Kirkland Conference: 2000
Table of Contents
Not Many Fathers
Address—D. Nicolet
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Same love to Jesus drew us.
I'd like to turn for a verse in.
First Corinthians to introduce the subject that I trust the Lord has laid on one's heart.
Turn with me, please, to 1St Corinthians.
And.
Chapter 3 or 4 perhaps?
Corinthians chapter 4.
I'm going to read 2 verses.
Starting with verse 14.
I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons.
I warn you.
For though ye have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers?
Jesus, I have begotten you.
Through the gospel.
My beloved brother and I.
Pondered much.
The.
Roles and the various things that are mentioned in scripture about fathers and mothers.
And I believe that the day in which we live.
The confusion and the darkness of the day. And I really am not now necessarily referring to the world.
In its various day, whatever age it is always, you might say, been a dark place.
Ever since.
It did kind of a horrible thing of casting out the Prince of Peace.
It has sealed its doom, you might say.
As to light and love and peace, it's cast all that out. And so while things are indeed getting increasingly worse, more open, more violent, more corrupt, we recognize that when I talk about darkness and confusion, I'm really talking about the.
Professing testimony of Christianity.
And the things that come among that testimony at large and how those things affect us as those.
Who by the matchless grace of God are gathered to the precious name.
Of the Lord Jesus Christ. Incredible, priceless privilege.
And yet we have an enemy who has ever active to bring discouragement and confusion.
To.
Umm.
That state or condition of things where there will be a weakening and a giving up.
And if he can affect it, a destruction of those.
Who are gathered to the precious name of the Lord Jesus.
In what has occurred to me, and I'm sure to many others, that I marvel, how often I see it throughout Scripture is the encouragement to and the instruction for and the guidance and the principles given to those.
Who are fathers and mothers? Fathers and mothers not only naturally speaking with families.
But those who have the father and Mother's spirit in the assembly.
And I'd like to suggest.
What I'm thinking of in my own soul concerning these things.
You know, Paul talks here about teachers and about fathers.
And I am not here this afternoon to in any way criticize or denigrate in any way those who are gifted as teachers. Thank God.
For good solid teaching.
Because it says in the word of God that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable.
For doctrine, it starts there for teaching. That's the foundation, if the.
Teaching. If the doctrine isn't right, nothing else is going to be right. So.
Those things that I have that I trust are from the Lord this afternoon.
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That I want to share with my beloved brethren are not in any way to be taken as a criticism of teaching. But Paul was saying something to the Corinthians. He was telling them that while there were, you might say, an abundance of those who taught, what they needed was fathers, He was their spiritual father. He had begotten them in the gospel.
And I would like to suggest a very simple difference.
Between teaching and fathering.
A teacher in parts. I believe what he knows. A father imparts what he is.
And today, if the assembly is to survive and if our families are to survive.
We need to impart knowledge doctrine. That's true.
But we need vitally to have faithful men and women of God imparting what they are.
Molding.
Those young and those young in the faith.
And so Paul is saying, I want to impart to you what I am. You have plenty of people that are filling your mind, but I want to mold your heart.
After Christ.
You know, a father, as I said, I believe.
Gives the sense of molding character. A mother, a spiritual mother, I believe gives a sense of affection.
Fruitfulness.
Nurturing.
And we need those spiritual characteristics in the assembly. It's not a matter of how dark the day may be spiritually. It's a horribly dark day. We're perhaps just moments before the return of the Lord Jesus. And as Timothy says in in the Mr. Darby's translation, in those last times difficult days shall be there. It's a difficult time, and it's getting increasingly difficult for Christians.
It's becoming increasingly difficult to go on in the assembly, gather to his precious name, and what I want to suggest is desperately needed and called for. And what I want to exercise each of our hearts here this afternoon is to consider, and we might say, desire of the Lord, that there might be found among us that spirit of fathering.
Building and molding a character for the Blessing.
Of the young, and I say again, the young in age or the young in faith, and that there might be that spirit of mothering that nurtures and bears fruit in the assembly. We need them desperately. You know, I'm not, it's not on my heart to go through it, but in the first epistle of John.
The apostle writes, and I believe at least seven times. He refers in the King James translation to.
My little children or little children?
Now, in a better translation, Mr. Darby's translation, or I should perhaps say a more accurate one, you find there's a difference between children.
And little children. So he talks about children as those that he we might say in the words of the apostle. Paul has begotten in the faith and has a care for and a desire for their blessing, and a desire to mold them and ground them in the truth, that they might go on in the truth, he says. I have no greater joy.
Than to hear my children walk in truth. That was the Apostle John's part.
And so when he refers those seven times to my little children or little children, he's really talking to those who are his children in the faith. He also speaks of little children as little children in terms of levels, you might say, in the Christian life, the fathers, the young men and the little children. But the apostle John speaks of little children or his children. And I want to turn back just for a moment to notice that I'll leave it to my beloved brother here to follow that out. But I.
Believe you will find. I think it is 7 times in the first epistle that they're mentioned and I think the principles involved are with great profit, though that is not what the Lord has laid on my heart. But let's turn there just for a moment to notice one or two of them.
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First, John.
In chapter 2.
Opens, I believe, with that first one, the apostle writing, he says first John chapter 2, verse one. My little children, these things write I unto you that ye sin not.
Later in that chapter, verse 12, he says, I write unto you little children, because your sins are forgiven you. Now each of these that I'm reading, you could just say, and I think I'll read the rest of them simply as children.
Verse 28. And now children abide in him and so it goes. I won't read them all, but let's look at the very last verse of the 5th chapter.
Of the Epistle of John.
Verse 21 First John 521. Children, keep yourselves.
From idols, here's a father whose heart is yearning to impart that which he is.
That which he has enjoyed, that which Christ has given him, He's yearning and desiring to impart that to his spiritual children, that they might be blessed and go on in the truth.
So I submit again, beloved brethren, that I would desire my heart, and I trust that your hearts.
Each one of us here might be deeply stirred and exercised to that father characteristic.
You know, in one way.
A father has to be a teacher.
And a teacher, to be effective, has to have a fathering spirit. It seems to me. I don't know that I've learned much in the years that I taught, but I did learn this, that I met a lot of people who had a tremendous amount of knowledge, brilliant people, and they were very poor teachers.
Just brilliant. It well taught people, but they were very poor teachers and beloved brethren. The reason they were poor teachers was because they never took time to find out what the needs of their children were. That is what the needs I should say of their students were. They just simply stood up and imparted knowledge, and they had vast knowledge, but it's vitally important to find out what those to whom.
We're imparting knowledge.
What their needs are, what their level of understanding is, I suppose you might say an application. It's like David.
Who had men who had understanding of the times?
And because they had understanding of the times, they knew what was needed at that particular time.
And they were a great benefit and a blessing to David and to those who followed David and our beloved brethren.
Just make it that simple and encourage all of us.
To as we learn and read and study the word of God, and May God grant we do it 100 times more faithfully than we are.
Can study the scriptures and learn the scriptures and learn the doctrines.
But then, as we impart them to be those who have a spirit of a Father, that has an understanding of the needs and the levels and all that those to whom that knowledge is being imparted are so that it can be received and it can be molded. And may I say along with this, if there is that desire for that fatherly Spirit, brethren, I think it's vital.
You know, we've often heard it ministered that the Lord will have a testimony.
Until he comes, I believe that.
But brother, I am not about to stand up here and tell you that I know I am going to be there.
I want to be there and I want you to be there. And if you have a father's heart and a mother's heart, you want to see those that you know and you love to be there.
But it's not a given.
And what we need is a spirit that so yearns and so loves.
That we as fathers and mothers give ourselves.
That there might be blessing you. Remember David, the Lord came to him through.
The.
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Prophet and told him you're not going to be allowed to build me a house.
And David accepted that. He bowed to that. But what did he do? Oh, he laid up a great store of materials to pass on to his son Solomon, who was going to build the house. Oh beloved brethren, let's do that. Let's, as fathers and mothers, lay up a store of materials that might help and bless and be used in blessing and guide those who are coming on.
That the place that we've been brought through the mercy of God, gathered through the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ, might indeed.
We might indeed not it be preserved that we might indeed and are.
Children are spiritual children. Our natural children might be preserved in it.
Well, having said that and seeking to.
Simply begin by underscoring what I believe is.
An incredibly important thing today in the assembly.
Is that we develop prayerfully, earnestly.
That the for one of a better word, I'm just going to say the fathering spirit.
And the mothering spirit. I don't believe that's a special gift. I know that there's a gift of shepherding, pastoring, if you will. A gift of teaching. A gift of evangelizing.
But loving.
The Lord Jesus.
And desiring to see those gathered to his precious name be preserved and kept and go on in that path for their blessing, I don't think that's a gift. I think that's a question of heart. Affection, affection for Christ, and affection for what he loves. Christ also loved the assembly, the church, and gave himself for it. And all may our hearts.
Be stirred to have that affection for Christ and affection for one another that we desire to see them molded.
And that that which will be for their blessing and the preserving of the testimony well.
What I want to do before we go back and look at an example that you might say is.
One of the premier examples of failure in the Old Testament, but I think we just learned marvelous lessons in that in those failures. I want to look at a verse in John, in the Gospel of John.
Chapter 4.
I marvel at this verse.
I trust I, along with my brethren here, marvel at the word of God. But this is a verse that I marvel at.
John Chapter 4.
And we know the story of our blessed Lord Jesus.
He must needs go through Samaria and then let's start in verse.
By Ben cometh he Jesus to a city of Samaria, which is called Saikar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
Now Jacob's well was there.
Jesus, therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well, and was about.
The 6th hour.
Now I want to skip on rather than reading these verses. He asks as we know this a dear woman for a drink of water, outcast woman, even of the Samaritans, and he asks her for a drink. He who has the living water.
And she says in verse 11 and 12 The woman said unto him, Sir, thou has nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From whence then hast thou that living water out thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
Well, she had things mixed up, you might say, as a Samaritan claiming to be in the good of the lineage of Jacob. But all did she ever have the principles right?
She knew that that well was deep.
She knew that it was a place that Jacob drank from, and she knew that it was a place that not only Jacob drank from a place, a deep place, but it was a place that he took his children to drink from, and he had his cattle drink from that. Well, everything about Jacob's life and testimony here, thousands of years later, the testimony has been passed on. Jacob drank from his well, and it's a deep well, oh, beloved brethren, if you want to be fathers.
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If you have a heart's desire to be a father, here's a deep well, and you've got to drink from it first, and so do I. But then let's not stop there. Let's see to it that our children, children in the flesh, children spiritually, that they drink. And fine to the depth of this well, you know, sometimes we may only get a few verses in when we read the Bible in the morning.
Life is so rushed and so hurried, but whether it's a short portion, a little bit, or whether it's time for a lie.
Let's not skim over it quickly and say OK, I've read I can go now for the day.
But to drink, to find the depths in this word of God and will never Plumb them, will never come to the bottom of the depths of the word of God. It's a deep well.
So may we be found ever drinking from that and then bringing our children, those that we want to mold and that which we enjoy, that which we found in Christ.
To bring them to that well and mold it and it's so incredibly practical.
Not only our children, but our very lively our livelihood, our lives, our cattle.
The things that we use in this world rightfully to get along to this world, as we said this afternoon, to pride things honest in the sight of all men.
That that too is fed from the same source every aspect of our life, being fed and drinking from this deep well that we drink from, that we give our children to drink from, that our lives find its refreshment from the well that the Lord Jesus sat on the true and living water.
Well, I pass that on because I want you to remember that about Jacob.
I feel it's one of the very bright testimonies to this man that we often identify with because of his failure, not because of his success, how often we've heard it said and and we feel it ourselves. Perhaps I can identify with Jacob.
I feel a sympathy with Jacob. I'm so much like him. I have a little more trouble identifying with Abraham.
Or Joseph. I wish I could, but I don't find that it's a very easy thing to do. But Jacob, unfortunately I find for myself, is quite easy to identify with. But Jacob, the end of his life, was a wonderful victory, a glorious victory, leaning on the top of his staff, blessing Pharaoh and going out from his presence. Have you ever noticed that about Jacob in the end of his life? He wasn't dismissed by Pharaoh.
The less I say an application was blessed of the better. Jacob stands in Pharaoh's presence, and he blesses him and he goes out from his presence. He's not a slave under ******* being ordered around, But he turns and leaves, He blesses and he leaves. Oh, that's a wonderful thing, to be so risen above the things of this world and to move in the calm dignity of the sons of God. And that's what we want to enjoy.
And that's what we want to pass on and need to pass on that there might be preserving and care in the assembly and in our families. And so Jacob had that well and he drank and it was a deep well and his children and his cattle. And now I want to turn back to Jacob's life and we're going to find some things that I think are wonderful principles in his life.
To encourage us.
As fathers.
And we're going to turn Brethren to what I think on the outside. On the surface, I should say looks like some some real failure. And in fact, I suspect there was real failure connected with this episode.
But I want you to know, brethren, that I believe with all my heart that being a father.
Does not depend on my being perfect, because if it did, I was lost a long time ago. There's no such thing.
As a human perfect father. But because I fail doesn't mean I give up.
And Jacob's life of failure didn't mean that he gave up and said why try anymore? I've messed up so bad up to this point. Why keep on? I'm just going to give up. It's not worth it. I'll just mess up again.
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No, he didn't give up, beloved brethren. I don't mean to.
Repeat things that I've said before.
But I stand before you, and I tell you.
That one has known what it is.
Beyond his needs.
Weeping because of failure.
Did you ever say, Lord, can I please go back and do it again?
Failed. He never fails.
And because I failed does not teach me the lesson that it's time to give up because you just can't do it.
Jacob failed. He failed miserably. And even in those places that we're going to read about, we're going to find Jacob failing. But there was something stronger than his failure, and that was his love.
For his God and his love for his family. And he went on.
Those beloved brethren of each of us, I should say, that are sitting here now have that desire to be fathers and mothers. It's not a question of whether you've done it all right. Not one of us has. It's a question of whether or not there's love for Christ and love for those that belong to him, and the desire to fulfill that role and continue in it.
In spite of failure.
I don't excuse self will.
But failing is no excuse to give up.
Genesis.
Chapter.
32.
We will assume a knowledge of the background of Jacob in some respect.
You know we were mentioning earlier talking with talking with a couple brothers earlier today and talking about the account of the Tabernacle.
In scripture and how it starts.
In Exodus 25 and goes through Exodus 40 or so, 15 chapters or so devoted to the Tabernacle. It's quite an important subject.
You know, if you look at the life of Daniel, a life that many of us would not dare to claim that we could live in that kind of.
Faithfulness to the Lord in those circumstances. His life that we have as a record encompasses 6 or 7 chapters and then the prophecies are given. You find the account of others. Very faithful men in scripture don't take very much of scripture. The life of Jacob with all of his failures takes quite a portion of the book of Genesis. I want to say this again brother, because one of the things Satan uses I believe on us individually.
And in the assembly is to beat us over the head with our failures.
Telling us we just as well give up. Nobody's going to listen to you anymore anyway. Look how bad you've done.
That's from Satan. That's not from the Lord. He's intensely interested in us and he loves us. And there is every reason to move ahead in confidence in spite of what's taken place. And the story of Jacob is a beautiful instance of encouragement in that very thing. But I want to turn to chapter 32, and we know that Jacob now, 21 years or more later, is on his way back and he's got some things he's got to face.
Things that he did wrong when he left in the time and the years didn't erase it. One of the things is he's going to have to face the brother that he cheated and deceived.
And he knows that. And we're not going to go, we don't have time to go into all the background that lead up to his exercises, because I want to deal particularly with the fathering spirit that Jacob shows in the midst of this great failure.
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But let's at least go to this much of the background, it says in verse one. Jacob went on his way.
He's on his way home now. Verse 3. Jacob sent messengers before him.
To Esau, his brother verse four, and he Jacob.
He commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my Lord Esau. Thy servant Jacob sayeth thus. I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now. And I have oxen and ***** flocks, and men servants, and women servants. And I have sent to tell my Lord that I might find grace in thy sight. So he's seeking for peace.
Is there any peace to the wicked?
You're sick.
Verse 6 The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau.
And also he cometh to meet thee and 400 men with him. I submit to you that the circumstances don't look very promising. Jacob has no reason to expect or look for or hope for the best. He got a report that the one he announced to that he was returning is coming to meet him. But in those days I'll submit to you that 400 men.
Who no doubt were Warriors. Coming on a company such as Jacob had with very few men who were warriors was not a pleasant thing to look forward to.
And sometimes that happens in our lives and we look for peace and we realize we've.
Gone astray and we want to seek to come back and retrace our steps.
And perhaps the first thing that comes that meets us is this horrible fear. There is all of the accumulated past mistakes coming out to meet you, to destroy you. Did Jacob turn and run and hide? No. I believe this is a wonderful picture that he goes on. He's he goes through tremendous exercises and wrestlings with God, but he goes on.
And in fact, he even starts as Jacob ever does. He starts making plans. Not plans based on faith in God's blessing and preserving care, but plans based on Jacob's ability to somehow figure out a path to worm through all these problems he's caused. So it says Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed and he divided the people verse 8 and said if Esau come to the one company and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.
Beloved brethren in the principle of fathering, may I suggest that's not good enough. It's not good enough to lose half of those who are desiring to Father and to nurture and to mold in the things of God. It's not good enough, and it's not a question of failure. It's a question of trust and faith in the God that we've come to know and love, and that we call as our Father.
But Jacob wasn't there yet.
He was still planning and he just figured somehow I'm going to scrape through this and some.
Of my posterity is going to escape.
Beloved brethren, I want to suggest to you, which may seem to you in the circumstances of your life, or may seem to me in the circumstances of my life, that's naturally an impossible thing, and that is, God wants to bless you and yours fully.
He wants to bless. He desires to bless the assembly fully, not just a few, not just some. But what about the mistakes? What about the coldness? What about this? What about that? Let's start.
Our exercise about being fathers with this understanding, God's desire is for full and complete blessing. And may I say, and I have to do it in my life, and I know, brethren, that we do in our lives. May I say, if I have that sense of faith in my God, in your God, our wonderful God and Father that his desire is to fully bless, then I can go in an unhindered spirit, pray for every circumstance, those that seem impossible.
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As well as those that don't seem so bad. But I do it with faith in a realization that God's desire is to fully bless in every way. Brethren, let's act on that. Let's move forward on that. Let's not say let's be willing to give the enemy 50% and try to at least save a little. That's the reasoning of the world. It's not the reasoning of faith. It's not the reasoning and trust in the God of Heaven who loves us. Have we made mistakes? Yes.
Have we done things wrong? Yes, go on and on. Add all of the things and God knows, as the the hymn goes up, I think it is a innumerable more mistakes that we've made. Is that time to give up and and give the enemy what he's after? Absolutely not. Well, we won't go, We won't.
Spend more time in this chapter, except we'll notice that Jacob not only divides, but he decides to appease.
And he's going to go to great expense to, in his own strength, meet this problem.
And what's beautiful to see is he's going to learn he didn't need to do that. You know, sometimes we go to a tremendous efforts and expenses, tremendous expense and tremendous effort to try to make up for and pay for and deal with the mistakes that we've made, the sins that the self will that's come in and cause problems. But it's so beautiful to see that the cast ourselves in the presence of God owning.
What I've done and simply cast oneself on his mercy.
That's a very painful thing to go through, but in one sense it's not a costly thing. Well, Jacob sends all of these presents to appease his brother, and then we have that wonderful account that we won't take time to look at of the wrestling with God. But now let's go to Chapter 33 to finish up, and let's look at some of these principles that so beautifully shine in the midst of Jacob's failure. And on belief, Jacob lifted up his eyes, verse one, and looked and behold, Esau came.
And with him 400 men.
And he divided the children onto Leah, and onto Rachel, and onto the 2 handmaids.
And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Lee and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hind her most.
Well, I'm going to say something that will perhaps sound contradictory because earlier I said when it says in verse seven of the previous chapter that he divided the people, he divided them into two companies. He was going to be willing to give one of those companies up and it sounds like he's going to be willing here, but that's not why he's dividing them up this way and.
There are some very solemn thoughts here, but let me just say this.
He's not willing now any longer to lose these.
But there is an order based on his affection, and I'm not going to say.
As to the rightness of this or not, but in the day in which he lived, and remembering who it was that and won his heart that he served seven years for, and it seemed but a few days for the love he had for her, we can see the affection of his heart at work. And that's the principle. It's the only principle I want to suggest here. Here is a man now that's no longer being guided by profit and loss, if you will, motives.
By the bottom line, by business, like decisions. Here's a man whose heart is now in action, in love. And so he sets Rachel his beloved Rachel and Joseph in the hindermost. And now we know that his heart is set in love. Let me misread verse 3. And he passed over behind them and bowed himself. No, it doesn't say that he goes in front of them. So the love of a father says.
Even if I put them in this order because of love, if there's going to be a Smiting, it's going to get me first.
And he goes in front of them, keeping those he loves behind them. Fathers, may I apply it this way. If you're going to have the desire to be a father in the assembly, you're going to have to take a lead. Now, I don't need a wrong lead or a lead. That's not an appropriate one. I mean, you and I are going to have to act as men. We're going to have to act as men and their responsibility. And it can happen in 1000 ways.
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And I'm going to say this because I saw it happen today, so it won't sound like criticism. Men are going to have to move the chairs and set the tables and see to it that the needs are met. Men are going to have to start the songs. Men are going to have to open the meetings with prayer on and on and on. It's burden after burden after burden. And it's a man in the sense of a man with responsibility that takes that up. Jacob is taking the lead. There's something coming.
A difficulty, a trial, a problem. And Jacob is going out in front of those he loves.
To be the first one to meet that problem. He's not standing back and sitting back and let's set letting someone else go.
He's going first. The conniving is all over. He sent his gifts.
Divided his company up to try to save the prophet and the loss and admit it to to increase the profit. I should say minimize the law. That's all done.
Jacob is acting as a man of God in spite of all of his failures, and he goes before those that he loves.
To me, the one who's coming, as far as he knows, to destroy him. Beloved brethren, I'm speaking to everyone of you here, from the oldest to the youngest, who act in that capacity in the assembly. Do you want to be a father, one that nurtures and preserves?
You're going to have to take the lead. You're going to have to be a leader. You're going to have to set a straight path that those who are behind you can follow it, and so am I. And that's what fathering starts with if we're going to be spiritual fathers.
We're going to have to be in the forefront, not behind. Well, then it goes on.
And we see that Esau runs in, much to no doubt the surprise of Jacob. He runs and falls on his neck, and he kisses him. They weep. Verse five, he asks who the children are, the wives they come to, they are introduced.
He says. What do you mean by all this? Drove that you've sent to me? This is a little rebuke to his lack of faith. But the beautiful thing is that Jacob doesn't stop being a father and say, oh, I messed up again. I didn't trust God. I might as well give up. No, he doesn't. We're going to see that he gets firmer and stronger as he goes on, because Esau becomes more and more subtle in his attempts. He's not coming out with a sword. I said earlier today, and I'll repeat it, he's not coming out of Sparrow to destroy. He's coming out of Sparrow's daughter to nurture. And both are equally dangerous fathers.
And mothers, the world that wants to destroy, we know enough to stay away from and to keep our children away. But we're so foolish about the world that's beckoning. Saying we're going to take I'll take care of you. I'm going to nurture you. I'm going to train you. I'm going to give you a wonderful easy position. And we get sucked into that So easy.
Well, Esau isn't coming with 400 men to destroy. He's coming with 400 men to nurture. And the result of it will be every bit as real a destruction as if he had used the sword. And Jacob as a father, has to stand against that. And so here he is now. And.
Esau says I don't need this stuff you sent to me. What you send that for, that's a little rebuke. But I just mentioned that that rebuke doesn't turn Jacob's side here, Jason to take it. Esau takes it and they go on now.
Verse 12 And he This is Esau speaking. So let me read it that way, Esau said. Let us take our journey and let us go, and I will go before thee.
Jacob has just been expecting to be slaughtered and instead he's covered with kisses.
Jacob is expecting that his gifts will only be the start of Esau's taking and spoiling everything he has.
And instead, Esau offers to give back his gifts.
And says I don't need it. And now Esau comes in with the real subtle one fathers who says.
Jacob, let's go together on our journey.
Let's go on our journey.
And I'll go before.
Let's you and I compromise and let's go on together in friendship and peace. And I'll be the leader and you can be the follower. And where I decide to go, you just follow right along, Jay, because I'm going to take care of you.
00:45:14
A pretty tough thing to turn down for a conniving.
Scheming, deceitful man like Jacob.
He really said, oh wow, this is going to be so much easier than I thought.
Right here I've got 400 men to protect me now. Esau has lived in this area for 21 years.
People are afraid of him. Why? I can just sail right through here and everything is going to be just fine. He doesn't say that.
Look at how Jacob replies. And Jacob said unto him, My Lord knoweth that the children are tender.
Now it's true, as some have suggested, Jacob was still skiing here. You don't.
Get rid of the effects of self will overnight. But I'm suggesting to you that he wasn't scheming when he said the children are tender. He was telling the truth. He looked well to the state of his flocks, and he knew what the limits of his children were. And he knew that if Esau were to lead them, it would be to their destruction, not to their preservation. All beloved brethren, the children, those who are young in the faith, are tender, and the world is going to come in and OverDrive them.
If we follow with and try to accommodate our families, the assembly, our own lives to the world.
Those very ones that we want to mold.
Into followers of Christ are going to be overdriven. Jacob had a concern and he said no, he saw. I don't want you to leave me because I'm concerned about my children. Not a wonderful thing to be concerned about. I'm concerned about my children and he goes on and the flocks and the herds with younger with me and if the men should OverDrive them, the flock will die. He was concerned about every aspect of his life that he did not want the world.
To be that which was going to lead him because the world had no concept.
Of what a spiritual father wanted for his children and for what belonged to him. Well, let's go on. There's so much more there.
Am I speaking this afternoon to hearts that want to be fathers and mothers? I believe I am.
May I suggest that we learn, all of us, starting with this one, standing up here speaking to you.
That we all learn what it means to lead on softly. I don't need to look the other way when things are being done that it's honoring to the Lord. I mean to learn to have a tender, compassionate spirit toward those that were seeking to mold and help. I'm going to lead on softly. That's a father's spirit of softness. You know, it's so wonderful in the story of the.
Samaritan and the man who was wounded, you know the King James that says he came to where he was.
The Samaritan was going to SAP. He had compassion on him. It's so beautiful to read that in the JND translation it says he came up to where he was. Isn't that beautiful? He went down lower than the one who was in the ditch wounded. And if you and I as fathers and mothers are going to lead on softly, we're going to have to learn what it is to go down, to be lower than to enter in in compassion to the conditions.
That we have to deal with as fathers and mothers and not to drive and as.
It was said there in the day of Solomon's son. You think my dad, I'm going to paraphrase, you think my dad was tough on you. Just wait till I get the whip out and I'll show you what's really tough. That's not the way you're going to be. Or I'm going to be a father that nurtures it's to lead on softly. And I say again, brother, I don't want anyone to get the thought. I'm saying, look the other way and accept that which is honor in Christ. I don't mean that for a minute. And I think you know that.
But there is a spirit in which we do these things that is beautiful to see in Jacob here. Let's go on and finishing.
It says.
According as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, I say again what I said earlier. If we're going to be, may I say it this way, successful spiritual fathers and mothers, we have to understand the condition and the abilities of those who are seeking to lead in the Lord.
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And I want to say, beloved brother and back there is a bookshelf with ministry. Some of the homes I've been in. In fact, I think every home I've been in on this trip, my beloved wife and I, I have seen libraries with wonderful ministry in it. Thank God for that ministry. But brethren, let's you and I understand the condition of those we want to present that ministry to and find out if they're able to receive it.
And if we find and see and enjoy deep truths of the word of God, let's ask grace.
From God, to present it in a way that those that were seeking to father and mother.
Can endure it. I don't mean to soften it. I don't mean to water it down. I mean to present it in a way that those were seeking to mold for the glory of Christ are going to be able to take in and walk in. What we're presenting I wish today.
That this testimony of Christianity, that the assemblies gathered to his precious name at our homes and families were like they were in 1825.
Let's look at what we are today, and let's take the unchanging truth of God and never change it, but present it in a way that can be endured, and if it can be endured, it preserves.
Let's finish up.
Jacob is still failing until I come to my Lord unto Seer verse 14. You have any intention of going there? The flesh is still acting, but Jacob's not giving up as a father. And then he goes on and he says here. And Esau said, look at this one, Let me now leave with the some of the folk that are with me said, OK, if you don't want to follow me, if you don't want me to be with you and guide you, you don't want to compromise with me. I'll just leave a few of my men.
What was it that characterized the company of the children of Israel when they started longing after the leaks and the onions and the garlics of Egypt? It was a mixed company that fell to lusting. There were those who came out of Egypt who didn't, you might say, belong in among God's company. And they started a great failure by getting God's people to say this manna. We're tired of it. Think of it for Christians to say, because they've let the world come in a little bit of it.
And associate with them to say I'm tired of Christ.
You're awful. That's what the world will do. And Jacob knew that. And he said no. No way. He said it in a nice way, but he said what needed it. I don't want any of your men. I don't want any influence he saw from you or your ways, because any influence you give is going to be a harmful influence. Oh, beloved fathers and mothers, let's be ever so careful.
About what we allow as influences in our lives and in those lives of those that we want to be spiritual fathers and mothers to.
I'm going to close with that.
I just want to close by saying, Beloved brethren, we desperately need, I believe with all my heart a spirit among us, of fathers and mothers to preserve and nurture, and as I say again, not a matter of being.
Without fault or not failing.
It's a matter of love, a matter of desiring at what is precious to the heart of Christ might be preserved. May God grant that we can say not we have 10,000 teachers, but that we can say we have 10,000 fathers. Thank God for teachers, but all brethren, let's be fathers and mothers. Let's pray.
Our blessed God and Father, we thank Thee for thy precious word. We thank Thee for the guidance we have in it for the wonderful principles we find in it.
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And we're God and Father. Thou alone does perfectly know each one of us here in this room, the failures in our lives. And yet, Lord Jesus, thou hast gone to the cross. Alice answers to a holy God.
For each here who believe in Thee, who know thee is Savior, nor God and Father, encourage our hearts in this dark, confusing day.
That we not give up, that we move forward with that spirit that would desire to seek blessing, that would desire to see thy people encouraged and helped, that would above all Lord Jesus.
Would bring thy heart satisfaction. We ask for the preservation Lord.
Of the assemblies gathered to thy precious name.
We ask for the preservation of our families. We ask for the restoration of those that we love that have gone astray. Lord, it's all possible with thee. With God, all things are possible. Help us to pray earnestly and fervently, to keep our eyes on Thee, and to move, Lord, in that sense of thy all sufficiency, an old grant. We pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the joy.
Of seeing if thou dost leave us here for anytime of seeing thy working, and by thy power and spirit and the blessing that comes, help as we pray, Father, And we ask these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
I Will Never Leave Thee, or Forsake Thee
Address—D. Nicolet
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 you to turn with me to begin with the book of Hebrews.
13th chapter.
Just thought you'd read a couple of well known verses and then the Lord's help follow those through the little thought in another portion in scripture.
It's just a very comforting passage to remind our hearts and to comfort us tonight. Hebrews chapter 13.
And.
Verse.
Six to begin with.
February 13 and verse six reading in the middle of the Very well, let's read the whole verse so that we may boldly say.
The Lord is my elder, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Why is it, Beloved brethren, we can from Scripture, read these wonderful words with such assurance we may boldly say it's because of what goes before. And so we'll step back now and read the prior reason for why we can bowl these days. The Lord is my helper.
The end of the fifth verse.
He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
And that's very, very sweet, brethren, as we go through this scene, the scene that God in his wisdom, perfect knowledge, his sovereign ways of grace.
Has ordained that you and I walk through.
It's been his choice, his perfect way, his perfect decision.
Is perfect choice that you and I might be found walking in this world at this day and at this hour, with all that besets us, the darkness of it and the confusion and the concerns that we rightly have and feel. We're not here by mistake. We're here because God, who knows all things, God who's sovereign in all of his ways and purposes, has sole purpose that you and I might walk through this world.
And to do so to his glory, Not to be stumbled, not to be turned aside.
Not to be confused, but to do so to his glory, in a world and in a day which is perhaps almost unparalleled in its confusion and difficulty and trials that we find. Yet God is ordained that we pass through this world. And what a wonderful comfort it is then to be assured to be reminded, brethren, and to be assured that the Lord Jesus is the one who said I will never leave thee.
Forsake. And because he said that we can with boldness, not tentatively, not with some measure of doubt, not with some concern, but we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man shall be learned. You know, one has said, if a friend and I were walking down the street.
And as we walk down the street, we came to a corner, a junction and my friend said, well, I have to go this direction now. So I'll say goodbye for now and I'll see you later. And that friend turned and walked away from me. I can say, and would say rightly, I have a friend who left me. He's gone a different direction. He's no longer walking with me.
But if we, you know, my friend and I were walking down that street.
That same St. and a very large, vicious looking dog came running at me with every indication that he was interested in making a meal out of me. And my friend saw that and turned and ran away. I would never say he left me. I say he forsook me. The Lord Jesus won't leave us as to the joy of communion with him as we walk through this world. He's paid too much, brethren for you and he's paid too much for me, I say reverently at the cross.
00:05:07
To ever leave us. We wander and stray. We get cold in our hearts, but we're too much of an object of love, an infinite object of love. And he's not going to leave us. He desires our company step by step and moment by moment. And it's a blessed and wonderful assurance to know that in the Lord Jesus Christ we have a friend who will not leave us. Sometimes we get very discouraged and things become very difficult.
And we have loved ones and friends, and perhaps we find that at the time when we feel like we need the most, they don't seem to be there. Not so with the Lord Jesus. I'll never leave thee. But then there are very great times of, I should say, there are times of very great stress and difficulty that come into our lives. Very great confusion, perhaps.
Everyone in this room has in some measure gone through these times. And a time when we turn to look desperately, perhaps, for a friend, for someone to help us, to be there for us to come through. And in those times of great trial and difficulty, the Lord Jesus and I won't forsake you, I won't leave you because I love you and I want to have communion with you.
And I won't forsake you. When there's difficulties, when there's trials, when I fail, when I've gotten cold and I've in the language perhaps of the world, when I've missed the Lord. Jesus says I won't forsake you. It's a wonderful comfort and wonderful blessed, we might say in the words of that him blessed assurance. Jesus is mine. So he's not going to leave us. He's not going to forsake us.
It's a world that's full of difficulties and trials and confusion.
And concerns such as would readily.
Cause mere human friends to do either one of these things during the pathway of life. But we have him as our comfort, and he's never going to do that. And that not only is he never going to do that so that we can boldly say that he's my helper, I won't fear, but I have this wonderful assurance. Then in verse 8, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday.
And today and forever. Yesterday, when he knew all about my sins, beloved brethren, when he knew all about your sins, and he hung there on that cross, and in those three hours of darkness forsaken at the hand of God.
Forsaken not for what he had done, but for what I had done.
For what you, beloved brethren, sister in Christ, have done, he was forsaken.
That was his yesterday, you might say, and it was a an infinite and divine love that took him to that yesterday.
That brought him to that cross down from those heights of glory when the word went out, Who shall go for us there We read in the prophet Isaiah, And he would say, Here am I send me, became willingly and in obedience and in love.
And his yesterday was to hang on that cross forsaken of God, and then it says the same yesterday and today, and so today that one who took up once and forever every question that God, I say reverently, God would have about my sin.
Forever took it up, forever dealt with it, and there the righteous and holy.
Judgment of God poured out fully to the last drop in that yesterday.
Today that one has never changed. And when I forsake him for I surely do that, And I stray, and I wander away, and I get cold. I get confused, I get fearful. The disciples, they said, Master, cares thou not that we perish. What a question.
To ask the Lord if he cared about them. But don't I do that. Perhaps you do that sometimes. Beloved brother, beloved sister, perhaps. Sometimes things seem so dark, so confused, so impossible.
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That in our hearts, we as it were, say, Lord, don't you care? Don't you care? Don't you see what I'm going through? Don't you see how bad it hurts?
Don't you care?
The Lord is the same today, and the love that took him to that cross yesterday.
The love that caused him to go there, fully submitted to the Father's will, is the same love that cares for me today. The same love that showered upon me today and upon you as we walk through this scene.
And forever the same.
Isn't that wonderful, that one who took up those issues of sin and?
Sorrow and all that was that a holy, righteous, sin hating God had been insulted by, we might say.
That one who today is there as our great High Priest, to help us, our advocate, when we fail.
Through.
In absolute, unwavering, love walks with us through this dream. That's the one we're going to see. We're going to see his face. We're going to be with him. We're going to be like him. And there won't be one change, not one thing different. He's the same yesterday and today and forever. One you and I can trust as we go through these very dark times and beloved brethren they are.
Very, very dark times, but as we go through them.
The Lord has not asked us in His marvelous grace. He's not asked us to go through them alone. First of all, He's with us. That's the most important thing. We have the assurance of His company and as the disciples found in those.
Storm in that storm, on that sea, even when they doubted that he cared about them in that horrible storm.
He was there and with a word all was calm and they learned very quickly and he said to them.
Let's look at that. I just want to go to that because it's very striking in the Gospel of Mark where we're referring to that storm.
On the sea.
Believe It's Mark, Chapter 4.
The.
Yes, Mark, Chapter 4.
And verse 38.
We'll read verse 37. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full, and he was in the hinder part of the ship asleep on a pillow. And they awake him and say their master, carest thou not that perish. All beloved brethren have yet been in a storm.
Are you in one tonight? We go through them. They're very real. And perhaps the kinds of storms that we could never explain to even a close friend.
A kind of burden and sorrow it would be impossible to describe to a friend.
And as I said, we we do that sometimes. Lord, don't you care?
Cares thou not that we perish?
The Lord didn't answer them. We don't have any answer here.
Recorded in this gospel, it just says he rose.
And rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace be civil. You might have wondered, why didn't he say unto that? Why didn't he say to their hearts, their fearful hearts, a heart just like I have, that gets so fearful when the storms come. Why didn't he say to their hearts first of all, peace be still, Oh, it's precious, he says to the storm. Peace be still. The wind ceased. There was a great calm.
And then this very searching question which searches my heart tonight.
And he said unto them, Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have? I'm going to misread it. How is it that you have so little faith?
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I misread it. How is it he have no faith? You know these accounts? This account is given to other times.
And in the other two times, the disciples are ascribed as having faith, a little faith. Where is your faith?
But here the words come home a little more strongly. How is it you have no faith? Why was that?
Well, I believe it's this reason, beloved brethren, only in this record in Mark do we have that.
That question asked of the Lord Jesus, Don't you care? And may I?
Without seeking to paraphrase it. But may I just say it this way, is that that they were saying, Lord, don't you care what's happening to me?
Is the question that the Lord fell deeply and no doubt was deeply grieved about it. And so there's no thought now about a question of faith or not. But it's a coming from a heart that it's not that they didn't have faith as to being saved, but there was no faith in action to question the Lord's love in the deepest storm and brethren.
I do that so quickly, something far less significant perhaps, than this storm comes up in one's life, and immediately there's a question about whether or not the Lord really loves me.
The Lord feels that because there at that cross of Calvary, you and I can go back in our minds in some little measure, and I would ask you to do that.
Take a walk back in your memory, in your mind.
Not in foolish imagination, but think about it, they spit in his blessed face.
They beat him.
They mocked him.
So horribly.
Was this blessed and perfect man used and abused That it says in Isaiah his form was.
So marred.
Above any man.
Someone recently said it was very striking to think about it so horribly. Was he physically abused that it was hard to even recognize?
As a man, think of it, but the heart of man that could do such a thing.
And then hear him on that cross.
After going through that agony.
And brutality.
Hear him on that cross, Father. Forgive them, for they know not what they do. And what did he say that as he hung on that cross?
He said that.
As those who had.
Inflicted that incredibly horrible.
Treatment.
We're sitting there watching him being entertained by his sufferings.
They sat down and watched him there.
You know when you go by a scene where there's been an accident, I think I have a fairly normal reaction that I'm sure we all do. You may wonder what's happened, but you get this horrible feeling in your stomach.
As you see and realize that someone has been badly injured, perhaps killed.
And the last thing that you have on your heart is that you would sit down.
At that scene and watch that as a form of entertainment.
Lord.
Carest thou not that we perish?
Go back in our hearts and think about what he did on that cross, and then answer that question before God. And I submit, your beloved brethren. That's why here in this gospel, the blessed Lord Jesus said.
00:20:03
How is it?
That she have no faith. How is it that you are?
Allowed your hearts to get so cold and so discouraged and so fearful that you think in the midst of a storm like this, I wouldn't care about you.
And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
Well, we do that too. We see some wonderful movement of God in some way at times. And those dark times in our lives, they don't always come when we want them to, or in the way we thought they would.
But the Lord works. And then instead of our hearts being I shouldn't say our brother and I'm, I apologize. I'll just say my heart and I'll let you decide if it's your heart too. But my heart then, rather than being drawn out in love for one who is so tender and loving in His compassion and love for me and His ways, with me of blessing.
Instead of that.
There's almost more of a fear and trembling.
That's what happened here.
They didn't seem to enter into his love. They didn't seem to be exercised about his question, about what it meant to his heart that they would question it. You remember Joseph? His brethren came to him there at the end, after all that kindness he had showed them all of the love and the care he had given them in those seventeen years that Jacob lived there in Egypt. And now Jacob is gone. They come back to their brother Joseph, and they just plead with him for their father's sake that they might be made servants.
That they might be allowed to just serve him as slaves and all he breaks down and weeps.
He wants their love, not their service. He wants a sense of joy and a sense of appreciation and love for what he's done for them. And it hurt him because that wasn't flowing out to him. Instead, they were thinking low, very low thoughts of Joseph. He spent 17 years loving them and they still wanted to just be a servant. They still didn't trust and all beloved brother. And so with me, I do that.
And we do that, but it grieves the heart of the Lord. It means something to him. It it it, it doesn't go unnoticed. If I may say it that way. He wants a response. Love from our heart cares thou not that we perish. Well, brethren, I've gone a little bit different direction that I had originally intended, meth or I, but I'd like to with that background.
What I trust encouraging your heart and mind, at least reminding our hearts.
Of an undying divine love that cares about every detail of your life, every little thing that you may think is little, you may feel is insignificant, as well as the very big significant things in your life. All of them are infinitely important to the blessed Lord Jesus. As we've often read in the gospel, He knows the number of the hairs of your head.
You have to be, I say very reverently, You have to be very interested in something to know with accuracy such details.
God, our blessed God and Father, is infinitely interested and concerned about every single detail of each one of our lives. He loves us, and He desires not only our comfort in our joy, but when the storms in the darkness are there, He desires our.
Trust and a responsive love from our hearts.
But in these dark days, perhaps just for a little bit, we'll trace something and I think perhaps we'll see the working out the response of that love. But I would like to read one other verse.
A verse that helps with direction and guidance.
In the midst of a dark day when there's all sorts of storms. But I want to go to that having laid a foundation, beloved brethren, at least a reminder to our hearts of the love that Christ has for you and for me, and of his infinite worthiness to be trusted in every circumstance of life, in every burden and care of life. So that in the dark days that we're in.
00:25:27
He gives us so many instructions for walking through it, so many guides and elves.
To walk through this life to his glory and to our joy, one of those that I'd like to read and then I'd like to follow that in the life of a man.
And follow not only how his life is a wonderful example of that verse, but how we see the response of the love of Christ in his heart. In times that you're going to find, we're going to see where incredibly difficult.
Let's turn back to Second Timothy again, beloved Brethren, a verse.
So well known that perhaps most everyone in here could repeat it from memory.
Timothy.
2.
I'm going to read part of verse 22, Second Timothy two-part of verse 22.
In a day of darkness, confusion, trials, and difficulties follow.
Righteousness faith.
Love charity or Love Peace?
With them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
The Lord Jesus says I'll never leave thee nor forsake thee. You and I have the wonderful comfort of knowing he's ever walking with us.
But he's also done something else, brethren. And I think oftentimes in these days of difficulty and and sorrows that we forget about the wonderful blessing it is. And what he's done for us is he has given to us a wonderful privilege of walking with those of like precious faith.
He's not asked us to do what he so often blessed the Lord Jesus did when he walked through this world.
And that was the walk alone misunderstood. No comfort, certainly perfect fellowship and comfort from the heart of his father, but no earthly comfort or understanding or encouragement. But he's not asking me to do that. And so in a very dark time, that Second Timothy is written in describing the day very accurately that we live in today of confusion and professing Christianity.
He says there are as it were. There are those in such a day.
That you can walk in fellowship with and then he gives us the guides for doing it and he says follow with them that call on the Lord out of the pure heart and he gives 4 four things 4.
Standards you might say that you and I can use in seeking to walk with with other dear believers righteousness, faith, love.
And peace. Now it would be, I don't say easy, but there would be many things that we could say about this. But I think what what perhaps might be the most valuable would be, as in these last few minutes of our meeting together tonight, to look at an example in the word of God of one who did this.
One who walked in.
And followed with them that called on the Lord out of the pure heart. And he followed righteousness, faith, love, and peace. And we'll see as we follow this man that it was a day of extreme difficulty, many sorrows, great trials and pressures. And yet there was a company that he walked with and by faith and in love for Christ.
For his Savior, the Lord Jesus, he followed with and walked with and never gave up.
Those that call in the Lord out of the pure heart, Let's turn back to the book of Acts. We're going to follow this man into the epistles.
00:30:01
We'll first read about him about acts.
Let's see.
Acts Chapter 19 I believe.
Yes, Acts Chapter 19.
And.
We're well acquainted with these accounts, so just a quick background in that way we.
We're well acquainted with these accounts, so just a quick background in that way. We have not read many, many verses, but here we have the Apostle Paul and his company.
At Ephesus.
And we read this very wonderful and encouraging verse in Acts chapter 19 and verse 20. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. Beloved brethren, the word of God grew and prevailed against the background of demonism, witchcraft. And we just read about those who practice curious arts. There was a tremendous price.
A tremendous value set on such horrible things. So much so that when those books were burned, they found them to be worth 50,000 pieces of silver.
The worship of Satanic things and the following of those kinds of.
Occult practices.
Were greatly valued.
In this world, I submit, that's a very dark time.
Through which one would be called to walk, and I submit that's a very accurate, appropriate mirror of the days through which you and I walk. A growing and real occult pressure and presence in this world.
But.
So grew the word of God, and prevailed. Isn't that wonderful? There's something infinitely stronger than that kind of presence.
That we see growing in the land in which we live, and that's the word of God. But what we want to go on with is that it says that Paul was there.
A great persecution has raised against him because of the loss of funds. The truth of God turned many from the worship of that heathen and immoral goddess Diana.
And those who profited from the worship of that idol.
Raised the persecution against Paul, so we'll pick that up in verse 28. And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying great is Diana of the Ephesians and the whole city was filled with confusion. And now we're going to meet this man having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia.
Paul's companions in travel. They rushed with one accord into the theater. Will stop there for just a minute.
We're going to, with the Lord's help in the closing moments here, follow a little bit this man, Aristarchus, We're going to see one who did what we read in Second Timothy 2. And verse 22, we're going to read of a man who followed righteousness, faith, love and peace with them that called on the Lord out of the pure heart. And so here we begin seeing.
And being introduced to Aristarchus, and were introduced to him in the midst of a terrible time of confusion and persecution against the truth of God, as a very dark day in the city of Ephesus. For those who were lovers of the Lord Jesus Christ, the whole city was filled with confusion. I submit to you, beloved brethren, that tonight whether we are in the.
City of Kirkland or select any city in the North American continent or any city in the world tonight, and I would suggest to you that morally, the city as it were, is filled with confusion. That city that came, built when he went out from the presence of God and determined that apart from the God's presence he was going to have a city.
00:35:08
An organization.
A structure in which he would find every kind of happiness and joy.
Without God, that that city that he built back there in the early books of Genesis and named after his son, that that city, that system of man that says I don't care about God, I'm going to be happy without him. That city is filled with confusion.
And it's the city. It's the moral condition of things that you and I are called to walk through.
And we're going to do it, remembering that we have one ever with us who never changes, one who will never leave or forsake us, and one who has given us by His grace.
And according to the riches of his grace, those guiding principles by which we can walk in the company and fellowship with others. And so we find that Gaius and Aristarchus are Paul's companion.
In Travel, beloved young people, you're starting out on a journey that some in this room are nearing the end of, If the Lord leaves us here very much longer.
We could well expect and scripturally and rightfully expect that the Lord Jesus is going to come. Tonight I'm going to repeat a story. I love it because it's something that I've really enjoyed. Brother Tom Roach told me that he had met.
Visited often a dear sister up in the Maritimes, an elderly sister who's now home with the Lord, whose favorite expression when Tom would say, you know, dear sister, the Lord might come tonight and she wouldn't get a big smile on her face, he said. And she would say, the Lord will probably come tonight. That's a nice encouraging thing, isn't it? Probably the Lord will come tonight not.
The Lord might come tonight. That's the way we need to look at it. But while we're waiting.
For the Lord's return. And he might come tonight. He probably will come tonight. It's a wonderful thought.
Here was a journey that a man was on and beloved young people. Every one of you is on a journey. We all are sitting in this room tonight. We're on a journey. Some beginning it, some getting close to the end of it, some in the middle of it. But we're on a journey. Who are you going to walk with? I know who's walking with you.
Because the Word of God tells me who's walking with you. The one who's the same yesterday, today, and forever.
And you have the sweet fellowship and joy and privilege of walking with him in fellowship. And you have the sweet privilege and fellowship of walking with those who follow righteousness, faith, love, and peace. And so here was Gaius and Aristarchus. They made a good decision.
They made a wise decision. They said we're going to walk with this man named Paul. That's who we want to travel with beloved young people. And I'm not excluding any of my beloved brethren here tonight. The beloved young people. Who do you want to walk through this world with? Who do you want to be companions with in travel?
Who are you going to follow? Righteousness.
Faith, Love and Peace with well, that introduces Asteroids. Darkness. Let's quickly follow a few other places. In fact, we'll follow four other places. As far as I know. These five mentions total that we'll look at are the only five places that this dear man is mentioned in the word of God. The next one is done in chapter 20, not very far away.
Verse one After the uproar was ceased, Paul called on him the disciples and embraced them.
And departed for to go into Macedonia.
When he had gone over those parts and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece, and there about 3 months. And when the Jews lay waiting for him as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia, and there accompanied him.
Into Asia, Sulphur of Berea, and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus, and Gaius of Derby, and Timotheus, and of Asia, Tikakis and trophies.
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Now, forsake of time, I just want to say this. This is a very, to me, very encouraging. We started out hearing of two men, Gayes and Aristarchus.
I will tell you that we're going to come to the point in Aristarchus life when he's the only one following Paul, the only one mentioned. But here we have a man, as it were, who says this is the one I want to follow as a companion. This is the one I want to have fellowship with. This is the one that I want to walk through this world with. Was that a good or a bad decision? You know, sometimes beloved young people?
You get the distinct thought in the world and you're the enemy of your soul. Satan wants you to think this. If you want to walk a Christian path, this thing that these brethren always talking about, if you want to do that, you're going to be walking a real lonely, hard, legal, dry path.
Well, that's not what Aristarchus found, because the very next mention. Yet it's not just Aristarchus and Gaius. Look how many names are mentioned that are now walking with us? Remember that verse in the Song of Solemn that says draw me and we will.
Run after the.
You're not alone.
You don't have to walk alone. You have the Lord Jesus with you, and I submit to you if you want to walk a pathway that's righteous.
When the world would say and Satan would come to you and whisper here, Oh yeah, you go ahead and do that. You go ahead and be that real hard legal person that won't do this and can't do that and won't go there and can't, can't enjoy that, and you're going to be all alone. Well, I submit to you that's not the truth of the word of God. Because the very next time we read a varistarchist, there's a lot more people within. And I want to suggest Beloved Brethren, and to the young people especially.
Because you're starting the path, and it's only natural and right that you look for companions and you desire companionship and you desire fellowship. That's only a right, naturally right thing.
But don't listen to a world. Don't listen to an enemy of your soul who tries to lie to you and tell you if you walk righteously before God pleasing him, you're not going to have any fun. You're not going to have any companionship. You're not going to have any fellowship. The Word of God shows us that when Aristarchus made the decision to be a companion.
Paul, the next thing we read about it is there's, may I say it this way, a whole bunch of people walking in fellowship together with Paul. Don't give in to that lie, that to walk a righteous path with the Lord Jesus. Righteous that is doing what is pleasing and right in his eyes, not in the world's eyes, meeting his standard. Not the world's standard. I submit to you, you're going to find all sorts of wonderful company.
A man named Elijah found that.
He said, I am the only one. They have killed all your prophets, Lord, and they've done this and they've done that, and I'm the only faithful one left. I'm all alone. And the Lord said, oh Elijah, you don't know what you're talking about. There's 7000 men in Israel that haven't bowed down to bail. You've been so busy looking at yourself, you haven't given yourself a chance to look around and find those that you can walk in company with.
Let's do that, brother.
Let's walk a righteous path and find there are many who want to walk that path.
To the glory of the Lord, we want to enjoy that one who says I'll never leave thee, nor for safety. Let's turn over to the end of Acts. That's we'll talk there about righteousness and we've talked about righteousness. Rather, the next one in our verse was faith, Righteousness and faith. Let's look at Acts chapter 27.
Verse one, when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners onto one named Julie as the centurion of Augustus Band, and entering into a ship of Adrian, we launched, meaning to stay at sail by the coast of Asia, one Aristarchus.
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A Macedonian of Thessalonica being with us.
What happened between chapter 20 and chapter 27?
In chapter 20, there were all kinds of people that wanted to follow in that path of righteousness, if I can say it that way with Paul. But now in chapter 27, we only have Aristarchus mentioned. What happened? Oh, there's a big difference. Paul wasn't a prisoner in chains being taken to stand before Nero.
He wish, you might say much more acceptable than Acts chapter 20 than he is here.
He doesn't look like a companion. You'd want to be found walking with someone that's a prisoner that's going to stand before Nero. Someone is despised in the company of other criminals.
That's not somebody whose company you want to pick out.
They reverently You'd say, I just couldn't get away from this criminal boat fast enough?
I don't have anything to do with it. I don't have any connection to this. But Aristarchus said, oh, I see something far different than that. I see a man who's been raised up of God to bring blessing to souls. I see a living example daily of the faith and the power and the wonder of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And I'm not leaving him. And there was nothing to Aristarchus eyes that would encourage him to go on. May I submit?
Beloved brethren, that we walk by faith, not by sight. That without faith it's impossible to please God and tonight in this world that we live, and with those burdens that perhaps only you know, that you're carrying in your heart deep.
Solemn, heavy burdens, and you look around with your eyes and there's not one thing.
That looks like relief.
Anywhere. Not one thing you can see with your eyes that suggests any hole.
But I suggest you that faith gives a very different picture.
And so tonight, when this world with its eyes looks and sees in its memory a despised, crucified Christ hanging on a cross, the eye of faith looks up and says we see Jesus.
Seated in the right hand of glory, at the right hand of God, Seated in glory, crown of glory.
A very different view.
Steven at the height, the most horrible pressure or trial of soul could pass through for a moment at least. About to be murdered. Stones cast that into killing. What does he do if he looks with his eyes naturalized? He sees stones flying at him.
If he looks through the eyes of faith which he looked at, he sees Christ in glory.
That's faith. And that allows beloved brethren, beloved young people. That allows you and me to walk with a despised company when the from the outward appearance there's nothing going on, nothing worth attaching yourself to, but faith sees.
This is where I'm going to be. Well, let's go on quickly.
To.
Colossians, I think it is.
Yeah, the book of Colossians.
And chapter.
Yes, Colossians Chapter 4, verse 10.
Paul is writing, and this is one of his prison epistles. He's not in a ship going to be judged and narrow, but now he's in a Roman dungeon.
A prisoner.
And in verse 9 we'll read in Colossians 4.
With anesthesia Anessimus, a faithful and beloved brother who is one of you, they shall make known unto you all things which are done here. Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, saluted you.
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Things haven't gotten any better, have they? He was on the ship with Paul, but he wasn't called a fellow and he wasn't called the prisoner. It says Paul and the other prisoners were delivered to the centurion, and with us there was 1 Aristarchus of Macedonia. So he still had his freedom. By faith, he said. I'm going to follow this one. Have you ever thought you were walking by faith and things just went from bad to worse?
Now he's up there in Rome and he's not just with Paul, but he's a prisoner with Paul.
How can that be? Oh, I submit to you that there was love in action. He loved this man, he said. I'm not leaving, even if it means that I become identified with what? Paul is a despised prisoner. Roman dungeon. I'll become a despised prisoner in a Roman dungeon too.
How much did the Lord Jesus love you? How much did he love me?
Am I willing to say?
I'm not leaving.
Am I willing to allow love in my heart to go out to my Lord and say if he's despised in this world, if he's a prisoner, if he's hated in this world, I'm willing to be that too.
Follow righteousness, faith, love.
I submit to you, Love kept Aristarchus there, where he became a prisoner.
Well, we don't have time to go on, but let's just stop with the last passage in Philemon.
And we know this wonderful story.
Of a slave who ran away from a master and came to this perhaps very prison where Paul was.
And where Aristarchus evidently was for a time.
And this slave would say.
And he gets sent back.
To Philemon.
His master.
And at the end of this little letter that Paul writes. So touching.
He says of an SMS talking of an SMS this slave that.
Has come back now, saved a child of God, a brother in Christ, the Philemon.
He says there verse 23 Salute thee Epifras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus Marcus Aristarchus Dimas Lucas, my fellow laborers well follow righteousness, faith, love and peace. I want to suggest that.
After he had gone through those storms and he walked by faith and things seemed to get worse.
But love kept him attached to one who was in prison. I don't think he was in prison here. Maybe he was, but if he was, he's not called now a prisoner. He's called a fellow laborer. He was at peace. There was peace, and he was able to still labor in these dark days for the Lord Jesus Christ, and not labor as serving but a fellow laborer.
With the beloved apostle Paul. How precious.
A fellow laborer? Wouldn't you desire, beloved brethren, to end up this earthly pathway? The Lord Jesus does come tonight to be able to end up this pathway as a fellow laborer, but it's going to take righteousness, faith, love, and peace. And I will suggest in closing that while we saw Aristarchus start with just one.
And we saw a time in his life when his faith was tested and there was nobody else. Although we understand of course Luke was the unseen recorder, but no other names mentioned is an impression. The last record we have of Aristarchus is again there were there are Marcus, Aristarchus, Dimas, Lucas.
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Four together, laboring with the apostle Paul.
He wasn't alone. And brethren, you and I, by the grace of God, don't have to walk through this world alone.
We have the, as I said at the beginning, the knowledge, the assurance of the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ will never leave us or for Savior one who's ever the same, yesterday, today, and forever unchanging. And we have brethren with whom we can walk in righteousness.
And faith and love and peace. We're not called to walk alone. Will be tested. But oh, what a joy to end up that path and find. I'm not alone. And now here are you. And so when those storms come, we don't need to say to the Lord Jesus, Well, we shouldn't say to the Lord Jesus. Don't you care about me? Don't you care about what's happening? Don't you care about us? My family, the assembly, my life, my in my my job.
My relationship, whatever it is. Don't you care, Lord? Of course it cares. Of course he cares. He's never going to leave a surfer saying this in his own perfect time and way. We're going to find blessing. We're going to find that if someone has set that fabric that we look at and it seems so difficult to figure out how those threads woven into that fabric of our life could ever mean anything good, we'll be able to see the other side. And we'll see. Oh, what a beautiful, perfect handiwork. What a beautiful, perfect handiwork. Well, beloved brother, may we be encouraged in these times when things are pretty dark.
To follow with them.
Follow righteousness.
Faith, love, and peace with them that call in the Lord out of a pure, heartless brain. Father, we thank You for Thy precious word. We thank Thee for the wonderful comfort of the Father. Thank You for our blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You that in Him we have all blessed Savior and Thyself. We have every encouragement, every comfort, everything we need to continue in this path of faith, and we pray we might do it.
And not give up. Not to the side. Oh how often the world comes in.
And the enemy whispers in our ears, and it's too late. It's all over and there's nothing to be gained. But all give us a purpose of heart. Blessed Lord Jesus, we pray to go on and to walk together in fellowship, Lord Jesus, and help us that we might indeed have that displayed in our lives of righteousness and faith and love and peace.
That's all we ask for this Father to give me thanks, committing us to thee for this night, thy worthy and precious name, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Job Conforming us to the image of His Son
Address—B. Anstey
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Let's turn to two verses. First of all, in first John chapter four, first John 4, verse 9 and 10. I'll begin with the latter words of verse eight, though first John four. God is love, and this was manifested the love of God toward us because that God sent his only, the Son, begotten Son, into the world that we might live through him.
Here it is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. And then a verse over in Romans chapter 5.
Romans chapter 5, verses 3-4 and five. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations, or boast in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience and patience experience, experience, hope and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.
Which is given unto us. I've read these two verses here by way of introduction to.
What I'd like to speak about this afternoon, and that is about how God teaches us of His love. Just as we were singing in the desert. God shall teach thee how patient and gracious and loving and so on that He is. But I read that verse in first John chapter 4, which speaks about the love of God.
And providing a way to have our sins put away and bring us into blessing before us before Him. And then these verses here to speak about the wilderness.
Though the wilderness is not mentioned, it is implied here. And my thought is that when we got saved, I trust that each person here this afternoon knows what I mean when I say when we got saved. We hope that you are the Lords. We hope that you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. There's been a time in your life when you felt the need to have your sins put away and you turn to Him in faith and received and believed.
The message of God's grace in the Gospel.
And have known the joy of the forgiveness of your sin. And I say that when we have got saved, we learned something great about God. We learned how great of his that his love is, and that he could provide a sacrifice to put our sins away. And surely this tells us the depths of God's heart and love to think of the way in which he did it.
As we read in that verse, it says that He made Christ to be the propitiation for our sins.
And as the Lord Jesus came into this world as the sin bearer, and he died upon the cross, bearing our sins in his own body and tree, and he bore the judgment of my sins and yours, if you're saved, in order that we might be brought into blessing. And surely we have seen the love of God in that. We can look at the cross and see the love of God, and we have learned that.
And measured more or less, each one of us were stayed of learned the love of God in that way.
But after we get saved, this is what I want to speak about this afternoon. He's not going to stop in teaching us of all His love. And so we're LED into the wilderness where He's going to teach us more about His heart of love for us. And I think this is so beautiful. Romans 5, verses 3-4 and five bring out the wilderness for us. We find here that the way in which he is going to shed the love of God in our hearts.
Is that he is going to do it through experiences through which we pass here in this world which we speak of as the wilderness. It's through the experiences that we through which we pass, we come to know the love of God in a far different way. A far deeper was a far deeper, but in a in a in a deeper way.
And how wonderful that he would take this opportunity in time to show us.
Of the depths of his love and the way in which He instructs us in the wilderness is the way we could not learn if we were to be taken to heaven immediately after we got saved. For instance, the thief that died on the cross, surely he knows the love of God. He's seen Christ there dying for him on the cross, and in simple faith he's received him. He called him Lord. And the Bible says whosoever should call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
And so for that moment, moments later, was taken into paradise to be with Christ. But he missed something of which we have been given the opportunity to learn, and that is by experience, to learn the God with whom we have, to whom we have been brought. And what a wonderful education this is that we have been.
00:05:20
Given what an opportunity to learn.
The grace and the love of God in this different way, as I said, it's an experimental knowledge that we come to know him and says here that.
Not only so, but where we can boast our glory and tribulations, knowing that these tribulations are working certain things in US for our own good and blessing and capacitating us for the theme that is before us.
What a wonderful God that we have then that would not stop in our education with the cross and His love shown there, but would take us through various circumstances as we live and move through this world and teach us of the depths of His heart. I was thinking of another him and I was debating which one to give out. And I'm going to read the verse that was before me in 294.
And it says there, Oh come thou stricken Lamb of God, who sheds for us thine home's life blood. Watch what happened when we received them as our Savior. We come to know them that way.
Then it says and teach us all I love yes, how wonderful. Then pain in life were sweet and deaf were gained. And so through the experiences of life we learn all or shall we stay the breadth of that love and what a comfort that is. But you know when we face trial and testing it is always.
A time when our state is manifested. We can take these things from the Lord.
Or we can get bitter about them. And so our state is tested when we are tried. But God, whether we are in a state, a good state or not, sees fit in this perfect wisdom to try each and every one of his own. And not one of us who have taken the path of faith, each one of us who have taken the path of faith are going to be tested in the past.
And it's not something that we should shy away from.
Or to be afraid of because it's the love of the one who died for us that is bringing us through this. And sometimes the the chastening or the trials that we pass through amazing grievous and we may not understand it altogether. The one thing we can know and have confidence in is like it says here, knowing that tribulation work for patients and patients experience experience hope and hope.
Make causes us to learn the love of God in a different way.
Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.
And so it's an education for us indeed that we would learn his love in this way. The verse that comes to mind in in Isaiah 40. I like to just read this Isaiah 40.
And verse 27. Isaiah 40. Verse 27.
Why sayest thou, O Jacob? That's a way of Speaking of the nation of Israel. Often when he speaks of Israel as Jacob, it's usually Jacob when they are.
Not living in faith as they ought to, when Israel will behave in grace and in faith, he'll often call them Israel. That's an indication generally through the prophets. Why stay a style or Jacob and speak a story as well? My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment or my cause is passed over from my God. Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the.
The ends of the earth faintest not, and neither is weary, and there is no searching of His understanding. He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might He increases strength. Even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men should early fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with ego, with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and be faint.
Here.
Thinking of the particularly the remnant of Israel, and as they go through their trying time in the tribulation period, we know that they are going to get pretty low and discouragement with all of the testing that they'll go through. We speak of tribulation, but they will go through the great tribulation and we find here that they get so low with discouragement that they begin to wonder whether the Lord really understands their way.
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And they say, my way is hidden from the Lord, and my cause is passed over from my God. Yes, their faith has broken down through the testing and they have become greatly discouraged and think that the Lord just doesn't understand their cause. But of course he does. And the way in which he seeks to meet this discouragement is that he points them to the everlasting God, the one who has all power and it's manifested in creation.
To take care of every detail. And then he speaks about how he's able and grace to meet the weary and the faint hearted. And he has the wisdom to deal with it too. But there's no searching of his understanding. And he gives his power and grace to those who have no might. I think that's beautiful, Verse 29.
He gives His power and His grace to those who feel have a felt need.
Who recognize that they have no power of their own and I think this is a good place to begin really on trial comes our way when testing comes our way is to recognize that we have not the strength for it and draw upon him for the strength for the path for the.
The difficulty and he can help us and so he talks about the those who are naturally strong and how that he can.
Even the ones who are naturally strong are going to fall and faint because natural strength and the energy of the flesh is not enough to carry us through. We need the strength of the Lord, and those that wait upon Him will receive His power.
And strength to go through the difficulties. And so now having said that, by way of introduction, I would just like to look at five things that we need to remember when trials and difficulties come our way. And I've already said they're going to come our way at some time in our days. And so let's look first of all, at Job 23, I might just say this.
Too that when we are tested, the enemy makes a good measure of that.
And.
He's always trying to to rock our faith, to disturb the faith of the Christian, to lodge some doubt in his heart that God is not as interested as he thought he was in his ways. And we get discouraged like that. And Isaiah 40, I think, shows that condition of soul.
And what we need to do at all times is to hold faith. You know, Paul told Timothy that didn't he said holding faith in a good conscience from which some who have not have turned away from the faith and have made shipwreck.
And so we need to hold faith. And I'd like to look at these five different things as a way in which we are to hold faith. Let us remember them, these things that are before us. Job 23 and verse 14. For He performeth the thing that is appointed for me, and many such things are with Him.
He performeth the thing that is appointed for me. Here's the first one.
And that is, remember that the thing, whatever it may be in your life or mine to try or test us, it is there by divine appointment.
It is there by divine appointment. Let's look at another one now, and that's the First Corinthians chapter 10. First Corinthians chapter 10, verse 13. There have no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able to bear, but with it.
With with the temptation also make a way to escape.
That he may be able to bear it. I think this is self-explanatory, but the point here is that another thing we need to remember is that God is going to give me the grace to be able to bear it so that I will behave as his child should behave. Because sometimes when we get in the midst of trials we almost feel like it's an excuse to act in the flesh or something.
00:15:08
And no, there's never an opportunity or an excuse for us to act in any other way.
What is becoming to us as His children? And let us remember that He will give us the grace to be able to handle it so that we may behave as we should.
Now let's look at the third thing.
And that's first Peter chapter one, first Peter chapter one, verses 6 and seven, wherein ye greatly rejoice.
Though now for a season, if need be, your heaviness through manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith being much more precious than gold that perisheth, though it's betrayed with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory of the appearing of Jesus Christ.
Here we have another reason are at least another thing that we need to remember, and that is that every trial and difficulty that comes my way, there is a need to be behind it. As he says here and go now for a season if need be. Underline those words if need be. Yes, the Lord doesn't send any trial into our life if there is no need for it. And in his perfect wisdom.
He knows just what we need and he measures that trial according to what is necessary in our lives. And so there is a need to be for everything that comes into our life. You know, I think of that verse in Romans chapter eight. I think it's verse 28, a very common verse, and it says that all things work together for good.
To them that love God are called according to his purpose. And so God has things that work in our lives. He brings them to pass, and there's a need before it. And what I need to remember is that I'm in his school.
And I'm here to be taught of him. And if it's neat he needs to pass me through this lesson, then I must need to learn it and I need to have that spirit of submission to accept it from his hand and see to get the blessing. And then lastly, or least fourthly, in the first Peter chapter 5, turn over pager 2.
First Peter 5-10 But the God of all grace, who have called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, After that ye have suffered.
A while, for a little while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you. It's the words there that after he have suffered a while and the point I'd like to mention here, the fourth thing that we need to remember.
At such a time, and that is that in his good time he will bring me out of it when he sees fit. You see, it's the suffering is for a little while.
He hasn't measured as far as how long it will be, how wonderful that is. And now the fifth thing is really what I'd like to speak about here for the closing.
Moments that are left to us is in the book of Job.
In the book of Job. So let's turn there and read the verses first chapter of Job. There was a man in the land of us whose name was Joe, and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God and eschewed evil. And they were born unto him, seven sons and three daughters.
His substance also was 7000 sheep and 3000 camels, and 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 she ***** and a very great household, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the East. And his sons went and defeated in their houses every one his day, and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And it was so that when the days of their feasting was gone about that joke sent it sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning and offered.
According to the number of all of them, four jokes said, It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts, lusted Job continually, or day by day. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. And the Lord said to Satan, Whence cometh thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it, and the Lord.
00:20:03
Satan, hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that fears God and is true with evil. Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Don't joke, fear God, for not hast not thou made a hedge about him and about his house, about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the word of his hand, and his substance is increased in the land, but put forth.
Hand now and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he had is in thy power only beyond upon himself. Put not forth thine hands. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. Interesting.
Which we have read here. This is the oldest book in the Bible, first one that was written most if not all scholars tell it. And the theme of the subject of this book is why God causes or allows the righteous to suffer. And I believe that that is answered in this book in A2 fold way we'd like to speak about here.
And.
It really answers the greatest question that men have had from the earliest of times. Why is man and even and the righteous man allowed to experience suffering in the way job? Here we find in the introduction, the 1St 5 verses is a man that's perfect, that is full grown, mature and his wife and walk.
And upright he fears God. And she was evil.
He's in the from the land of us. And I think what we can read from the prophet Jeremiah, we learned that that is somewhere in and around the land of Edom, though he lived at a time before there was Edomite, because he lived apparently around the time of Abraham or Abrahams, the eight sons and.
So he lived out there in what became Eden later. So he was not an Edomite, he was a Gentile.
It was before or outside the limits of God's dealings with Abraham's family. And that teaches us something about the grace of God and teaches us that, as we have from Acts chapter 10, that in every nation he that feareth Him and worketh righteousness is accepted of Him. Yes, God's grace is not hindered.
Or shall we stay limited to covenants and promises that he made to that favorite family of Abraham?
Here's a man that was outside of that and yet we find that the grace of God has been pleased to work with him and he has these a God fearing man. He's a man that has.
Been blessed of God and walks with God. And I believe that the 1St 5 verses are brought before us to teach us first of all that we must get out of our minds right at the very outset that the trials and the difficulties that this man goes through.
Are of a punitive character that could not be the case and God say he's perfect, he's upright and there's none like him and so on that proves that there was nothing in his life as far as a positive sin or a course of sin that he was going on with and yet this man encountered trials.
That shows us that not all the disciplines that God sees fit to allow to reach and touch his own or of a punitive character. And that was the mistake that Jobs three friends had. They had the idea that if trouble comes into a man's life, then he's got to have been doing something wrong.
In fact, 4th chapter brings that out there when 4th chapter verse.
7:00 and 8:00 where he says the the innocent don't have difficulties and it's only being those who plow with iniquity reap the same and each of them over and again press this point upon Joe. But they had missed the mark altogether. No, God has different reasons for allowing discipline and chase things in the life of his people other than the fact that he's trying to.
Correct them with regard to sin.
And or a course of probably heard it before. Mr. Brown used to always speak about it. He lined them all up with peace. Some of them discipline is punitive, some of it is preparative, some of us preventive tough, and some of it's purgative. And it's the last one there that really is more jokes.
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Kind of discipline, if we had time, we could probably go over those four. We've done that before other times. So we it's very important for us to see that the character of this discipline is not for something that job was going on with, whether in sin, something in secret or something.
No, there was a there was a different reason why God allowed the trial to come into Job's life.
And so from verse six, we have something very striking and very interesting. We see that there is a veil drawn aside so that we can peer into heaven. And we see a strange sight. We find the sons of God, which are the angels coming to make a report as to what they have, are responsible to be doing. And Satan comes among them, for he was once among them.
In his pre falling state and now we find that he comes among them.
And God singles out, and we find that he.
Is going to and fro in the earth while Peter tells us that, doesn't it? He says your adversary, the devil walk up the boat seeking whom he may devour. And so that's something he's been doing for a long time in the earth, seeking to stumble men and seeking to thwart the purposes of God.
And so we find here that God brings to his attention Job.
And when he says, hast thou considered Joe, we find that the answer is that he knew all about Job. He said, yes, he's the man that you've got the hedge about and nobody's allowed to touch him. And he's got all this wealth and everything. And immediately he becomes the accuser of the brethren here. And, and behind his accusation with regard to Joe is an insidious attack upon God and his ways with men.
Now let me explain. We find here that what he says is yes, but this man, the reason why he serves you is because you put a hedge upon him and you abundantly blessed him with all this manner of material wealth. And of course he goes on like that. You just take that away from him and you'll see that he'll turn away or depart from God. What he's doing here is he's questioning Jobs motive for serving the Lord and that tells us that he has some insight as to human nature.
Because he knows very well from his experience with men that when trouble comes into the life of men, they usually raise their fists and anger to God. And so he says, you do that to this man, you'll see what will happen. But behind this it, it is this questioning of jobs.
Integrity and motives is an insidious attack against the Lord Himself, and what it is, is that He is as much as raising a question in a doubt that the Lord cannot keep His Saints loyal to Himself when afflictions arise and pass over them. And so the Lord allows Satan to have his way.
Certain limitations are put in there as we find he was not to touch him.
But his his surroundings and his possessions.
And what we're going to find here is that fifth thing that I was telling you that we need to remember when difficulties and trials come, and that is simply that.
Why God allowed this? Firstly, for the righteous to suffer is for His own glory.
Yes, for his own glory. God was going to glory for himself in this. He was going to keep this man loyal to himself, even though the greatest of afflictions were going to sweep over him. And this in itself and the way in which we take the trials that come from God's hand is a way in which we can glorify God. You ever think about that?
When a difficulty comes in your life, if you take it in the right spirit, in the right way, it's like God is giving you an opportunity to glorify Him.
In that thing and to bring glory to Him. And surely a great testimony to all around who know you and your circumstance, whatever it may be, renders a powerful witness to the God that you profess to walk with and see. So God allows trials firstly to glorify himself and puts them upon his Saints and passes them through.
Afflictions so that those around.
The bear get a witness as to the greatness of the God that they walk with.
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One particular example that comes before me in recent times is our sister Joyce Lundin, now with the Lord, when she had come down with this difficulty, as we all know Him and praying about.
We find that she was at peace. Her neighbor sure wasn't at peace. She was.
Very upset, and many of us were, but Joyce was at perfect peace. She had accepted it from the Lord, and the way in which she had accepted that was such a powerful witness to that neighbor whom she had had many contacts with and the people in the town too, that that went straight to her heart.
That she didn't have any ordinary God. This God must be a real God that can help in real difficulties. But at length Joyce had been giving her the gospel. You probably know the story. Hope I have the facts just right. But anyway, when she came over to the hospital here, you know in Tacoma, that this woman and her husband came over to see her in the hospital to comfort her and to give her some news. And that news was.
That God that you have.
We found now ourselves that person that got saved through that difficulty through which Joyce had been passing and the way in which she had accepted it from the Lord had been used of God to work in the hearts of that that woman, I don't know about her husband, and apparently she got saved. And so we find here that God does.
At times bring trials and difficulties into the life of his people for his own glory.
For his own glory and he gives that to us.
May we say that is the fifth thing that I was starting with, that we need to remember that God has given this thing to me that I have an opportunity to witness for him, to glorify him in the way in which I take this. Because those around me in my work, in my school or whatever, who know me are going to see something of the God who might have been talking about now they're going to see it in reality.
And so immediately Satan is allowed to have his hand. There was a day, I'm not going to read these verses, but we find that the trial comes from 7 directions in two ways. The 1St wave is 4 things and then the second wave three more. Firstly, the Sabians come in and wipe out his business. Oh, pretty difficult there. That which he had his livelihoods by, which was his oxygen ***** and so on, was wiped out in a Dane.
Business collapse.
Say yes, and then verse 16 we have that his possessions are struck by lightning and all burned up. And then in verse 17 we have his camels are taken away by the Chaldeans. That was the means apparently in those days by which they traveled desert kept the lands and where they lived out there.
East of the Dead Sea, in desert type of land and the camels were very important. There were needs of transportation. You might see for us today our automobiles and so on.
We have that all taken away too. And then in verse 19, a fourth thing which devastates him, and that is a hurricane comes and.
Takes his family away. His family is killed by hurricane. I don't think anyone of us have had such trial from 4 different directions for such intensity. God no doubt is tingling this man out because he's going to be an example for all ages. But at any rate, we find in verse 21 and 22 That Job got a great victory here.
And he says I was naked, naked I came out of my mother's womb and naked I should return thither. The Lord gave the Lord just take it away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord and all this joke sin not nor charge God foolishly. What an incredible victory Job got here. We read in James chapter 5, you've heard of the patience of Job that's here. Any one of us probably would have lost our patience. Joe did. He said God is given, God is taken away and he didn't charge God foolishly or allow anything to come out of himself.
That would show a sin.
Incredible victory. What a testament testimony to those around of the God with whom he walked. More than that, Satan has been proved.
False God has been able to keep.
Saints loyal when the greatest of afflictions arise. How wonderful God is glorified. The 2nd chapter opens and Satan returns again. On the day when the sons of God have presented themselves to the Lord, He comes again and this time.
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He changes his.
His his accusations and he questions now that if you go to the point of touching this man's health.
Then he will depart from God.
And again, this tells us that he has great insight as to the human nature, because this is usually the way man that behave and is natural man. But this is a man with whom God has wrought, and there has been a work in his soul by grace. And he's one of the the patriarchs, as we speak of it, a St. And so there is something that has worked in him that keeps him in the greatest of trial. And so here we find that.
He says in verse four of chapter 2, skin for skin, all that a man out will he give for his life. In other words, he's saying you take away his health and then he'll do what he'll do that. And so the Lord gives him an opportunity again to Satan to have his hand at this man.
On his life has to be saved, there is a certain limitations and that should comfort us really because God knows the limits of the afflictions that He allows His people to go through and He sets those bounds. It reminds me of Revelation chapter 2 when He says thou shalt have tribulation 10 days. He had already measured the 10 days that they were going to go through.
And so how wonderful the Lord knows how much we can take. And that's what I like you said, didn't you? Way down in the 34th chapter, he said he had not laid upon man that what more than that which is right, he knows.
That we are but dust and how wonderful so we find that three more things now sweep over Joel his health is taken away boils come over his whole body verse seven he takes a puncture that begins to scrape himself puncture there's a broken piece of pottery and he tried to scrape the skin to get some relief and then his wife turns and suggests that he.
Commits suicide.
Verse 9.
There he turns his, he has a trial of his affections, even not her who lie in his bosom begins to utter profane and foolish things, telling him to curse God and to die. And then finally we find 7th and lastly verse 11 to 13, the 2nd chapter we find 3 friends come. But before the three friends come, I would say that it's very interesting to notice.
That again, we read these words.
All verse the end of verse 10 There it says, but he said unto her, That's his wife. Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh What shall we receive good at the hand of God? And shall we not receive the evil and all this did not go.
Sin with his lips.
What a great victory again.
Yes, God has kept his Saints loyal when Satan has had been allowed to have his hand touched their life. Incredible. God is glorified and so it is.
That there are times when we may be allowed to pass through such difficulties.
And from this point on, it's very interesting we find that Satan is no longer mentioned in the book. He departs being come thoroughly and completely defeated. What he has accused Job of has been proved wrong. He said that he has motives for serving God was only because he get what he could from God. And so he kept on serving God because he kept on getting more in the way of material wealth. That was wrong.
Everything has been taken away and he still clings to God. Job could say later in the book though he slay me, yet I I trust him. What a beautiful spirit of dependence there. And so we find that Satan has been defeated. He's been proven wrong with his accusations of Job and his charge against God, that God could not keep his people loyal to himself and affliction.
And so he departs, and now the 7th and final way in which we find trial comes.
Job is in these three friends and I don't believe that Satan exactly is behind the three friends perhaps, but it has been put to me this way that what the three what Joe Satan could not accomplish, God accomplished in Job's life through the three friends and breaking down.
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Joe, his patience and bringing him to, shall we say, see or have the his flesh be manifested.
For what we find after the friends show up that in chapter 3 verse one it says and after this job opened his mouth and cursed his day now there job lost his patience when James says.
You heard of the patience of Job? He's talking about the first two chapters, not chapters 3 on to whatever, because those chapters we find a man who's lost his patience.
And.
These three friends come in here to to insist upon that there must be some evil in his life and they were wrong and they had to be accountable for that at the end of the book. Because you know.
And Dobin maintains his integrity throughout because that was not the case. At any rate, down at the 33rd chapter, you'll find that.
They all stopped speaking to Joe because he just justified himself, and all of their comments only led to bring this man to justify himself. They were not getting to the root at all. And Elijah comes forward, which is a young man, as you know, and he begins to speak on God's behalf and says to Job, why don't you ask the Lord? He'll show you what it is that he's seeking to speak to you about. I think that's the 34th chapter.
He says, What thou seest, what I see is not teach thou me. If I have done iniquity, I will do no more.
And so he says, why don't you ask the Lord, He will help you with this. And it likes this man lays the the foundation for God to come in and speak. And as you know, in the 37th chapter, God speaks, begins to speak to Joe about of the whirlwind. And he speaks and Joe is humbled. But before that, I perhaps should have mentioned it in chapters 30 to 30.
2930 and 31 just as we get to the end of all his friends dealings with him.
You find that he gets to the point where Job just lets go and he begins to speak about himself. And there's over 200 references to how great he was and how how much he did and what he was, you know, and all this in the days before the trial came. And it all comes out that Job has got a difficulty in his disposition.
He was self satisfied with how well he was doing and pleasing the Lord. As Mr. Darby put it, it was not any specific sin, but it was a disposition of attitude that needed to be corrected. And this is that character of discipline as we spoke of as purgative that God often passes the Saints through. You see, that kind of a discipline is not for any specific sin that may be, but there may be characters in our lives that are not Christ like.
Maybe I'm a little harsh or curt, or maybe there's 1000 things that there may be in my character that really hinder the expression of Christ to come out in my life, and He knows that.
I have those things broken down, you see.
From chapter 3 on to the end of the book we have the second reason why that God allows the righteous to suffer if the first reason in chapters one and two is that God may be glorified.
The second one is for the good of His own people. He knows how to perfect holiness in His Saints and to conform us to the image of His own Son. And if there's things that hinder the expression of Christ to come out in our lives, he very often and will allow difficulties and trials to bring about.
The expunging of these things, that is, the taking away of these things to getting them out so that Christ may shine out of the vessel more clearly.
And that's the character of discipline that Joe goes through. And how wonderful in the end.
We find that job comes through as a vessel for the finer, for the finer. And speaking now of Malachi Chapter 3, when it says that this the the silversmith, you know, he begins to stir the silver as it boils and he stirs it and stirs it until it gets to a certain state. And then he pours it because it's ready and what it is that makes it ready.
You've probably heard this before is that he's boiling off the drops or the impurities, the dirt that's in the solar because.
Mind this, out of the sides of caves and whatever down in these mines and dirt all mixed in with the silver, they got a bar like dirt out to get rid of it. And that's what God is doing. He likens that kind of a process to the work which He's doing in our lives, seeking to get rid of the drops. So He heats it up and the heat, the fiery heat trials and the heat that we go through.
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Is used to burn off impurities, but it has been said that the silversmith apparently.
He knows. I'm not saying they do this now. They probably have temperatures and gauges in modern science. But back in the old days when they did silver and the silversmith used to look into the top of the pot and he would be looking for the the silver to become so pure that there be no impurities left in it, that he would begin to see his own reflection in it. And when he saw his own reflection in it, he knew that everything was burned out. It was time to pour it into whatever they were making, silver pots or cups.
Whatever. And I like to think of that with regard to the Lord and his dealings with us. He's looking for a reflection of himself in US, and he's going to get it too, because he's going to conform us to the image of His own son. He uses the heat of trials to do that. I may have told this story to you before, but there was this man, this sculptor who was.
A very famous sculptor and he has been working on a project.
And on a certain day, they unveiled this thing, took the sheet off it or whatever, and they had people around. Reporters were all there, and there was this huge statue of a lion. And in interviewing him and speaking to this sculptor, they said to him, how did you ever do it? It's magnificent. And all this, he said, well, really, I just chipped away everything. It didn't look like a lion.
And you know, that's what the Lord is doing with us. He's chipping away everything it doesn't look like.
Christ himself. And so if there is this feature or that in me or in my character, in my attitude, it is not right.
He uses these difficulties and so on to get those things out so that there be more of Christ in my life. And that's this glorifies God. To have Christ likeness in his people glorifies God in this world. So how wonderful there is an end to it all.
In closing now, I had read this and I wrote it down, got about one of the calendars, and I appreciate these counters. Written by JM Darby, it says what trial accomplishes. Trial itself cannot confer grace, but under God's hand it can break the will and detect hidden and unsuspected evils so that the new life is more fully and largely developed. God has a larger place in the heart. There's more intelligence in his ways, more loneliness.
Independence, more consciousness that the world is nothing, and more distrust.
Of self and the flesh The Saint is emptied of self and filled with the Lord. What is eternally true and divine has a much larger, larger place in the soul, and what is false is detected and laid aside. So how wonderful the Lord has a divine purpose for everything we pass through, and he loves us with such an incredible love that one of the one of the great results of all trial, as we begin with, is that we.
Love in a different way. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. And I can stay through the experiences of my short time here. Although I've never been called upon to pass through any very great difficulty, I can say that I've come to know him in a way that's different than I ever expected. When I got saved, you know, when I got saved, I thought he's a wonderful God that would put away my sins and to bring me into such a blessing. And then when I was taught of the doctrines of grace.
And how that he has set us before himself in the place of his own son. We've even helped thankful if we could have had a doormat, a doorman place in heaven. But he said, I'll give you the sons place floor you. But there as he walks and keep as we walk with him through this world, he teaches us the things that we could never learn by the gospel, nor could we learn in heaven.
Do you ever think about that?
There are things that you can learn down here about Him and His grace that you will not learn in the heavens, and that's why it is so precious to walk with Him now in his school, learning the lessons. For instance, we learn Him now as a God of all mercy, as a God of all patience. You'll never do anything wrong in the heavens to ever learn, to ever need His patience. So you can't learn that lesson there, but you can't learn it here. I'm not suggesting you go ahead and do something wrong to see.
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Is so how gracious, patient, holy God that he is? Let me read those words again.
It says in the desert, God will teach thee. What the gods have done is found patient, gracious, powerful, holy. All his grace shall there abound. What a God we walk with. What a privilege to be in his school. Brother. Let us learn these lessons while we have the time.
So that we may carry that into the heavens with us. You know, one great thing for all these trials that we go through it are to capacitate us for the theme that lies before us in the heavens. One, we sing His praises, we'll sing them with more intelligence as to His ways and all. We will sing with grace and with intelligence as we know our God.