La Mirada Conference: 1990
Table of Contents
The House of God
The Gathering Together
Prepared to Serve the Lord
That Which Feeds the Soul
Address—G.H. Hayhoe
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I'd like to turn to First Samuel, chapter 13.
First Samuel chapter 13, beginning at the 17th verse. And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned unto the way that leadeth to Oprah, unto the land of Shul, and another company turned the way to Beth Horan, and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zebulum, toward the wilderness.
Now there was no Smith found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, lest the Hebrews make them swords or Spears. But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen every man his share, and his Calder, and his axe and his matter.
Yet they had a file for the Maddox, and for the colders, and for the forks and for the axes and to sharpen the golds.
So it came to pass in the day of battle that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan. But with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found, and the Garrison of the Philistines went over to the passage of Mikmash.
Now it came to pass upon a day that Jonathan the son of Saul, said unto the young man that bare his armor, Come and let us go over to the Philistines Garrison that is on the other side. But he told not his father. And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron, And the people that were with him were about 600 men.
And a higher sign of a heat tub. Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord's priest in Shiloh, wearing an Ethan. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone.
And between the passages by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines Garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side and a sharp rock on the other side. And the name of the one was Bose, and the name of the other Cena. The forefront of the one was situate northward over against Mikmash, and the other southward over against Gibeah.
And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, Come and let us go over unto the Garrison of these uncircumcised It may be that the Lord will work for us, for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.
And his armor bearer said unto him, Do all that of his inline heart turn thee. Behold, I am with thee, according to thy heart.
Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them. If they say thus unto us, Carry until we come to you, then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them.
But if they say, thus come up unto us, then we will go up, for the Lord hath delivered them into our hand, and this shall be a sign unto us. And both of them discovered themselves under the Garrison of the Philistines, And the Philistines said, Behold the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves.
And the men of the Garrison answered Jonathan and his armor bearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will show you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armor bearer, Come up after me, for the Lord hath delivered them into the hand of Israel.
And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands, and upon his feet, and his armor bearer after him, and they fell before Jonathan, and his armour bearer slew after him. And that first slaughter which Jonathan and his armour bearer made was about 20 men within, as it were, an half acre of land which a yoke of oxen might plough.
And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people, the Garrison and the spoilers. They also trembled, and the earthquake. So it was a very great trembling. And the watchman of Saul in Gibby of Benjamin looked, and behold, A multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another.
Then said Saul unto the people that were with him, Number now, and see who is gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there.
And Saul said unto Ahia, Bring hit her the ark of God, for the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel. And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased. And Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand.
And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle, and behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and it was a very great discomfiture. Moreover, the Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that time, which went up with them into the camp of the country round about.
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Even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan. Likewise all the men of Israel which had hid themselves in Mount Ephraim. When they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle. So the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle passed over unto Beth Aven.
Well, this little portion that we have read here, we can see a lovely example of devotedness. We very often think of Jonathan as a person who was unfaithful. And it is true that later on in his life there was indeed unfaithfulness. He didn't go on and identify himself as he should with God's king, with David. But isn't it lovely to see that God takes account of every bit of devotedness, even if perhaps afterwards there might be failure and breakdown? God doesn't.
Forget anything that has been done for Him, for His glory, and for His people. Not even a cup of cold water or even a thought upon His name will be forgotten in that day. And this ought to be an encouragement to us too, to go on even in days of difficulty. And perhaps we do at times, like Jonathan, become discouraged, Find the path a little difficult. Isn't it good to know that the Lord would encourage us in devotedness to Him?
And this was not an easy time in the nation of Israel, as we can see here.
There had been a lot of trouble among them. It tells us here the spoilers went out in three companies, and I think all of us can see how the enemy is at work to spoil the work of God. We know when God works there's blessing, but the enemy doesn't like to see that, and he uses various means to spoil the work of God tells us here about these spoilers.
It says in the 17th verse the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines. You know, the Philistines were the people who got into the land without crossing the Jordan. And I believe they bring before us in picture the enemy's power among the people of God, where the flesh is not in its rightful place. The crossing of the Jordan is a picture to us of the end of the flesh before God, that is.
It's our death with Christ.
But these Philistines were in the land, perhaps that the Palestinians of today and we find these people were a constant menace to God's people. And so it is even with ourselves. Every time the flesh acts, there's a hindrance, there's loss. We were reading in our chapter in Philippians 3. We are the circumcision that worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.
We tend to have confidence in the flesh.
But it always and will always breakdown. And so we find here that the Philistines went out to work and it says they.
Sought to spoil the people of God in three companies. If you noticed in what we read, I think we can designate these three companies. One of the companies it tells us when the difficulties came and the Philistines came in upon the people of God and Saul failed in his leadership. Some of them it tells us in the sixth verse of the 13th chapter.
When the men of Israel saw that they were in a Strait, for the people were distressed.
And the people did hide themselves in caves and in thickets and in rocks and high places and pits. In other words, they said, we're just going to keep out of things. We're not going to get involved. You know, if we can take that attitude, brethren, when difficulties come among the people of God, we can sort of say, count me out, count me out and not get involved. We should be concerned with everything that concerns the glory of God and the blessing of his people.
We don't do that in our family life. When problems arise, our father and mother doesn't say, don't say, count me out. They feel a renewed responsibility. And we can't hide from problems. There's no use. It doesn't put an end to any problem to hide from it. And so we find one of the companies here and they were hiding from the difficulties. They were not ready as good soldiers of Jesus Christ to endure hardness.
And then there was a second company spoken of in the 7th.
Verse says, and some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead, and if you had identified them, you'll see they're spoken of in the 21St verse of the next chapter where we read. Moreover, the Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that time, which went up with them into the camp from the country round about even, they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan.
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These ones.
Here they can go and hide, but they went and identified themselves with the Philistines. They said it's too difficult to work among the people of God. And so they went over and formed friends with those who were really the enemies of God's people. And we were noticing in the meetings, whosoever will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. And so sometimes we can get discouraged and say, well, I'm going to.
Just enjoy the worldly life and we turn aside. And that's where some of these went. This was the work of the spoilers. You know, first those who he had, they didn't get involved in something wrong, but they just shunned away from responsibility. And then here are these who went over to be with the Philistines. And then the third group will identify in the first part of the 14th chapter.
There were these men who were with Saul. I think it says 600 men.
About 600 men, yes, that sat down under a pomegranate tree. They just chose a path of ease and you know, it's quite possible for us even brethren has gathered to the Lord's name to get occupied with a path of ease, seek some, seek our rest in this world. We often sing, you know, we're not of the world which fadeth away. The Lord Jesus said they are not of the world even as I am not of the world, but.
Find that it's very easy for us, especially in days of prosperity, to seek worldly things. As someone has said, the flesh can seek an easy path as well as an evil path. That is, we can sit down under the pomegranate tree and know there's problems, know that the enemy is attacking, but we're just enjoying life. If I can put it in that way, we're going to have fun. We're going to have.
Possessions, well, here we're the third company.
And the Scripture says the spoilers from the camp of the Philistines went out and attacked Israel in three companies, and perhaps this identifies who they were. And perhaps we can look into our own hearts and know, are we running away from trouble or are we?
Leading the path of obedience and separation to go and mingle with the Philistines, mingle with those who are not walking in the truth, those who are really opposed to the truth of God as we have it in the Scripture. Or we can say, no, I wouldn't do that. But we seek a path of ease. And we see in the end of this chapter, the Spirit of God brings before us the cause for what had taken place. Notice in the end.
13th chapter. The 19th verse.
Now there was no Smith found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, lest the Hebrews make them swords or Spears.
Yes, these Philistines had a plan worked. They had a plan to make sure that the children of Israel didn't have swords and Spears. Now I think all of us are well acquainted with Ephesians 6, where it tells us to take the sword of the Spirit.
Which is the word of God. And you know, we need to have a sword in our hands.
Not a physical sword that's going to cut people and harm them physically. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. And rather than, I believe it's very easy for us in these days when the spoilers are at work, to neglect our Bibles, to not really know what the Word of God says. And I want to encourage everyone, perhaps especially those who are young, acquaint yourself with the Bible.
It's the Word of God. It's the only real direction that we have in these days to know the word of God. You say, but there's a lot of things when I read I don't understand, but remember this. The Lord Jesus said that the Spirit would be the remembrance. Remembrance, Sir, to bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. My father used to have a little expression. He said, if you don't read your Bible, remember this.
The Spirit of God won't work miracles to encourage laziness.
And if we don't read our Bibles, how can the Spirit of God bring things back to our minds? We've never read them. They've never been deposited, so to speak, in our minds. And so I'm thankful that in my home we were brought up to have the word of God before us. Many things I didn't understand, but as I learned to know a little bit more, the Spirit of God did his blessed work and some scripture I didn't understand.
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It all came to light sometime in a Bible reading.
They were reading something. Oh, I saw what that verse meant that I never had understood before. The spirit is the remembrancer. But the Philistines said, we'll sharpen your tools. We'll help you to be good farmers. We'll help you to get along, but don't take care of your swords and Spears. And, you know, there's all kinds of provision today to, shall I say, get along in this world to get things that are necessary to make progress.
Progress in the world, not speaking against education, it's necessary, providing it's used for the glory of God. But I mean, we must not, no matter how important this is in our particular calling in life, we should never neglect the Word of God, that precious book, the word of God that he's given to us. And so the day of battle came.
Maybe it didn't matter too much until that day of battle came. They thought, well, things.
Kind of peaceful and we don't expect the big conflict to take place. And so their tools were sharp, but their swords, it says when the day of battle came, the only persons who had a sword or a spear in their hand were Saul and Jonathan. Now that's interesting that Saul had it as well as Jonathan. You say, why does it tell us that Saul had it? Well, you can get a knowledge up here in.
Had but not use it. I've met some Christians and they have a very good knowledge of the Bible very good, but they're sitting under a pounder on a tree. They're not benefiting themselves nor are they helping the people of God. Paul had to say to Timothy neglect not the gift that is in me and he had to say say to our kippus take heed to the ministry that thou hast received in the Lord that thou fulfill it if you have laid.
Hold of something of the truth of God. It's for your food and for your blessing. But we're also responsible to share with others that which the Lord has taught us. And so I think we see two things here. A man who was willing to use his sword for the good and blessing of the people of God, and a man who is willing to sit down under a pomegranate tree with a sword in his hand which he wasn't using.
And so this is what happened. The day of battle came.
And the only two people had a sword, who had a sword in their hands were Saul and Jonathan. Now, it would have been very easy for Jonathan to say it's no use, nobody cares today. I'm only one person. And what could I do? Well, God deals with us as individuals. And let me say this devotedness to the Lord is an individual thing. You can't.
Shall I say make somebody else devoted? I am responsible.
As the Scripture says, every man shall give account of himself to God. When the judgment seat of Christ takes place and our lives pass into review, God's not going to deal with us in groups. He's going to deal with us as individuals. Every man shall give account of himself to God. Good thing to remember, even now there was trouble in one assembly and one brother said to me, if that brother will say sorry, I'll say I'm sorry.
And I said, brother, you're only responsible for yourself. Leave that brother. If you're sorry, tell the brethren you're sorry. Well, happily he did. The Lord blessed them for it.
It's not easy sometimes when you feel somebody else had a big share in it. But remember, whether now or in the future, we're individuals before God. As to our responsibility, there is a collective testimony. And we can see from what follows that Jonathan was very interested in God's people collectively, but he had to act in devotedness as an individual. And this, I believe, is brought before us very strikingly.
The Philistines, then.
Had worked his plan. The spoilers had gone out to spoil the people.
They had sharpened the tools of the Children of Israel to the point where the children of Israel had neglected their swords and their Spears, and now they move in. The Philistines move in. Notice how it begins in the last verse of the.
13th chapter.
And the Garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Nick Mash. Oh, this was a crucial moment. The the Philistines now were going to move in. What could be done?
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Jonathan could have easily said it's no use. Look at this big crowd of Philistines, real army of them, and I'm just one person. But he cared. We find over and over again, David cared and David was used for the deliverance of the people of God. And at this point, Jonathan cared and God used him. You can tell a blessing of an individual who really has a heart for the Lord and for his people.
Well, this is brought out here, so it says in the first verse of the next chapter. Now it came to pass upon a day. I don't know just exactly what day it was. This is the first day of 1991. This is a rather significant day because a new year has started. There was just such an important day that came and Jonathan saw the problems. But it says.
That Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armor, come and let us go over to the Philistines Garrison that is on the other side. But he told not his father, that is. Now we see his soul stirred in spiritual energy to act for God, to think of the people of God, and to seek in his way to affect deliverance for them.
And so he had a companion.
As I say, he was an individual, he was responsible, but he had formed companionship with a young man, shall I say, who was like himself, who would share his desires and his exercises. It's good to have a good companion, one who cares. And may I say to those who are husbands and lives, it's good when we support one another in our desire to help the people of God.
A husband can hinder.
Wife, her wife can hinder a husband or both can work together and it's very lovely here to see too, now working together. Jonathan undoubtedly was the one who took the lead. But so it is the responsibility of, shall I say, public ministry is committed to the man. But the Scripture shows us how great an influence different sisters have had. Priscilla had a tremendous influence for good.
Upon Aquila and so we learn in different instances through the Bible how there were sisters who had an influence on brothers for their good. And it's very lovely to see this here that there was an armor bearer and it says he told not his father. Why did he not tell his father? Well, I wondered if he thought about what happened when God called Abraham.
God called Abraham and said goat from.
Country, and from my kindred, and from my father's house unto a land that I will show thee. So he told his father.
And I suppose having some kind of respect to his father, he let his father take the lead. And his father was a drag until his father had died. And the point, I believe, is that, you know, you can tell people who will say, oh, you can't do anything, it's no use, no youth even trying. And he knew that his father, who was sitting under the common ground of the tree with his 600 men, would say, Jonathan, it's no use, Don't you know?
One person can.
Do anything so he told not his father. And so you know, if there's somebody that hasn't a heart for the people of God, you can't share some of the things that you seek to do in devotedness for the Lord. You have to as we were mentioned to the young people last night, there's a verse in 119 Psalm. The 63rd verse says I am a companion of all them that fear thee and of them that keep thy precepts.
Who are your companions? Are they dragging you and telling you, oh, let's not go to meeting, Let's not go out and help in some gospel work? It's there's a lot of hardships. It's not worth the problem. Or have you got a companion who says, I'm with you, I will seek to be helped you, I'll support you if that's what you feel the Lord has laid upon your heart. So he told not his father.
And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron. He had 600 people with him. Certainly, I suppose we could say the majority were not with Jonathan. But majority, as someone has said, is not the point. The important point is the Lord. The world deals in majority. The world deals with numbers.
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But.
When you and I realize our nothingness and count upon the Lord, as someone has said, you can take a line of zeros and it doesn't matter how long the line is, if you put one in front of it, you have a large number, and the more zeros that follow that one, the larger the number is.
And so if you have 10 after it, then yourself and 10, it's only 10. And the more we realize our own nothingness, the more zeros we put after our own name, the better, because then we count upon the Lord. We say I can't do it, only the Lord can do it. And so let's put a long line of zeros. We're really nothing, but one person is everything. Christ is all and in all, or as Mr. Darby.
Translates that Christ is everything. He's the one, the one and only.
Saul had tells us here that even even Saul had the Lord's priest in Shiloh, he seemed to have things on his side outwardly.
Inwardly his heart, as we learn from other scriptures wasn't really you could be in the right place, brethren, thank God. There is a place, a ground of gathering that's according to the word of God. But being in that place is a wonderful privilege, but it won't keep you unless you have the Lord before you. So it was nice. The ark was important, the Lord's priest was important, but we could be in that place like Saul was and yet not be relying upon the Lord not having.
The Lord before us.
Well, there's something interesting too in the end of the third verse. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone. What does the word of God say this? Well, you know you're going to do something for the Lord. Don't publish it. Don't make a big talk about it.
That's really just trying to exalt yourself.
We find a great deal that that's the way men do. They're going to be some undertaking. They do a lot of broadcasting about what they're going to do about in the things of God. We need to learn that we have to hide ourselves. We have to recognize that the Lord must be everything. And so Jonathan didn't make a fuss. I I was out here when dear brother Annas went out in.
When brother Jimmy Smith, I should say, went out in.
My Lord's work, I was present at the very time that he went down to the Dominican Republic. And oh, Brother Annas was there. And I remember he was asked to give a little talk and he, he was giving some advice to Brother Jimmy Smith. And he said it was telling him not to make a lot of noise. And I remember his expression, he said delight, don't make no noise. And he told him just to go on, do the work quietly and not make a lot of noise about what he was going to do.
Brother Smith must have been impressed. I was very much in that occasion.
Well, that's what Jonathan was doing here.
Now what wasn't easy? Notice the fourth verse and between the passages by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines Garrison.
There was a sharp rock on the one side.
And a sharp rock on the other side. Well, this wasn't very easy, was it?
He said he was going to go. He didn't tell his father. He only had one person to kind of support him, his armor bearer. And he looked.
And there was a sharp rock on both sides. On one side the sharp rock was where King Saul was, the other was where the Philistine Garrison was.
This is quite interesting, isn't it? There was the Philistine opposition, but sometimes even God's people don't understand devotedness to the Lord. And we just have to be humble but never turn against the people of God. Love them because the Lord loves them. And Jonathan's desire was because he loved the people of God and he sought their deliverance. He wasn't going to do a lot of talking about what he was doing.
But there were those sharp, sharp rocks on either side. And so it tells you where they were in the fifth verse. One was against Micmash. That was where the Philistine Garrison was. 23rd verse of the 13th chapter tells you that. And the other was southward over against Gibeon. That's where Saul was. That's where he had his group of men under the pomegranate tree.
And now on the 6th verse, Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, Come and let us go over unto the Garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us.
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For there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.
I think there's something very lovely in what he says here. He doesn't boast. I remember a remark that I read in Mr. Darby. He said pretensions about special spiritual guidance are never humble. Sometimes we say, oh, the Lord told me to do this, and we're kind of boastful about what we're doing, and we don't find this boastful spirit, do we? It may be that the Lord will work with us, no doubt.
That the Lord could use them, he said. The Lord isn't restrained. He doesn't need to have a big crowd. He he doesn't have to have many. He does. And he can do it with few. He may use us.
Nice to be humble, brethren. We're nothing. The Lord said that the greatest among those born of women was the man who said he was only a voice. And that's what the Lord values. And so we see here a lovely spirit with Jonathan. But now there's something interesting in the next verse.
And the armor bearer said unto him, Do all that is in my heart turn thee, Behold, I am with thee according to thy heart. It's a very interesting little thing that you see here. It's just stated very briefly, but I believe the implication is that.
He was pressing forward. He saw those rocks on both sides and he turned around. He said this is too much for me. I, I don't think I can do it. And he turned around and his armor bearer who was with him, he said, turn me, I'm with thee.
Or, you know, you don't know what a little word of encouragement might mean to some person who feels like turning back.
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold and pictures of silver, and God allows this in all our lives, brethren.
Peter could never boast that he walked upon the water because he began to sink. Jonathan could never boast and say, well, I was the hero in this because if it hadn't been his armor bearer, he would have turned back. God always sees to it that there's something, even the best things that we do that keeps us humble, that makes us realize that we're really nothing. And so the Lord let this little incident come where Jonathan's heart failed, but his armor bearer supported him. And I say.
Again, you may think, oh, I didn't do anything. The armor bearer's name is not even mentioned, but.
If I can put it this way was because of that armor bearer that Jonathan turned around and there was a great victory. Little things that seem unnoticed are recorded in God's book of remembrance and very beautiful here to see this point. And so Jonathan responds to this. I think it's nice what he said, what the armor bearer said to him. I'm with you according to thy heart.
He knew his heart was to go, but he was discouraged. He turned back just at this point.
Point and then in the eighth verse. Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will Passover unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them. Now there's decision, now there's purpose.
You're mentioning a little bit last night about Daniel when he was going to school in Babylon. It says he purposed in his heart he would not defile himself with the King's meat. It needs to be a purpose.
Barnabas exhorted the young believers in Antioch that with purpose of heart and want to say to everyone, to those who are young here, you'll never be able to go on in the Christian life unless you have a purpose. You've got to have a purpose and that purpose needs to be to have the Lord before you have him as the object, the All in all. And so it says there was a purpose here. He said we'll go over.
And then they made a little plan.
If the Philistines said come down to us, then he said that he said we'll we'll just stay where we are. But if they say notice what he says.
In the 10th verse. But if they say, Thus come up unto us, then we will go up, for the Lord hath delivered them into our hand, and this shall be a sign unto us.
Now it would have seemed a lot easier to have thought it was the Lord's mind that they would come down to them.
In other words, it would have been a lot easier just to stand still and let them come down.
Path of following Christ is never easy. It's never easy. We must, through much tribulation, enter into the Kingdom of God. Sometimes it's when the enemy is most boastful that the Lord comes in. If you eat Israel's history, it was always when the enemy was boastful. Goliath was defying the armies of the living God. He was very boastful, but that was the time of his greatest defeat. The enemy came up in the time of Sennacherib and he.
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Were very, very boastful, but that was the time when God granted the greatest victory. Don't be afraid when the enemy gets boastful, because we have one who's mightier than them all. One greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
So it says in the 11TH verse. And both of them discovered themselves under the Garrison of the Philistines, And the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves.
I want to call attention to that little expression, the Hebrews. Perhaps you've noticed that the Philistines always call God's people Hebrews, and the thought is that that was their name in nature, descendants of Eber. And so they just looked at them as another group of men, another group of people. It's the same today. These nations, these Arab nations look upon Israel, just another group of people.
But Israel?
What does Israel mean? You never find Jonathan calling them Hebrews. He called them Israel. Notice what he said.
Verse 12 yes.
In the end of the verse come up after me, for the Lord hath delivered them into the hand of Israel. He he didn't look upon them as to what they are in nature. You know when you look at what we are in nature, we're just a failing lot got all kinds of bad parts to our disposition and everything but the word Israel means a Prince with God. We need to see people like the Lord said.
As Balaam wanted to curse Israel, but God forced him to bless them.
And he said from the top of the rocks, do I behold them? He hath not beheld iniquity and Jacob, nor perverseness in Israel. He looked upon them as God sees them, as people. I think this is something for me, perhaps for you too. We tend to look at God's people as Hebrews sometimes. That's the Philistine way. But we need to look at them as God sees them. And that is nice, that Jonathan.
Looked upon them in that way.
And so the Hebrews, the Philistines called them Hebrews. Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves in the 12TH verse. And the men of the Garrison answered Jonathan and his armor, and said, Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.
To see that spirit of voice that they had, We'll show you a thing. But it was very opposite to what they had expected. We'll show you a thing. That was easy to say, but notice how they had to climb up now. The 13th verse. And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet.
And his armor bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan. And his armour bearer slew after him. He climbed up on his hands and on his feet.
Have you got to go down first, brethren? He just got down. Can you imagine getting down on his hands and on his feet and climbing up those rocks? Looked quite impossible, didn't it? But as someone has said, the way to go up is to 1St go down. And so they went down, and here were these two men climbing up these sharp rocks. How impossible it all looked. But when they got up there.
The Lord had gone before. The Lord had gone before.
And when they got up there, why immediately God turned all.
Events around contrary totally from what the Philistines had expected.
And it says.
In the 13th verse, he climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armor bearer after him, and they fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearers slew after him. And that first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor bearer made was about 20 men.
Seemed like very insignificant. A very small start, wasn't it?
But very often the start of things is very important. The start, this is the start of another year. It's very important how we start things.
Very often it's said, even in the world, if things have a bad start, what can you expect? And so here we find a good start, and the Lord comes in and it tells us here the 15th verse. And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people, the Garrison and the spoilers, they also trembled. And the earthquake. So it was a very great trembling. Oh, how wonderfully we see the Lord working.
00:40:19
Now there was a a very great trembling God was working, and those who were going to bring Israel into subjection, those who were going to defeat them, they're all now afraid, and they turn one against another. The Lord is showing himself strong on behalf of those who had learned to trust in Him.
And so we see God coming in here, but now we find something quite interesting here about Saul says in the 16th verse.
And the watchman of Saul in Gibeon Benjamin looked, and behold, A multitude melted away, and they went on beating down.
One another.
Saul and his man look out now and they see something's happening over there and they didn't know who it was or why it was. They just saw that something was happening among those enemies of God's people and so.
That nobody knew that Saul and that Jonathan and his armor bearer were gone. They actually had the number. You know, we like to be missed. Sometimes. They weren't even missed. They weren't even missed.
They didn't. They were counted quite unimportant. We don't like that kind of feeling. We like to feel that people really miss us and that we're sort of important, you know? But here, the ones God was going to use were so insignificant, we might say, in the eyes of the people that none of them knew that they were even missing. But.
The Lord had gone before, but now there's something rather interesting here too, and that is that Saul wants to come into it and get the credit for himself.
Now this is something that we have to bear in serving the Lord sometimes. Perhaps you undertook to do something for the Lord, and perhaps the Lord was using you and somebody else jumped in to get all the credit and they tried to take away all the credit for themselves. Leave that with the Lord. The Lord always has the record straight. You never need to fear that He has it down the wrong way. You remember when Mary came with her box of ointment to anoint the feet of the Lord?
She got a lot of criticism, didn't he? Even the disciples and the others, they said this ointment might have been sold for 300 pence and given to the poor. What did Mary say? Nothing. Nothing. Why didn't she say something? You say you should defend yourself. Why didn't you say something? She knew that the Lord knew her heart, that the Lord knew why she had done it. And she didn't say a word, but the Lord did. The Lord spoke up. And the Lord.
Said, Let her alone, she hath wrought a good work on me.
And then he went on to say that wherever the gospel was preached in the whole world.
This that this woman had done would be told from a memorial lover. I don't suppose there's any other act that was ever spoken of in that way. A woman who completely hidden and unnoticed and criticized did something for the Lord, and the Lord said it's going to be published through the whole world. And there isn't a Christian who's read his Bible that hasn't heard the story about what Mary did. Never mind.
Whether you get credit or not, I say again, the Lord will always have the.
Record straight. It's worth it to do what we do for him. It's worth it 1000 times because what is really going to count in that day? It's going to be a lot of what we've done rather than it's going to go up in smoke a lot that's going to be burned up. For it tells us in that day of manifestation that if any man's work be burned, he shall suffer loss, yet he himself shall be saved yet so as by fire. But if any man's work abide, he shall receive or he.
A young man was going out to serve the Lord, and an older brother wasn't myself. An older brother said to him, I just want to give you those words. If any man's work abide, he said, remember, it's not what you do that seems to attract a lot of public attention. It's whether the work abides. The work abides and whatever has done for him will abide the gold and the silver and the precious stones, Those will abide the wood, hay and stubble.
You can have a big pile of wood, hands, stubble, looks like something big compared to a tiny unnoticed little piece of gold, but that little piece of gold is far more valuable than that great big pile. Another verse says the man strived for the masteries, yet is he not crowned except he strive lawfully. Let's do what we do in obedience to the word of God and let the Lord make the appraisal. Even the beloved Apostle Paul said.
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With me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you or of man's judgment. You have a margin that says or of man's day.
It's not important how things look in man's day. It's it's important, though, how they're going to look in the day of manifestation. Well, as I say, Saul comes in and he calls for the priest and he starts to try and put on a little act to try and show his interest. And then he realizes that this is kind of in vain and he goes out.
And if you read through, I didn't take time to read through the end of the chapter, but you'll see.
He was trying to get the credit for the whole thing himself. He was trying to get the credit and he actually the next chapter wanted to get Jonathan out of the way. He wanted to have the glory for himself. Oh, let's remember he that Gloria let him glory in the Lord. But brethren, we're starting a new year.
The Lord loves his people. The spoilers are at work and you and I can look individually to the Lord and say, Lord, is there something that I can do?
In my family, in the assembly, or perhaps in proclaiming the gospel to others who are in their sins is something that I can do. Let's be content to go on and have the Lord's approval and seek to do it. What we do for him in the end, the Lord will make manifest all that's of himself. And so it's lovely to see that Jonathan goes on. If you'd only continued in this path of devotedness, it would have been so.
But it's amazing to see that later on, dear Jonathan thought more of his father's approval than the approval of the Lord. And when the test came later on, and he could have identified himself with David, God's rejected man, he chose to go back to the court of Saul where things were a bit easier. And so we can't live on yesterday's victories. We need the Lord each day.
And.
We know about Gideon. Gideon won a tremendous victory for the people of God. And then he wanted to set up a remembrance for it. So he got them all to bring the ornaments of their prey. And he made an affidavit and he set it up in his own house. And it says it became a snare to him and to his house.
I say again what perhaps you've heard me say before, if you do something for the Lord.
Don't make anything out of it. Leave it.
Forget it because the Lord won't forget. God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love. He tells us if we have.
Failed if we've done something that grieved him that we need to bear that in mind to keep us humble. But he says your sins and iniquities will I remember no more. But he says remember that he were Gentiles in times past. Remember the rock from whence we were hewn, the pit from whence were dug. Let's never forget how gracious and patient God's been with us. Sometimes we do.
As often as people who are very hard on others seem to forget.
That there was a time in their lives when they weren't walking close to the Lord. We should remember. It keeps us humble. Brethren, we failed. But the Lord says your sins and iniquities will I remember no more. But we're 10 to put it in reverse. We make a big thing out of something we did for the Lord and the Lord says forget it, forget it. I won't.
And he's going to take notice of everything done for him. A cup of cold water or a thought upon his name. And I just want to say this before I close too. Perhaps he could turn to it in Exodus 28. Little thought that I'd like to pass on.
Exodus 28.
And verse 36.
And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold engrave upon it, like the engravings of a signet holiness to the Lord. Thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre. Upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be. And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts. And it shall be always upon his forehead that they may be accepted.
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Before the Lord.
No, you'll never undertake to do anything for the Lord that you won't find that somehow self in some way seems to come in, seems to come in. But isn't it wonderful, brethren, that we have a high priest and he bears the iniquity of our holy things so that the little things we do would be accepted? None of us can look back on anything that we've done for the Lord and say there was nothing of self in that. There was nothing of self. There is.
Iniquity in all their holy things. I say this to encourage someone. You might say, I'm afraid to undertake something for the Lord, because, you know, self always seems to come in and I say the wrong thing or do it the wrong way or something. Oh, isn't that lovely to know that we have a high priest? He doesn't lower his standard. No, the priest didn't accept the crop and the feathers. He put them in the place of the ashes, but he didn't reject the rest.
He presented what was acceptable. Oh made us encourage.
US I don't think any Christian would say, well I under undertook that work for the Lord without anything of self in it. No brethren, there's iniquity in all our holy things, and I want to encourage you if you feel discouraged, you feel it's no use me trying, because when I try seem to get I bring in something that I shouldn't. Well remember the Lord values what is of himself.
And he delights in any desire. I don't say that we can't learn.
We can't grow, we can't learn more of his wealth, but may he encourage us.
As we face another year, if the Lord leaves us here a little longer to be more devoted to Him.
To care for His people, not to give up because we see the spoilers at work, but to know that if we're willing, if our hearts are willing, that He can use us in spite of all that we are. He's the God of all grace.
Principles for Service
Philippians 3:1-3
Philippians 3:4-9
Philippians 3:10-14
Philippians 3:15-
Food in My House
Address—G.H. Hayhoe
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There's three scriptures I'd like to read first of all.
In Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament, Malachi chapter 3 and verse 10.
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Dan, I'd like to turn to Ephesians chapter 3.
Ephesians chapter 3 and verse 14.
For this 'cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. That He would grant you according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye being rooted and grounded in love.
May be able to comprehend with All Saints.
What is the bread, and length, and depth, and height, And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus.
Throughout all ages, world without end.
Amen.
And then in First Timothy chapter 1.
First Timothy, chapter 1.
Verse 3.
As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies which minister questions, rather than godly edifying, which is in faith, so do.
End of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned, from which some, having swerved, have turned aside into vain jangling, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor whereof they affirm. For we know that the law is good if a man use it lawfully.
Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient.
For the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane.
For mergers of fathers and mergers of mothers, for man slayers, for ************ for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men stealers, for liars, for purgers persons. And if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed.
To my trust.
And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me for that He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.
Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious. But I obtain mercy, because I did it ignorantly, in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this 'cause I.
Mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering for a pattern to them, which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting.
Now unto the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. This charge I commit unto thee, Son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war, a good warfare, holding faith, and a good conscience, which some having put away concerning faith, have made shipwrecked. Of whom?
Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blasphemy.
Well, in the meetings that we've had the addresses, I believe a great deal has been brought before us and necessarily so that we should understand the scriptural way of gathering how very important and blessed it is to be gathered according to the word of God. That is our sure our only guide, the word of God, but is the person that makes the place and to be occupied with him is everything.
00:05:27
And this afternoon, perhaps.
With the Lord's help, I'd like to speak of the practical side of it because it's a wonderful thing, a very blessed thing, to have the privilege of being gathered as members of the body of Christ, to be gathered according to His Word. But I believe there's also a need for each one of us to be concerned that we might contribute that which would be for the help and encouragement and blessing of the people of God.
And each one of us have our place. Often we.
We have a fellowship meeting, we come together, the sisters go to a great deal of work to provide nice food for us. We enjoy the time of fellowship. We enjoy the food that has been provided. And I believe, brethren, that we're not sufficiently exercised about good spiritual food that as we come together there might be that which nourishes us and builds us up and encourages us. There are many difficulties among the Saints.
Of God, there are many that come to the meetings with heavy hearts, discouraged and sad over things that have happened, perhaps in their personal lives, perhaps even in the assembly, that have caused them to be discouraged. And just as we enjoy that good food for our bodies, isn't it important that we should go away from the meeting feeling refreshed in our souls that there has been something that we carry away that?
I've often said I heard a brothers say.
One time he said the Lord saved a lot of good cooks and we do get a lot of good food at our fellowship meetings. But sometimes, perhaps we who are brothers who have a responsibility to seek to feed the flock of God, we might lack in this brethren. We might fail to think of the spiritual needs of our brethren and not bring that which would be for blessing.
I was struck as I read that passage in Malachi. As you read through the book of Malachi, there was a lot of things that could really cause you to be discouraged. They were saying it was vain to serve the Lord. They were questioning the Lord's love to them. They wouldn't open the doors of the Lord's house for not. They were offering the lame and the blind had the heart of God.
Changed toward his people. His desire was that there would be meat in his.
And he said, Prove me now herewith had the heart of the Lord changed toward his people because of all that had taken place and all the things that they were saying? Not one bit. He wanted to pour out a blessing that there wouldn't be room enough to receive it. The heart of God is so large, so full of blessing, that He will never be satisfied until everyone of His redeemed people is supremely blessed.
Blessed in such a way that it would be impossible to measure the full extent of it. And it isn't just for a day or for a year. It's for all eternity. For all eternity. Every day. We'll never say, we hope you have a nice day tomorrow. Every day will be the same eternal joy from whose heart? From the heart of God, who will never be satisfied. I say again, until all his own are supremely blessed. It says He shall see.
The travail of his soul and shall be satisfied, says they shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house, and thou wilt make them drink of the rivers of thy pleasure. So the Lord said to his people, Bring all the tithes into my house. Now we don't give tithes, that's part of the law system. But you know the tithe with the tents. But when we are saved, if we realize that we appreciate.
What the Lord has done for us, perhaps the little words of the hymn express it. Love that transcends our highest powers demands a 10th. No, demands our soul, our life, our all, nothing less than our all. We belong to him. And so he says, let's recognize the Lord's claims over us. And you say, well, that's kind of difficult at times, But he says, I'll pour you at a blessing.
That there won't be room enough to receive it. The assembly, brethren, ought to be a special place where when we come together, there would be meat in his house. The Lord said to Peter, before he was going away, Feed my lambs, shepherd my sheep. He cared for them, and he commissioned Peter in his absence to do this.
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And so even in the telling forth of the gospel, it says.
We pray you in Christ's stead be reconciled to God. When he was here, His heart was overflowing in blessing, seeking the blessing of men and women in their need and children too. And now he's gone away. And when he when when he was going away, he said that the repentance and remission of sin should be preached among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Why begin at Jerusalem, the place where they crucified him?
Ah, it's because nothing changed his heart toward his people.
The reason I read to you in Ephesians is because if we had, what I read in Timothy was that Paul had besought Timothy to remain at Ephesus and that he was to try and be a help in that place. And it wasn't in a very happy state. If you say, how could that be? They were so abundantly blessed, surely that would be the happiest assembly on earth, the one at Ephesus who had received the highest truth. But it wasn't.
It wasn't. Was it because the heart of God had changed? Oh no, it was because they hadn't appreciated. They hadn't laid hold of it. So that out of His belly shall flow rivers of living water. Out of his belly means you've made it your own. Not just out of your mouth, out of his belly. It's been made your own. And it comes out as something that you have enjoyed. I just like to speak.
Briefly for a few minutes there on Ephesians chapter 3 in connection.
With what he is saying there, Paul was praying for this assembly. This wonderful truth had been communicated to them, and he was praying for them. There were two particular burdens in that prayer. First, that they might know the largeness of the blessing, and secondly, that they might be in the enjoyment of the love that had provided the blessing.
Sometimes in reading those verses in Ephesians 3.
We might just miss the point there, because it says to know the length and breadth and depth and height, but notice not of the love of Christ, but and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge. We could know, shall I say, an intellectual way, how richly we are blessed. We could talk of the wonderful privileges that we have as gathered to the Lord's name, to understand what the Church is, to be able to look out intelligently.
On what's going on in the world and say we know what's going to happen in the nations. That's a very great and wonderful thing. And to know the future that's ahead of us as believers to share as the bride of Christ in all that coming scene of glory in the nearest possible place to that blessed One who died for us in order that he might have us as his bride. Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. But it says.
To know that, and you know, I sometimes illustrate it like this, just like a young man who's going to get married and he has a beautiful home provided for the one who is to be his wife. She hasn't seen through this home that he has for her. So she comes to see through it. She steps inside the door and says, oh, it's so beautiful, I don't need to see the rest. How would he feel?
He'd say, Oh dear, I want you to see it all.
No, no, I don't want you just to look at the doorway here and the vestibule and the entrance. I want you to see it all. He leads her from room to room and shows her all that had been provided, each room more beautiful in the room before she's overwhelmed, but when he's all done, he puts his arm around her. Of me and says, And I want you to know the love that goes with it. I want you to know the love. It passes knowledge and we are blessed. Are we enjoying the love?
There's some grand homes, I suppose.
In this very area, without love, lovely homes, provided with the very best that money could buy, but lacking in what makes the home love. And so there's two things for us. Not only to know how abundantly we are blessed, but to be in the enjoyment of the love that has provided it. And brethren, we can't contain it. If we do, if we know something of this, it passes knowledge.
00:15:06
A remarked.
That Mister Darby made has been a help to me through my Christian life, he said. This Christianity is known by what it brings, not by what it finds. I'm afraid, brethren, we often are occupied with what we find. We find problems, home problems, business problems, assembly problems, and what do we bring? What do we bring? We can see the problems.
But Christianity has known what it brings Christ.
This world, a world that was filled with sorrow. His people were in ******* to the Romans. There were lots of tears and sorrows. Wherever he went there were crowds of sick people and broken hearts. He came to bring. He came to bring. The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. Isn't it blessed that we and we have been able to bring something to you? Have this wonderful privilege.
And if you and I are in the enjoyment of Christ, then we bring.
And pardon me if I speak specially to those who are brothers. The sisters are very generous in providing lovely meals for us at our fellowship meetings. But.
Brothers, are we bringing something to feed the flock of God, to refresh them, to encourage them to go on? We come to the meeting. When I was working, they used to often come discouraged by the things that happened through the day. And you know when you come there and there's something that ministers Christ to your heart, you feel refreshed. You go to bed feeling enough, a lot better.
Because you were well fed, you're well fed.
Now Paul left Timothy at Ephesus, this very assembly, who had this highest truth, this very assembly, who had been so greatly blessed through the ministry of the apostle Paul.
And he listened to what was going on there and what was happening there. Listen to what it says here in First Timothy chapter 1 and verse 3, as I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine. Yes, there had been a giving up of doctrine in some things, and we know that.
We can see that in Christendom. How many real Christians don't enjoy the security of the believer? Some of them have lost the present hope of the Lord's return, and a number of other things. How easily those things creep in. Do we value the deposit of truth? O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust. O brethren, may we value the precious deposit of truth that has been committed to us.
They had been given a tremendous deposit of truth at Ephesus, but there were heavily some that were not appreciating the precious deposit of truth, and Timothy was to try and encourage them to hold fast the truth.
And then it says endless genealogies, which minister questions. Now these things might have been wrong. Genealogies are often very interesting that they don't feed the soul. They don't really give something that nourishes and builds up. Just illustrate what I'm saying. It happened among a group of Christians. I didn't know this particular group.
But they came together to study the word of God and.
Had a little Bible study. Someone asked them afterwards. What? What did you take up in your Bible study? Well, we spent the whole time trying to find out how the devil got the Lord on the pennyfield of the temple.
Now I got food out of a thing like that. It might have been a very interesting discussion to listen to it. I don't think there was any food in that at all. And brethren, we can get occupied with things that don't feed the soul. If it's necessary for the truth of God, if it's sound doctrine, let's stand for it. It's not brethren's doctrine, it's not my doctrine. It's the truth of God. And we are just given.
As a charge that stand for that. But there's a lot of things that minister questions. So I'm sure that if you'd asked that group when they departed, did you get your question answered? No, all they could say is they ministered questions, They ministered questions. They didn't get something that fed their soul. Well, I just say this, brethren, pardon me. It's practical, isn't it? How are we building one another up?
00:20:13
In our most holy faith and those things that really feed the soul. And then it says rather than godly edifying, what is edifying? Well, edifying, I believe we could simply define it as building up, building up and we need to get build up. We get built down or knocked down, perhaps I should say quite often.
We really get down. It's a world full of discouragement, a world where everything is King Solomon, said he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow, and years gone by, people knew what was happening in their own little community. Now, almost every morning, people know what's happening worldwide.
And they know what's happening in other assemblies. And, you know, there's a lot of things that can really get us down to get occupied with them.
Way raising question about the great responsibility of maintaining what's for the Lord and for his glory. But I'm speaking now of ministry brethren, ministry in the assembly and isn't this lovely and a godly edifying and I think he defines what it is here. Notice this this fifth verse. Now the end or the end in view. That's the point, the end in view of the commandment.
Love charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned. Unfeigned means unpretended.
Now this is really quite a little searching definition of edifying, isn't it?
And I believe when we take part in the assembly, we ought to have those three main things before us. First, love out of a pure heart.
Secondly, a good conscience and faith unfeigned or faith unpretended. In other words, let me put it simply, like this.
If the ministry helps and is really edifying, it has that three fold effect upon us.
Our hearts are drawn out to Christ and to one another.
Love out of a pure heart. Love out of a pure heart.
We ought to go away from the meeting having our affections more freshly drawn out to the Lord Jesus and to one another. That ought to be the theme that occupies our hearts.
Then the next one is a good conscience.
Perhaps I might come to the meeting and there's something that hasn't just been right in my life, something that I've allowed through the day, something that's just a little bit questionable and it's going to spoil my enjoyment of the Lord. I haven't confessed it to the Lord, but I come to the meeting and as I think of the Lord's love for me and what it cost him to put away my sins.
It stirs my conscience. I've allowed something.
To come between my soul and the Lord, and I sit there and I say, Lord, I don't want to continue in this thing. It's robbing me in my soul and it's robbing Thee of Thy glory. We have to feel that in the Lord's presence because we're two or three are gathered together in my name. There am I in the midst of them. Have you ever felt that way? I have. I've sat in the meeting and things were said that touched my heart with the love.
Christ but also made me feel and want to live more devotedly for the Lord Jesus. I don't want to continue to allow that thing in my life. That's a definite hindrance to going on with the Lord and enjoying His love and enjoying happy fellowship with my brethren. I don't need to define all the things. I think we ourselves know them too well. Maybe somebody spoke unkindly to you really hurt.
It's not wrong to feel things, the Lord said. Reproach hath broken my heart. He felt things. But oh, don't let those things get the better of you.
The Bible says that if we don't forgive, we're delivered to the tormentors. And I don't know anything that makes a Christian more miserable than an unforgiving spirit. Oh, you say the person was wrong. Well, of course you wouldn't need forgiveness if they were right. It's because they're wrong that we need forgiveness. And so how great a debt? The Lord forgave us, forgave us. So you sit there in his presence and there's a bad feeling. You say, I can't let that remain.
00:25:15
Lord love me so much. I don't want to let that. And so our souls are fed, there's blessing, we're edified. And then, you know, our faith tends to get weak. Perhaps something happens and you say, why did the Lord allow that to happen to me? I see some other brothers and sisters. Things seem to run so much more smoothly for them.
Why me? Why has all this come?
Satan's trying to shake our faith. He's catching us with the shield of faith down. He knows that he can get his fiery darks in if we have that shield of faith down.
But isn't it lovely to see the spirit of Job? Can you think of a man who God himself said he was an upright man, one that feared God and eschewed evil? And God took ten of his children away in one day?
And he lost all his wealth. What did he say? What did he say? His faith was strong. He said, The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
The shield of faith, wasn't it? Is there anybody here? And you've got the shield of faith down. You've had some bad setbacks in life and you can't understand why it happened to you, and it's robbing you of your joy in the Lord.
The Lord wants, he says, above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Maybe I would bring it home a little more practically, brethren.
Those of us who are brothers have a responsibility that the part that we take would help our brethren in these three things.
It would help them in their affections for the Lord and for one another. It would help them if there's something that they've allowed on their conscience, that it might be judged in the Lord's presence and dealt with. And that they go away and say, oh, that meeting strengthened my faith. I feel that I can trust the Lord because As for God, his way is perfect.
When my spirit was.
Overwhelmed within me, Then thou knewest my path. You do get overwhelmed. You don't know what to do. But the Lord knows what to do. He knows in all thy ways. Acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. And so I say again, brethren, there's been helpful ministry in connection with the privilege, and I count it a tremendous privilege.
To be gathered not according to some plan of our own, but have the word of God as our guide as to how we come together and how we assemble and gather to remember the Lord and in ministry. But.
That there may be meat in my house, That there may be meat in my house, Paul said Timothy. You know, Paul gives a nice commendation for Timothy in the second of Philippians, he said I have no man like minded who will naturally care for your state. I think Mr. Darby translates it, care with genuine feeling.
Isn't that a lovely expression? Genuine.
Feeling you like it, don't you? When you meet somebody, you've got a burden and you tell a person a burden and you feel they have a genuine feeling. That's the kind of a person Timothy was. He had a genuine feeling for those who were going through situations. And Paul said, Timothy, those people at Ephesus know a lot of truth. They probably have more truth than any other assembly at the time of the apostles, but.
To getting off onto other doctrines and ministering questions. They're losing sight of the Lord. Well, then he goes on in this chapter. How is this to be corrected? Well, there were some that were concerned about what was going on there at Ephesus. And so they were bringing the law. They were bringing the law. Notice what it says here.
The seventh verse.
Desiring to be teachers of the law. Understanding neither what they say nor whereof they affirm.
For we know that the law is good if a man uses it lawfully. Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and profane, for ungodly and for for unholy and ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for mergers of fathers and murderers, of mothers, for man slayers.
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For ************ for them that defile themselves with mankind. For men, stealers for liars for.
Perjured persons, if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, the law does have a use. It was right and proper. But you know for Christians I believe it's always to seek to bring before them.
What pleases the Lord?
And the law was made for those who thought they could live up to God's requirements, and they couldn't. But we know that when things come in among the people of God, the answer is not the law. The answer is to have the heart touched with a desire to please the Lord. And then we can point out, and as it says in Romans 8, the righteousness.
Of the law is fulfilled in US who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Perhaps to get this point a little clearer, I remember hearing a story about two men who were walking along the street, 2 Christian men. One felt that Christians should be under law. The other one was trying to show him that Christians were not under law, but that they sought to please the Lord without being under law.
And he they couldn't quite come to a point of understanding between them.
Came along and they decided to go into a store. And just before they went into the store, the brother who had been showing that as Christians were not under law, were under grace, caught a hold of the coat of the other man. And just before he went into the law, into the store, he said, Now don't you steal anything in this place. The law says thou shalt not steal. He said, What kind of a man do you think I am?
What he said You believe that Christians should be under law, so I was just bringing it before you. The law said thou shalt not steal. Well, neither of them stall in the store. But why didn't the Christian steal? Why didn't the other man steal?
Because they were Christians, they had a new life and a new power. If you're only living up to certain things because you're under the principle of law, you haven't laid hold of the grace of God.
You know what always encourages me in talking to the Lord's people is this.
That every true Christian has the very life of Jesus in him and God will never ask you to do anything as a Christian that the new man doesn't delight in doing.
I delight in the law of God after the new man.
That's the character of the Newman. He delights in pleasing God. Oh, you save it. It's hard. No, God says, I've given you the power. I've given you the power it says God give us, not his spirit. By measure, God doesn't. The Spirit of God is a person. No Christian has more power than another. The only problem is that we just don't always use the power. I often say it's just like a car.
You can have a very fine.
Engine in your car and you can still stall on the hill if you don't step on the gas. There's nothing wrong with the engine, but you're not using the power that's there under the hood, and so you stall. We stall too, not because we don't have a new life, but because we're not using the power that God has given to us.
I was just mentioning the other day. Maybe I mentioned it here or perhaps the bear is repeating. When I was a boy, I.
Remember, we went to a farm.
And I was pumping away trying to get some water out of the pump and the lady came out with a dipper and she said here, here, just pour some water in the in the pump there. And so I had been pumping real hard for quite a little while and I didn't know why I wasn't getting any water. And I just poured in perhaps half of the dipper fold and I got far more out than I put in. It came out, there was nothing. There's plenty of water.
The well, but the pump was out of order. The pump was out of order. If you're a Christian, there's water in the well.
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The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Sometimes you have to pour in something to get it out. But if the person is a real child of God, you'll get a lot more out than what you poured in, because there's water there. And so this is what He's bringing before us here. Principles of law are not the way to correct.
A Christian who's got a way from the Lord. It's to minister those precious.
Things. What is it? Charity out of a pure heart, a good conscience and faith unfeigned it. Go away from the meeting. Oh, I never realized how much the Lord loves me. And I ought to be showing that love to my brethren, and I ought to be in some small degree returning His love. And I don't want to. He's such a wonderful friend, and it cost him so much to put away my sins. I don't want to allow things in my life.
That grieve him when he's done so much for me, my conscience is reached and my faith is strengthened in him to go on in the pathway of faith. Brethren, it isn't law then that's the answer here. That's what that was actually happening in Ephesus. Did they know better than that Well just read Ephesians 2 by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves, but here were people in Ephesus that were teaching love and so.
By grace he saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. The next verse is, For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them. It isn't that people say, Oh, you don't believe in good works, Oh yes, I do, I do, but not for salvation.
But the result of salvation?
Good works indeed.
And so here, where they were under law then, he also brings in his own case an appreciation of grace.
Paul looked back. What kind of a man was he before God saved him? He was a man who was a persecutor and injurious. Mr. Darby translates it an overbearing, insolent man. He calls himself the chief of sinners. Brethren, let's look back to how the Lord saved us. Did we deserve anything?
He saw us in all our sins and all our wretchedness and all our guilt.
And His grace was unbounded. The grace of God, our God was exceeding abundant. He says, oh, and it has been too. And so he says, just think of the grace of God. Just think of what we were. Just think of how we were going on that broad road and he stepped into our lives and He saved us.
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. It's a good thing to look back to that. You know, brethren, I've often enjoyed this thought of the similarity between the remembrance of the Lord and the gospel meeting.
You know, when we come to remember the Lord, what are we remembering? We're remembering Calvary, we're remembering what our precious Savior did for us. That's what we did this morning, His body given and his bloodshed. And in our worship, we're telling God our Father how much we appreciate his love. In sending his Son, we're telling the Lord Jesus how much we appreciate that he came down and bore our sins in his own body on the tree. Then we assemble for the Gospel meeting.
And we're giving the same news to the Sinner. We're telling the Sinner the same thing. What we were telling God, how much we appreciated and how much we appreciated our precious Savior. Now we're telling sinners, He did it for you, and you can receive Him. You can know Him. Yes, there's a great similarity. Let's not forget the gospel meeting, brethren. It's important. We need to reach out and tell others because the remembrance of the Lord just brings it freshly.
To our minds.
So they lost the appreciation of grace. I just want you to notice what was happening here. Other doctrines, endless genealogies, questions.
Getting under law, forgetting grace. Oh, how sad this was. Timothy was left there. Oh, he says. That's a discouraging situation. I wouldn't want to be an emphasis. Well, maybe Timothy felt kind of badly, too. But Christianity is known by what it brings, not by what it finds. He was told to bring something. Bring something that'll warm those people's hearts of God's love, that will touch their consciences, that will.
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Strengthen their faith, and so he breaks out in praise. Isn't this beautiful in this 17th verse? Now unto the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Could you think about love like this and not break out in praise? Could you think of it? How can we sit in His presence like we did this morning and remember Him?
Without just feeling praise welling up in our hearts.
And this is what happens here. This was the way the state of things was corrected. Are you in problems in your home, in the assembly situations that you're meeting? Here's God's answer. And it was a young man named Timothy who had the privilege of trying to be a help to these dear Saints at Ephesus. What a privilege was given to him.
Now I just want to there's a warning here in the end too, this 19th verse, holding faith and a good conscience, which some, having put away concerning faith, have made shipwreck. No, a true Christian can never be lost. But brethren, there's a warning here. If we don't heed these things, if we are allowing something in our lives that gives us a bad conscience.
We're losing that simple faith.
And confidence in God, because a lot of problems have come in our lives and in our assembly.
It's possible to make shipwreck.
Oh, thank God, it doesn't mean that you'll be lost, but there's such a thing. And even a Christian's life, a shipwreck of faith. It's sad, isn't it? Sad. You can have a saved soul, but a lost life. But the Lord wants us to have a life that in that coming day will be manifested to his glory and to his praise.
So he gives it a little charge here to Timothy. He says here in the 18th verse.
This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war, a good warfare. He gives us little charge now to Timothy. I see young brothers here coming up.
The Lord doesn't come. We who are older, not always going to be here, but you're going to have the same Savior, the same one who died for you, who died for us, the same precious word of God, the same power by the Holy Spirit of God.
And the meeting, the assembling of ourselves together, ought to be the happiest place on earth. And if the enemy has succeeded as he does, in bringing in other things, a wonderful.
That you and I can come to the meeting, not just as receivers. I think we do receive, I often receive a lot in meeting, but we can come as givers. Givers, the Lord said to his people of old, none shall appear before me empty. And how could we when we think of what a wonderful savior we have, when we think of what He's done for us, when we think of what He means for us, when He means to us and the future that's ahead of us.
How could we come before Him empty? We had to come with our baskets full, full of praise. And as we see in our times that we come together as brethren to help and encourage one another in ministry and so on. May we come not only with praise to the Lord, but feed the flock of God which is among you. Oh, how great our privileged brethren. I say again, the Lord's coming soon.
The enemy wants to spoil the.
Days of the church's history on earth. He wants us to get all discouraged and sad when we ought to be rejoicing that soon we're going to see our Savior and that we have the privilege, A privilege which they never had in Paul's day, to sit the whole word of God in our hands. They didn't have that privilege in Paul's day. We have it, may we value it, may we praise the Lord for it, and may we share with others.
The unsearchable riches of Christ.