those who.
Quote in the meeting we are in danger of becoming.
Like a sect.
The cure is not to become liberal. The cure is not to become conservative. The cure is to look to the Lord for every case.
And act. Let's pray. Our God and our Father, we are thankful.
For your Word, for the Lord Jesus Christ that has called us to represent Him here on earth, to be gathered to His precious name. We value these things and we want it to be carried on. We want our young people and those that are recently gathered to understand these things too, and to be faithful and true to Thee, as many of our forefathers have been to us.
We thank Thee for this heritage of truth, and we pray that it may be preserved for Thy glory and honor. Lord Jesus, in Thy precious name, Amen.
Colossians 1
Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Very often was emphasized.
We need to look through our head.
And we have that developed for us in Colossians chapters one and two particularly, where we have the headship of our Lord Jesus Christ over us, and it presents to us his worthiness.
For that place, as well as those things in US which will strengthen.
Are looking to the head and those things that we have in danger of weakening.
Are looking to the head because that was the particular problem that was in Colossae at that time. The Saints were losing.
The sense of the looking for the head and submitting to the head Christ think it's also in one way connected with the fact that on our schedule card quotes from that it's not very fortunate that in all things he might have.
The preeminence.
I would suggest we begin in chapter one, but try to.
Uh, pace ourselves, if that's a word that Jim would like. Pace ourselves in such a way we make sure we get into the second chapter as well in our meetings.
Colossians, Chapter One.
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother to the Saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at colossi. Grace be unto you in peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Praying always for you since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus.
And of the love which ye have to all the Saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven. For of ye heard before in the word, of the truth of the gospel, which has come unto you as it is in all the world. And bring it forth fruit as it does also in you, since the day you heard of it and knew the grace of God. And truth, as you also learned of Epifras, our dear fellow servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ.
Who also declared unto us your love in the spirit.
For this 'cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.
That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing fruit, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with Almighty according to His glorious power unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness. Giving thanks unto the Father, which has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in life, who have delivered us from the power of darkness and have translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son.
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Who is the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature. For by Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrown or dominions.
Our principalities, our powers, all things were created by Him and for Him, and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And He is the Head of the Body, the Church, who is the beginning, the first one from the dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence. For it please the Father, that in Him should all fullness dwell, and having made peace through the blood of His Cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself.
By him I say, whether they be things on earth or things in heaven.
And you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy, and unblameable, and unreprovable in His sight, if he continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel which he have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven whereof I fall, and made a minister who now rejoice in my sufferings for you.
00:05:26
And fill out that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for His body's sake, which is the Church, whereof I am made a minister according to the dispensation of God, which is given to me for you to fulfill the Word of God. Even the mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His Saints, to whom God would make known. What is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles?
Which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom.
That we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus, Where unto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
I.
John chapter one, Colossians chapter one, and Hebrews chapter one are three high points in scripture.
To bring before us the person.
Of God's Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And the greatness of that person.
And in this particular Colossians 1.
There is emphasis given.
To Himself as the one that God has placed in the position of Supreme Head.
Overall.
And his rightness to be that head.
That first born place that is his. And so it's well for us to.
Have the knowledge.
Grow in our souls of the person.
The greatness of the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And it's in the measure in which that right place of his person is held in our hearts.
Than recognized in our souls that we will love to him practically.
For every need within the assembly and even in our personal lives as well.
So this first chapter begins and brings out to us.
The greatness of the person who is worthy to be happy and who is happy and given that place by God.
Subject doesn't particularly start until down around the 1213 versus but not.
Completely sketched first verses of the chapter, but not to give them a great amount of emphasis so that we don't get into the.
Main subject, if you will, of his headship.
Ephesians is alike Colossians in a lot of verses, but it is more what Christ is, what, uh, the church is to Christ as the body.
And uh, it does speak about the Lord Jesus as head of the body, but here in Colossians the emphasis, like you say, Don, is more on Christ as the head and it is important to have our souls occupied with the glory of that person.
And in the measure that we will, we'll be delivered from the systems that men have created to look to this man and that man who may be gifted, but they're not the ones that guide, they're not the ones to direct. It's this person that we're talking about. You mentioned in versus 13141516 through 18.
00:10:02
It's interesting in those verses we have.
Him first born in two spheres versus the 15 through 17. It's the first creation, is the first born of every creature that is in relation to the first creation. But in verses 18 and 19, he's the first born in new creation, and it is helpful to see that in both spheres.
The Lord Jesus is the one that has the preeminence.
Sometimes, put it this way, in making the contrast that Bob has just made between Ephesians and Colossians, and that is that in Ephesians you might say a head without a body is incomplete. And it's a tremendous thing, isn't it, to think that the Lord Jesus as the ascended Christ, the head of the body is incomplete without his body here on earth, the church. And so as you say, he's head over all things to the church, which is His body.
But here in Colossians, it's more a body without out, a head being incomplete. We don't want to be mundane and connected with explaining these things, but we can think of it in connection with a natural body. A head without a body is incomplete, and a body without a head is incomplete. If you sever the head from the body, neither are going to function properly. And that's really what we learn in taking up these two epistles.
But here, more specifically in Colossians, what he's really saying is that we, as the members of the body of Christ on earth, cannot function properly unless we take our direction from the body. And how do we do that? Well, on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God descended and a number of things happened. One, the Spirit of God came to indwell each individual.
Our bodies individually are the temple of the Holy Ghost. 2 The Spirit of God came to dwell in the church collectively on earth. And that's one of the things that is unique to the Christian era is the abiding presence of the Spirit of God collectively amongst the people of God here on earth. But the Spirit of God also linked those members of the body, those who were waiting in obedience to the word of the Lord.
About 120 of them, the Spirit of God linked them to their glorified head, the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's interesting when you go through the acts that sometimes when they went to make decisions in the early church in the assembly, it says and the Spirit said no, it was no doubt through some, some brothers, some in human instruments, but they got their direct, got their instructions so directly.
From their glorified head through the Spirit that the Word of God records and the Spirit said they were whole, practically holding the head just before we go on to if, if to me at least, and there may be other thoughts, but to my own soul, in seeking to pick out a key verse or phrase in this epistle that might sum up the epistle because it's always helpful to pick out a key verse or phrase in a chapter or a book.
That sums it up, gives an outline, and for my own soul I like what it says. Or I'll just point out what it says at the end of the 11Th verse of chapter 3. Read this to Mr. Darby's translation. Christ is everything.
That's really, isn't it? What this epistle is about. Christ is everything he's He's the head of the body. He's the one that's seated at God's right hand. He's the one that the Spirit of God would direct our attention to.
He's the one from whom we ought to take our instruction, both individually and collectively as members of the body of Christ. Brethren, there's nothing else. There's no one else you notice coming in the room this afternoon. It says it's all about you.
Brethren, it's not all about us, it's all about Christ. Christ is everything. And if we can, as Dawn has suggested in taking up these this portion, if we can get that before our soul. And as Doug brought before us earlier in connection with being gathered to the Lord's name and having Christ before us and what Christ says and how He directs, what his direction is through the Spirit.
00:15:17
Then I believe we will get a blessing from these meetings this weekend.
Just a few words on the beginning of the chapter.
Notice.
In verse four it says the apostle Paul had seen in the Saints in Colossi mentioned three things in connection with it that I want to note. The first one is in verse four, your faith in Christ Jesus. The second one in the same verse, the love.
Would you have to all the Saints in verse five, the hope which is laid out for you? Those are the three characteristics of normal Christianity given great emphasis in First Thessalonians, where you have a new assembly and new believers. Those three things should characterize the life of a Christian, as we call them, of a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. His life is to be characterized by faith.
By hope and by love.
And connected with it were brought into it in verse five, the word of the truth of the gospel. And so when we talk of the headship of Christ, the assumption we're starting with is.
The recognition in our souls that he is having.
He is head as it brings out of all creation, so whether we recognize it or not, he has a headship place over everything that is created. And so it's true of everyone in that way, believer or unbeliever.
Even the animal creation, the angelic creation, and so on all come under His headship and it's broadest sense. But for us, through the truth of the Gospel were brought into the realization of the relationship and it's to be practiced with faith, hope, and love in our lives. And then just one other point to notice in the introductory, and that's in verse 6.
It says since the day you heard of it and knew the grace of God in truth. And so we trust that each one of us who have brought into this relationship with God where we have faith and love and hope and live in that since we heard the truth of the gospel that we also recognized were brought into it.
The source of it was not ourselves.
The source that began that work that has brought us to where we were and are at the beginning of the the book, if you will, is the work of God. And grace is the God of grace that did work to bring us out of a state of unbelief, out of state of selfish self-interest in which love did not exist, and from a state in which we had no real hope.
We were of people without hope. The.
Limit of our thoughts and hopes was in this life only, but now we have that which links us to heaven in the person of our head through the Holy Spirit and has brought us into a totally different, wonderful, newly enjoyed relationship with our head.
Speaking of Christ and how it's brought out in this epistle, it is beautiful in these opening verses to see how often he speaks of Christ and uses that name or title. They were the faithful brethren in Christ. We get that in the second verse. He we give thanks in the third verse to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He uses the full title and then he says in verse four he speaks of Christ Jesus.
00:20:03
And then it's beautiful to see that we have this man, Epifras, who was a faithful minister. It doesn't say of the gospel that was no doubt true. It doesn't say with the faithful minister of the truth that was no doubt true as well. But he was a faithful minister of Christ.
When Epifross ministered to the Saints in colossi, he ministered Christ. And brethren, isn't that what we need? In the day in which we live? We often speak of the truth and holding the truth and so on, and that's certainly very true and very important. But we need to be seek to be faithful ministers of Christ, to bring before the Saints the person, and later on in the Epistle as he goes on.
As Paul goes on to speak of Christ, where is Christ he's at the right hand of God and we are to set our minds there. We're to be occupied not with Christ so much as he walked here in this world. There's other scriptures that would teach us to have Christ before us as the perfect example in the man and so on. But that's not what we have in Colossians. It's Christ where he is now and the relationship we have with him now. But if you notice in verse seven he says as.
He also learned.
From Epipras, our fellow Mr. Darby's translation. From Epifras, our dear fellow servant. What did they learn from Epiprass? They learned of Christ. He was a faithful minister of Christ. Then when Epiprass spoke to the Apostle and others of the Saints, what did he speak of? The shortcomings of the Saints, their faults, their idiosyncrasies.
Now we find from these verses, he spoke of what he saw in the Saints of Christ as a result of the work of the Spirit of God. I hang my head, brethren. It's a good lesson for myself. I can't point the finger anywhere else. And brethren, if we seek to be faithful ministers of Christ and as we speak of one another to one another, to speak of those things of Christ that we see in others.
I believe that it will bind us together and there will be a unity in Christ in holding the head that will come unconsciously as a result of Christ being before each one of our souls.
In chapter four we have aware epifras labor.
Verse 12 Epiphyrasis one of you a servant of Christ, just like he says in the verse you were talking about.
Minister of Christ saluted you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. That's where his laborers started, and I would guess. And where did they end him up? Bob? We find in the 23rd verse of Philemon he's listed as a fellow prisoner.
Of the apostle Paul in the measure in which we seek to minister Christ and live Christ and hold the head. It's not going to be popular. If we're looking for popularity down here, we're going to be identified with Paul the prisoner of the Lord.
Few more remarks on the importance of recognizing the different ways in which.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, I don't know how else this started. Uh, our large Jesus Christ, which is one of his fuller title names. We have many, many names and titles of that person because of his greatness. But just to notice three of them in this chapter, umm, that are brought before us. The first one in verse 10 that you might walk worthy of the Lord.
When He spoken of his Lord, it has to do with His individual supreme authority over each one of us.
And so if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in thy heart that God have praised him from the dead, no shall be saved. The apostle Paul, the very first words of his mouth on being converted.
00:25:05
For large, very first word large, what will thou have me to do? Peter in Luke 5, when he is converted there on the boat, he recognized immediately.
We've known him as a person, He'd known Jesus, and he doesn't tell us how long, but obviously for some period of time, but when his soul is really reached.
The uh says Lord.
It's that place into which we individually are brought to recognize his authority over us and so in the 10th verse that we might work worthy of him the Lord, but then when it's the next one that's.
So I want to mention in this chapter has to do with it brings us, it says in verse 13, us into the Kingdom of his dear son, and then we have him further presented to us in, uh, coming into this world.
And the sun, among many things, one of the important ones that it gives emphasis to is that.
God has made himself known to us.
Through his son.
And all that God is for us is fully developed in the sun. Become man.
And so this chapter in his headship is in bringing out to us.
This person, this had over all things all that God is to us, is realized through the person of the sun. The fullness of the Godhead is seen in the sun become man. The fullness of what God is, and the revelation of God and our knowledge of God now and in heaven as well, is through the person of the man who is the Son.
The other, the third one is Christ, which has been spoken about.
And it reverses it. And it's important to, as we read our Bibles and grow a little bit in the knowledge of these things, to recognize that the emphasis, particularly when it's Christ, is what he is to God for us.
What we are to God is what we are in Christ, and so He's the one that presents us to God and makes us what we are.
To God, without being in Christ, we wouldn't have anything really. We wouldn't have any place before God but perfection of our place and our standing and the right that we have through this person who came to do a tremendous work of redemption for us, that he might, we might be complete.
Before God in him. So God is complete in what he is toward us in the sun. We are complete and the fullness of what we have and are before God is seen in that expression in Christ. So Ephraim in the last chapter, his ministry was that they might be perfect and complete where, how? In their enjoyment in their souls of their relationship of what he was for them before God.
So they're those the expressions used or the?
Expressions of himself are very, very important, and the truth that's being emphasized and the use of one or the other.
And it is to walk worthy of the Lord here, isn't it? In Thessalonians, which you mentioned earlier, they were to walk worthy of God. They were babes in Christ. There are a lot of things they didn't know. And so they had turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven.
But here they are to walk worthy of the Lord. In Ephesians, they are to walk worthy of their calling. That's what's brought before them. But it's interesting that the apostle Paul in the ninth verse, before he mentioned walking worthy of the Lord, he too is praying for the Saints.
And he's praying for them in connection with three things that are necessary elements if we're going to walk worthy of the Lord. And his desire was that, first of all, they might be filled with the knowledge of his will, because there has to be a knowledge. And we'll never know his will if we don't know himself, if there isn't a knowledge. And so the apostle Peter, when he ended his ministry, he said grow in grace and the knowledge.
00:30:23
There needs to be a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and how are we going to get that knowledge of himself? We've got to open this book every day and read this book. And when you read this book, the Bible, read it to see Christ in, on every page, in every chapter, in every verse, perhaps see Christ, whether it's by type or figure or in the New Testament, the development of the truth and so concerning himself and so on.
And so there needs to be the knowledge and the knowledge of its will. But then it says in all wisdom, I like to very, I like a very simple explanation or definition of the word wisdom. Someone has said that wisdom is the skill for living. You know, people might have a lot of knowledge, but there might not be a lot of wisdom to take that knowledge and apply it in a proper way. Often told about how I had to take a shot to get out of junior high.
And I opted for woodworking. And I could write, I could get the knowledge. But when I went to put it in practice, if you ever saw what I made, you'd say, why, Jim, you didn't have the wisdom to take the knowledge from the diagram of the thing you were supposed to make and to utilize it in the proper way. And so it takes wisdom then, and that wisdom is from above. And if we ask, he'll give wisdom to all men that he giveth to all men liberally and afraid of not, and so on. But then there's something else.
It's their spiritual understanding. You know, we read back in the Old Testament, I think it's in First Chronicles 12, that the children of Issachar were men that had not just knowledge of the time, but they had understanding of the time. In other words, they were able to take the knowledge they had and use it in a wise way in the circumstances of the day in which they found themselves.
And just go back. I'll just read it, but you might want to turn just to implant it in our mind because there were 3-4 men back in the book of Daniel. And you have in this same order that it's listed here that Paul prays for. Here you have the same three things in connection with these four men, Daniel, of course, and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Just notice the 17th verse of the first chapter of Daniel.
As for these four children, God gave them, notice this knowledge. That's the first thing. Everything else is going to be based on the knowledge we know. But then it says and skill in all learning and wisdom. You see, there was skill involved in taking that knowledge and using it in a proper way. And then it says, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. And we know later on when Daniel went in to stand before the king.
That the Lord gave him not just the knowledge and the wisdom, but the understanding of the circumstances in which he found himself to answer the King in a proper way.
And so these three things are very important if we're going to walk worthy of the Lord and if we are going to practically hold the headship of Christ. And the result, if you just allow me to note, to point out what follows the statement in our chapter, it says in verse 10 unto all pleasing, there's three things that follow here, three things that are prerequisite, but there's three things I believe that follow here.
That is, under all pleasing.
Being fruitful in every good work and then growing, if you know Mr. Darby's translation, growing by the knowledge of God. There's growth and so maybe some others have some constantly, but again, 3 prerequisites to walking worthy. And then when we do walk worthy, there's going to be a pleasing and a fruitfulness.
And a growth that can only come again by holding the head.
I'd just like to give up an A.
Implication for perhaps some of the young people.
00:35:04
When I started, uh, the printing trade, it was about after 20 years that computers came in and I had to learn the trade all over again, but even harder because I wasn't controlling it. The computer was. And the information, when I fed it to the computer, that's what the computer did, and I had a hard time.
Adjusting and my foreman said that.
You know, by testimony, you know, as a Christian and I had a hard time trying to grasp the concept of the computers working with the machine. And he says, Carl, he says he showed me the, uh, the big book of all the instructions on these systems, Carl, he says your Bible.
So when it kind of hit home to me, he says, you know, when I was a Christian, but this is my Bible. I have to learn it and I have to know what through and through, and I have to apply it. Now, if I didn't read it, if I didn't apply it, I wouldn't be running the machine.
It's a simplification in the in the Christian life.
This is the word of God. This is This is the Bible. This is our instruction book.
If we learn it, if we study it, and if we practice it, you get results.
It took me a while to learn that book. It was quite thick and there's a lot of things I didn't understand. And eventually I mastered it and I was able to control it the way it should be. But the point I'm getting at is because my foreman said this is my Bible. It made me think, yes, I have to, I have to learn this what this big book, book of instructions and how to run the press. But you know, it made me think of.
You know, if we can apply this to ourselves and say if we have the word of God, if we study it, if we learn about it to the sense that you can understand that you're the Holy Spirit.
Then you have the knowledge of what the Word says in the Holy Spirit. It's just a simple illustration, but something I have to learn after my.
Just a practical commentary, maybe more from the younger.
Uh, almost or older, lived much of A lifetime and maybe haven't learned it very well. Umm.
But there's a common saying in the world if all else fails.
Drive the instruction manual.
And sometimes we try to live the Christian life that way and it doesn't work.
Sometimes we smell a little bit. We sit in reading meetings and.
Sunday school and so on. And so when it comes to daily living, we tend to rely on our own imagination, our own thoughts, our own something. Anyways, we try this, we try that and sometimes it doesn't go very well in our lives. And we say, well, I maybe I better see what God has to say about the subject. And so all else will say has failed. And we we go to the instruction manual. But the true way.
The true way.
Is get to know God.
And when we get to know God, and that's the first priority, when through His Son, then it will form our thoughts and our hearts.
To act according to what He is and what his heart is. We don't know God immediately, all that we're going to know of God. But when you want to know somebody, you spend time with them.
You study, if you will, the life of the Lord Jesus and the Word of God that presents this person, and through it the true knowledge of God resides.
In his proper place, not in her head.
The true knowledge of God resides in the heart. The true understanding of God is through the heart, because we don't know God if we only know him in the sense of the philosopher who says he's all powerful and all knowing and all this and all that.
That's a description of them, but that's some of His attributes. It's true, but it doesn't give us the true knowledge of Himself. God is love, and if we don't know His heart as love, we don't know Him. God is light, and if we don't morally enter into the truth of His Holiness, and we don't enter into those things in our intellect, we recognize the heart of God and the holiness of God.
00:40:22
Through our hearts and consciences and we need to grow little by little to come to know him. There may be many things that these reading meetings that someone's going to say that went right over my head, and maybe it will. And yet at the same thing, there needs to be a developed thirst in the soul to get to know.
Increased by the true knowledge of God.
That will be learned in the heart as to His character and His person, and when we learn it, what will be a practical result of it? We will appreciate in our measure His Son. We will find our delight in His Son as He does. We will give the Son the Christ, the preeminent place that He gives the Son and the Christ.
Such that would average any point of reference in our lives. We'll have the practical results of looking ahead to the sun, but it's only as in a practical sense as we gradually, not instantly, but gradually come to know and grow by the true knowledge of God.
But there may be some here saying, you know, we've sat in this reading meeting and we've talked about these wonderful things, but life is a daily grind and how can we really go on and practically carry out these things? And if you just allow me to point out in verse eleven of our chapter, there are four more things in connection with walking worthy, or as you say said, Don, having the knowledge of God and having the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and knowing him.
Strengthened with all might. The word literally means empowered. You want power for your pathway. There is power. There's all the power that is necessary. You know Paul, when he prayed for the Saints and various epistles, he never prayed that they would have more power. What he did pray for was that they would utilize the power that they did have. The power is all there at our disposal.
And so strengthened are empowered with all might according to his glorious powers. That same power that is his is our is the power that's available to you and me to get through life today, whether we live here in lackadaisical North America or we live in Egypt where our brethren are facing.
Situations that we know nothing about, or whether it's those who are in prison being tortured and facing martyrdom.
We're empowered. And then he says unto all patients or endurance. It does take endurance, doesn't it? It's not the Sprint, it's not the 100 yard dash. It's what the marathon runner has to learn when he's training. And that is endurance and then long-suffering. It takes a lot of long-suffering, doesn't it? And if we're going to go on and on the head and as members of the body of Christ here and go through the circumstances of life and our interactions with other members of the body of Christ.
It's gonna take long-suffering.
With just grinding our teeth and trying to get through. No brethren, with joyfulness, we. These things are possible, not just with.
Swearing our backs and shouldering the load. But as Paul said in the midst of his suffering, sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. So it's very practical, but.
We talk about a lot of things, as Don said, a lot of things that may go over our heads, but this is very practical. This is, as a brother used to tell us when we were younger, where the rubber meets the road. You say, is it possible to carry these things out practically today? All the resources are there, brethren. The resources that you and I have in Christ this afternoon to live this out in 2013 are the same powerful and mighty and limitless resources that have always been available to the people of God and will be always available.
00:45:02
Until the body of Christ and all believers are raptured safe home.
Verse nine it speaks about the knowledge of His will.
And verse 10 it is the knowledge of God.
I like to think rather than that in the Old Testament, the focus under the law was on what man was.
And it resulted in complete failure. It resulted with man crucifying the Messiah.
The go their their God and hanging them on the cross.
God said, in effect, when that happened, that's the end of the first creation. As far as God's concerned, it was complete failure.
Then God turns around at the cross and begins to show us who he is. And that's what characterizes Christianity. It's who God is. And so it's increasing in the knowledge of God. Peter, at the end of his epistle says grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And that's something we continue to do all through our lives. And you know it, really.
His searching When you look around in the world we live in, the focus in our culture is so much on who we are.
And I get to know who I am. I'm establishing my own identity here in this world. And it's emptiness, it's a deceit. It's, it's something that deceives. And I, I feel sorry for the young people who think that getting to know who they are is the end of life. That is not it. It's getting to know who God is. And you won't understand life as it is meant to be until you get to know who God is.
What kind of a God do we have? And that's a life long learning process. The Lord help us to grow in the knowledge of God. Oh brethren, what a glorious, what a great God we have. Whether it's in as we have in the verses they follow, we don't have time for it now, but whether it's in the first creation, the tremendous display of the power of God, the wisdom of God in the first creation.
Or whether it's a new creation, God manifests his glory, His wisdom is his love, His power in every way possible. And so it's getting to know God. And in the nature that you know God, every other relationship will take its proper place. Only then in the measure that we know God.
This might make a comment here. I know our time is gone, but just for the encouragement of maybe some of the of the younger ones here. Uh, because God worked in your heart and gave you a desire to be here with the Word of God open and under the influence and the sound of the word of God. You are in the process right now of the Spirit of God making these things good to your, to your soul. You, you are working towards the end of being.
Filled.
With the knowledge of God and what is taking place in these meetings is God working in your soul to give you a greater knowledge of Him? It says in Darby's translation, it says growing in the knowledge of God. Well, you sitting here in this meeting right now is giving the Spirit of God the ability to take the word of God having you under its influence.
And causing you to step by step a little bit line upon line growing in your Christian experience and in the knowledge of God to take heart. You may have heard a lot of things in this meeting that you think went over your head. Well, the Spirit of God has it to to to make good to your soul. So we those of us that are older would like to thank you for.
Being here so that you could be influenced by that which will give you the ability to grow in the knowledge of God.
00:50:58
32 The person of the Christ unfolding every grace, 132.
Nsnoise, Grace.
Nsnoise.
Gospel 1
Gospel—Al Coleman
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
We have an anchor that keeps the stall steadfast and sure while the bill is rolled, fastened to the rock, which cannot move, grounded, firm indeed in the saviors love. I used to live in Newfoundland and Newfoundland was called the rock The rock because everywhere in nuclear land there is rock, and a lot of.
A lot of Newfoundlanders always long to get back to their rock.
Uh, I was privileged to get back there this summer.
That rock is Christ. That's it. That rock is Christ. First Corinthians, that rock is Christ. And we want you to, I want to point you to the Lord Jesus Christ tonight.
He's the only Savior of sinners, the only person.
For a lost, perishing soul.
Let's sing this song.
They can fall straight and whoever you're playing, crying and praying Lord and.
Bringing me.
Way to hide their life there is also.
Pressure of your wildlife.
Grow.
One separate.
Translator while the surgeon just prayed that the wild wind flow.
Shall behave grave when the fire come along, and glow on the glow alone.
When you have a thyroid.
Soul.
And wildlife, again, the blood.
OK, we're done.
No, not anything. No, I think you can never.
Make.
Umm, well, where I've been rolled through one morning.
Uh-huh. You're very, very bright.
Rails in your eyes.
00:05:02
I'm calling. It's not bad, I don't know.
When I saw it.
Last morning.
We're in the heart of the name Treasurer like it slowed as long as woe. Sam and I can't show you a wildly sure while younger than the end of the world.
Umm 1000 to the long winds and walk through ground everything that I can see in the same time.
Let's ask the Lord's blessing on His Word. Our loving Father, we thank Thee that we can open Thy precious Word once more this evening. And we thank You for this precious Word of thine that is so living.
And so wonderful. And we just praise thee and thank you for this Father. We thank Thee that we can take up this precious word and read it, meditate upon it, and see in thy precious word first of all, and thy great love and.
Thy way of salvation to poor, lost, guilty sinners.
And we thank you for this.
The way of salvation is so simple. We thank You for this, and it's not complicated. We can just come to Thee in faith and trust Thee as Lord and Savior and be saved and be saved for all eternity. How wonderful this is. And we thank Thee for loving Father. So we ask you to help us with the open Thy precious word this evening, and we give Thee thanks for the privilege of being.
And and preaching the gospel.
We thank you for this and a loving Father and the precious name of the Lord Jesus. Amen. Amen.
Uh, Psalm 107.
107 songs.
I want to say first of all that this is the.
Joy of being able to preach the gospel from any portion of scripture and apply it to the gospel.
That to me is just fabulous. I like it and the Lord is giving me this portion tonight and I trust it'll be an enjoyment to everyone. I'm here tonight, Psalm 107.
Verse 23.
They that go down to the sea in ships that do business in the great waters.
They see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep, For He commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind which lifted up the waves thereof. They mount up to heaven. They go down again to the depths. Their soul is melted because of trouble.
They reel true and for old, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm that calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet, So he bringeth them into.
Their desired heaven. Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness for his wonderful works to the children of men. That is repeated four times in this in this 107th Chong all that men would praise the Lord for his goodness for his wonderful works to the children of men. What was the most wonderful word that he and sent his Son here into this world.
That He gave His only begotten Son. And so we read in John 316. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And this wonderful God in heaven has given the very object of his heart his dear beloved Son. And to think of how man could take that blessed One, and put Him up there on Telford's cross.
00:10:17
And they could say away with this man, crucify him, crucify him. We will not have this man to reign over us. They crucified the Lord of glory. And you know even today they would do the same. And the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. It was man's wicked heart that put the Lord Jesus up on that cross and as often repeated in a gospel meeting, all of sin.
And come short as the glory of God. Everyone of us here tonight have sinned. Even the youngest person here has sinned, and those sins have separated us from the holy God. God cannot have sinned in his presence. And so He's provided a way whereby you and I could be saved and, and to come into his presence and to spend an eternity with Him. You know, it's so wonderful that here we are.
2013 and uh, what is that? September? And we're so close to the Lord's coming. Oh, it's so wonderful just to think of it called blessed just to think that perhaps this very, very night the Lord will come and take us to. Will this room be empty? What about it, young people, have you decided for Christ tonight? You know, tomorrow maybe too late.
It may be too late.
You know, it's so wonderful.
Yeah, Brother Jim will allow me. I'm going to talk about his father-in-law. Mr. Burn was.
A very successful man in York, carbon, nuclear land, and he had no regard for the gospel. I've, I've known him for maybe over 20 years or so. More than that probably.
He, uh, was well known in York Harbor and we always, uh, on our way out, we always stopped there for whatever the case may be. Usually there's an ice cream cone and, uh, Mr. Byrne, very nice man. I think he wasn't saved and he had been acquainted with the gospel, everyone that had come through.
Had given him the gospel.
And no, there was no response.
Umm, so you know, it says here in Psalm 107.
For he commanded and raised it the stormy winds.
Mr. Byrne After he was retired, a stormy wind came into his life.
He got cancer.
And you know, it was in the reclining years of his life that Mister Byrne came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. He had no regard, as I knew him years before, for this precious Word of God. He had no regard for it. He would just pass it off.
But the Lord brought him to know him as Lord and Savior, and I believe it probably was the testimony of of ones that came by.
And uh, so now he has cancer.
And he's not too long for this world. He's going to leave this world.
But he's going to be with the Lord Jesus. Now I want to tell you that we went to see him, and the subject before us was becoming of the Lord Jesus.
The rapture to take us home to the Father's house. And you know, he was just beaming, He was enjoying and the precious word of God, what a change in his life. Who made that change, the Lord Jesus.
He came as a guilty, lost Sinner, and he saved.
I'm gonna say that Mister Burns, probably what did he? Oh, yeah, he told me it was 78. And.
Is that the time to come to Christ? No, no, no, no, no. The time to come to Christ is when you're young, says and remember now, thy creator, in the days of thy youth, that's the time to come to the Lord Jesus, to be saved. And so we asked you this question tonight. Are you saved?
00:15:10
They go down to the sea and ships that do business in the great waters.
Tonight we're going to talk about.
Your ship, where's it going? Where's it going? I gave a crack to a man last Tuesday, and it was a Titanic track. I love to give that one out. And he didn't know anything about the Titanic. And so I had the privilege of telling them all about the Titanic. If you were on that boat, you would have gone down with the rest of them.
If you weren't without Christ, you would be eternally lost.
Yeah, you're on a journey. You're on a life journey. You know, some of you young ones here this evening are just starting out on your life's journey.
You're just starting up and, uh, this person here is uh, probably coming to the end of life's journey.
Umm, uh, but which way are you going? Where is your ship going? Where is it going? And you know, it says passing onward quickly passing, yes, but wither whither bound where you go?
Have you made a decision for Christ yet?
Have you come to him?
I know it says there's something wonderful about the gospel, and it's this The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin.
You can't get to heaven without that. You know the Lord Jesus shed His precious blood on Calvary's cross for you because you are a Sinner.
And wonderful, isn't it? He's provided a way of salvation. Provided a way. It's full and free. It's free. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, the only way, the only way. And it says in that in Proverbs 14, it says there is a way which seemeth right unto a man.
But the ends are over the ways of death.
Oh, and so last Tuesday I handed out a track to a a person. She had one of those shelves on so you know who where she was coming from. And she held out her hand to hit the to get the track. And at the last second she saw the name of Jesus and go back the name of Jesus. Neither is there salvation and any other for there's none other name.
Under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
That track says one day you will meet Jesus, one day you will meet Jesus and thank God to his sovereign grace. I'm going to meet him as my Savior, my Savior.
But we asked this question, are you gonna need them as you as you judge? And that's a solemn thing to think that there could be one here tonight that has never come to the Lord Jesus. And you'll meet him as your judge and you'll stand before that blessed one.
And it'd be awesome, awesome sight. And I saw the dead, small and great stand before God. And the books were opened. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Is that your portion? Does God want to send a man to hell? No, he doesn't. He says I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked would turn from his evil way and live. And then he says, I love this. He says, turn me, turn me for a while.
Turn ye, turn ye. And so the gospel is like that, you know, God is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And. And so the gospel goes, for it goes forth week by week, day by day, because.
Because God wants to save your soul. Yes he does.
How precious it is.
Another another man.
In Newfoundland, I went, this was one of the two reasons why I went new for one of the conference because her brother Roy Stevens in St. John, NB says Alice says I want you to go and meet my go and see my cousin. He's dying of bone cancer.
00:20:02
And Herb, that stone I worked with for 12 years, he was, I had my stall here in Canadian Tire and he had his stall over there.
And, uh, we, we work on cars.
The years have gone by. I had moved to.
Vancouver and, uh, 20 years had gone by and so I phoned him up. I said, Herb, this is Al Coleman. He says what he was surprised he after 20 years, he remembered me. Herb, I want to come and see you. Oh yeah, come on up. And so I had to climb this steep hill to his house. I was all tuckered out by the time I got there. And so we got to talk in about the old shop and what happened to this person, that person and then.
Herb En invited me into his house. Yes, he was dying of cancer. He was in great pain and his wife was equally sick.
And then the subject came around to the gospel, to the Lord states. I wanted to give him the gospel. I wanted to him to know the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior before it's forever too late. He was dying of cancer.
I heard, umm, do you, do you want a Bible? Yes, he says. I own a Bible, he says. You gave it to me 20 years ago and I'm still reading it.
I said, praise the Lord, isn't that wonderful? His portal never returned. Void never. That little track that you gave out or that little word that you gave out, God can use it. You young people, you got a friend.
You can tell them above the Lord Jesus.
And they never returned, boys. That's what I like about giving out, giving out gospel tries. I know. And that once it it's gone, you know it's in the hands of the Spirit of God. You can use it.
You're on a journey.
Look at it, it says.
They that go down on the stadium ships that do business in the great waters.
And you know what God's business is saving souls.
That's what he wants. He wants to save your soul.
And he wants to save your soul right now, tonight, right in your chair.
This boy here didn't do that when he was young.
And I recommend highly, highly that you confess Christ when you're young.
You see, I LED a very wild, wicked life when I was young, very wild, very wicked. And I never came to Christ until I was in my 20s. And those to me were wasted years because I was never reading this precious word of God and seeing what my precious Savior had instructions for me. And so how, how important it is? I say important it is.
To come to Christ when you're yelling and to take up this precious book and read it and read it and meditate upon it.
It's his work and it and it and it shows us the way of salvation, you know, and it also shows this direction in our life. So what's this little ship going to do? What is my little ship gonna do? Where is it going?
Passing on very quickly Passing, yes, but with or where, God? Where, where?
Do you see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep?
This wonderful creation.
The awesomeness of this creation. Go down to your garden and see that rose look up in the sky and see them myriads of stars. Remember once when we were camping in the South Coast Newfoundland and brother Don Bilasoli and I and.
It's a rarity to have a clear sky in Newfoundland, and I looked up in the sky and.
00:25:01
It was just.
Myriad and myriads and myriads. What a wonderful sight.
That belongs to my God, and I belong to Him.
Not wonderful, we know.
Do you know Jesus as your own personal savior?
He commandeth and raised it. The stormy wind.
You know we've been singing about will your anchor hold in the storms of life. Sometimes he can bring a storm into our life. Yes, he can. He can bring a storm into our life.
11.
Because he wants us to look to Him.
And a storm in our life.
Whatever the case may be, it may be sickness, it may be a disaster, maybe it was an accident, whatever the case may be, and God can bring that storm into our life.
They mount up to heaven.
They go down again to the dips.
Their souls melted in the middle.
Uh uh, melted because of trouble.
A great.
Up and down.
Last week, no two weeks ago, my family invited me to go down to the seashore with him.
And, uh, we had a very nice time with the family and I love to go out into the waves and go out about this far and just challenge the waves and sometimes they challenge you and I don't.
It says here they reel to and fro and stagger and get drunk in man.
Those waves don't come at you, Earth straight on. Sometimes they come this way and that way. You never know which way they're coming. And isn't that the way sometimes we get in our life that we don't know which The way that turns, it's coming at us from all angles. I don't know, and I'm at my wit's end. I don't know what to do.
Yes, I do come to the Lord.
He's available, He's available. We can just come to him.
Oh, you know, I looked back and when I was working in this in mechanics shop and I, I would get into trouble with a car and I cannot find out the problem with this car. And uh, I said, Lord help me fix this car. I don't know where, where, where the problem is.
You know something, The Lord is an excellent intent.
He is, He can show us what the problem is with that car and he can do all kinds of things like that, little things that we have in our life. You know, that's nice, isn't it?
So you're at school, you're young people, and you have a problem in your school.
OK, afternoon. He's available. He's available, right? close.
And uh, it says they real true and throw and stagger like a drunken man. What I'm going to tell you right now is very common.
They reel to and fold and stagger like an early man. You know, in gospel meetings. I've told a lot of things about myself. I've never told you this part.
Because when I was young, I would get drunk many times.
I did, and I look back on it with sorrow.
That I got drunk and you know, that's what this is describing right now. They real to improve and stagger like a drunken man. Have you ever had a hangover? No, I'm sure if I look around this room, I don't think there's one person here that's ever had a hangover. It's the most horrible thing that you can take down and it's awful. And yet there it was.
My father praying for me.
00:30:03
Where is he? What is he doing?
And, you know, there's a lot of fathers here tonight are praying for their son, for their daughter. Where are they? What are they doing?
It's the same as what we're doing, what we're talking about this morning, Mary. Where is she? Where is she?
Lord, you know where she is. Look after her. And so she's in the Lord's hands.
You know this world has nothing for you. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Don't and look to this world for enjoyment, for peace.
The glitter and glamour of this world is not worth it. It's not worth it.
It's not worth having a big head, it's not worth staggering like a drunken man, and that's just exactly what it is.
The Lord Jesus has something wonderful for you. He can give you peace. He can give you enjoyment. Oh what a wonderful thing it is to to be a child of God, to know my precious Savior and all that He does for me.
And his great love for me, and that he died on Calvary's cross for me. And that he's coming again for me to Take Me Home to the Father's house.
Does the world offer that? Did the world offer that for me when I was young?
Yeah.
No.
Now none but Christ can satisfy.
There's love and life and lasting joy Lord Jesus found in me.
Are you? Do you, Do you know this wonderful person?
They create a real to and fro and stagger like a drunken man, and they're at their wit's end. Oh, many times I've been at my wit's end. And I came to him and he helped me. And he'll help you too. He'll help you in your Christian life.
Then they cry unto the Lord, and in their trouble.
And, you know, there's a gospel meeting here tonight.
Have you cried to the Lord?
Have you cried till the Lord he'll hear you? This very wonderful God will hear you know he's he's not like me, he's not like he's not hard to hurt me. He don't need to hear me. His ear is ever hoping to your kind and he wants to hear from you.
The beer would talk to him. You ever talked to the Lord Jesus? I have so many, many, many, many times and and he's always listening to me. What a Savior, what a wonderful God that we have. Then they cry unto the Lord, and they're troubled.
Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
I always say this and that verse. It's a direct telephone line to heaven. Dial it, dial it 5015. That's a direct call to heaven. And and then another thing I want to tell you is this, don't wait till you get into trouble before you call the Lord Jesus. He's there, He's available. Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will.
Deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
Then they cry into their Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distress.
Oh, how wonderful this is, that he has taken me, save me, washed all my sins away.
And I made it, and for him, for his presence, Wonderful God, wonderful God. Do you know this wonderful person?
He maketh this storm.
Yeah, beautiful. He maketh the storm. I can't. Do you have a storm in your life? Do you have problems in your life? And we can bring that calm right into your life. Peace, therefore justify by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
00:35:02
He maketh a storm of calm, so that the waves there are are still. You think of the Lord.
When he was out there in that water there, he said.
P Be still P Be still and he can bring that calm into your life. Turn with me to.
Psalm. Psalm 46.
Psalm 46.
Mm-hmm.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present health in trouble. Think of that in that night, very present right now, health and trouble. Therefore we will we not fear though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. You know what you think of what it is the news flashes that are coming through today.
What a horrible world in which we are living in the crisis in Syria and all those other things, you know, everywhere you can see.
Storms.
Uh, in, uh, we, we've experienced, uh, a summer in, uh, Atlanta and most unusual summer we've had it rained.
And storms for a full month and floods and, and we're not the only when there's floods all over the place and there's disasters all over the place and there's shootings all over the place and there's, well, I, I don't, I don't have to list them all. Do you know all about it?
What is wrong with the world today? What is happening?
The Lord is coming. Thank you, the Lord is coming.
And these are last closing days of the Day of Grace, and I believe his timing is so very human.
The coming of the Lord draws down. Oh, how wonderful it is that you and I are gonna.
See him face to face, to be with him, to be like him. And is this your portion? MMM.
Psalm 46, God is our refuge and strength. What is a refuge? It's a place of safety. And we have the cities of refuge back in in Deuteronomy.
The only place of refuge is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Brother.
Was reading this afternoon about Abner and just further on in that chapter after gets to the city of refuge.
Advocates to the city of Hebron, and he just gets to the door of the gate and he is about to open the door of that city and to get in and what does he do?
And Joy comes up behind him and he says, Abner, just a minute, I want to talk to you.
And died there. She died there. I had to do was open that gate and get into that city of refuge and you be safe.
And you know you're in tonight. All you have to do is to come to Jesus as your Savior.
And you'll be safe and safe for all eternity. Isn't that wonderful? God is our refuge and strength. Therefore we will not fear. You know, we don't have to fear the future because the future is all settled in Christ. He is my future. We can calmly face the future when the blood is on the door. I like that. That's nice. And we can calmly face the future.
When the blood is on the door, though the waters there are roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake, and the swelling they're all.
And so we look at the world today, what a turmoil this world is in. We're going to leave it. We're going to leave it.
There is a river, the streams, they're all make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High God is in the midst of she not.
00:40:10
She shall not be moved. God will help her. In that early. The heathen raised, the kingdoms were moved. He uttered his voice. The earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selena, come see the works of the Lord. What desolations he had made in the earth. He maketh wars to thief.
Until the end of their year, he breaketh the bow and.
He cut at the spear and Thunder. He burneth the chariot and fire. Be still and know that I am gone. You have a beautiful verse. Be still and know that I am God. God will still be God.
I will be exalted among the heat, and I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. I want to tell you a little bit about this song.
During the first, during the last war.
Winston Churchill.
Called the man by the name of Sir William Dolby.
He said I want you to go down to the island of Malta and hold it at all costs. And you know what happened in history that Yalan or Malta was bombarded by the German Luke Lukewoff and it was just flat. But Winston Churchill said to hold it at all cost because it was very important island great in the middle of.
The Mediterranean.
And Mr. Sir William Dolby was the Christian man, and this was his chapter said, God is our refuge and strength. He maketh wars to see. He burned at the chariot of fire. Those German planes that came down, he maketh the Chariots of fire.
Hold it at all cost. God is our refuge and strength.
My stream I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.
That's it, That's it.
You know, beloved, I can't stand up here in my own strength. No, I can't.
And so only the Lord sustained thee. What a God, what a wonderful God. You know, years ago I'd be petrified, absolutely petrified to give a gospel tract to a person on the street. Absolutely petrified. I couldn't do it. And yet the as the Lord has given me the strength to get out in the street. Somebody, somebody asked me the other day, and aren't you scared of going down there?
No, no.
The other day I was down there and there had been a shooting that a few days before and there must have been 12 or so pleased to read in the same block.
But there's souls down there. There's souls, souls that are lost. They're on their way to a lost eternity. No, precious it is to be able to give out the word down there, to see these souls.
Going walking.
What a privilege.
No, I'm not scared. The Lord gives me the strength. Everybody's arming themselves with guns, everybody. The gun shops are empty.
That's the world in which we are living. But, you know, we're going to leave this world. We're going to lead this world. And so I looked around this room tonight. We're going to leave this to hope. The Lord's going to come.
And the Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel and trump of God.
And the data in Christ shall raise 1St. And we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together to the Lord in your. So shall we ever be with the Lord.
If the Lord was to come tonight.
Would there be one here left in your seat?
I remember, I remember that as a young lad sitting in many gospel meetings, I go out of the gospel meetings. It's still a lost Sinner.
00:45:09
Is it going to be one here tonight and that doesn't know Christ as their Savior? One young person, one older one.
God loves you. He wants to save your precious souls. He wants to take you to that wonderful home in heaven that is prepared for you.
And he could say in my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am.
There it may be also and then it says until it passes, Lord we we don't know where where you're going. Show us the way and and he and he said to Philip, he says, have I been so long time with you? And now that's not an only he that has seen me has seen the father.
No, there are many that today are saying show me the way. There is a way. There is a way. It is in this wonderful book, the Word of God and that liveth in abideth forever. For the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword.
It's the word of God saved, not the words of alcohol. It's His Word, this precious word of God.
And I challenge you, dear young people that take this book, meditate upon it, read it every day, and.
Chapter by chapter, word by word, whatever it is, whatever the case may be.
But to take this word and make it your way of life, He's showing you the way. He's showing you how to live through this world. He's showing you also how to be safe.
What must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. It's the way of salvation. The Lord Jesus provided that through his precious work in Calvary's growth, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. The verse that I love to quote in the gospel meaning this is.
If he only thought of himself.
And gathered unto himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh would perish together, and man.
Would umm.
Sorry.
OK, anyways, uh, may I return to the dust? Got it.
Umm, but what's the answer? What is the answer? God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. That's the answer. He never thought of himself. He thought of you. He thought of me.
John 737 The last day, that great day of the peace, Jesus Christ. And if any man thirst, let him come to me injury.
Thirsty.
For Christ and he's satisfied, the longing soul, He wants to save you. If you're not saved tonight, you can come. He'll receive you. Call upon me in the day of coming, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt Lord for me have you thanked the Lord Jesus and for dying on countless cross for you? Even the youngest person here today can thank the Lord Jesus for dying on Calvary's trust, and he wants to hear from you.
Monsieur.
Let's thank the Lord, a loving Father, we do thank thee tonight for thy precious word, and we thank You that it's a living word. And we thank thee, Lord Jesus, for an.
Christ - Sacrifice, Priest and Altar
As Often Ye Do Announce the Death of the Lord
Colossians 1
Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Colossians chapter one, beginning at verse 12.
Giving thanks unto the Father, which has made us meet to be in partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in life, who have delivered us from the power of darkness, and have translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood. Even the forgiveness of sins is the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature. For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven and that are in earth.
Visible and invisible, whether they be thrown, or dominions, or principalities or powers, all things were created by Him and for Him, and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And He is Head of the Church, and He is Head of the Body, the Church, who is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence. For it please the Father, that in Him should all fullness dwell.
And having made peace through the blood of His cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself.
By him I say, whether they be things on earth or things in heaven.
And you that were sometime alienated an enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you wholly and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight.
If he continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel which he have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven. For of I Paul, and made a minister, who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for his body's sake, which is the church whereof I am made a minister.
According to the dispensation of God, which is given to me for you to fulfill the word of God, even the mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His Saints, to whom God would make known. What is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles? Which is Christ in you? The hope of glory whom we preach, warning every man and teaching every man.
In all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus, where unto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
I'd like to read the 12Th verse.
In the new translation.
Giving thanks to the Father.
Who has made us fit for sharing the portion of the Saints in life?
God our Father.
As purpose.
That we should share.
With his son.
In that which he has purpose for his son, who we have in this chapter is head over all things.
And it is the will of God our Father that we should share in that.
But God is light.
The portion of the Saints in life and if we are going to participate in and share with him and that which God has prepared for his Son and purposes for his Son, we have to be fed.
We we can't be unsuited.
To such a place.
And it is blessed be God we see the extreme lengths of His love that He would go to in order to make us fit to.
Participate and share in that portion and in that inheritance.
The greater a person is, even among the men of this world.
If someone is going to participate or share with them in their their glory and their place of honor among men, that person has to be in the eyes of men suited.
00:05:11
Appropriate to honor them, to be an honor to them and not a hindrance or a shame to them in the place that they have. And so the apostle here says, we give thanks to the Father that has done what's necessary to make us fit to participate, to be to the honor.
Of the one that he chooses to exalt.
That one that is in His headship place, described to us in the verses which follow.
Honestly, in my own heart, I wish we it wasn't necessary to take that side of it off.
But John says yes, it is.
Because immediately our thoughts tend to go to ourselves and focus upon ourselves. But the intent of it is to see the greatness of the person who occupies the place, who is the same person that God has used to fit us for our participation with Him in that place. And so in the right way, taking up to His exaltation, not.
To the unnecessary focus on ourselves.
Uh.
The sharing together of that inheritance, in order to enter into that, there has to be a certain compatibility, a certain common understanding of the enjoyments of the things that the Lord has, what he what he will joy in. And as he takes the inheritance, you know, if we all if we have something to enjoy, we don't wanna be alone.
In the enjoyment of that thing, we want to have those around us who can share in that. And it seems to me that that was somewhat of the Lord's desire. Like he says in the His prayer in John 17 Father, I will that they whom doth given me be with me where I am. He wanted someone there with Him in heaven to share what he would have there and so.
On our part, there ought to be that desire to get into the understanding of what this is involved with. And, uh, if we don't know what he's talking about, how can we share? If we don't understand this, how can we share with him? Well, he's capacitated us for that. And part of our reason of our life here on earth is to be learning that.
Verses 13 and 14 show how he has fitted at this.
Delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son.
And in verse 14, it speaks of redemption, which is the price that was involved in making it possible that we be made fit.
It's interesting in that connection too, that again, if you notice Mr. Darby's translation.
He doesn't say in whom we have redemption through his blood. He simply says in whom we have redemption. And I think the best manuscripts do not add the blood here, although we know that it's certainly on the basis of the blood that we have redemption. And you get that in Ephesians, where we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. But here the emphasis is more on the person who has accomplished the work, because it wasn't just the work that was necessary.
But it took the person to carry out that work that had intrinsic value in himself, and that was the Son of his love. There was only one who could accomplish that work to bring us into this place, a blessing so that we could could share and enjoy with the Lord Jesus for all eternity that which is rightfully, rightfully his. And so we often say in connection with many things, it's the person that gives weight.
To the work, and that's really the focus here, as we said yesterday in the Book of Colossians.
00:10:07
I'd like to comment too on that expression in the 13th verse, Who hath delivered us from the power or authority of darkness, when it connected with the end of first John.
Last chapter of first John.
First John chapter 5 and verse 19 and we know that we are of God.
And the whole world lieth in wickedness, and we know that the Son of God has come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His sons, Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
Satan.
And God the Father are in conflict.
Satan wants the world for himself.
God has purposed the world for His Son.
And at present the world is under the authority.
Of darkness.
It's called Satan's World.
And when we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, we're delivered from that world system of things.
To be to the father for his son.
And if we don't?
Recognize that conflict.
We can very easily find ourselves, even though we've been delivered from its authority, we can find ourselves walking in that world.
That is against the purposes of God the Father, for the honor, the glory, the dignity of His Son.
And so we have been taken out of that system.
That's an enmity against God.
That system, the whole world lies in the wicked one.
And, uh, the only one that can deliver us is the person of God's own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and has done so by the work of redemption and by his death. As we see in the verses that follow. It's only through death really that we are properly delivered from it in the full sense of it. And so it's, it's brought out here and translated us into the Kingdom.
Of his dear son, and son of his love. And it's that Kingdom that's going to prevail. It is that Kingdom over which he reigns, that he is head of.
That will permanently and forever replace the present system of things of which Satan is the head. And so, having been delivered from it, we want to live in a way that recognizes we belong to a whole new Kingdom, if you will, that we were previously under the power of another and we are no longer.
So you see, when Satan took the Lord Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple, in contrast to what you say, he showed him the kingdoms of this world in a moment of time. And that's what the kingdoms of the world are. But as you say, Brother Dawn, that which is we, it speaks up here is for eternity. It's going to last forever. It it is abiding. It's referred to in Thessalonians as his Kingdom and glory. And what a glory it's going to be.
The glory of this world fades very quickly, but I was thinking of how it's illustrated with the children of Israel in the Old Testament.
Because there were two things that were necessary in connection with their position in Egypt. First, they were redeemed by the blood of the Passover lamb. There had to be death because they had to recognize their own guilt in God's provision for them. But that didn't deliver them from the authority of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. They were still on the Egyptian side of the Red Sea. Where Satan, a picture of Satan, or where Pharaoh, I'm sorry, a picture of Satan had his authority.
00:15:15
And so God delivered them through the Red Sea by a mighty hand. And thank God they never got back to Egypt. But there's an interesting comment made in connection with Steven as he recounts their history in that 40 years in the wilderness. Steven says in their hearts they returned into Egypt. They never got back their positionally and will never be part of this world. And it's programmed again.
We have been delivered from that, but in our hearts we can return into Egypt. We can set our hearts on the things of this world. And so later on in Colossians, we're told to set our mind on things above where Christ said us. Not even to have our minds centered on things that things here in this world, but to realize that while this world is for a moment of time, there's something of eternal value and consequence that we're going to share with the Lord Jesus for eternity and he's going to share with us.
Scripture tells us God is Spirit.
Spirit has no body.
God is a physical.
And as such as it says in the verse.
15 invisible thoughts.
We never have.
We do not now, and we never will.
See God physically.
Is not seeable with the natural eye, with the natural senses.
But in image that that verse speaks of the image. The image is that which represents someone.
Who can't be seen or who is not present?
The thought in scripture of image is that which presents someone.
Take an image of somebody on a coin. As they did in Caesar's day, they put the image of Caesar upon it.
And it was that which represents the person and authority of a person that was not present and not seen.
God has chosen to make himself known to us in some.
And in so doing, he has come out to us in a way that.
Is wonderful. The sun has become a man.
To be seen.
To be looked upon, to be handled.
And John's gospel is that Son coming forth from God the Father to make the Father known to us. He is the image of the invisible God. He is the one that in the end he could say to the disciples, show us the Father, they said.
And what does this answer?
He that has seen me.
Being Father.
And.
Is first John that we just finished reading? It says this is the true God in eternal life. In John's epistle, the two are so brought together in unity that sometimes the words don't distinguish between Father and Son because of the perfect unity of the person of the Godhead, their persons in the Godhead to give us that sense that this person that is before our souls.
Is worthy.
Of the Supreme first place is the MH of the invisible God. He himself is the one that must for the glory of God. It's essential He must have the preeminent, the supreme, the 1St place, even though he is man as well as he is his sonship deity and so.
00:20:14
For us, it is well for us to seek to appreciate.
When we dwell upon him.
Is truly God to our soul. It's the perfect manifestation. He is God made known to us in this person.
He that has seen me see my Father, and so not only God in his nature.
But as Father God in his heart, and so the Lord Jesus is is as God manifests in flesh, gives us the perfect expression of the heart of God.
And his person, his life and his death and.
That's the person that is the head.
Oh God, there's the same like father, like son. How did that become? Because the sun was watching the father, the son or the God in that case with the mother, They're always watching what mom or dad are doing and they enjoy it. And after violence, they grow older. They say we just want to respond. And that's because there's a there's an image that is reflecting back.
And if we have this image with our children or grandchildren?
If they can see, our walk and our talk will be following the Lord.
They reflect that and that reflection back and that that's a beautiful illustration. I see my grandchildren growing up and and I say, wow, you know, he's only 12 years old or less characteristic because he's following and this is what the relationship we should have between US and the Lord. We may be his enemy, but it was even more than that with the Lord Jesus.
Before we turn to Hebrews One, let me quote a verse I believe was read to us this morning.
In John's Gospel it says the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. God has been fully glorified in the His Son. As he came into this world, an incarnation walked through this world in everything he did. The glories of God were fully displayed, because to be glorified is to have every attribute that makes up a person's character.
Brought into full display and the Lord Jesus at the end of his pathway could say in his prayer in the 17th of John, I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. He didn't just complete the work and satisfy God as to the work, but God. Every care, every glory, every attribute of God was brought into full display. But I'd like to read in Hebrews. I know this is a familiar portion, but.
In connection with what has been said Hebrews chapter one, I'll just read quickly the 1St 3 verses. God, who at sundry times and in diverse manner spake in time passed under the fathers, by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us. It really is in the person of His Son. That's really the thought. It's in Son. It's in the person of His Son. He spoke in various ways up until the Lord Jesus came in incarnation.
But now He has spoken in a way that He had never spoken before, and that's in Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the world. Now notice this next expression, who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person. You know, we say like Father, like son. We look at a boy and we say, well, no trouble to see whose son that is. They have many of the characteristics, both in their appearances, appearance, and, as you say, in their actions of the Father.
And we can pick out a father and a son in a crowd, sometimes very quickly. But no sun ever born into this world apart from the Son of God. Could it ever be said, with the express image of his person, we say, well, that Sun is the spitting image of his father.
We understand what we mean, but there are differences. There are things that are very different and unique to the individual. But the Lord Jesus, he was the express image of His person. Every movement, everything he said, everything He did expressed fully who God was. And that's why, as you say, at the end of it He could say, He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.
00:25:24
Show us the Father. They had seen the Father perfectly, perfectly expressed in the sun. No other sun has ever perfectly expressed or represented their Father here on earth. But wonder of wonders, there was one who did, the Lord Jesus, and He is the One who is the head, and He is the one who is to have the full preeminence. There's an expression in John One.
Where you read him and verse 14 that is repeated in verse 18, it says no man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him so no man has seen God at any time is like our verse said, the invisible God. God is so infinite in his being. There's no way that we as preachers.
You could view him, could see him. So God, uh, so the Lord Jesus is the image of the invisible God that the expression that I enjoy here is the only way begotten. We have a different word used here in verse 15, the first born or first begotten. And there's a difference. And remember an older of our older brothers saying only begotten is that relationship with the Lord Jesus.
Enjoyed with the Father for all eternity, the only begotten Son. But when it is first born or first begotten, it is His relationship to all the rest of creation. He is the one who is the first born, the the one who has the preeminent position in everything. So you have that expression used twice in these verses.
First of all, in verse 15 of our chapters is the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature that is in the first creation, and that is in verse 151617 But then we have in verse 18 that word used again the first born from the dead.
He has the place of preeminence in connection with new creation, because new creation begins in resurrection.
The Lord Jesus and resurrection is the head of new creation environment not understood why the Lord Jesus when he rose from the dead, the first one he met was Mary Magdalene.
And he told her, don't touch me. I have not yet ascended to my God, your God to, to my father and your father to my God and your God. And, uh, sometimes people say, why did you say that? Because they didn't touch him. In fact, he tells them the hands on the NC. And I've enjoyed the thought that it was simply that Mary wanted to have him back like she had known him down here. And he said, in effect, no, Mary.
You're not going to know me that way. You're going to know me in a new way, completely superior to what you did know me before. So it's a new creation there.
18 and 19. It's helpful to see the difference.
Also scriptures very careful in.
Just putting 15 and 15 together.
15 says the first one.
And we might immediately think about time and order of birth with respect to something having to do with time. But the Spirit of God carefully.
Very nice expression that that's impossible to look upon it properly that way and says we're by him, we're all things created.
That is, he wasn't created. He couldn't be first born of anything in the sense of creation sense or in the sense of time, because it says of him, by him, we're all things created. And so the very beginning of time and the very beginning of that which is created is created by this person.
00:30:16
And as a result of his own creative work.
So it's to give us the.
Increased appreciation in our souls is who He is.
That in our appreciation of who He is, He would have his right place in our souls.
And, uh, that when we need something or look to something as we had yesterday, the first thought is look to him because he is supremely sufficient for whatever that is. Here's the one when we say, can somebody do this? Can somebody do that, We are presented with the person who has in his person all the power.
Of creation.
Not only does He have the power of creation, but in verse 16 it's for Him. The end of verse 16, all things were created by Him and for Him.
It's for him.
That anything was created that is created.
And so if if our souls, if it lays hold of us, then it helps us to recognize.
He's supreme. He's to have the absolute yes, he's savior.
We start there, but we don't end there.
He is the end of all to the thoughts of our hearts and our souls.
Is my first place in God's plots and he is to be formed in us to have that, to be in us to have that same appreciation that he takes the same place in our hearts that he has in the heart and he's going to retain that place for all eternity. You know, we sometimes think, and I think it's important to realize we sometimes think of.
The day when we're God's house is going to be filled with sons and daughters, and we're all going to be with and like Christ, morally and physically. When he shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see him as he is. But remember, the Lord Jesus will remain distinct for all eternity. He will remain the only begotten of the Father. He will remain the first born of every creature for all eternity.
We will never attain to that position that the Lord Jesus has in the heart of God and the place that he has before God. He will remain the only begotten of the Father, I say, for all, for all eternity. So I just mentioned, I think it's helpful to see that we're never going to reach that same place. He will be that Son of his, the Son of his love forever.
I find it helpful to see that.
In Psalm 89, David is called the first begotten, and it's the same expression that if you just look at it in Psalm 89 and verse 20, he said, I have found David my servant, with whom my holy oil have I with my holy oil have I anointed him and then laid her down? In the chapter he says in verse 27 also I will make him my first born.
Higher than the kings of the earth. So we know that David was the 8th in the birth order of his son Jesse, his father Jesse.
But, uh, he's called the first born because it's the title of preeminence. So that's what's used in connection with this. It's not a matter of birth, like you say down, it's a matter of preeminence. Another thing I think is helpful to see is that when God made Adam, he said, uh, let us make man in our image after our likeness.
00:35:02
So the Lord Jesus is called here the image of the invisible God. Adam was to be God's representation and he thought he was made in God's image and likeness. The Lord Jesus is the image of the invisible God, but never does it say he's the likeness. That would be to deny his deity. It's important point.
It says in Philippians chapter two, he was made in the likeness of man. Yes, that was the case. He was made in the likeness of the man that he was God. He ever is God. He never ceased to be God when he became a man. Very important points to be clear as to the person of the Lord Jesus because it is the very foundation of our faith. And if we don't have those points clear, they're under attack.
And it will lead to our detriment if we do, if we're not clear as to the glory and as to who He really is.
I don't require that, uh, because.
Go back to first John chapter 2.
OK.
Umm, first John chapter three. First John chapter 3 and verse two. Beloved now are we the sons of God? And it's actually children of God here. Umm, And it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is, and every man that hath his hope in him purifies himself even as he is pure.
Umm.
As the children of God, it's the purpose of God that we be like His Son.
And the reason for reading these verses is that they show us that we gradually become more like Him and the work will be complete in its entirety. When we are changed at the rapture and have a glorified body and enter into His presence, we will be morally like Him. It's also in the family of God, the intent of God, that we enjoy the place of sonship.
Galatians brings that out to us that we are also to be sons, and sons in the case of ourselves has that thought of growing into.
The fullness of that a son is one who's like his father is brought before us before and with respect to ourselves. There is that development and growth into the full knowledge of what God has bringing us into that we might enjoy the sonship place of knowledge and relationship of likeness and so on, but it's.
As Jim has already said it with us, it's never goes to the point of the Lord Jesus. By contrast with us, I'd like to read just one verse in Hebrews.
Umm chapter 5 to bring out an opposite point with respect to the Lord Jesus.
In Hebrews chapter 5, verse 5.
Uh, so also Price glorified not himself to be made in High Priest, but he that said unto him, Thou art my son today have I begotten thee, as he hath saith also in another place thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications, with strong prowing and tears unto him that was able to save him from death.
And was heard in that he feared though he were a son or son, yet learned he obedience.
By the things which he suffered.
As Sun as a name Sun.
It's a name of deity.
Father, Son, Holy Spirit, perfect equality.
Perfect unity. And as such, in that name, Son, there is no development.
00:40:07
It is that which He has been from eternity, it is that which He is now, and it is that which He forever shall remain. He can't be less than He is. He is Son.
Just as Father, his Father and Holy Spirit is Holy Spirit in perfect equality, so is Son, Son, and in that there is absolutely no change. It's eternal.
In his person and his character.
What we learned though, from these verses in here illustrated in Hebrews 5, is that when the sun became a man.
As man there was that which we can see in his person that we might associate with growth or development or suitedness. Not a son, but his man. He was the same person. He was the son. But so we have in Luke's gospel. He grew.
In favor with God and man. He was a child, He grew.
And as a child is a perfect man, we see the growth of the child into its manhood. We see him as man go through those experiences.
It says he learned obedience by the things which he suffered, which is to tell us that he as a man learned what the cost of obedience was.
A son he was not, and he turned past eternity in a place of obedience.
He was not in that relationship, he was equal.
But in Philippians 2, when he empties himself and takes the place of participating in manhood, then we see him as a man go through those things. And here in Hebrews 5, it is particularly bringing before us. He's gone through the experience. What is the high priest to do? He's to have compassion. He's to feel for the people and bring their needs before God.
Here's the man.
Passing through everything perfectly. Does he know what it is?
To feel weakness? Yes he does.
Does he know what it is to feel suffering? Yes, he does. Does he know what it is to be rejected? Yes, he does. And so in that he has been made.
Perfectly suited as a man to bear our case, our need, our situation before God.
By contrast, he was the high priest. He was to take things to God, but.
He was no different than his fellows.
He had his own sins, if you will. He had his own problems. He had his own shortcomings. But.
R5 threes pass through it all and and in that way God can say perfectly understands it was perfectly fitted. So while we're not ever going to comprehend it, we can't understand if we keep.
The different pieces of it properly.
Prayerfully, humbly, in our souls, we can worship in the sun, who is the Son of Man, who is the Son of manhood, But we must make sure that we don't try and mix the two or reconcile the two with markets in mind.
So it says unto us, a child is born. That's his incarnation, that's his manhood. But it doesn't say unto us, the Son is born. Unto us the Son is given. And the Spirit of God is very careful when you go through Scripture to guard this precious truth. You will never read of the sun being born. He's always sent or given because to have us to send or give.
Something you have to have it already. And it's remarkable, isn't it? The little expression of singing in connection with what Dawn has just said in Proverbs chapter 8, where it rings before us the eternity of His person. And when the foundations of the earth were laid and creation came into being, and so on, He was there as one brought up by Him, and so with Him and so on. There's a little expression there that sometimes we think of or we limit in our thinking.
00:45:21
And that is the expression I was daily his delight. And I suppose the first thought is we think of him walking here as the Son of God in this world. And certainly that's true. Heaven could open up and all heaven be be occupied with the object that God would always be occupied with his beloved Son. And a voice declared, this is my beloved Son, and so on. But you know that expression I suggested more than just the sun walking in this world.
From a past eternity he was daily the delight of the Father. The Father found his delight in the sun from a past eternity. Now we've been talking of contrast between in connection with earthly sons and fathers, and there's another contrast here. No sun it born into this world apart from the Lord Jesus, the Son of God has ever been daily the delight of the Father. Not that they're loved any less. I've never had sons, but I've had two daughters.
And I love them very much to this day, but I can't honestly say they've been daily my delight. There's been days when they've grieved me by their actions and so on. Doesn't mean I love the many left. But here was a son who from a past eternity was daily the delight of his father. And here's the one who's the head. And so we find in our chapter, he, he's not only the creator.
Of the universe, He's the sustainer of it. And that's really the thought, isn't it? You know, we read in Hebrews chapter one that he was upholding all things by the word of his power when just in a past eternity. No, you know, when the Lord Jesus was lying in Bethlehem's Manger, the eternal Son, he was upholding all things by the word of his power when he found a few moments in his weary service to lay his head on a pillow in a boat in a storm.
He was upholding all things by the word of his power. When his hands were stretched on a Roman cross, He was upholding all things by the word of his power. He never ceased to do that. And I say that because in the end of the 17th verse of our chapter, it's really by him all things.
Subsist again, Mr. Darby translates it that way, and it's really the thought because to subsist is more than just to consist. Let me illustrate it this way. We have a table in the middle of the room, and that table consists. It consists of some, I think some would if we were to take the cloth off and kind of pressed wood or something like that, perhaps some glue. There's some metal, some hardware, some rubber.
Uh, uh, feed at the bottom of it and so on. It consists of a number of commodities. But to subsist is more than to consist. To subsist is to work together under the direction of something or someone. And the Lord Jesus is not only the creator of this universe, but everything in this universe subsists by the word of his power. If he drew his breath to himself for a moment.
Everything would perish if he forgot fire, perish the thought if he forgot some little iota of creation. For a moment, things would go completely haywire in the creation. But to think that it's the Son of God, the head of it all, that not only created it, but that keeps everything in its perfect balance. And this planet Earth is just a marble.
It's just a speck in the midst of it all. People are finding out with their telescopes and their probes something of the greatness of God's creation. And he keeps stretching it out. It's an ongoing tense in Isaiah 40 and other places. He's stretching it out, but he's keeping it all in his proper order. And to think that it was to planet earth this fact that the Son of God came in incarnation and while they spit in his blessed face.
He gave them the strength.
00:50:00
To hurl their spit in his face, He gave him the strength to lift the scourge around his back, to lift the mallet that pounded the nail, to lift the cross, to hang him between heaven and earth. He upheld their very breath. Came here to planet earth wide, to accomplish to the glory of God, the work of redemption, so that God could be glorified as to the question of sin, and so that you and I.
Could, to the glory of God, be brought into a place of blessing and sonship, and so that we could share the inheritance with His beloved Son, who's going to have His rightful place in creation in the coming day. Tremendous thought. Can we take it in, brethren? No, but we believe it by faith on the basis of what we have in this precious book.
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament saw his handy word, and He's the creator of heaven, all things that are created in heaven and in earth. And like you say, Jim, that tremendous vastness of the universe that we are part of, it just is mind boggling to think about.
Our Earth is to say it could 1,300,000 could fit into the sun.
And yet the sun is just one of the stars of our Galaxy, as they say. I think now it's, I saw in the book the other day, 200 billion stars in our Galaxy alone, and the distance across our Galaxy is 100.
1000 light years.
Is that the light that started across from 1 edge of our Galaxy to the other side of it when Adam was placed in this world is not even a tenth of the way across, even though life goes at 186,000 miles per second?
But then to think, uh, another figure that, and like you say, the figures seem to grow all the time. But what I heard most recently, I don't know, maybe there's somebody that knows better, but they calculate that there's at least another 100 billion galaxies in the universe.
How can you grasp such vastness? This is our God, this is His power. This is the one that we are united to, this person tremendous. And those are the visible things. Notice in verse 16 it says not only the visible things, but the invisible, whether they be Thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, so that what we are looking at is the visible world.
But there is a world that is not visible.
There are spirit powers, there's the angelic hosts. How many of the angelic hosts are there? We have, I don't know that we have any specific numbers, say hundred one 10,000 * 10,000, which is 100 million. But but uh, and then it says thousands of thousands, myriads is really the word.
Of angelic beings, those that are maintained in sinless perfection by the power of God called elect angels. But then there are other and beings too. Invisible means that we don't have any clue about but it shows here in verse 16. I think it is helpful that God has.
Sat in his creation order.
Order in government Thrones, dominions, principalities, powers that God has set his creation in an ordered way and we need to recognize that. Parents have authority over their children that God has determined and there is government in the earth and we need to recognize that as well. Those are things that God has said.
They are.
Things that are they're, they're visible things. There are invisible hours.
Bob, can you enlarge that from Isaiah 5715?
Go ahead brother. You read that. Go ahead and read it.
Thus set the high and holy one that inhabited eternal.
00:55:06
James Bond.
I will in the high and holy place.
With him also, that is a contrite and humble spirit.
To revive the spirit of the humble.
To survive, the heart of the contract was.
Certainly is our place to.
Humble ourselves in His presence and we consider His grace. How can you and I ever, ever raise the way? No way.
We think we should.
Relegate to ourselves.
More understanding than him.
O brethren, the Lord help us to bow on his feet, to recognize, to give him his proper place.
I'd like to read a verse in John 17.
John 17.
Its connection will be verse 20. Neither pray aye for these alone, but for them also, which thou shall believe on me through their word.
Including those in Mayfield, KY, on this day.
That they all may be one.
As thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee.
They also may be one in US.
What?
That the world they believe.
That thou hast sent me for commenting on that, turn back to our chapter.
Verse 18.
Blossom 118.
And he?
That's one of which we've been speaking for the last hour or so.
He is the head.
Of the body.
The Journey.
We've spoken of one which.
With His greatness and majesty.
But now the chapter brings it to its connection with the body.
He is ahead.
The body.
The body with its head.
In Oneness.
Is to be that display.
Ideas for sample?
It's incomprehensible, almost.
Can you stop?
Look for state of mind.
The assembly, that is, is the head of the body.
The assembly and in its assembly side of it.
The ones gathered out from the world to God formed into a body.
To be the display to the world, if such oneness.
Between the members of the body and their head.
That the world believes.
Jesus is the central one.
So shameful.
It's so humbling.
Because it's so com incomprehensible almost that a person.
Of this character has attacked.
We see the body so dysfunctional.
So not responsive to the head.
By the Spirit.
And I hope when we say it.
01:00:01
Even farther then.
Within our own souls.
Individually can I say?
Am I holding that?
Personally, individually in my life.
In that place.
Is love to for everything? Why would one ever want to have ones own will in anything that would in the tiniest way?
Not give him his place. Not give him the satisfaction.
I'm seeing if we talk about the creation, we've talked about the creation and this inanimate part of the creation that's described in some of its glories perfectly response to them.
Perfectly obeys him, if you will.
And every tiniest detail.
Every atom of the physical creation.
Responds properly.
As an inanimate part of the creation.
And here we with God-given spirits.
To intelligently know him and be able to respond to him with intelligence in honor of who he is.
And then we look at the state.
And of which were part. And we say, does the world believe?
You know the box that doesn't believe. If we go on to just one more comment on 1St John or John 17 a few verses later, it says that the world not made believe, but the world may know.
Millennium.
When we are seeing as we should be now, but when we will be seen in that perfect oneness.
Umm, every member, every joint, every parts perfectly responsive. And then the glory that is seen of the Church with its head in its millennial glory and Revelation 21.
Bob in the world will know.
And the world will help. Does it know now? Does it believe now?
It's still a shame, but it's to humble us that we might each one want, have a thirst in our souls to give him His place and look to him collectively in every collective responsibility and need with respect to every individual that is part of that party.
I just like to say a word about that last comment in connection with the collective aspect of things because well has been, well, it has been expressed in a number of meetings that every believer alive on the face of the earth today is a member of the body of Christ. Yet God has given a place where these things can be practically carried out and expressed and displayed. And I'm going to just apply it in connection with the local assembly.
We go home to our local assemblies and problems and difficulties arise and they do, don't they? And there are many decisions that need to be made. What are we to do, brethren, to take a boat where the assembly is not a democracy? Now it's interesting that in the first chapter of Acts, before the church or assembly was formed, there was a decision that faced them and they cast lots and it God honored that says in the Old Testament, the lot is cast in the lap and the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.
And God honored it in connection with choosing a replacement for Judas. But a brother was telling me one time that after he was first saved and gathered to the Lords name, he went to a brothers meeting and there was a problem came up. A decision had to be made. And this young brother, he said, well brethren, why don't we cast lots? They did it in the first chapter of the Acts. But it was pointed out to him that after the assembly was formed.
In the second chapter, they never cast lots again. They always look to the head for direction. Because as we said at the beginning of these reading meetings, on the day of Pentecost, one of the things that took place was that the members of the body of on earth, those 120 or so believers that were waiting in the upper room in obedience to the word of the Lord.
01:05:17
They were not only linked together by the Spirit of God and so on, but they became linked to their glorified head, the Lord Jesus. And so ever after that in the book of the Acts, when a problem or decision came up collectively, they got before the Lord in prayer, and they were directed by the Spirit of God. And so when a difficulty arises in the assembly.
We look to the head, He's head of the body, and we look to Him for direction. And when there's that proper spirit of looking to Him and submission to the head, then He is able to give the direction that is needed. And brethren, if there doesn't seem to be light or direction to act in a certain matter as members of the body of Christ on earth, then all we can do is commit the matter.
To the one who is the head of the body and in his own time and in His own way, then He is going to give direction so that when we act, we do not act independent of the head. And when we act in accordance with the direction of the head, then it's going to be for His glory and for the blessing of the members on earth.
Sometimes we need to wait, don't we? Yes. And when you say that the.
Exercise of going through that process of.
Deciding what is right, What is the Lord's mind?
Helps us become familiar to know God and what his mind is. And then we understand him and we act not just as robots, but we act as in fellowship with him. And then that relationship between him and us is is endeared. It's deep and there's growth. And so that's a lot of what our life is about here in in going through the exercise of these things.
It's not just a casting loss, but God could. God could make it real, plain and evident what the right choice should be in every decision. But the act of going through this helps us to learn to no cost. And often when there's not clarity right off the bat, it's because there are deeper roots and we need to wait further on the Lord. I've been impressed with what it says in Hebrews.
To in the 5th chapter.
Paul speaks to them and, uh, speaks to them about their lack of maturity.
And it's interesting what he says. Verse 12.
Hebrews 512 For when for the time he ought to be teachers, he have need that one teach you again what? Which be the first principles of the oracles of God are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat. For everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness. Freeze, obey. But this is the verse, but strongly belonging to them that are of full age mature.
Even those who buy reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Nothing so trying as when we are in a difficult problem not to be able to resolve it. But God sees fit to put us into those situations at times, brethren, because it's in exercise that we grow in material things. That's the way you grow by exercise and in spiritual matters too. And so it's that having our senses exercise.
That there is discernment. So let's say I have eyes that I can see well with. But to see well, I not only need good eyes, I need light. And we need in discerning things, not only.
Spiritual maturity. But we need light from the Word of God, and sometimes we have to get down on our knees and confess our lack and get into His words.
01:10:02
Let the light shine and then there can be discernment. Those things don't happen often very fast. Sometimes it takes time.
We've done that. There's things that have to be judged and put in their place and then the light shines.
Like to read a verse in Second Corinthians chapter 5?
Applied to immediately what follows here in our chapter.
2nd Corinthians, chapter 5.
On verse 14 For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all.
Why do you do it? What does it prove? That you're all dead?
That he died for all that they which lived should not do, for it live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them.
And rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we know man after the flesh? Yeah, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now his forth knowing Him no more. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, leading the new translation, He is a new creation. All things are passed away. Behold, all things are new, and all things are applause.
Who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ? Now back to our chapter.
And verse.
18 He is the head of the Body, the Church, who is the beginning, the first born from the dead.
First born in death.
The church.
Is on the foundation.
Not the first creation.
But as Price died.
To that creation.
To the flesh and all that's connected with it, he died.
He rose again.
As head of a new creation.
He returned to glory and was glorified and at that point and on that basis.
The church is formed and linked to its head.
A glorified man in new creation.
In Glory.
Many times the difficulty perhaps? Maybe the root difficulty.
That comes into the assembly and the holding of its head.
Is because the old creation comes into it the flesh.
And.
It did length relationship, the head shift, the functioning of it is in new creation and consequently Colossians. When it gets down into its details in chapter 2 it says if he be dead with Christ.
And after three begins, if ye be risen with Christ, chapter 3 goes on to say, Put off and names those things that have to do with the flesh and the first creation. Put on in a practical sense, that which belongs to the new creation and the conflicts, the difficulties of discernment many times are because something of the flesh which belongs to the first creation.
Is at work and hindering the work of the spirit of God to respond to that in the Newman that does think does understand does appreciate does act in oneness with his head, but only only in that way and consequently much of the rest of this first chapter is to show us the.
Necessary work and effect of his death in 2nd Corinthians 5 you have to reconciliation the rest of this chapter brings out the work of how that reconciliation is made between the first creation. No, but the death of that that brings us into the new and we're reconciled to God in on those grounds, but it's through death and if we don't.
01:15:20
Recognize practically the effect of death upon us and in US and for us and so on. We will not be able to walk in the light and see us in the light. It's only in the nation that we bear about in somebody that dying of the Lord Jesus that the life of Jesus is manifested. So the allowance of one is the disallowance of the other.
A.
Go back to 2nd Corinthians 5 there Don you read verse 17.
And you may be in Christ, there's a new creation, old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. And then the first phrase is the next verse, and all things are of God. In new creation, everything is of God.
So there's a difference between me and you. Don't. Something of the first creation is coming into the picture here.
And I have to reflect.
I like to put things simply and a lot of what Don just brought before us can be summed up in 2 words in Christ.
That's in comparison with in Adams.
You and I know an awful lot of what it means to be in in Atom. We know how Adam acts. We know what controls Adam.
It's a sin, sin nature, but God and his gracious put his hand another, He's put us in Christ, and that's where new creation begins.
And dry soap.
Just to share that just like to say in Christ through death, in resurrection and in resurrection.
We're in Christ through death and in resurrection. Our position in Christ before God is not in Adam.
Thing #100.
Maybe we can stand and see #100.
And.
Voicemail race.
We lost everything. Real joy to come.
Gospel 2
Gospel—Jim Hyland
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Let's start the meeting this evening with hymn #9 on the Gospel Hymn Shape.
Come every soul by sin oppressed, there's mercy with the Lord and He will surely give you rest by trusting in His word. Yes, Jesus is the truth, the way that leads you into rest. Believe in Him without delay. You are fully blessed. Hymn #9. If someone could please start it.
And please roll the blood.
OK, hold on.
A 2nd.
To help you in the heart.
You know this, Virginia?
Let's ask God's help and blessings, our blessed God and Father, how thankful we are this evening for the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for those glorious words, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And we're thankful too, that we could sing this invitation to come to the Savior and trust Him now. And we pray that if there's someone here in this room who's still lost and in their sins, that tonight they might realize their great need, but also realize.
00:05:22
There is a great Savior. We pray that our work mightily by thy spirit. We ask it for the blessing of souls. We ask it for thy glory, for the glory of the Lord Jesus, and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
I'd like to read a number of scriptures this evening at the beginning of this gospel meeting. The first one is in the book of Isaiah, Isaiah, chapter 53.
Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 6.
All we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way.
And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. And then in Proverbs chapter 16.
Proverbs chapter 16 and verse 25. There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
In the book of Jude, just before the Book of Revelation.
The book of Jude and the 11Th verse.
Woe unto them, For they have gone in the way of Cain.
We're going to stop there. We'll connect some further verses, but in connection with that which has been before us in these meetings, that is the tremendous place of blessing and privilege we have been brought into as believers in Christ. I'd like to speak tonight to any who are not saved, and I'd like to speak of the way in which we are brought into this place of blessing and relationship with God.
And with the Lord Jesus Christ, because the burden of our souls tonight is.
That there may be someone here who does not know Christ as their Savior. Someone who is not on their way to heaven. Someone who is not anticipating that moment when the Lord Jesus is going to come and call every believer out of this world at an event that we sometimes refer to as the Rapture or the Second Coming of Christ. And I'm solemnized to look into the faces of those who perhaps most, if not all.
Have heard the gospel message many, many times.
You know, sometimes I have had the opportunity and the privilege to present the gospel to large audiences where I felt that most in the audience had perhaps never heard a clear gospel before. And that is a very solemn responsibility to present the souls, perhaps for the first time, the good news.
Of the story of Jesus and his love to present as simply and clearly as possible the way of salvation. But you know, I sometimes wonder in looking into the faces of an audience like this tonight, if this isn't a greater challenge.
Those who have heard the story so many, many times. Those who, as it were, have seen the signpost. Those who have been pointed to the Way over and over and over again, and yet are indifferent.
To the road that they're on, indifferent to the way that they are traveling, and indifferent, most solemn of all, to the end of that course.
We're going to speak by the grace of God tonight of the way to blessing, the way to God the Father, the way to the Lord Jesus, the way to heaven. But I began with these verses because I want to impress upon our souls first of all that we are sinners and that we are all born into this world, sinners and on the wrong way. Everyone here tonight.
00:10:10
Who is not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ?
Is traveling.
The wrong way.
I suppose most, if not all of us know what it is to be on a road and go the wrong way. I have very little, if any sense of direction. My wife gets so exasperated with me You could spin me in my backyard just about and I can't tell you how to get out. And sometimes we have got very, very confused traveling in cities and towns and areas that were not familiar with.
And sometimes my pride won't let me admit that I'm going the wrong way.
And when we're going the wrong way, there are several things that happen. Sometimes we start accelerating. We somehow think if we go a little faster, it'll just come out in the right direction and we start accelerating and we're traveling faster and faster. But we're still going the wrong way. We're just getting to the end of a wrong course a little quicker than we would have otherwise.
Usually when we realize we're on the wrong way.
Don't want to admit it. We like to blame somebody else. Sometimes I blame my wife if she's with me. I say to her, if she's reading the map, well why weren't you watching the roadside? Sometimes if she's watching the road signs, I say, well, couldn't you have followed the map? I remember one time she closed both the map in her eyes and said, who do you blame when I'm not along? I said it's very frustrating. It is very frustrating and you know what I'm talking about. But tonight.
We need to realize that all we like sheep have gone astray. The word all is all inclusive, isn't it? It doesn't exempt anyone. All we, like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. That makes it personal, you know. If we just stop at the first expression in this verse, all we like sheep have gone astray. That's fairly easy to admit.
It's fairly easy to admit that the human race has fallen, and if we're honest with ourselves, we don't have to look very far to realize that the human race has gone its own way. In fact, if there's one thing that man likes more than anything else, it's to have his own way.
You know human rights are glorified today.
Self will is not just practice today. It's always been practiced from the Garden of Eden down from the time of which we read by one man's disobedience, sin entered, and death by sin. So death passed upon all men. For that all have sinned and self will has been practiced down through the ages. But self will and human rights are not just practiced today, they're preached and they're glorified.
Perhaps some of you heard me tell this few days ago, but I will remember how this was brought home to my soul with my 4 year old sitting at the end of the kitchen table and some discipline had been enacted and she was sitting there sobbing and her mother came out into the room and she said, oh mother, if dad would only obey me, things would be a lot happier around here. Isn't that? Doesn't that express so very well the heart of man?
A four year old child.
Wanting to have her own way, wanting to be, as she thought, in control.
Of the circumstances I have seen more than once in the last couple of years.
That bumper sticker that perhaps some of you have seen? Question authority. We want to go our own way.
That is the heart of man.
But our own way as we're going to find out, please.
To an end.
That is eternally solemn.
There is a way, as we read in Proverbs, There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof.
Are the ways of death.
How far is Hell from Mayfield?
00:15:01
Hell is at the end.
Of a light lived herself without Christ.
I suppose that most of us have seen on the door on the other side of the room there the sign that says it's all about you.
You know, tonight it's not all about you. It's all about Christ.
It's Christ and the way that has been provided.
Through the work of Calvary, it's for you, but it's not all about you.
Because the way that you're on tonight, if you don't know Christ, is the Broad Rd. that leads to destruction. It may seem right, And there are many who say, well, all roads lead to Rome. It's an old expression I used to hear when I was growing up. All roads lead to Rome. All roads don't lead to heaven.
You can be sincere.
And you can be sincerely wrong.
I've just returned from Egypt a few weeks ago and.
There are those in a country like Egypt that are very, very sincere about what they believe.
Perhaps in a sense more sincere than we are.
Those of us who know Christ as our Savior.
I was on an Air Egypt flight from Frankfurt to Cairo one evening.
And it was the Moslem hour of prayer.
There were many people praying in the Isle of that plane.
The flight attendants were praying in that plane.
They were not ashamed of what they believed.
They were not ashamed to show.
Their faith quote.
It spoke to my own soul. They're sincere. They're zealous for what they believe. They're sincerely wrong on the authority of God's word.
But tonight we're sincere. I trust in seeking to present the gospel, and I trust that there are those here tonight who are sincere.
In finding the way, there's a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
I read also in the book of Jude, because we find here that there are those that who are referred to as going in the Way of Kings.
I believe when it speaks of the way of Cain, what is really talking about is false religion. That's what Cain speaks to us. Now if we were to go back to the story of Cain and Abel, those two brothers, back in the book of Genesis, we would find that Abel on the one hand recognizing that his acceptance before God was based on the death and the bloodshed.
Of an innocent victim. He brought a sheep something from the flock and his his sacrifice was accepted, and it tells us he brought a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.
Cain brought a sacrifice. Cain sought to approach God, but it was in a false way.
And I would just like to say tonight if there's someone here.
And you think that through some religious rights?
And some religious activities you are going to approach God and merit favor before God for your soul salvation.
I want to warn you faithfully on the authority of God's Word, that it's going to lead.
To eternity in the lake of fire.
Cain had opportunity to repent and.
And he refused it, and it says he went out from the presence of the Lord.
Very, very solemn. Religion is not what we're talking about today. Tonight, religion is not the way. You know when the Lord Jesus was here, There were those in the days of the Lord Jesus who had religion. They had religion this time.
00:20:01
But you know, it was those very men, those religious leaders in Israel, that led the populace in rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ. It was they who cried with one voice away with him, crucify him. It was they who said we have no king but Caesar, and they took him outside the walls of Jerusalem, that holy city.
That had deteriorated to such a point that it had religion without Christ. Because yes, it is possible to have religion without Christ. And they took him outside the walls of that city and had him nailed to a Roman cross. All they were careful about their religious rights. They were careful to do and not do certain things.
In, in, and around the trial and the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus.
But in the end, they rejected God's beloved Son.
They said, as it were, we will not have this man to reign over us.
Not only that, but again, I've been to many countries in this world where they have religion and plenty of religion, but it is religion without Christ.
Sad to say, there's much done to under the banner of Christianity.
That is religion without Christ. Oh, I don't want you to go in the way of Cain tonight. We're going to turn to some scriptures now, And these scriptures we turn to now, I trust will bring out the positive side of the gospel. But let me just for a moment stress again that if you are here tonight without Christ, you are a Sinner going your own way. You are on the Broadway that leads to destructions.
You are on your way to hell, but thank God you can change direction tonight. You ever drive down the freeway and you realized you were in the wrong on the wrong way. You were going the wrong direction and you wanted to turn around and there didn't seem to be any exits.
Or when you got to an exit it said no on ramp at this exit and you knew if you got off you couldn't get back on the other way or you came to a gap in the medium and it said no U-turn.
But tonight there's an off ramp and an on ramp and there is a media with a gap where you can make an immediate U-turn. Let's read some further scriptures. John's Gospel, chapter 14.
John's Gospel chapter 14 and verse 5.
Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way? Jesus death unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh under the Father but by me. And then I want to read a portion in Mark's Gospel.
First Gospel, chapter 10.
Mark's Gospel, chapter 10 and verse 17. And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, good master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? Jesus said unto him, Why call us thou me good? There is none good but one that is God. And then I want to read in the 11Th chapter of the same book Mark's Gospel, Chapter 11 and verse 4.
And they went their way and found a colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met and they loose him. We'll stop there again for now. But here again we have the thought of the way, and we find the Lord Jesus having walked through this world and dispensed blessing on every hand. Now he is addressing his disciples for the last time.
Before he goes to the cross, and he brings before them many things, and he's speaking about the Father's house and his coming again to receive them there and so on. And Thomas listens to all this and he says, but Lord, how can we know the way? I want to apply this for our purposes tonight? How can we know the way?
00:25:18
This book tells us the way. This book is the guidebook. If we read this book, there will be no doubt in our minds as to the way we don't have to speculate. We don't have to wonder.
You know, I suppose we all appreciate or most of us appreciate GPS and we plug those little devices in, in our vehicles and we punch in and address and we trust.
That's that GPS is going to get us where we want to go. I realize sometimes they're not completely accurate. Sometimes they take us the long way around.
But we appreciate Agps. God has given us Agps. God's plan of salvation. GPS God's plan of salvation. It's right here in this wonderful book and we could quote tonight verses.
That tell us the way of salvation. I'm going to quote to you a very familiar one right now. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Every time I quote that verse I think of a story.
An incident that took place during one of the great wars in Europe on a battlefield where there was a line of Allied soldiers.
Facing the enemy and they were under heavy shelling one day.
And one of those men was wounded, mortally, fatally wounded.
And as he the bullet hit him, he fell back to the bottom of the trench.
His comrade beside him jumped down to see how he was and realized very quickly that his life was Epping away.
He took his coat off and he rolled it up and tried to make his comrade a little more comfortable.
You know, I've had opportunity over the years to visit many of the battlefields of Europe. It's solemn to realize the conditions under which those men lived and fought.
But as he was making his friend a little more comfortable, his dying friend looked up, looked up, and in a weak voice he said to him, Can you tell me the way to heaven?
Interesting, isn't it? You know, I suppose in peace time, when everything's going well, men for the most part, will put all that aside.
But in the face of death, this man wanted to know the way to heaven. He was serious too.
His friend looked at him.
He had to shake his head. No use making something up under those kinds of conditions. No use telling his comrade to live a good life, do something good, get baptized.
He said to his friend. I don't know, but I'll try to find out.
He went back to his post and he spoke to his comrade next to him. He said, Can you tell me the way to heaven?
Shook his head. And from there, as the story goes, the question went on down the line. 16 men.
And none of them knew the way to heaven. All facing the barrels of the guns of the enemy. Not one of them could tell a dying comrade in the bottom of the trench the way to heaven.
Finally, the word passed to the next man.
And with a glad smile, he reached into his pocket and he pulled out a New Testament.
And he opened it to John. 316 He put his finger on it, and he passed it back to his comrade. And he said to his comrade, pass this testament down, and tell the last man to give his friend this verse, and if he receives the truth of this verse.
He knows the way to heaven and he can go there.
I've tried to picture the scene in my mind as I stood on some of those battlefields. I can hardly take it in. But that New Testament going down that road? Men facing death, holding their finger on John 316.
00:30:15
Finally, it came down to the man's comrade. He put his finger on that verse and he jumped down beside his friend.
And he read him this verse. His friend with gasping. His life was ebbing also fast.
He read it again. His friend opened his eyes as he drank in those life giving words.
And with the words whosoever on his lips.
He drew his last breath.
Went from a cold, damp trench in a battlefield in Europe to be absent from the body and present with the Lord.
You know the story. You know the way tonight. But are you on that way? How can we know the way? The Lord Jesus gives this beautiful answer that has been quoted so many times on occasions like this? Jesus said unto him, I am the way. What the Lord Jesus was really saying in this verse is I'm the way to the Father.
I am the truth about the Father. I am the life that enjoys the Father. You see, there's no other way to the Father. Let me ask you a question tonight. Do you know God as your Father? Now? It is true that there is a sense in which we are all the children of God. There's one God and one Father of us all, because we're all his children by creation.
We are all his offspring. We read in the 17th chapter the book of Acts. But that's not what I'm asking you tonight. What I'm asking you tonight is do you, through the Lord Jesus Christ, know God as your father in the intimacy of relationship that so many here in this room and around planet Earth know him tonight?
You know Mary Magdalene when she saw the Lord Jesus in resurrection, he said, Go tell my brethren, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father to my God and your God. There was going to be a new intimacy of relationship in Christianity that had never been known before.
The Lord Jesus here was on his way to the cross.
And we know that from this point on, he goes out, they put him on trial eventually and then they lead him out to Calvary Cross and there with his hands stretched on a Roman cross.
I rejoiced to say before you all tonight. He bore my sins in his own body on the tree, in those hours of darkness.
My stripes were laid upon the Lord Jesus Christ. He bore my penalty for sin. I'm not afraid in my own soul of one charge of sin being brought up against me. Why? Because by one offering He has perfected forever them that are sanctified.
When those hours of darkness were done and the judgment of sin was exhausted.
The Lord Jesus cried with a loud voice and said he is finished.
He cried again with a loud voice, and said, Father into my hands. I commend my spirit. He laid down his life in a way that no other has ever laid down their life in a way that no other ever could. I believe we already had it read to us in these meetings where the Lord Jesus, in anticipation of that moment, said in John's Gospel, chapter 10, he said of his life. No man taketh it from me.
I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
They took him down from the cross after a soldier with a spear had pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
00:35:01
Oh, we want to stress tonight the blood of Christ, because it is the blood of Christ that has made a way. We won't take time. But if we were to go over to the book of Hebrews and we were to read in the 9th and 10th chapters of the book of Hebrews.
We would find that in the Old Testament, prior to Christianity, it says the way into the holiest had not yet been made perfect, and in the Old Testament they could only come so far and no further.
The children of Israel, when they approached the Tabernacle in the wilderness, they could only come so far. There were Levites who went perhaps a little further. There were priests who went a little further. And there was the high priest who went into the holiest of all once a year, and that not without blood.
But there was always a distance. There was always a separation.
But through the blood of Christ, the way has been opened up fully.
So that the invitation can go forth in the gospel, the way has been made and it's the blood of Jesus Christ his Son that cleanseth us from all sin.
I grew up singing that very familiar question, What can wash away my sins?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. We sing another gospel hymn. Are you washed in the Blood of the Lamb?
Precious Precious Blood of Jesus Shed on Calvary.
Shed for rebels, shed for sinners, and thank God.
Yes, thank God Shed for me. Can you sing that in truth tonight? You know, I watched the boys and girls during a children's meeting sing those gospel songs. And it is wonderful to see the boys and girls on the front row and with a desire to give out a gospel song and to heartily sing it. But how often do we sing words?
And that's all they are.
They are words that really have no application or meaning.
For our own souls.
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
We read in Mark's Gospel chapter 10 about a man and if we were to go, I believe it's to Matthew's Gospel we would find that he was a young man.
And he came to the Lord Jesus. If we were to read the whole story, he came and it seemed like he was in earnest. You know, I'm not sure why you came to this gospel meeting tonight. In fact, if we were to go up and down these roads, perhaps we would find these great a great variety of reasons.
Some of us came tonight because we thrill every time we hear the story of Jesus and his love.
Some of you came tonight because you were invited by someone who is concerned about your soul.
Some of you came tonight because you felt you had no choice. There may be many secondary reasons as to why you came tonight, but there is one overriding reason why you are here. God has brought you here tonight to hear once again His way of salvation. I have no doubt in my mind that every person sitting in these seats is here.
Because God allowed it and brought you here, because he does desire your blessing. But this man, he came to the Lord, he seemed sincere and he was a very fine man, you know, when they he met the Lord Jesus in the way, and the Lord Jesus spoke to him.
He thought he could do something to inherit eternal life.
Again, you'll allow me to make a little application tonight in the gospel, but I realized that some of you here have not been brought up in Christian homes, but many of you have been and are being brought up in Christian homes. But let me tell you, you don't inherit eternal life. You don't inherit salvation. You know, Timothy had a God fearing grandmother and a God fearing mother, but you know, the day came when Timothy had to make it his own.
It wasn't enough to have a godly heritage, and the Apostle Paul reminded him.
That from a child he had known the Holy Scriptures, which were able to make him wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
00:40:06
The time came when Timothy had to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as his own savior.
But this young man, when the Lord spoke to him concerning the law, he said, All this have I kept from my youth up. I don't think that was just an idle boss. If we were to notice carefully, the Lord quoted to him the man word part of the law. And this young man, I believe, was impeccable in his relationship to his fellow man. If I can illustrate it this way, let's suppose we had opportunity.
To go to this young man's home, we're gonna suppose we don't know. But we're gonna suppose he had a wife and maybe some young children. And let's suppose he did. And we stepped up to the door of his home and we spoke to his wife. She would probably have told us. You know, he's a good husband. Always come straight home after work. He provides. Well, I know he loves me. He's a good husband.
We step out in the yard and his children are playing.
And we say, what about your father? Always A great dad. Always comes home and plays with us. Has a little treat for us. Always has something for us to do with him. Great dad. We step outside his gate and we question some of the neighbors. Couldn't have a better neighbor. Always thoughtful. If there's some problem in the neighborhood, he's right there to help out. Good neighbor. We go to his place of work.
Oh, he always pulls his weight if he works on a team. He never slaps, he never, he never cheats on his timesheet, always pulls his his load. The great worker. This man was impeccable as far as his relationships to his fellow man. But what he didn't realize, he wasn't right. Godward, You know, the Lord Jesus looked at him and he loved him and he said one thing thou lackest he lacks salvation.
He locked the one thing that he needed most.
Last night, Brother Al was talking about my father-in-law.
Thank God he came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior.
But you know, the difficulty over the years, 70 some years, with Gerald Byrne was this. He was just like the man we're talking about. If you were to talk to my wife tonight, she'd tell you that though she did not grow up in a Christian home, she grew up in a morally upright home. She hung on the garden gate with her sisters, waiting for their father to come home at night. He was a wonderful father. He was a good husband. If you were to go around your Carver and ask the older generation what they thought of Gerald Byrne, they tell you he was always there to help.
He was a good community man, always helped in every any charity cause.
That God there was. If someone's house burnt down, he'd be the first one there to help frame up a new house.
All those things he kept from his youth up, but he wasn't right Godward.
You know, when Gerald Byrne got saved, it was a rebuke in my face.
I really thought it would never happen.
But God allowed him to come to the brink of death. My wife called me one time. I was at a Saint Louis conference.
She said to me, Jim, I'm stepping on a plane in the morning, Mother has called and said.
This is the end. You know, that's about almost 40. I think it'll be four years. In fact, this Thanksgiving, God brought him to the brink of eternity, and God saved his soul.
And God brought him back for these few years. I don't think he's going to have much longer in his life, but God brought him back. He's not a demonstrative person. He's a very personal man. But he has been a quiet testimony in the Bay of Islands, Newfoundland for these 3 1/2 years.
Everyone who enters that house knows that Gerald Byrne has had a change of life and change of heart. There's his Bible open on the table. There's a block calendar with some scripture that he's been enjoying for the day. There's a devotional.
00:45:02
With some words of ministry from the scriptures.
He found the way in his late 70s, yes, but he found the way. But all I want to warn you tonight, if you're on the Broadway that leads to destruction and you think you're a pretty good person. I don't care if you're on The Dirty side of the broad road or the clean side. I don't care if you're a down and outer or an up and outer. It all leads to destruction.
But straight is the gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth under life.
Few there be that find it, but it's available to you this evening.
We can't promise that it's going to be available in 15 minutes.
We can't promise you it's going to be available tomorrow, but it is available. You can make AU turn, you can take that off ramp off the wrong way and get on the on ramp to the right way right now.
We read about this donkey. The boys and girls know this story. In Mark's Gospel Chapter 11, he was tied where two ways met.
That's where we are right now.
We're at a place tonight where two ways meet the Broadway and the Narrow Way.
I'm facing 2 exits.
From this auditorium tonight, there's an exit behind you, and to my right, there's an exit behind you into my left.
And let's suppose for a moment that I bring here 2 banners, one says heaven and the other says hell.
And we'll suppose that over the door behind you, to my right, I put the banner heaven.
And over this other exit, we put the banner in hell.
And with the eye of God. Not my eye, but with the eye of God.
Resting upon you.
You had to exit this building.
By one of those two doors.
Which exit.
Would you have to leave by heaven or hell?
You could fool me, You could leave under the banner heaven and fool me, but you can't fool God.
You cannot fool God because he sees right into your heart. He sees not. As man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance. The Lord looks on the heart. You know, we began this evening with that verse about all we like sheep. You know, there's another animal that we're like the natural man is likened to in Scripture, and that's a donkey. You know, in the book of Job, we read man is born as a wild actor's coat.
The sheep is wayward, likes to go his own way. The donkey is stubborn.
Sums up the natural man pretty well, doesn't it? But you know, the Lord Jesus had his eye on that donkey.
And when they were told, go and loose them and bring them to me that donkey, as the children, sometimes sing the little song he went just the way that he should. And when the Lord Jesus wrote upon that donkey, the Lord Jesus was in control of an animal that naturally speaking, wouldn't have cooperated the way he did.
The Lord Jesus worked with that donkey. Oh, it's a little picture, isn't it, of the work of the Lord Jesus through the Spirit of God to bring stubborn, rebellious souls to himself.
To bring them into the right way. And that's the prayer of so many, you know.
There was a prayer meeting before this Gospel meeting, and if you're not saved tonight, I wish you could have listened in on some of those prayers. But there was one prayer that.
That particularly touched my heart this evening.
Because there was a brother prayed that the souls of those who know Christ.
00:50:01
Would be refreshed.
Not by hearing the gospel, that's refreshing, but by hearing someone confess.
The name of Christ by hearing of someone who got saved tonight.
You know, there's nothing would thrill the souls of the soul of so many tonight. But to hear you turn and say, you know, I got saved tonight, I know the Lord Jesus Christ as my savior. I'm now on the right way. Oh, I say there would be parents and loved ones and others just so thrilled.
There's nothing thrilled the soul more.
Then to hear someone say, I know Christ as my Savior and there's nothing thrilled the soul of the individual who confesses more than to confess the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.
You know tonight we have arisen, Savior. We spoke of the Lord Jesus and how he died on the cross. We spoke of His shed blood. But you know, they took him down from that cross. They laid him in that tomb as had been prophesied. He was with the rich in his death loving hands. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea took the body of the Lord Jesus down from the cross.
They laid them in that tomb.
But he's not there tonight. No, he's not. He is not here. He is risen. Come see the place where the Lord lay.
Again, I have been to countries and parts of the world.
Where there are those who pray to those who are in the tomb, those who are dead.
But tonight we present one who died, it's true, but one who is risen.
One who stayed on earth long enough to give ample and complete testimony to his own that he had bodily risen from the dead, He said, Handle me, and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bone as ye seeming half. But there's something else tonight, too, Not just the fact that he rose from the dead, but a moment came, when under the eye of his own his feet left the mount of Olives.
And the cloud received him out of their sight, and they saw him no more. He ascended back to heaven because the resurrection, the ascension, and the glorification of Christ our gods. Amen to the work of Calvary. You want proof tonight that God is satisfied with the work of his Son on Calvary's cross? Do you want proof tonight that he'll receive you on the basis of what took place there at Golgotha so many years ago? Just look up my faith and see where God has placed him. God has seated him at his own right hand.
And given him a name which is above every name. And if God were to refuse you and me now?
If we avail ourselves of the finished work of Calgary, he would have to refuse his own dear son. And that is impossible. That is absolutely an unequivocally impossible God. If you come on the basis of the work of his son on Calvary's cross, he will receive you. Oh, come now to Jesus, that dear loving Savior receive him this moment and peace.
Shall be thine. I'm going to tell one more story before I close. It's perhaps slightly irrelevant to our subject, but I thought of it this evening.
I come from the town of Smiths Falls. It's a town of nine or 10,000.
Outside or outside of Ottawa in eastern Ontario, Canada.
And some years ago, there was a Fire Chief in the town of Smiths Falls by the name of Mr. Lee. I don't know what his first name was because everybody called him Moose.
You know a moose is a big animal. You've ever seen a moose? There's no gift to a moose. When a car hits the moose, usually it's over for the car and driver.
And I suppose his nickname was Moose Lee because he was a great, big, strong, strapping fireman.
00:55:01
We have in Smith Falls what's called a Volunteer Fire, a fire department, and they're not always that fast. On the scene of a fire and mostly one night early in the early in the morning, we hours in the morning he got a fire call. He always had his two way radio on by his bed. At home though, he would get the fire calls and he got a fire call.
He jumped out of bed and he got dressed and he rushed to the fire station, got there before the other men, he threw on his fire suit and he rushed to the scene of that fire.
He knew exactly where that fire was and he knew the family that lived in that two-story house. When he got there, the rest of the fire department had not yet arrived and he observed very quickly that the house was already well engulfed in flames. He looked around the yard and he didn't see anybody and.
So, concerned for the safety of those that lived in that house, he rushed up to the front door, pulled it open.
And as he looked up into that house, he saw the top of the stairs. A mother.
With a child on each side of it.
Without thinking of his own safety, he rushed up that stairs. He slung that mother over his shoulder. He picked up a child in this arm. He picked up a child in this arm, and as he turned to leave, he realized that there was a baby in the carriage.
Behind the mother, what was he going to do? He realized from experience he didn't have time to make two trips up that step up, down and up that stairs again.
And so he bent over, and with his teeth he grasped the clothes of that baby who was helpless to save itself, And he staggered down amidst the smoke and flames down that stairs. He got out to the front porch. He set the one child down. He set the other child down, took the mother off his shoulders and handed her a baby. And as he was in the process of doing that, the stairs behind them collapsed.
And if you talk to some of the older ones in Smiths Falls, they well remember that heroic incident.
We're mostly risked his life to save that family.
But tonight, at the close of this Gospel meeting, we are not talking about a brave fireman or anyone else who risked their lives to save their fellow man. We are talking, and have been talking about the Lord Jesus, the Lord of life and glory, who gave his wife shed His precious blood to save your soul.
So that you don't have to go to hell. You don't have to perish in your sins. Oh, he loves you. He wants you. He died to redeem you. Do you know the Lord Jesus as your savior tonight? Are you walking in what scripture refers to as the way of righteousness?
It's plain. How can we know the way it's plain in this word? And if tonight, after all this, you're not sure how to be saved, I plead with you, I beg you, I beseech you, not to go out of this room tonight if you don't understand the way of salvation. Because there are just so many who would be more than thrilled to sit down with you and to point you again.
To the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember the Lord Jesus is the way to the Father. He's the truth about the Father. He's the life that enjoys the Father. Are you on your way? The Lord Jesus is coming so very soon. The way is going to be closed. The way is going to be blocked, but it's still open. Tonight come every soul by oppressed. There's mercy with the Lord.
Yes, Jesus is the way, the truth that leads you into rest. Believe in Him without delay and you are fully blessed. Let's pray our God and Father our souls are stirred at the end of this gospel meeting to think that there.
Colossians 1-2
Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Colossians, Chapter one 19 starting in verse 19. Clauses one, verse 19.
For please the Father, that in Him should all fullness dwell.
And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him, to reconcile all things unto himself, by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven, and you that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind.
By wicked works yet now hath be reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you wholly unblameable and unreprovable in His sight, if you continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel which he have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven whereof I fall, and made a minister, who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of praise.
In my flesh for His body's sake, which is the church, whereof I am made a minister according to the dispensation of God, which is given to me for you to fulfill the Word of God. Even the mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His Saints, to whom God would make known. What is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you?
The hope of glory.
Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Unto I, where unto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
Chapter 2.
Briarwood, that she knew what great conflict I have for you and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts might be comforted being knit together in love and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and the Father, and of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom.
And knowledge. And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in the Spirit, joying and beholding your order in the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him, rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as ye have been taught, abounding therein with Thanksgiving.
Beware therefore, lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of man, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ, for in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
And ye are complete in him which is the head of all principalities and power.
Counselors of God, when it was determined that the sun.
Should come into this world.
We stand from the heart of the Father.
But what's in this 19th verse is it was pleasing to the economy.
Not a little person in the sun as a man. All the fullness of what God is. Father, Son and Holy Spirit as well.
So that fullness of all that God is.
As not any part of it left out on any aspect of the Godhead and love and light and holiness and the character of what God is and his activity and power and spirit and so on. Fullness of all that should dwell in the sun. Please the Godhead that such should be. And so there's tremendous.
Expression to us of our God has been fully expressed in the one who is common and dwelt among us, are taking in flesh and blood, and going through this life among men.
00:05:11
It's an expression of the fullness of the heart of God toward us that such a decision was made, that God be fully revealed to us.
And then completeness in that way.
We're as we know, we're just a tiny spec and the greatness of the creation of God.
But the heart of God chose to set his heart upon man and.
And to make himself known to man in a way that exceeds our capacity even to take it in, but not to know and love and respond to to him, to our God.
In the verse that Brother Bill mentioned yesterday, Isaiah 57, it says God inhabits eternity.
That is a verse.
I don't know that I understand very well.
But that's the habitation of God, eternity.
But here we find that all the fullness that Father, like Don says is in italics is really added by the translators there. But it was all the fullness of the Godhead which pleased well, in Him there was a man who walked through this world.
And they, many of them, didn't see him any more than just the mere man that.
This is the carpet there we know is.
Mother is with us.
Whose brothers and sisters are with us?
They didn't recognize them anything more than a mere man, but in that man all the fullness of the Godhead.
That inhabits eternity was pleased to dwell. It's a mystery that goes beyond our capacity to comprehend. We have to simply accept what scripture says and go from there. But.
And it's important that we do bow to Scripture and not try to figure it out with our own human reasoning. That's led to serious error. But here it is. All the fullness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell on Him. It's repeated in the second chapter in verse 9, where we have the exhortation to be aware of verse 8.
That anybody spoil us through philosophy have made deceased after the tradition.
Of men after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in Him. So it's the same statement there, but it's in our relationship to Him. Just think of my brother, and all the fullness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell in that man.
Christ Jesus here in this world.
Tremendous, tremendous.
Thing to meditate on to enjoy in our souls. Brethren, It's the truth of God. We are united to that glorious man.
And yet this can be applied to our daily life. If we weren't to return to hymn #267 of these reasons, we won't sing. It describes the fullness that we have in Christ for our daily life.
How close resides in Jesus, our head of force. Suffice to answer all of you. The Father's good pleasure is made-up and destroyed.
A planting called treasure is given to the court. Whatever distresses awake is below such plentiful grace. The Lord will be strong and still shall support his silence or fear and nothing. You can hurt us while Jesus is near.
I won't read the rest but in short sums up to what we have before us, this relationship that we can have in the large that He is our fullness and are All in all.
00:10:15
Verse 20.
Speaks about reconciliation.
Thought the Godhead.
Reconciling all things to itself.
Verse 21.
It talks about the need for why there's a need for reconciliation, because there's alienation.
That is, to be alienated is to be having a.
Ill will.
Towards someone you're alienated from someone there's bad feeling or there's a fixed dislike in one party or the other toward another.
And so he speaks of that enemies in your mind by wicked words.
That's what we one time were, but it says now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death.
And in the process of dealing with that alienation, that enmity in the human heart, peace is made. When you have two people that are alienated from each other, there's no peace between them.
In God's heart there's never been alienation, there's never been ill feeling toward us.
Toward. But on our part there is that, and I'd like to, in connection with the thought, turn over again to what we was read once or twice yesterday.
In Second Corinthians chapter 5 where we have the same thoughts brought before us.
2nd Corinthians chapter 5. Reading again from verse 17. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new, and all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Christ Jesus, and hath given to us those who believe the word of reconciliation.
So now we who are his in verse 20 are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ that be reconciled to God. And this is the verse I wanted particularly to bring out verse 21.
For he God hath made him Christ to be sin for us.
Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
When Adam sinned.
Two things. Well, more than two, but two things that happened included.
The fact that God had to put him out of the garden to separate him from the tree of life.
And the second thing, because of Adam's, what we call fall.
He spoiled himself.
And had a sinful nature by disobedience.
That the sinful nature that is that enmity against God that's alienated from God.
In route man once who says we had yesterday.
Man wants his own way.
And if God says no, he dislikes it.
He doesn't want the control of God. He might say, as Cain did, I'll bring something to you, but it's gonna be on my turn.
I'll honor you my way as I wish to, but if someone who doesn't want to be restrained is restrained.
In their heart raises that feeling of alienation toward the one that restrains them.
And that's what Nand's heart is against God.
An alienation in heart from God.
00:15:03
And as a consequence, in the Second Corinthians chapter 5, when the Lord Jesus went to the cross.
He went there to bear our sins.
But he also went there, as it says in that verse, to be made sin for us.
That is, he came before God.
To bear the judgment of God on that sinful nature which is in alienation with God.
And God judged it.
As he died there in.
But the work was done.
Sin was condemned.
And he died to it.
In resurrection.
It rises totally separate from it into new creation.
And that.
Dying to sin, being made sin, and then dying and being raised from the dead into a new creation sphere of things.
In that we are reconciled to God through his death.
The death of the Lord Jesus and our identification with that death and being brought into new creation.
Then we are at peace with God in the matter of what we are.
We have peace with God that our sins are taken care of, but we also need to have peace with God in respect to what we are. And in new creation, we're a new creature in Christ Jesus. And in contrast to what we were in Adam's creation, in alienation from God, in new creation, we're at peace with God because we received light. The life that was denied when Adam was put out of the garden, if you will, the rights of the tree of life, God would not give it to a man.
It was alienated and hard from himself, but now God has given us the life. Which is it alienated? No, it delights, Its joy is to please cause. And so there's peace, there's reconciliation, there's relationship that is.
Ours, but it's through them. And so in our chapter in 2nd Corinthians 5.
You have that it's a necessary part of the work in order to bring about that which the God has desired for us, that Christ alone could accomplish to bring us back to God.
In a way that in our hearts, not just our sins were taken care of, but what we were was judged and put away from the sight of God. And now all that we are before God in Christ and.
As it says later, Christ is our life. That very light is the life that the lights in God. Without any enmity, without any strife, without any disharmony, so is that.
Roland's 510.
How's that fit on there?
1510 we join our God. No, that's 11. Uh, or let's see.
For if, when we were if being enemies, we've been reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much rather having been reconciled, we should be saved in the power of his life. And reading the new translation.
The fullness, yes.
The fullness of the Godhead.
Tornado.
Comes out in what we started with, and him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. In the second chapter, it's turned around in the sense that all that we are toward God is in him. So you have both sides of it. You have the wonderful side that God comes out in all that he is to us, to meet us where we are in our needs, outside the garden, if you will, in the place.
00:20:14
Where man is lost, God comes in all the fullness of His being toward us, and does mighty work so that true and the accomplishes it in the death of His Son, and now in that same person.
We are complete in everything that we need to be Godward.
And that's what you have in the second chapter, the fullness.
We are complete in Him.
Everything that we need to be toward God is found in Christ and.
And in his work, and so does God look at us with reproach.
Has an holiness in our chapter Go back to our chapter in the verse.
So we're reading Umm.
Verse 22.
That fullness hard work.
There's the fullness of God, man word, but then in the same person there's that completeness, God word. And so it says in verse 22 to present you wholly and unbelievable and unreproachable in his sight.
That glorious person that's before us this weekend, He presents us to God wholly an unblameable and unreproachable in Himself.
That's our place, that's our position, and that the work of God to make it good in our souls is the power of God working in us that we might realize and enjoy it and.
So if God were to reproach you.
He has to approach his son because you're in his son before God.
If God is to blame you, he must blame his Son, because you're placed before God is in Him.
And so is this unblameable? No. He's done everything to take care of the issue of life.
Can I be reproached before God in the way presented here? No, not unless Christ can be reproached.
Not unless God can find some fault in him.
Because he we are complete in Him before God.
So if this wasn't true, then we would never be comfortable in God's presence. We often speak in the gospel of the forgiveness of sins, and that's true. And it's wonderful to realize that we have the forgiveness of sins, but we're far, far more than just forgiven sinners. And Lemoyne pointed us to the fifth chapter of Romans and we go won't go back there, But there are two elements that are very connected with reconciliation.
That are necessary that we might be comfortable in God's presence. One is peace. We have that he's made peace through the blood of his cross in our chapter and that's brought out in the first verse of Romans 5. But there's also something else and that's justification and justification is really God seeing us in all the perfection of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. If you'll allow me just to use a little illustration to make this as simple as as possible.
Suppose I go and I break into Brother Bob Tony's home and I steal things from his home. And he calls the police and the police chase after me and they bring me down to the police station and they call Bob and they say we've cut your thief, he's got the goods. Come on down to the police station and press charges and get your goods back. And Bob comes down to the police station and he sees me there sitting there with my head down, and he realizes who it who the thief is.
And he comes over and he sits down beside me and he puts his arm around me and he says, now Jim, I'm going to forgive you. And I'm not going to press charges. And not only am I going to forgive you so that you can go free, but I want you to come over and have dinner with me tomorrow night and let's just carry on like nothing's happened. Would I be comfortable to go over to Bob's house and have dinner with his family tomorrow night? I just sit down as a feeling like a forgiven seat.
00:25:16
But in that wonderful that we are complete, in Him, we are not. We are reconciled. Yes, but you can outwardly reconcile two things or certain people, but they may not be completely comfortable or completely reconciled inwardly you may have outward conformity.
But isn't it wonderful that as Brother Dawn has been bringing before us, that we are now completely comfortable as not only forgiven sinners, but justified? And remember too, that you never read of God having to be reconciled to man. Never in Scripture will you read that God had to be reconciled to man. It's always man having to be reconciled to God because it was not God.
Who alienated himself from man? It was man through his sin who alienated himself from God. And it's man that needs to be brought back to God, not God to man. Adam sinned in the garden and it brought an immediate separation. And with his conscience, he hid himself. And so it's, it's, it's man needing to be reconciled to God. Now, I just want to say this about our portion in Colossians as well. I suggest too, there's a broader thought here.
Than just our reconciliation all he's going to reconcile all things in heaven and in earth. Now we never read of the infernal beings or things under the earth ever being reconciled to God. They are going to experience eternal separation. But there is a day coming when not only are we going to let me put it this way, not only are we the beneficiaries.
Of what took place at Calvary. And not only are we reconciled to God through the blood of Christ and the death of His Son, but there is a day coming when all creation is going to be reconciled. Because when man sinned in the garden, not only did man come under the curse of sin, but the whole creation groans and travails even till now. And they are waiting for that redemption, that reconciliation.
Just go to Hebrews one. I know we referred to Hebrews 1A time or two, but I believe there's really a broader thought in Hebrews one than just dollar being brought into blessing. We noticed in these meetings that He's spoken unto us by His Son in the second chapter. And then I want to notice verse. Well, just notice the last expression of verse 2. By whom also He made the world.
Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power. And then this is what I want to notice. If you notice that Mister Darby's translation, it's a little broader thought than just our being brought into blessing when He had by himself not just perched our sins, but made the purification for sin, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high.
The work of redemption, The work of atonement on Calvary's cross.
Covers more than just our being brought into blessing and relationship. He's made the purification for sin. And you notice again, it's in the context of being Creator. He's the creator and sustainer of all things, as we had in our chapter in Colossians.
In Hebrews here, he's upholding all things by the word of his power, not just having created it, but he's sustaining it. And the day is coming when he's going to take it all back, not just as creator, but he's going to take it back in redemption. And there's going to be a purification, there's going to be a reconciliation of all created things where his glory.
And for the blessing even of the lower creation.
So that verse 20 is of our chapter is really that broader picture that reaches out into that eternal day when there will be no longer any trade since consistent. It's what we have in John 1. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world of only our sins, but the whole.
00:30:10
Creation that has been contaminated by sin. It's going to be taken away by this one. So verse twenty of our chapter is that broader picture reconcile all things whether they be in earth or in heaven. And then verse 21 is what John has been speaking about ourselves and you and later on in the verse yet now.
So it's not wonderful that even now, when we're still in a world that is groaning under the ******* of corruption as a result of sin, right now, we are brought into this.
Position of being reconciled to himself. It's it's an amazingly wonderful position that we enjoyed running.
I'd like to say something about the blood of his cross.
That's what we are talking a lot about when we come together about the Lord Jesus shedding His blood.
And it doesn't say that blood of his body. It says the blood of his cross. So the blood was shed when he was hanging on that cross. And it wasn't just an incident that just so happened when this soldier came along under the spear, opened his side, and out came water and blood.
The Lord Jesus.
Had already gone through the process of being made soon for us when this happened and he had died.
That's when the shoulder takes around and opened his side. Blood and water came out. And we always say, and we believe that is that luck that saved us, that made peace, it says here.
The main piece through the blood of his God.
That's the case that we have withdrawn. We have peace with peace with God.
Cause of the shedding of his blood on the cross.
And that's often course in connection with the blood in the Old Testament that was shed for the people and they put the blood on the doorpost and the lentils and those who were behind it, they were saved.
And that's what saves us. This is God of the cross. They saves us.
In connection with our need to be reconciled to God, It's wonderful. I just wanted to give emphasis for this point that we are the ones that needed to be reconciled, but we're not the ones that took up the matter of reconciliation to get the job done.
The Lord Jesus took up that and it involved going to the cross.
Bearing the judgment being made, sin before a holy God, and then.
Rising in a new life and then imparting that life to those who believe in the gospel.
In him. And it's in that state that we are reconciled to God.
We're like people that died and came back alive again in a new life that God is pleased with.
And he gave us that life.
And yet we do participate in the ministry of reconciliation, like in Second Corinthians in in the preaching of the gospel and getting souls reconciled to God by pointing them to Jesus. We really can't reconcile them, but we can point them to the one who does reconcile them and get them in a right standing before God.
An outstanding where the the souls can enjoy that perfect relationship.
00:35:07
Important, I think, in the expression of blood of His cross.
Across.
Represents the greatest act of man's empathy.
Against God.
The greatest act of man's enmity against God was to crucify my Son.
When God took the very thing.
That was the greatest expression of man's hatred and animosity toward God.
The cross and uses them.
I'm inclined to bring about this.
And so it's on the blood of its crops. There's also in the reconciliation or a little bit helps in that in Genesis, when God placed man, created him and placed him on the earth, it was in the image and likeness of God, and man became the responsible.
Agent or responsible being for God?
In the management of the Earth.
And so man was given dominion over this earth and the animals that were on it.
But by his own sin, and by his own alienation from God as a result of it.
Totally failed in the management of that responsibility and brought upon the earthly creation the terrible pain and suffering of which the animal creation bears to this day.
And not only in nature does man not get right with God, but the effects of His responsibility upon that over which he had dominion is suffering and itself not reconciled.
Consequently, when you see that Adam's race goes downhill to the point of the flood in Noah.
Not only is mad.
John.
But all that man was responsible for dies as well.
Under man's responsibility and failure, all of the animals themselves of the earth are destroyed as well, except those that are preserved with Noah in the ark.
In the heavens on the other side, the beginner of enmity against God is the fall of Satan, and Satan is the one who has access to the heavens, and was the not dominion over it, but responsible to God in it as His servant.
And so the Lord Jesus and his person in the Godhead through him.
Reconciled everything back to himself. To himself.
Lion Heaven Satan is judged and cast out eventually and ultimately placed in what was prepared for him, the lake of fire.
All men are given the opportunity to be reconciled to God through the blood, through the peace that's been made and those who receive the message.
This is a joy and benefit of the reconciliation those who refuse.
Put away.
From God for eternity and at the same time because Christ becomes the head of all and overall is head in new creation.
Then he brings all the animal creation back into its proper relationship and order with himself and.
Has already been said only if you do it, man doesn't do it. He doesn't we as Doug just said, he has the message, the ministry to say God be reconciled to God.
To his fellow man to encourage him in that, but only the Lord Jesus can reverse the effect of the fall upon the animal creation and only the Lord Jesus by his power and cast out from the presence of God in heaven. All that is no longer in harmony with God, but the saddammathy against God by all nations. Just a couple of other points before we pass on. If you notice the end of verse 20, it's not heaven singular.
00:40:24
It's not heaven as far as the eternal dwelling place of God. It's what Don just pointed out. If Mr. Darby translates it in the plural, it's the heavens that have been tainted with sin. When Satan was cast out of the eternal dwelling place of God, he became the Prince of the power of the air and all creation. The created heavens and the earth have been tainted with sin, and Brother Bob mentioned that the day is coming when sin is going to be removed.
The fulfillment of what John the Baptist said, and I think it's important to realize that that isn't really completely fulfilled until the eternal state. It will begin in the Millennium. Sin will be suppressed in the Millennium to a great degree. But just read the last couple of chapters of Isaiah and you'll find that there is still sin, and it does from time to time raise its ugly head. The serpent still eats dust. Sin needs to be judged morning by morning.
There's still the need for sacrifice and so on.
But the in the eternal state it will be what Peter refers to as the Day of God, when the elements melt with fervent heat and the heavens and the earth are completely burned up and consumed again. Not what is referred to as the 3rd heaven or the Father's House of the eternal dwelling place of God or paradise. Any of those expressions. It is that which is created and tainted with sin.
And in order for there to be the removed, complete removal of sin and complete reconciliation, that which has been tainted by sin must be completely dissolved and burned up. And then, as he says, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
I want to ask a question just to clarify a point going back a little bit. We said in First Corinthians 5 verse 21 That we've made the righteousness of God in Him. And then in our chapter, verse 20 talks about having made peace through the blood of His cross, and it talks about being reconciled unto himself. And we've been mentioned also about justified. And then in verse 22 we have.
Present you wholly unblameable and unreprovable in his sight.
If I were to ask many people here, are you righteous? Some would think well.
I, I I still sin every now and then, you know I'm not righteous.
And if I ask you, are you a Sinner, they would think the same thing and say, yes, I'm a Sinner. But because we are made the righteousness of God and who presented holy and unblameable and reprovable, Can I say that I am righteous? Can I say that I am a Sinner? Or can I look at myself the way God sees me that I am in Christ? They just have to clarify that for me. And that is important, isn't it, to see.
Ourselves through the eyes of God in Christ. If I can use a little illustration from the Old Testament that helped me when I was a little younger to grasp at least part of what we're saying. You remember with the boards of the Tabernacle, Those boards made-up the dwelling place of God on earth at that time. But individually those boards represent, I believe, to us believers individually.
And there were two things that characterized those boards individually. One is they stood in two sockets of silver. And silver speaks to us of redemption. There was the redemption money and so on. And invariably silver in Scripture speaks to us of redemption. And so we're redeemed not with reputable things, with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. But there was something else that was necessary, something else that characterized those boards.
And that is that they were covered completely with pure gold. And gold in Scripture speaks to us often of the righteousness of Christ. And when the eye of God rested on those boards, what did God see that rough cut lumber that was underneath? No, what God saw was what spoke to his heart in anticipation of believers being made the righteousness of God in him. And that's what we have in the verse that you referred to back in Corinthians.
00:45:25
We've been made the righteousness of God in him to see that Christ does not see the old Jim Highland.
He sees me in all the perfection of Christ, all the perfection of his Son. I'm accepted in the beloved I've been. I'm, I'm holy and unreprovable in this sight. And how many expressions that bring before before bring it before us in one way or another. And so again, I'm far, far more than a forgiven thief. I am redeemed with the blood of Christ. That's true.
But I am seeing in all the acceptance and all the perfection of God's Son, and if we can get ahold of that in our souls, that's what's going to give us peace. Yes, there's still the flesh. Yes, as you say, Tim, we still sin. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. We have a righteous advocate who paid for those sins. But when I stand, it's good to stop and say.
God is no more I, but sin that dwelleth in me. God doesn't see me in that way. God doesn't see that old Jim Highland. He sees me in all the perfection and standing of His beloved Son.
We also have a place where it says the blood of his cross. It speaks better than the blood of Abel.
Uh, I just wonder why is that the blood of abers it's right in the beginning of after the beginning of creation was shed.
And and that is very important because if you were working to have brought that sacrifice, men couldn't be saved at all. But even in the beginning and spread the blood of the Lord Jesus is more important. It speaks better than the Black Chronicles because the blood enabled and it's referring to his blood. King Chad called for inventions.
Of the blood of Christ is the basis of our blessing. So it's better just like to say, Tim, what we have here is our position in Christ and that is very important to understand that that is completely perfect, unquestionable. What Don was mentioning that if God is going to raise a question as to our position before God, he would have to raise a question about his own beloved son that is sitting at his right hand right now.
That is impossible to happen. And so it's our position that is completely perfect, our condition. Sometimes our practical condition is otherwise. And that's why we have the exhortation of Scripture. And I think it is important, like Jim was bringing out, that we learned to enjoy the position we've been brought into. That's the way Scripture always presents it. In the first part of the epistle. We have our physician and then there's exhortation as to our practical walk. How we.
Are walking.
In connection with that, if we walk in the enjoyment that we are fully and unblameable and unreprovable in this sight, it will give us power rather than to walk properly as Christians. And then give the illustration of a young woman who is going to be upright and she puts on this white dress and she goes out to get go to the place where she's going to be married.
She walks down the street. There may be dirty cars on the side of the street. Do you think she's gonna be careful how she walks down that street? Yeah, she's gonna be very careful. Why is she so careful? Because she's got a completely spotless garment of white on. And if you and I realize the tremendous blessing of that position that we've been brought into in Christ, then we will be careful how we walk in this world.
00:50:02
It's true we all sin. Scriptures makes that very clear. But when we sin, we do not act as a believer. We are acting as a child in the flesh like any other person in the world acts. And that is not what is what is characteristic of a Christian. And so we need to understand the position God has brought us into and to walk in the enjoyment of that position.
It's, uh, wonderful. Our time is running and we need to keep on, brethren, but I'd like to.
Uh, mention something here in verse 23 that troubles many Christians. Is that little first word if? Why is there an if here?
It could be we've been taking up to the end of verse 22. We're talking about our position fully.
Unblameable and unreprovable in this site. Why the end?
God used his scripture for our benefits to.
Tests bring to our own souls the test of.
Reality of roughly process. We don't want to weaken those depths.
There is the truth of God. If it's a work of God, it will endure and nothing can stop it or change it. But Scriptures a book given to us as moral creatures, and we need to have what we profess tested for our own souls, and so God will never make us.
At peace in our own soul, or at rest in our own soul, if our hearts condemning us.
And if we're not walking is that which we profess, then God will bring it to us by then.
So, and this is 1 instance of many in which the apostle was bringing a word that would reach the conscience of those to whom he spoke. Is it real in you, or is it just what you say you profess? I'd like to, in connection with what Tim brought out, refer back to the two prayers in Ephesians, just to show the difference between the two prayers. That I think, illustrates something of the difference between what Bob called position and condition.
In Ephesians chapter one, the first of two prayers given in that epistle.
He says of it.
Verse 18 concerning that prayer, he praise the eyes of your understanding, being enlightened that you may know. And then he goes on to say.
What is it you know, I know in verse 19?
The exceeding greatness of his power toward us.
He wanted the Saints to recognize the work of God for them and the fullness of the work for them. What we have in the work of the Lord Jesus for us is to make us holy and unblameable and unreproachable. Unreproachable in his sight before God. And that's, you might say, connected with his first prayer. But there's another prayer in Ephesians in chapter 3, which gives a different emphasis.
And brings out a different aspect of truth.
So he says in chapter 3 in his prayer, verse 14 for this, 'cause I bow my knees unto the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, verse 16, that he would grant you what?
That you might know certain things and also as it were, just since our time is slipping away. He wanted them to see the working and recognize the working of the power of God.
320 The end of the verse now, the end that is able to do exceedingly abundantly all that we ask or think according to the working.
Uh, that's power in.
And so there is first the work of God for us that brings us into that eternal beneficial relationship with himself of peace and joy and safety and so on, and security and reconciliation and the various things we've talked about. But also we still have sin in US. And so God is presently at work according to the greatness of his own power.
00:55:10
To bring about in US conformity.
In us to that which we are before him in practice make us conformable in practice to that which we are before him. So going back to our chapter, almost the whole the rest of Colossians is giving emphasis to that work of God in us to bring about consistency.
In us to that which is our home of being perfectly like him. So you go back to our chapter in chapter one he says verse 24. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you. What is it that that there was a conflict. The conflict was the head was inhabited. The body was on earth. There was still constant working against the body on earth by the world by Satan by the flesh within those.
Ones that were part of the body. And so the apostle Paul was laboring for his whole life. What verse 28 warning every man, teaching every man that we may present every man perfect or complete in Christ Jesus, every single member of the body of Christ that was part of that body.
Had a conflict with Satan, the world, the flesh within them.
And the apostle Paul was working for that. He might present them fully grown in the full.
Likeness to that and so he says and in it in verse 26, verse 27.
This mystery Christ in you.
Nice, did you that there's much more to be said about that, but just for the moment, the point is the hope of glory.
Well, it says, am I gonna finish this work that I started in you? Am I going to remove that unrighteous act that you did, that character fault that you had?
Oh, he says, when my work is done, your hope is glory. And in first John Two, it says we shall be like him when we see him as he is. But then immediately he goes on and says he that has this hope in him purifies himself even as he is pure. That is, the work's not done. It's an ongoing work. But the end result was when the hope at the end of this life is realized that the rapture, then the work will be complete.
And we will be fully like him. But if we have that hope in us, we don't say, well, I'm going to live carelessly. I'm going to live in the flesh, I'm going to live this life. And God will do the work at the rapture, and he'll make me like Christ, and then I'll be like him and happy with him.
No, no, it's not that way if you respect the greatness that they had.
Then the heart says, I wanna be more like him now. I don't wanna wait. I don't wanna continue to sin. I don't wanna continue to dishonor the One who gave everything. I wanna be like him now. And so he that hath this hope in him purifies himself even as he, Christ, is pure. It's a recognition that the work isn't done in US yet, but the power, the mighty power of God is at work in US.
How Spirit of God is in US? Christ is the life in us. The Father dwells in us in love. He abides in US. What greater power could there be working in us at this present moment to bring about the realization that have Christ in us as our life? The Spirit of God dwelling in us is the power of that life and God in love in first John 4 abiding in US.
As the father of love, that's the greatness of the power that is at work in US.
To accomplish the reality and to bring about that state where.
Our condition and our position come together as one.
That if in verse 23 to go back there, it's not to make us doubt the perfection of the position we've been brought into, but we are living in a Christian profession where there are many who perhaps are not real. And sometimes I like to give the illustration of two of the Lord's disciples. One was Peter. Peter had a serious fall.
01:00:21
But Peter continued.
It was restored, and when the Lord looked at him, he went out and wept bitterly, and the Lord restored him. Peter continued in the faith.
But there was another disciple who had a serious fall as well, and he did not come back to the Lord.
With the Lord has forgiven Judas for that terrible thing, I am sure he would have, but he did not have the faith to come back to the Lord. He went and hung himself. He did not continue to faith. So a person shows by whether they continue or not the reality of the work of God in his soul. So it's not there to make us question the.
Perfection of the position we've been brought into.
But the reality of whether we have truly made it real in our own souls, that's why there's the gift there.
Well, they have given up the hope of the gospel.
They first of all they did not have strong enough faith and because of that they gave up the hope of the gospel and that is the living hope. Not the whole festival speaks about that living and sure hope is the hope of the gospel that saves people and make them strong enough not to give.
Up the faith in the blood of the Lord Jesus.
Trade for them are the crops.
It's not a question, is it, brother? The amount of faith, We might think my faith is very weak, but it only takes a little rain as a mustard seed to save a soul. So that faith is real. It's based on God's Word. Even though it may not appear to be very strong, that is what God honors, and it will increase.
If it is true faith.
There are those who profess faith, but it's not real. Our hope is heavenly too, isn't it? And He brings that out. So it's Christ in you in the hope of glory. And it's the the riches of His glory here in Colossians because it's the glory of His person and His work that is brought before us. In Ephesians we have the riches of His grace because it's grace that brings us in to this blessed position. None of us could boast and will be able to boast of anything.
That we have in Christ, apart from his grace, we did nothing to merit favor before God or to reconcile or bring ourselves back to God. So it's the hope of glory. We were speaking earlier of the hope of this world and how created things are going to be reconciled to himself in a coming day. But we're looking for the Lord Jesus to come at any moment to rapture us home to a place, brethren, where sin will never penetrate again.
Isn't that wonderful Sin penetrated came into the first creation. It was spoiled by sin. Adam was step became separated from God for a time. He got a conscience that we and and so there was the necessity for the for reconciliation in the ministry of reconciliation. But brethren, we're going to a place where sin, I say, will never come again. It will never disturb us, never mar our thoughts. There'll be nothing from within to disturb.
Nothing in connection with our surroundings, nothing to tempt us again. The flesh will completely be gone. We're going to be with Christ, we're going to be like Him, and this ought to rejoice our hearts. But in the meantime, I was thinking too, in connection with what has been said of how Titus brings it out in a little different aspect, because he brings out practical righteousness and he says that we're to deny.
01:05:00
Ungodliness and worldly lusts, and then to live soberly, righteously, godly in this present world. Maybe this brethren, sitting here and you think it's OK to talk about these high and lofty things and it's OK to exhort us to live righteously and our condition and so on. And but how can we do it? This is 2013. Yes, it is 2013. Yes, the moral and spiritual darkness is deepening over this planet every day.
But in this present age, we can live in this wake. And then what? Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God in our Savior Jesus Christ. So we're looking on to that day for two things. For the moment, we're going to be raptured. That's the blessed hope.
And the glorious appearing. And when he appears, we're going to appear in glory with him.
And heaven is going to look up and what are they going to see when they look at the Saints coming with them? He's coming to be glorified in His Saints and admired and all them that are about Him in that day. We're going to perfectly reflect Christ in that day. We don't always do it now, as we've been reminded in these meetings, but we're going to in that day. And He's going to be come to be glorified in His Saints and admired all of them that are about Him in that day. But what about in the meantime? We have been positionally brought into this blessed place.
Made the righteousness of God. In him there is the power, the grace to live soberly, righteously, godly right now and again we have the resources in Christ, from God, in Christ, in and through Christ to live for his glory in view of eternity. And if the day ever gets so dark that there are no longer the resources?
To live for His glory here on planet earth. In view of what is ahead, the Lord will take us out. But as long as we're left here, we can never say. There's a day so dark that we can't live in this way. So here in our chapter, it's Christ in you, the hope of glory. What a hope we have. It's not connected with this world. It's connected with the next World.
I'd like to comment on it.
Times just about gone. Just a high point in the chapter one.
And verse 27 again it says the end of the verse Christ in you.
Christ in you the hope of glory. And to connect that over with chapter 3.
And nurse grades for ye are dead in your life is hid with Christ and God when Christ Christ, who is our life.
Shall appear, and shall ye also appear with Him in glory.
We talked about the fact that we have it in Ephesians emphasized that.
Christ is Head of the Body, the Church, and we are united to Him by the indwelling of the Spirit.
But in Colossians there's another link, vital link, that's brought out between our souls and glory.
It's the fact that the man in the glory.
Christ.
Is our life.
And that life is in US, Christ in you.
If he is our life and he is in US.
What other possible destiny could we have than glory? Because that's where he is.
And so we are livingly connected to heaven by the very light that has been us.
We are livingly connected to that person, Jesus Christ.
Because we have his life.
Is to be lived out now on Earth. This is to be the display of that life on Earth. But here it's brought before us as that which links us.
That's the heavens and glory, because it's his life.
01:10:02
We all in nature have an individual life.
But there is only one internal, right?
There's only one.
License and we all participate in it. It's not parceled up separately into a bunch of little internal lives.
No, it isn't. It's his life in us, but it's not separated from himself in life. And so we are partakers, as it says in Peter of the divine nature. We partake in the divine nature as having that life, that divine life in us that isn't separated from its source, that remains connected with its one source. And so we are livingly eternally collect connected now.
With our head in his life.
It's a very serious responsibility to us, umm, to go on with the gifts that Bob has just noticed a couple of them in the chapters that follow. You won't see it in the King James, but if you I'm going to read these verses in the Darby translation in chapter 2 and verse 20, we'll read it as it is there if ye do that with Christ.
And then he talks about the consequences of being dead with Christ, chapter 3 verse one, if he be risen with Christ. And then he talks about the consequences of one who has partaker of Christ life and resurrection. So he says if you're dead, OK, this is the result. If you're living in Christ, this is the result. And as a practical exhortation to live it out.
If you go to verse five of chapter 3, the new translation says put to death, therefore.
Put to death in practice, therefore, those things that were connected with that old life. And then going down to verse 12.
Put on there for.
Elect of God, holy and beloved, those things which characterize in practice that life that you have in you the life of Christ. And so when you go on through the rest of Colossians, which we won't be today, but.
Read it and you will see the practical exhortations to live out the truth in your soul in a daily way. And that is and also the dangers. One more thought. Verse eight of chapter 2. Beware, beware. What are we to be aware of? We're to be aware of those things.
Which will tend in our souls to disconnect us from our head in practice.
What is it that disconnects us from the practical realization of our headship in the body, in the assembly, in our individual lives? He says beware.
What is it?
Man's thoughts come in.
To separate us, we get allow the thoughts of men of the world to replace that which comes directly from the head. We allow the working of the flesh in US, and the flesh works. In a practical sense. We act in the flesh instead of defending and relying on the head.
If allowed, Satan comes in to stir within us unbelief and disconnect us from.
Yeah, and so the enemies of our souls, the world, the flesh and the devil would always work if they can, to separate us from.
The living daily reality of relying upon our head collectively as well as individually on North Side bread and the light that we're talking about. Christ is our life, or the life that is really.
Heaven, heavenly news, the Lord Jesus is there. That's our life. We look up into the glory. When you say the Lord Jesus Christ there in glory is our life. It's not properly down here in this world. We are here, but our life is there. And that's why we have the exhortation at the beginning of chapter three to set our minds.
01:15:12
On things above, there's one says, if you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above. Let's say. It's a challenge to me, brother, day by day, when you get through with the day, how much of that day have we been thinking on things above? How much have we set our minds up there? I must say that the percentage is pretty low in my life, but that's where our life is.
And soon, So very soon.
Everything down here is going to be passed over. The Lord help us, brethren, to set our minds on things above the measure that we do. It will have a practical effect, making this more heavenly mind now.
You say #64?
#64.
Delight Thyself in the Lord and He Shall Give the Desires of Thine Heart
The Poor Wise Man
Open Mtg. 5
Open—R. Thonney, J. Hyland
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
I'd like to read a few verses in Hebrews 13.
Perhaps versus that sometimes they're not understood real well, but come to mean.
Quite a bit to me, my soul.
What Doug spoke about yesterday as something he's learned from those that have gone before, I must say.
I too have learned, probably from a different source than you, Doug, but the same precious things, and I find being gathered to the Lord's name.
Is something that comes to me, has something I treasure and my soul more and more.
I was 15 years old when I first broke bread and of course I didn't understand everything I do now but.
Little by little.
The treasure of truth that.
I keep in my heart becomes more and more precious. I'd like to share some of the things that I enjoy here. In Hebrews chapter 13, Hebrews was written to the Jewish people.
Saying that Peter addresses and James addresses.
But it's interesting because it does seem, although his name is never mentioned, that the apostle Paul was probably the author of this epistle. And I suppose because he was the apostle to the Gentiles, there was a bias against his person so that he doesn't mention his name. There is an apostle mentioned, but it is not Paul.
It's in chapter 3, verse one.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the apostle that's mentioned in the book of Hebrews, but I'd like to read from verse 10 down a few verses. It says here we have an altar whereof they have no right to eat, which serve the Tabernacle for the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin.
Are barred without the Cam. Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
By Him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise.
To God continually.
That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But to do good and to communicate, forget not, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
So here we have some verses that.
Are understood well if we understand that Paul is addressing people, that we're connected with the Jewish system. We have an altar.
What is our alter?
And it says they who serve the Tabernacle have no right to eat of that altar. What is he talking about? What altar is this?
If you go down to verse 15, you'll find out what the altar is.
By Him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. What is our altar?
Our altar is Christ. He's the sacrifice, He's the priest, and he's the altar. By him we offer to God the sacrifice of praise to God continually. But what does this mean? That they have no right to eat of that altar that serve the Tabernacle? Because going back to the Jewish system of religions denies completely the position that we occupy as Christians in this era.
00:05:05
And so that's why he says they have no right to eat of this altar. Who served the Tabernacle. There are two distinct systems. The jury system was an earthly religion ordained by God, no doubt about it. But.
Christianity is not an extension of Judaism. That's the way it has taken in many sectors of Christendom today that.
Christianity is just an extension of Judaism. That is not the case. It is some people have said, some of our older brother and said it's really the opposite of Judaism.
So to understand where Judaism is focused on man and the way he could approach to God on his own merits.
God laid it all out so that they could do it and then has completely failed. In fact, the Lord Jesus came to those people.
Those privileged people.
And in effect they said to Jesus, we don't have any place for you in our religion. Out they took him outside the city and they nailed him to a cross. That's the place Judaism gave to the Lord Jesus.
And that's the reason why in verse 13 we are called to go forth unto him without the camp. Camp is Judaism.
It's that system of religion that the Lord Jesus presented himself to.
And they had no place for him. Perfect goodness in the Lord Jesus. And they said we will not have this man.
Crucify him and they awarded him the most awful death possible on the cross.
Is there a place then in that system somewhere where we can fit as Christians? No, we are called outside the camp.
You know, sometimes people relate that the camp is Christendom, but we're not called to leave Christendom. We are called to separate in the great House of Christendom from vessels to dishonour. Yes, but we cannot leave Christendom without becoming apostates.
We are part of Christendom. We are called out of the camp, and that is Judaism. But what we want to recognize here that many parts of the Christian profession have introduced and are using Judaistic principles from which we have been called out. And I think this is where we need to distinguish this clearly as possible. It's important for you young people to understand.
The difference between.
The camp and Christendom we are called to go outside. The camp we are not called to go outside. And Christendom we are called to separate from the evil in Christmas. But here notice in verse 13 there is 13 words in verse 13.
There are 6 words at the beginning and there are 6 words at the end, and the word that is in the direct middle is him.
The Lord Jesus, unto him, not unto a group of brethren, no, it's unto him, his person. That's the attractive thing, and that's what should attract our souls. You know, sometimes young people think, what in the world are these people doing here? They're just not that many, really. That's true. We're not that many. It's not a question of how many we are or how few we are.
It's a question of the center, the point of attraction. Why are you here? Are you here because of Jesus? Him? That's the attractive thing. So we're here to go outside the camp.
00:10:10
Bearing his reproach.
Yeah, it's not very popular thing to do.
In Christian circles today outside the camp. But I want to.
Highlight a few of the principles of the camp that have been introduced into Christian circles. And as I do so, brethren, I hope that what I say will not make us complacent in the position that we occupy. My heart's desire is that we might be exercised about these things, because even those of us who gather to the Lord's name on the ground of the one body.
Are in danger sometimes of adopting some of these principles of the camp and that's why I presented my trust for our exercise. I hope you young people can get a hold of that because that's my desires to communicate these things to you.
And it does me good to see those who have real interest in getting a hold of these principles that were shared with me.
In earlier years, and I'd like to go on, what are these principles? We've talked about the one already, the altar, many Christian circles, you will find a place towards the front of the church that they call the altar.
And I suppose people go there to dedicate themselves sometimes to get saved. We don't want to criticize brethren. Sometimes there's not the light that we have had, and we shouldn't be critical of brethren that don't have that light. I trust that that will not be our attitude toward those believers. Let's seek to be a help to them in whatever measure we can. Not critical.
But.
To recognize that the altar, if we say that that is the altar, we are really in effect denying that we all have an altar that is completely different. It is the Lord Jesus Christ, and by him we offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.
Do we have an altar? Yes, we have an altar, but that altar is not in any place down here. I'd love to think of the fact that you go back to the 9th chapter. You find where we enter when we worship and when we pray. Let me just read the verse so you can get it because I think it is exceedingly precious. Verse 24 of Chapter 9 says Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands.
Which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us.
So when we worship, when we pray, where do we go?
Oh, we were in this meeting, like Don said this morning, Physically, we're here in this room.
But in spirit we go into heaven itself. To me it is extremely precious to think about.
There before the throne, we come in spirit, not physically, but in spirit.
There, before that throne, are those millions and millions of angels.
You and I, what right do we have there?
A precious blood of Jesus, and we can come before that throne and spirit into the very presence of God. Do we appreciate this privilege like we should? I must say, brethren, we get sometimes sidetracked in our thinking. We look around and we start thinking about our brothers and sisters. Thank God for them. And oh brethren, the tremendous privilege.
It is to come into the very presence of God as Don Hussein. We don't come just to the brazen altar, the labor, the golden altar. We go right into the holiest of all there the veil has been rent and it's hanging on both sides. And we go into the very presence of God, the mercy seat. What a tremendous privilege. I don't really think there is a greater privilege this side of heaven.
00:15:26
Than what we enjoyed this morning in the breaking of bread and what we enjoy when we come to God in prayer, not only when we come collectively, but even individually, we come before that mercy seat. Wonderful, wonderful privilege. So we have an altar, but it is not the altar that has been adapted into Christian circles.
Based on Jewish.
Instruction from the Old Testament, another point that I'd like to share that I think is very important.
And this will have a practical.
Reflection on each one of us is that in the Old Testament, under the Jewish order of things, God separated one tribe of the 12 tribes to do his service. The tribe of Levi was separated.
And of that tribe, only one family were. The priestly family was the family of Aaron. Aaron was the great high priest, and his sons were the priests. To be a priest in the Old Testament, you had to be born into Aaron's family. That was necessary. All the rest, sorry, you can't come near. No, you're not chosen by God to come near.
That principle has been adopted into Christian circles in what is called the clergy today. There are those who have certain privileges because of fulfilling certain requisites, whether it's schooling or whatever it might be, according to the denominational structure that they are in, but they're the ones that can direct.
A congregation.
The rest, sorry, you haven't fulfilled those requisites, so you'll have to sit back there and and listen.
That is Judaism. It is not Christianity. It's interesting that sometimes overhearing some preachers, they have actually referred to the Old Testament and said this comes from the book, this is the way it should be done. And so they justify that practice of the clergy in Christian circles. But in the New Testament we find.
In the book of First Peter chapter 2, let's look at it just so you can get it from scripture.
First Peter chapter 2 and verse five, it says ye also as lively or living stones are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to OfferUp spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. He's speaking to the leavers there and there. We learn, as in other scriptures as well, that every true believer is a priest.
You sisters, Your priests too. Do you know that?
And what does the priest do?
Offers sacrifice the praise to God continually. Oh, you say we can't speak in public meetings?
But when it comes to singing hymns of praise, you're singing along just as much as the brothers. You are presenting the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That's important to understand. It belongs to all God's people. The question of priesthood, we're not talking here about gift. Gift is another matter. And we have gifts in Scripture, and some have gifts and some don't have particular gifts.
One thing is true that every believer does have a gift of some some sort, but the point is that we want to focus here is that every true believer is a priest.
Your sisters as well as the brothers.
And the point I want to bring to exercise our hearts, especially you younger brothers.
Sometimes you think your mouth is closed in the meetings, public meetings. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, you too are a priest and I want to encourage you to be exercised about taking part in the prayer meeting.
00:20:18
Taking part in the, uh, Lord's Day morning meeting where we worship the Lord, where we remember him in his death. Do you ever take part? If you say, Oh no, that's for those brothers up front. They take part and I back here, I'm just gonna be quiet. You're going back to Judaistic principles. Careful, you're going back to the camp.
Don't do that.
Let's be exercised. I don't say that you're gonna take part every time.
What I say is important.
He exercised. I remember what it was as a young person to take part when I first went to Oak Park, IL.
Brother Ed Herzman and Howard Earsman's grandfather was there, and he was.
Quite a stern old brother and I was frankly quite afraid of him and I wasn't going to take part very easily.
But I remember one time, and I have to confess your young brothers, that I too quench the spirit one time.
I was, uh, sitting probably over here and Brother Ersman was sitting where Don was sitting and.
It came time to break the bread, and it was as if the Lord laid it on my heart to break the bread.
Lord, not my brother Ayresman is there. It's just too scary. You know what? There was a long pause.
And all of a sudden, Brother Heirsman leaned forward and looked straight at me as if. Are you the one that's holding things up here?
I was really petrified and I must say I quench the spirit that day. I didn't get up, I was too scared.
Why do we get scared? You know why we get scared? Because we're thinking about ourselves.
You would think about the worthiness of that glorious person that's in our midst.
You would find that your fears would dissolve to a large measure. So that's one of the things that we need to be exercised about. Let's not go back to the Judaistic thing in thinking that certain brother will take part and the arrest will just sit here quiet.
Again, I say it's not that everybody is going to take part all the time, no.
But what I want to say to you younger brothers especially, you are sitting back their ways.
The exercise.
Come to the Lord's presence with this attitude, Lord, here I am. If you want to use me, I want to be ready as a vessel for your use in pronouncing the praises of the Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn't take a whole lot. I remember a brother.
I was told about I didn't, wasn't there, but he wasn't a brother. That said a whole lot.
But this one breaking abroad meeting, he got up.
And with quite a bit of emotion, he said.
Thank you Lord Jesus, Amen, that was it. You don't have to be long winded, just express the gratitude of your heart as the Spirit of God leads you to. That's what's so important. The Lord help us to be exercised.
Another point of the camp is that they had an actual temple of stones that was built in Jerusalem.
It was a magnificent building, Solomon's temple first, then later on in the time of the Lord Jesus it was Herod's temple and Herod had embellished it quite a bit.
And, uh, it was something that they really centered around.
Going into that tempo, you were in God's presence.
00:25:00
Where is the temple in the New Testament in church times?
It's very clear, and we read it here in first Peter chapter 2, that we are the spiritual house.
We are the temple of the living God.
How many days of the week are we in the temple? I sometimes ask the brethren in South America. Well, we have meetings on Wednesday and Saturday and Sunday.
So you're only in the temple on Wednesday and Saturday and Sunday. If you are the temple, think it over again, I say.
Now, if we are the temple, we are in the temple seven days a week, the 24 hours of the day. So it's not when we come together in public meetings that we should behave. When you're out all by yourself, you should behave. When you're at school, you should behave. When you're at home, you should behave. Why? Because we are the temple of the living God, and God dwells in us by his Spirit.
Oh, wonderful. It's a wonderful truth. But you see how Judaism, if we go back and think only when we go into that temple over there, we should behave. You see, though, that takes away from the enjoyment of Christian privileges. Let's not go back in that way into the camp. Let's enjoy where God has brought us to be his temple.
Another point I want to mention about.
The Judaistic system that was very attractive in its time was the musical instruments that were used in the Old Testament, very much a part of the Jewish system of worship.
You read Psalm 150 says praise the Lord with every.
Instrument of music.
And so David was the inventor of many of those musical instruments.
I like music. My wife plays the piano pretty good and I love to listen to her singing. But when it comes to our place in the church, in worshipping the Lord, you don't find anything about musical instruments in the church. In the New Testament, you never find the Lord Jesus or his disciples carrying around a guitar or anything they might have had in those days.
To assist them in their worship. It is a figure it says in John chapter four. We worship God in spirit and in truth, and spirit is the highest part of our being. We worship God in spirit because God is the spirit. We worship him in truth because it's according to the knowledge that we have in Christianity of God.
So it's in spirit and in truth.
I must say, brethren, that even though I like music when I'm meditating the Word, even at home.
My wife sits down the piano and starts playing. I get totally distracted. I cannot meditate while music is going. It's a distraction.
And even though there are people who sincerely use music and what they say is their worship, it is what is characteristic of the Jewish system of things. We are called out of it. What pleases God is not the pleasant sounds of music that pleases me. And if we were here to please our own ears, we could bring in a nice band or a nice organ or a nice piano or whatever.
You want to bring in if we want to please our ears, but are we here to please ourselves, or are we here to please His ear? And what pleases Him is not musical instrument, it is worship and spirit. And in truth, I sometimes tell the story and maybe not all have heard it, but of two different situations I.
Had in.
00:30:00
Different parts of Latin America. One was in the Dominican Republic. One time we went to visit with Doug's father, uh, brother in the Lord. He wasn't together, but he had a young daughter. She was eight years old at the time, but with a beautiful singing voice. Beautiful singing voice.
And when we were there in their home, he called the little girl over and said, Will you sing for these brothers? No one ever cared for me like Jesus. Let me tell you, it was tremendously beautiful. It moved me to tears to listen to that little girl sing that hymn.
But, you know, little girl's mother wasn't a believer, and I don't know if the little girl was. She was being trained to sing for the world and worldly songs. And so I don't know if what she's saying was in spirit and in truth. The Lord knows, I don't seek to judge that. The other case was a brother that I got to know up in the High Plains of Bolivia, Peru.
In a little town called Atacocha. It was a mining town and there were a few believers there, and I went to visit this particular brother in his home. He was in the full joy of his first love for the Lord. And as I sat down in his home, he picked up his handbook and said, Brother, I want to sing to the Lord. Will you teach me to sing?
And so we got our hymns out. But you know what? He didn't really wait for me to teach him to sing. He just started singing. And I don't know what tone it was because it wasn't very nice to my ear, but if you look at his face, it was coming right out of his heart. I.
I have no question. That gratitude that he expressed was in spirit and in truth. So let's keep that in mind. You young people, we don't come together to please our own ears. We come to please God's ear. And He's looking at you. Sometimes. You know you can sit there in your seat singing, but your mind is way off in the distance. Don't you think that the Lord is watching you and He knows if there is true gratitude in your heart?
He wants worship in spirit and in truth. Well, that's another way where Christianity is distinguished from Judaism.
One other point I wanna make, it's maybe a brief point, but in the Old Testament God commanded that there should be for the maintaining of His people that were doing His service, a tithe that was levied in Israel. 10% is what tithing means. 10% of everything that was earned was to be given to God. So an Israelite could say well.
I earned $100 on this job, 10 per $10.00 for God, 90 per $90.00 for me.
And, you know, sometimes that principle is tried to be applied. It's used in application to Christian circles, and it really is a denial of the truth of Christianity because in Christianity it's not 10% that's God. That's 100% of all that we are, of all that we have, belongs to God.
I sometimes say the people who try to apply the tithing principle, if you practice tithing, you are robbing God 90% be careful what you're doing. Everything belongs to Him. I'm just a dispenser of what He's put into my pocket. And so it is in Christianity. Everything is His. He has bought us with His precious blood.
All that we are, all that we have belongs to him. So that's another part of this. What is the camp? It is the Judaistic system. And if in any measure we start in those kind of thinking, start importing those kind of thoughts.
Oh brethren, may the Lord help us, because I really believe when we are exercised about these scriptures is when we really enjoy the presence of the Lord with us. It is real.
00:35:03
But he said to me today he could just feel the Lord there with us this morning. Yes, I said. But you know what? I don't trust my feelings too much. Sometimes I feel like the Lord is with us, sometimes I might not.
But I trust His word more than I feelings. We might have those feelings, but you can't trust your feelings. You can trust His word, and when He says it, He means it. May the Lord help us. May the Lord exercise us to walk in the light of His precious Word. Want to?
Encourage us to in verse 15. Just one other detail here.
By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice to God, a praise to God on Lord's Day morning. Is that what it says?
No, continually, you know, I found it a blessing to take time in our home life to sing the phrases of our God. There's a lot of nice hymns we have.
Like what our friend we have in Jesus. What a beautiful song.
And I don't discourage singing those songs, but stop and think of a hymn that directs praise to God.
Continually access every day, brethren. And I think if we were more practiced in praising God continually when we come together, it wouldn't be long pauses in our meetings either.
And I sometimes say to our brethren up here and our brethren in Latin America often have a different problem than we have. They stumble over each other getting up to praise the Lord or giving out a hymn. And they need to learn the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the offering of praise to God continually, because the Spirit of God is not going to guide us to stumble over each other. But I wonder sometimes which error is worse rather than the ones they have down there or the one we have up here.
The point is, I want to leave with you to be exercised in the presence of our God, to praise God continually. Verse 16, there's another sacrifice, the sacrifice of giving, and that's why.
The collection is taking at the same time it's right together.
There, it's the sacrifice of giving. That's not the only way we can give. Our lives should be giving all over the place.
We can give here, but oh, there's so much need in the world today.
Brethren, with money that's going to fail one of these days, are we going to lay up our.
Treasures down here. Are we gonna lay up our treasures up there?
Here it's encouraging us to do good and to communicate, for with such sacrifices, God is well pleased.
Just one scripture to cap what our brother has said in a very practical way. A well known portion in First Corinthians Chapter 11.
Just a very simple thought or two. First Corinthians Chapter 11 and verse 26.
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he comes. We've had much before us in these meetings and today in connection with the privilege of being gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if we were to go back in the 10th and 11Th chapters of First Corinthians, we would find that at some length the apostle Paul directed by the Spirit of God.
Had taken up the subject of the Lord's table and the Lord's Supper in the chapter before. It's more specifically the Lord's table. And that's why when he talks about the loaf and the cup, it's the cup 1St and then the loaf. Because the cup speaks to us of the precious blood of Christ. The cup is the ground speaks to us of the ground of our blessings and our title to be at the Lord's table. And we sometimes sing our title to glory. We read in thy blood.
00:40:17
And what is it that makes us fit, makes us worthy to be at the Lord's Table? It is nothing but the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The loaf in connection with the Lords Table speaks to us unbroken of every member of the Body of Christ.
And brethren, I believe it is most important that we keep this in view. This morning we didn't have way first. We didn't have more than one loaf on the table. We had one loaf. And I trust that in our hearts every one of us saw in that one loaf every believer alive on the face of the earth. This morning, God says there's one body He views in that unbroken loaf, every believer.
Not just those who were here on the occasion this morning in this room, not just those who remember the Lord Jesus in the breaking of bread express the truth of the one body of the Lords table this morning. No, God saw every believer and we need to too, lest we become narrower sectarian in our view. But we find we didn't read here, but if we find here when he takes up the question.
Of the subject of the Lord's Supper, it's reversed, and this is the way the Lord instituted it in Luke 22 in the upper room, and it's the way we always celebrate it. We find first of all the loaf, and that loaf speak when it's broken, speaks to us of the Lord's body given in death for us. Then the cup speaks to us of His blood. It's given separate. It's not combined in one, because the separation of the blood from the body was the proof of death.
But what I want to point out for my own soul, and perhaps for yours this afternoon is this. That everything that has gone before in connection with the Lords Table and the Lords Supper, to my own heart at least, is summed up in this precious verse that we often read and meditate on. For as often I want our hearts to meditate on this little expression, as often I think this is one of the most precious things about being gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And that is that we have the privilege of remembering the Lord Jesus in the breaking of bread, not just once a month, or twice a year, or on a special occasion. But if we were to go back through the acts in the early history of the Lord's people and Christianity, we would find that it very quickly became the exercise and the joy of the early believers to come together on the first day of the week to break bread.
In Acts chapter 20, in that dark heathen city of Troas, they came together for that specific purpose. If you read the account there carefully, we find they didn't come together to enjoy happy fellowship with one another, although they did have that privilege on that occasion.
They didn't come together to see those who were visiting or listen to the ministry of the apostle Paul on that particular Lord's Day, although they had that privilege as well. They didn't come together to partake of a meal together, although I suggest they had that privilege. Also know the Spirit of God is very careful to tell us. They came together to break bread and I just picture those dear Saints of God.
After their duties were performed that day, winding through the dark streets of Troas with one object in view, an upper room where they were going to sit down together and remember the Lord Jesus in the breaking of bread, they were going to have the privilege of partaking of the Lord's Supper at the Lord's Table. As often We need this reminder, and we need it often. The Lord not only knew what the hearts of His disciples were like on the occasion when He gathered them in the upper room.
But he anticipated what my heart would be like. He knew I was going to need to be reminded of the work of Calvary and that I was going to be reminded. Not need to be reminded, not just once in a while, but I was going to need it often. And then he says as often. And I want you to notice this as you eat and as often as you drink.
00:45:06
Some of the young people have heard me say this before, but I'll repeat it. I wish sometimes that the word eat and drink were printed in capital letters in our English Bible. It is so vital. It is so important because I have talked to so many who are young and some who are not so young, and they've said to me, well, I can remember the Lord in my heart. Oh brethren, it's true, we need to remember the Lord Jesus in our hearts every day, but there is something physical that He has asked us to do.
To give expression to what is in our hearts. God always gives us a way that we can give testimony or expression to what is in our hearts. And so it says as often as you eat and as often as you drink. I am so saddened, so saddened on occasions like we had this morning, to sometimes look around the room as the loaf in the cupboard passed from one to another and to find those.
That I know love the Lord Jesus, that I know are washed in the blood of Christ and members of his body.
And they do not eat and they do not drink of the loaf in the way that the Lord has asked them to do. You know, the privilege of remembering the Lord Jesus and the breaking of bread is something that is only given to us for this life. If the rapture takes place before another Lord's Day, we will not need a loaf and a cup on a table in the Father's house. We're going to see the Lord Jesus face to face.
We're going to see the wounds in His hands and in His feet and in His sides, that which He is going to retain for all eternity, as a fresh reminder of what He accomplished to the glory of God and for our eternal blessing at Calvary Cross. We're not going to need the reminder of a loaf and a cup, the remembrance of the Lord Jesus. The eating and drinking of those emblems are something that is only given to us for this life.
And when you look into the face.
Of the Lord Jesus another day.
And you didn't eat. You didn't drink.
What are you gonna tell the Lord Jesus?
What excuse are you going to give him in that day when he says I made it so simple? A loaf of bread, Fruit of the vine? I have had the privilege, the precious privilege, of sitting down with those gathered to the Lord's name in various corners of this world.
Over 2000 years or so since the Lord Jesus took a loaf and a cup in the Upper room in Jerusalem.
And there on the table in some form and at very little cost is a loaf of bread. And fruit of the vine isn't always in quite the form we had it this morning. But he has, he chose emblems that were so simple things that he knew would be obtainable in any part of the world at very little cost as long as we were left here in this world.
And I know it's slightly out of context, but I often think of that question raised by Naomi's servant so long ago. They said to their master, if he had asked me to do some hard thing, would thou not have done it? Brethren, has he asked us to do some hard thing? Has he asked us to obtain emblems that are costly or hard to find? No, he's made it so very simple and available.
And he says as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death. We give testimony that we seek to honor the one who was cast out of this world. How long, brethren, till he come? And he wouldn't say till he come if he wasn't going to provide and maintain a scriptural basis on which to do it. Sometimes people say, well, it doesn't matter anymore.
Things are in such ruin, it doesn't matter where we remember the Lord or how. But I say again, He would not ask us to do something until He comes if He wasn't going to maintain a scriptural ground, a scriptural basis on which to do it. And as was brought before us the other day, Matthew 18 and 20 still stands. Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I.
00:50:05
In the midst of Him, and don't you think in a coming day, when you look into his face?
And he looks into yours. Don't you think there will be a joy, a little understanding, a special something between you and the Lord Jesus?
That while you were here in this world that spit in his face and cast him out, you sought to honor that request, to remember him, to eat and to drink of the loaf and the cup. Until that day when you see him face to face. I say for my own soul, like Brother Bob, it thrills my soul every time I sit down at Lord's Table. We can't keep ourselves. It's only grace that brings us there.
If we find ourselves gathered to the Lord's name of the Lord Jesus Christ at His table to partake of the Lord's Supper in the breaking the break, it's only grace, brethren. It is only grace, and it's only grace that preserves us there. But that grace is sufficient to keep us until that day when every believer is around himself to praise him unhindered. What a day that's going to be.
May we seek to honor him until he comes.
Servant Forever
Attitudes Toward Truth