Lassen Pines Family Camp: 2001
Table of Contents
The Work of God for Us and in Us #1
The Work of God for Us and in Us #2
The Work of God for Us and in Us #3
The Work of God for Us and in Us #4
He is Altogether Lovely
Address—Dave Spence
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Opatient Spotless 1.
Our hearts in meekness train.
To bear thy yoke, and learn of thee that we may rest, obtain 174.
Could we read Song of Solomon?
Chapter 5.
Song of Solomon, chapter 5.
Those of you who have not read this book before.
Maybe there are none that haven't read it.
The Son of Solomon is called the Song of Psalms.
Because it is a song of love.
And we all love to read songs about love.
But the songs about love in this world to be compared with this song or nothing.
Not worthy to be compared with this song because this song is a song of Christo's love for his people.
Whether it be Israel.
In the coming day, whom he will call back to himself, and pour out the treasures of his love and glories to them.
Or the Church today.
We can see revealed within the lines of this blessed book.
The Song of Solomon, these wonderful things, the treasures of his love to us.
It is a song of Christ's love and that's why it is called the Song of Songs.
Greater love hath no man than this, the Bible says.
And that a man lay down his life for his friends. So this is a song to the Church, so to speak, perhaps primarily to Israel, but to the Church concerning one who has laid down his life for us.
And what he desires to have from our hearts as a result, that reciprocal affection.
And it is the discovery, beloved friends, of the infinite worth of this Blessed One.
That will change our lives.
FC Blount said that he is infinitely higher than doctrine. Now we need doctrine for our pathway.
John rejoiced that his children walked in the truth, and if we don't walk in the truth, we can't walk in fellowship with him. But he is infinitely higher than doctrine.
It is possible to go on in our lives with doctrine and be cold in our souls, not having fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and maybe kind of an outward way keeping the customs and traditions that are familiar with the brethren.
Such was the case in my life.
And not be in fellowship with him and have Christ as the object before our hearts.
He is the object of faith. He is the object of hope. He is the object of love.
All objectivity go to him and not necessarily to doctrine.
God's desire is that he will be magnified to our hearts while we're here this week.
And he has sought to do that as he reveals Christ by the Holy Spirit to our hearts from cover to cover in this blessed book. It is the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ and His glories and His love that will win our hearts.
And here we will read about.
The exalted bridegroom picking up the shulamite of low degree.
And she said, I am black, but comely because it was what Christ had made her accepted in the Beloved. 1 so to speak. It is what Jesus has done for you and me to bring him to himself, and what He has made us in himself, clothed in the best robe, put a ring on our finger, and choose on our feet. It's what He has made us, not what we could ever make of this mess, this ruin of our lives.
It is the enjoyment of the love of Christ.
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That is the key to all true.
Devotedness.
Worship and service. It is not keeping the letter of the word. It is only having Christ as the object. And as this book begins, she asks for the assurance of His love. But His desire was to bring her into the enjoyment of His love. And Oh dear young people, it is only as we have His love filling.
And thrilling our hearts.
That we will be on fire for him. It cannot happen from our own natures. We cannot say well today I am going to live for Jesus. That's what Peter said and he failed.
Failed miserably.
Though all offend thee, he said, I will not offend thee.
He ended up not only offending the Lord.
But sleeping in his presence, he, you might say, he who professed great love for Jesus in saying, I will never offend thee.
Professed little love for him while he was in the garden sleeping, when Jesus was in agony of soul contemplating the cross.
But no love for him when he denied him with oaths and curses. You see how far down we can go and confide in having confidence in our own strength, in our own love, rather than saying, Lord, I can't do this. You might say he lost Christ as the object.
Of his heart and of his strength as well.
So as we open up the the book of the Song of Solomon begin reading at chapter five, we find that something has happened. She who had had Christ revealed to her heart, you might say the right room revealed to her heart.
She was drifting a little bit in her soul. Did you ever feel like you're drifting a little bit and you've gotten a little bit away from the Lord Jesus? You've become a little bit indifferent.
In your spirit and the affection is not there. You have not been enjoying His love. That's where she is as we begin reading, especially in verse 2.
Let's begin reading with verse one.
I am come into my garden. This is the groom speaking, my sister, my spouse. I have gathered my myrrh.
Mer speaks of Grace, how he comes to his people seeking a response.
A gracious response. Worship, communion, the joy of fellowship.
I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey. I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, oh friends, drink, yay, drink abundantly, oh beloved. The descriptive terms that he uses only conveys to your heart.
The deep desire in his soul.
Of having you.
In the good of walking with him, enjoying his company and having his love filling your hearts.
Verse two I sleep. What a change of events.
One who now was, one who was.
Used as the instrument of blessing to the heart of the groom is now sleeping.
I sleep but my heart waketh. It is the voice of my beloved that knocketh saying open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled.
For my head is filled with dew and by locks with the drops of the night.
I have put off my coat. How shall I put it on?
I have washed my feet. How shall I defile them? My beloved put in his hand by the whole of the door, and my bowels or affections were moved for him.
I rose up to open to my beloved and my hands dropped with myrrh and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh upon the handles of the lock. I opened to my beloved, but my beloved have withdrawn himself and was gone.
My soul failed when he spake.
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I sought him.
But I could not find him.
Called him, but he gave no answer. The Watchmen that went about the city found me. They smoked me, They wounded me. The keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him that I am sick of love or love sick.
Then the question comes from the Daughters of Jerusalem.
What is thy beloved?
We need to be asked this question, beloved friends, what is thy beloved more than another? Beloved, oh, thou fairest among women.
What is thy beloved more than another beloved that thou dost so charge us?
My beloved is white and Ruddy, the cheapest among 10,000. The daughters of Jerusalem did not know relationship with the groom, the bridegroom.
They see one who who is trying to find the one whom her soul loved. But she was not with him. That was a very strange thing.
And so they ask her, What is thy beloved more than another beloved? This question probed their hearts to the very depths. Probed her heart to the very depths.
It searched her motives as to what had come in him in her life to create the complacency, the lethargy, the indifference.
Could we ask ourselves that question, beloved friends?
Do you remember a time in your life when your heart burned?
With the love of Christ.
Maybe it never has.
And I was older in my life when I ever got a taste of anything, as we speak of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Could it be that we are passing through this world onward to our eternal home without the slightest idea of what it means to have a burning heart like those two that went back from a mass to Jerusalem? Their hearts burned within us as He spoke with us, by the way.
It is possible to have a burning heart.
As important as it is to walk in the good of the truth, it is more important to have the burning heart, so to speak, to be in the enjoyment of the truth that we're walking in. That is what will keep us. The truth will never keep us. Is that not right? The truth will never keep us.
To know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge. And she woke up to this after it was too late. She was sleeping, and after she had heard the voice opened to me, my beloved, my love, my sister, my undefiled.
And when she woke up.
He was gone.
What really woke her up is when he put his hand through the hole in the door.
And we could say in the language, spiritual language, she perhaps noticed the print of the nails.
It might be just a fragment of something of Christ brought before you here in these meetings, that will awaken your and my spirits to that wonderful love that we once enjoyed. And if you've never enjoyed it, He wants you to come into all the blessed fullness of His love.
And now to show that she was once in it, because in chapter 2 she said the same thing. I am sick of love or love sick.
His left hand is under my head and his right hand embraces me and she says I am lovesick.
That's what will happen when you sit at the feet of Jesus, a sister told me on the way here, she said.
You know, I've read my Bible just as a matter of getting some information.
Is that how we read our Bible?
Other than allowing it to bring us into His presence, to sit us at His feet as Mary of old did sit at the feet of Jesus, she said. But when I stop and consider who it is it speaking and what He is saying to me personally, oh, my heart is filled.
With such a response to him because it's just as though he was speaking to me personally, and that's how much he wants your heart. That's why his language in this book is very personal. He's speaking to that bride that he loved, that bride of low degree, to bring her into such an enjoyment of himself that nothing else in this world will really preoccupy her.
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It's like Rebecca, who was returning home.
With Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, What did he occupy her with? He is a picture of the spirit of God. He no doubt occupied her with Isaac, her coming bridegroom. And that's what the Spirit of God is seeking to occupy us with in the ministry.
Is the bridegroom that's soon coming for us? But, oh, how is it with us now as we are in this world? Are we passing through, indifferent to such claims?
Asleep in our hearts awaits how the sleep is, the Bible said. And arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee.
He can awaken these hearts. The Bride here was a woke suddenly to realize the one that she had loved so much and been in the enjoyment of that love so very much was gone.
And he only withdrew himself to draw her after him.
In fact, in the first chapter it says draw me and we will run after thee. So he seeks to do that by vanishing out of her presence, as it was with the two on the way. Or I should say, who were enemies, and he vanishes from their presence to make them seekers of himself.
We can't live without him, beloved.
We can't, no matter what we say or do.
You can't get on in your school life. I can't get on in my business life. You cannot get on in your married lives together, in your family lives together without it being Christ and only Him. You can't. Something else will come in.
Some other object from the world will come into that home and rob you of that enjoyment of he himself. And it was so with her. She fell asleep on the desert on the way home, so to speak.
And the daughters of Jerusalem who never knew relationship, they never knew intimacy with the bridegroom.
They ask her what is thy beloved more than another, and it prompts not a premeditated response, not a rehearsed recitation.
It prompts that which she had.
In her heart that she had lost the good of.
Other things came in and replaced that burning love.
That she once enjoyed for her bridegroom.
And now she pours forth this blessed tenfold response.
In the previous chapter, he had spoken of the bride, that is, the bridegroom had spoken of his bride.
In A7 fold description here it is 10.
And she pours out her heart.
In response to the query, what is thy beloved more than another?
And the first thing she comes to is my beloved is white and Ruddy the chiefest among 10,000 That was the first thing upon her. Who is so white, Who is so pure? Who is so righteous as the one that the word of God speaks of, who is wholly harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners?
One who did no sin, one in whom there was number sin.
One who knew no sin.
He made him to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. This is what was brought before her in type.
He is white. He is pure. He is holy.
All of his ways, all all of his thoughts, all of his speaking, perfect holiness and righteousness. And then she says, white and ready. David was of a ready countenance. You know what that means.
He was in the bloom of rosy cheeked.
Youth.
Red.
The blood of Jesus Christ his Son.
Cleanse of us from all sin. What is so red?
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So beautiful to the heart of the believer.
In one sense.
The blood that he shed at the cross.
Without the shedding of blood there is no remission, and in her general description of him of her bridegroom, it is white and Ruddy, the chiefest among 10,000 He as the Redeemer, so to speak, is brought before her soul.
We have not been redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.
Is there one in this company that has never been redeemed? You have never trusted the coming bridegroom, the one who had come into this world, Christ Jesus came into the world to save you.
Have you never trusted that precious blood? And we might say she has seen him, and has believed in Him, so to speak. You have seen Him, so to speak too. In what you've heard about Him and in the scriptures have you believed in the one that you have seen?
This one that was transfigured before them.
On the Mount, the Lord Jesus Christ that is saving faith. When you come to that point where there is no other rescue, there is no other means of salvation. Neither is there salvation than any other. For there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. It's only Jesus, and it's only Jesus for enjoyment and happiness in your life. Only Jesus. That's it.
Nothing more, nothing less. You can't get more. You can get a whole lot less in this world.
But you can't get more than him because he is everything.
His head is as the most fine gold.
Did you ever stop and think, beloved friends? I know you have.
About the head.
Of the Lord Jesus Christ.
O head once full of bruises.
So full of pain and scorn.
Mid other sore abuses.
Mocked with a crown of thorn.
The head here, the most fine gold speaks of divine supremacy.
But man did that very thing to Jesus, crowned him with thorns, that very blessed head of his.
And finally the wrath of God was poured out on him.
Have you ever owned him as your Lord?
The head of your life.
The beloved apostles on the way, that is Saul on the way to Damascus, who became Paul, said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?
That's accepting his Lordship over your life. Have you done that?
You'll never be happy.
Until you do that, you can never be brought into His divine fellowship.
And company, and the sweetness of his love without that.
Never.
You must make him Lord.
Martha, as she stood at the sepulchre, she said. They have taken away my Lord, and I don't know where where they have laid him.
Can you say, My Lord? You may be able to say Jesus as my savior, but can you say?
He is my Lord.
My Lord, can you go to school and say to your friends he is?
Jesus is my Lord.
You see how far we are from ever coming into this place of blessed enjoyment of Him, because there are little elements in our lives we will let slip and let go.
That have caused the effects of his love to be lost from our hearts and minds.
His locks are bushy and black as a Raven. That is the vigor and strength of youth. In this blessed one he never changes. He will fold the earth and the heavens up, as a vesture says in Hebrews chapter One. But thou art the same here. His years shall not fail.
He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
And yet he was cut off in the midst of his years.
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In his youth, so to speak.
But His love will never change towards you, no matter whatever happens in your life. If you've been brought into the family of God, you are as secure today, even though you may have failed in your life.
You're as secure today as the very day you were saved, because nothing can ever change that security. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Not wonderful. Religion can't do that.
But of saving the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ can.
He saves you, He keeps you, He will take you all the way home, but there is loss along the way.
If we allow things to come in, the little foxes spoil the vines.
But the little foxes grow into overwhelming giants.
And we find as we get older, we can't let go of some of these habits of life. It's true young people.
That little habit that you have in your life, it may be just the thoughts of your mind.
It may be something that you are allowing in your life to go on with.
Will become a giant someday.
And that giant someday may become idolatry someday.
And when it becomes idolatry, Satan's power is real to destroy and quench the love of Christ in your heart.
That most wonderful element that is missing so much today in Christianity in general, it's neutralized. Today we're living in days of Laodicea. Beloved, we can't pretend to be living in days of Philadelphia and but by that the scripture shows clearly what is meant.
It is the people's rights in Laodicea.
Indifference to Christ, Heartlessness towards the Lord Jesus Christ. He is dethroned from our hearts in laodicea.
And he was enthroned in Philadelphia.
That's when the truth was recovered.
The testimony of those gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he was owned as head of His Church, that blessed truth was restored. And Speaking of the head, have you ever come to that place, not only owning him as Lord of your life?
But head of the body his church.
He is the head over all things to the Church.
He is before all things and by all him all things consist or are held together. And then it says in Colossians 118 he is the head of his body. The church. Have you owned him as head? I don't mean I'm not asking you if you come to the assembly meetings.
I did for many years and never owned him as the head of his church. This was the blessed truth that was recovered, one of the truths that was recovered in the early 1800s. Man has displaced the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the living head of his church, and he guides by the Holy Spirit when we come together, by His grace in the hour before us.
The Holy Spirit dwells in the house he leads.
He guides where man has misplaced his leadership, his headship.
We own. We have no head but him.
You can make that choice.
This morning.
And even though there are just two or three people where you meet or maybe four or five.
To own the truth and blessedness of he being the head of his body, the Church, When you see it in the word of God, it will mean everything to you. And you will say, I can't leave it, I can't leave the assembly. The truth of Christ in the midst and as Him being the head is so vitally important to my life because it's what He has brought before me as the truth of His work.
Make him your Lord. Own him as the head of his body, the Church.
And you will be blessed in a way that you have never, ever thought, even though there's just a small company. We don't need numbers to make us happy, beloved. We think we do. It's nice to have a wonderful group of of brethren brothers and sisters like this, to sing together, to have fellowship together, to rejoice in Christ together. Nothing like it. Think of what heaven's going to be like with the millions and millions of Saints all singing on key, in harmony together around the Lord Jesus Christ.
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It'll be the same then as it as it is here, and it says in Thessalonians, I beseech you by.
The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto Him, That's it. That is at his coming. It'll be no different there except all of the Saints will be home, all the divisions will be gone, and the divisiveness of Satans efforts behind us.
Will have Christ in the midst. In that day no man will preside an eternal glory.
And may it be so with us now no man presides.
But him?
His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of water. Have you ever gotten close enough to a dove?
To look at the eye of a dove, I have a dove come and lay some eggs and a little flower pot I had hanging outside of my kitchen window.
And he was. She was so protective of those eggs, I could get within inches of her and just examine the eye of that dove.
It was a picture of gentleness.
That's the eye of Jesus.
Gentleness.
Compassion.
In fact, the bridegroom says in chapter one, thou hast dove's eyes. He says that to the bride, one that languishes for her mate.
Attachment.
Languishing after that relationship.
There is no I.
No eyes like the eyes of Jesus.
And he thinks about you, beloved, and he thinks about me every day of our lives. His eyes are upon us.
He is of pure eyes than to behold iniquity.
He looks at us in Christ. Oh, he knows our failures, yes, but he deals with us accordingly in perfect love, faithful love, Sometimes faithful love, but the eyes of a dove. Then it says.
By the rivers of water there were tears that ran down the face and the cheeks.
Of Jesus.
John 1125 The shortest verse in all the Bible. Jesus wept.
Oh, what eyes he has for you, beloved. You fill his vision.
His delights are with the sons of men. He is going to have you and me with him forever, and all of the bride of Christ.
Gathered around him to shower his affection and his love and compassion upon us forever.
All Do you realize how much he thinks of you? How much does a bridegroom think of his bride before that?
Wedding day. Every moment of the day he is occupied with her. He is occupied with you and me, anticipating that day of glory, of course, but he wants that affection reciprocating now towards him.
Washed with milk. Purity of vision.
And fitly set he has an eye for you.
Unlike, maybe an eye for your friend who is in Christ.
He has a purpose for you.
He may order differently for you than he does for your other brother and sister in Christ.
His vision is always perfect towards his own and knows exactly what to give them and to order for them.
We are to be guided by his eyes. Psalm Chapter 37. That Eye of perfect.
Holy vision.
His cheeks are as a bed of spices.
Oh beloved, when we think of the face of Jesus.
It was so marred more than any man.
There is no beauty before the people of Israel that they should desire him. There was no beauty in him that they should desire him.
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The natural eye does not see beauty in Christ. And have you ever thought, how could they ever crucify and murder the Son of God, so to speak?
Because of his loving kindness and the gracious acts of love all for his pathway, how could they take one like that and do that to to him?
There is no connection in the heart, the human heart, with Jesus. It must be through being born again that you'll have any desire for him, or that you will ever see any beauty in Christ.
If you belong to him, you see beauty in him.
To the world, he is detestable.
Detestable The human heart is an enmity with.
Christ.
And they only reveal the enmity of the human heart. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.
Shown out of the cross terrible. The cheeks are an emblem of sweetness and attractive beauty. There is no attraction like his. There is no beauty like him, like with him.
When the world says there's no beauty that we desire him, to the believer he is the only beauty that the only one I'll find true beauty and glory.
Attractive beauty and sweetness.
And what did they do to his cheeks?
His face was so marred. More than any man, they blindfolded him.
And smote him on the face. They smashed him on the face. How many times?
Until his face.
Was sworn no doubt.
And bruised.
And they spit upon that lovely face, crowned him with thorns.
And spit upon him.
Judas kissed him with a kiss of betrayal, treachery.
On the cheek.
His lips.
Like lilies.
Dropping sweet smelling myrrh.
Mer speaks of grace. There is no lips that ever spake like him.
At the outset of his ministry in this world, it says, they marveled at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth.
And when the officers went to arrest him, they said, never man speak like this man. And then on the cross of Calvary, when he was crowned with thorns, no doubt with blood flowing down his blessed face and the spittle running down his face, his hands and feet nailed to the cross, what does he say?
Father, forgive them.
For they know not what they do. He looked at his mother and he said to John, take her to thine own home.
Do we know the heart of Jesus?
Do we?
There is no heart like his. There is no love like his.
In all the world, And again I repeat it, is the discovery of the infinite worth of this blessed One that will give you the assurance of His love as well as the enjoyment of His love, and will keep you from all the alarms in this world, Beloved.
All of them. All of them. It will deliver your heart. It will deliver your mind. It will deliver your feet, your pathway from going off in the fields of sin and pleasure.
But it's only his love as it fills your heart. You won't want the world. It's not a question. Christianity is not a question of making rules and regulation for your life. And while I can do this, but I can't do that when you have the love of Christ filling your heart and know that it were more so with me.
You won't want anything.
To disturb or awaken love as it is mentioned in chapter 2.
That's how he frames it. You will not want anything to disturb your fellowship with such love. It has so won your heart.
And yet we try to discipline ourselves. We need to judge ourselves, no doubt, with all of these issues. But the greater power in your life is going to come from fellowship with this blessed. 1 Knowing him that I may know him in the power of his resurrection, and the Excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, that I may win Christ or have his approval for my life.
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His hands, all beloved. His hands. He had put his hand through the hole in the door. She no doubt had seen the nail prints.
His hands now, she said, are as gold rings. Divine love rings on his finger. I have fought and I'll just suggest this. Does this not speak of his commitment of love to his bride?
That he is going to be married to an earthly bride, no doubt too.
You are going to be escorted, as our brother put it one year escorted past the great ones of the Old Testament.
Moses and Elias, all of those that we read of David.
To the very place of greatest nearness to the Lord Jesus Christ. You are part of that company He calls His bride, and you will be introduced to Him, and He will claim you as His Bride. Those rings on His hand, no doubt pointing forth to that day that He looks forward to.
And what did the world do to those hands?
And that divine love that he showed.
The barrel that is the gem in the gold ring.
Is crystallite. My father had some of that in his collection. It's a yellowish stone in the gold ring that takes on a yellow cast.
And what happens as we are in such?
Fellowship with him, with his love, we take on that very character.
Of gold will never be, of course, like him.
We will be conformed to his image partially here, but completely there.
But that gem that he has is like a reminder of you.
The treasure hid in a field which when a man hath found, he taketh and he hideth it, and he goes and sells all that he has that he might buy the field. You're the treasure, you're the gym, but he's going to change your life.
You can only change it as you get close to him.
The daughters of Jerusalem didn't know anything about intimacy. She did. And as you know something about intimacy, it will change your life.
God hates familiarity. Judas was familiar. My non familiar friend, he said. Jesus said, has lifted up his heel against me. He knew something about familiar arity. We used familiar expressions about and to the Lord sometimes, but do we use intimate expressions as he does?
Towards us.
His belly as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires that speaks of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The deep affections.
He said I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint.
And my heart is melted like wax in the midst of my bowels.
Were affections.
I have a baptism to be baptized with before he got to the crosses. I have a baptism to be baptized with. And how am I straight until it be accomplished?
Deep within him was that reserve until the work of the cross was finished, and then the love of God flowed out through the whole world.
He offered up prayers with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him out of death.
And he was heard, and that he feared.
Tears feeling deeply within him.
The agonies of the cross that were before him, and in the garden he sweat as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground. Oh, deeply within the depths of his soul he felt the suffering ahead of time, and when it took place his heart was melted like wax pits to his bowels.
Overlaid with sapphires, bright ivory out of the ivory palaces. That's where he is today.
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Sapphires are bluish cast. Steve and I were walking up the path this morning and we were saying, oh, the blue, the blue sky. And I noticed that John made these verses in blue.
We have not an high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
But was in all points tempted, like as we yet without sin.
He is there exercising that divine love as High Priest towards us, to help us through this life, to keep us in communion, and to play the Part 2 of the Advocate when we fail to cleanse us from those defiling elements that do come in.
His legs are as pillars of marble.
Set upon sockets of fine gold.
How did he walk in this world, beloved? Well, let's think of a scripture. He left us this example that we should follow his in his steps, who did no sin. Neither was guile found in his mouth. When he reviled and reviled not again when he suffered. He threatened not, and even at the cross not a word of rebuke.
He reduced the penalty from first degree murder.
To 2nd degree, which was forgivable by saying Father forgive them for they know not what they do, but the marble would remind us of continuance, steadfastness and continuance in his reign.
Oh, what a day is coming today. He stepped back from the scene. And yet he is ruling providentially, and he is ruling providentially in your life and mine. Do we allow him to rule to order?
Providentially, you say, Why did this happen to my friend? She was a Christian, and look at she's she's crippled.
She's in a wheelchair.
Or there are those that lay on a sick bed most of their lives. Why does he do that?
It's the strength of his purpose in governing our lives. We need to yield to His purposes because As for God, his way is perfect, and we will see it in the coming day when all are gathered together in that day of glory, His perfection of divine love and wisdom in suiting us.
To be just like Jesus, all having a place.
Little baby that died has a place. Everyone in their place in perfect order.
We may not understand today. We may not ever understand till we get home.
But he has a purpose of love. Yield to him, that's all. Just yield. Submit unto his way. It's perfect.
Set upon sockets of fine gold in Daniel chapter 2. The image was of fine gold in the feet iron and clay. There was deterioration, but not with Christ.
His walk was perfect.
And in perfect purity and righteousness his countenance as Lebanon, excellent as the Cedars, He is the blessed and only potentate. The word of God, says King of Kings and Lord of Lords, is the entire aspect of his person, the bearing of his person. And this world is going to see him in his appearing.
And every eye shall wail because of him, and they will look upon him whom they pierced.
And they'll say, what are these? What are these wounds in my hands?
And he will say, the wounds with which I was wounded in the House of my friends.
Oh, what a glorious person we have before us. The greatness of his glory. We can't fathom it.
What dignity is associated with him as a leader, as the Cedars of Lebanon?
Speaking of his.
Exaltation in glory.
His mouth. And now she comes down to this, his most sweet.
The mouth is a little bit different than the lips. The lips speak of, of course, with myrrh, that divine grace that flowed ever from his blessed speech. How do we speak to one another graciously? Do we?
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Or do we speak harshly, abruptly?
Dogmatically.
Or kindly let your your speech be all the way with grace, seasoned with soul.
As you behold the Savior in His love or in the enjoyment of it, you'll be able to do that.
And it'll change the effect of your friends reactions to you, believe me.
His mouth, however.
Is that which is sweetness.
In chapter one we already mentioned, she said Let him kiss me. With the kisses of his mouth, she won the assurance of his love.
And that is a key to having assurance of someone's love to give them.
A kiss. Beware though, beloved young people, beware of.
That element in your life.
It's a confirmation of true love to someone.
His mouth is most sweet.
She only needed his love, not someone else's love.
Ephraim had strangers that were devouring his strength, and Gray hairs were upon the head of Ephraim.
He had let out his affections to other things.
Yeah, he is altogether lovely altogether.
Altogether, you found other loves in this life that will never.
As she wasn't tired of speaking, it was as though she said. I can't say anymore. I can't say enough. He's altogether, altogether lovely.
This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. She was not an observer.
She was not just a witness to this person, this love.
There wasn't just attachment, she said. This is my beloved. Like Martha, who said he is my Lord, this is my beloved and this is my friend.
Beloved speaks of one who is adored.
Friend is one who you can tell all of your problems to and share your heart. Bury your heart to.
Not wonderful.
So all the way through.
You have a wonderful picture of Jesus.
This is the one that we're going to be in wrapped with for all eternity. But here, beloved, we have the opportunity.
We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. That is our present wonderful privilege to not just be an observer.
To not just look on.
But to say he is mine?
He is my beloved. He is my friend.
Vine Jesus Thine.
Can you say this no more? This heart of mine shall find its joy apart from Thee. The world is crucified to me.
And I belong.
To thee I am yours.
I don't want any other loves in this life.
I want one that is perfect.
Thou art my beloved and my friend.
Could we sing together number?
76 in the back of the book.
Jesus thine no more this heart of mine.
Shall seek its joy apart from the world is crucifix.
To me.
And I am born.
Introduction to John's Gospel
Address—Doug Buchanan
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
I would like, briefly Beloved, to go through the Gospel of John. I usually bite off more than I can chew whenever I open up the Scriptures, but I'm going to do it once again. It's my favorite gospel. I want it to be your favorite too, or at least near it. And I would like you to fall in love with that man that came down to declare God's heart towards you.
The Gospel of John.
Presents to us, as is often said, the Lord, the Lord Jesus as the Son of God. It's God's Son, come down here on earth to reveal what God is like to us. It does reveal in it the heart of man too, but it comes out kind of, by the way, the great thing in this book is to see God's heart because when we get a hold of God's heart.
We want to be there.
He wants us there. It's his purpose. His purpose in sending the Lord Jesus here was that we might be near Him. In this gospel we give the Son of God coming down to earth to raise up the children of men, make them sons of God so that they can go up and dwell with him in glory, and even right now enjoy heavenly things.
It's divided up into 28 days.
Amazing.
Only episodes of 28 days out of the Lord Jesus life here on earth are declared in this book and they there is an immense wealth.
Of.
Revelation about him in 28 days. That's just four times here at Lesson Pines.
Chapter one verse one is the 1St.
Declares unto us in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
This is who is coming down God manifest in the flesh. He was always with God, the eternal Son. Verse nine. We're going to go rather quickly through this. I don't know how far we'll get, but bear with me and tag along if I get ahead of you.
Verse 9 That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. The light shows what is first of all, it shows what God is like to us.
We would have never known God if He hadn't come out in the light to show what He's like. It also shows, by the way, what our hearts are like. But the main thing is what God is like.
Verse 14 The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, that is, God here in flesh on earth among us, for us to see and behold. John saw him, he touched him, he heard him, He listened to him, and so on.
And it goes on in the 14th verse. And we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Verse 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
No man has seen God at anytime. The only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared him. Notice here, it's not the one who came from the bosom of the Father, it's the One who dwells in the bosom of the Father. He was always there, He always will be, and He always reveals as we look at Him, as thus, what God's bosom is like. That's the dearest part, that's the affections of God come out.
Displayed here to us in a man near where we can see, touch and feel of them and we can read about them.
That's the first day. The second day begins in chapter one, verse 29, with the witness of John the Baptist. The next day, verse 29, John C of Jesus coming unto him and says, behold the Lamb of God, a new revelation here, God's Lamb, the one who was the provision for Israel to put sin away.
Was there in their midst. John is announcing him as that.
We know him as the one who came to put our sins away again. John repeats that statement in verse 20 and 35, and he says.
Then again the next day, that's the same day as verse 29, but it's the second time. And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said behold the Lamb of God. This is an explanation.
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From his heart as he contemplated him, another witness to who and what the Lord Jesus was like. The result was that the two started following Him, and they follow him and He in verse 39 He set them to them. No in verse.
He said, they say Him Master, where dwellest thou? Verse 38. They had followed Him a little while. They had seen for something about Him for themselves, and they wanted to know where he lived.
Oh, wonderful.
To find out where God lives because He wants to live with you too. He wants you to dwell with him. And these disciples are about to find that out, but it's a long story. It doesn't end until the end of the gospel. And he says unto them, come and see. Verse 39, they came and saw where he dwelt. And what's the result? Verse 41, at the end we have found the Messiah which being interpreted.
The Christ.
Brilliant discovery. The Messiah.
The Christ was there. How few discerned that. Oh, may our hearts open up to this book and see that he is that. That's the second day.
To witnesses, third day, verse 43.
The day following, Jesus would go forth into Galilee and find us Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. Another disciple, Philip, follows him, and then he starts talking about him.
To Nathaniel.
And Nathaniel's response in verse 46. Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him. Come and see.
Verse 49 Nathaniel answered and said unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel. Another man is discovering something about the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, the King of Israel.
He got the picture, just with a few short words out of the Lord's mouth about him.
What he was and he realized who he was, the Son of God.
Once we get a hold of that and realize who he is, the Son of God here, God here on earth.
It changes us.
That's day three.
Two more, another witness as to His person, what he is. We'll go on to the 4th day, chapter 2. And this is the story of the marriage of Canaan of Galilee, where we know the Lord Jesus turned the water into wine. Notice what it says about Him in verse five at the end. Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. That was the Lord Jesus mother according to the flesh.
The result of doing what he says is the water is made wine, a witness of who he is, His power, what he wanted to do, to bless. This is a figure to us of of taking and making joy and happiness and pleasure here in his presence. And he will do that if you do what he says.
A brief message.
Full of meaning.
We know the story. They took the wine, the water, poured it out, and it became wine. And it wasn't only wine, it was the best wine. The Lord of the Feast commends them for saving the best until last.
Man had already had a history of attempting to find joy on Earth.
The best wine was reserved for knowing Him. Those of us who know the Lord Jesus our Savior would agree to that. It's the best joy and He can bring it. And we often illustrate it in the marriage because that's where on earth.
Joy is shared in its most beautiful form on earth, and so it will be in heaven when the Lord has his bride with him too. That's the end of the story of the Gospel of John. A people together in the Father's house made happy and rejoicing. So that's day four. We go on to day five, chapter 2 and verse 12.
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In this, in this, in this day, the Lord Jesus cleanses the temple.
He goes in and he drives out those who are making merchandise in the temple there in Jerusalem, and he chases them out. And then he says when they question why he was doing this, he says in verse 19, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.
But he spake unto them of the temple of his body. What the Lord Jesus was telling them there was that.
If they were going to ruin God's dwelling place here on earth, then He had a better dwelling place. It was in His body God could come down and dwell with Him. There was a place in him where God could dwell in full liberty and where God's heart could be fully expressed and enjoyed in holiness.
And the way.
To live there was that the Lord Jesus was going to give his body.
So that we could become members of the temple of God and dwell in his place, in his temple, in the body of Christ, in fellowship with him. And so God wants to dwell with his people. He wants their fellowship. He wants your fellowship. That's why we have a gospel meeting every night here. It's an invitation to come in to know the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
To believe on Him, the one who is lifted up there on Calvary, so that you might have your sins forgiven and dwell in holiness with Him. This is day 5.
We go on to day six, the story about Nicodemus being born again. If a people is going to dwell with God, then they must have.
New birth, they must have a new life. The atom life that we inherited from our fathers isn't good enough for dwelling with God. You have to be born again. You have to have the new light. And so he tells Nicodemus this. Nicodemus was a ruler and he thought that he could buddy up to the Lord here as an equal. And the Lord tells him, no, Nicodemus, you got to be born again. You got to have a new life.
And that's true of everyone here. If you want to enjoy this fellowship, if you want to enjoy the things that the Gospel of John presents to you, your first step is to get that new life. And he adds to it in verse 12. I if I have told you earthly things and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you heavenly things? He introduces this because this is really the purpose in the Gospel of John to introduce us to heavenly things.
It wasn't that, just that the Lord Jesus came down to display God's heart here on earth. That's half the story. But the second-half of the story is to raise up these people here on earth and make them dwell with him in heaven. And so new birth is necessary for that.
Flesh and blood shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.
You gotta be born again.
Very basic and then we follow on our brother spoke about that in the gospel about the Lord Jesus lifted up on on the on the pole or like the the serpent of brass was so the Lord was lifted up and we behold him there in faith and we receive.
That new life.
That's day 6.
Chapter 3 and verse seven begins Day 7.
The Lord Jesus is baptized by the John the Baptist on day on the 7th day. This is not the literal 7th day, but it's the 7th day in this book each day. Each time I refer to that, it's the the 7th episode or day in the book.
It was this seems strange to the the John the Baptist why the Lord Jesus should identify as our brother spoke to us that that baptism represented repentance. The Lord Jesus didn't need to repent. He had nothing to repent of. He was perfect, but he chose to come down and identify with that people that took that place of repentance. He was the Savior. He was the Son of God.
The result of repentance was going to bring much blessing.
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If he's there, and so of necessity, he must be with that people. That's his condescension.
To such a low place to identify with those people that took that place of repentance before God.
He was there among them, and those were the very ones with which he began to work His disciples, and he used them to further his ministry to the rest in the outreach that went. So what a beautiful thing to have Him identify here with that people of repentance.
Day 8 begins in chapter 4, the Samaritan woman and how the Lord Jesus draws near to her.
A soul with an honest heart, even though a heart that had sought after many things here on earth. She was not even a Jew, but the Lord Jesus reveals himself to her. Notice what he says in verse.
Tan in the middle of the verse it says If thou knewest.
The gift of God and who it is that saith to thee. Give me to drink. Thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would give thee living water. He's He's drawn out her heart. He wants to win her heart. He speaks this to draw her after himself, and then when she is drawn after him and notices that he is something special.
A prophet, and even more than a prophet, he touches her conscience about her life because.
If God is going to have a people dwelling with him, sin has to be taken care of. You can't have things covered up. Sometimes when we get away from the Lord, we we think, well this just I can get right back to him right immediately. Well, that's true. There is a place of restoration, but we can't do it without getting bowed down to the bottom of the issues or else if we still got some guilt complex in our souls.
When we get into the presence of God.
We won't be able to enjoy full fellowship with him, and God isn't satisfied with anything less than full fellowship. That's why in the story about Joseph, he dealt with his brethren the way he did because he knew that he wouldn't be able to have those those leavened brethren around him in full fellowship if there were still some unjudged things that hadn't been brought out of their heart.
Oh, our God loves us too much.
To be just a halfway savior. We're content some way, sometimes, to be.
Halfway for the Lord, that's not good enough for him. And so he deals with this woman and brings her along until she is a worshipper. She, he deals with her and speaks to her about God is seeking worshippers. But amazing thing, a Samaritan woman, a worshiper. That's not what you were thinking about. They were thinking about the noble, the high, the good people.
That were there. How wonderful it is that people like her could be called to be worshippers.
Day nine, chapter 4 and verse 40. We have an interesting little epilogue here, you might say the Lord Jesus.
Remains 2 extra days there with the the Samaritans and it says many more believed on him.
They didn't believe just because of her testimony, but because they themselves saw that Jesus was.
The Son of God, he was who he said he was. And dear young people, we have these meanings and we speak out these truths from our heart. And I trust in a measure we are sincere and we have imbibed and enjoyed these things from our own heart. But that isn't good enough for you. You've got to take it yourself and make it your own. You've got to see Him with your own eyes of faith and realize what He is to you.
And make it your own. Then you'll be blessed. It's not good enough just to sit here and listen to the ministry or in your home assembly or in your family. You've got to believe it yourself and see it.
So he stayed two extra days to prove that to them. Beautiful Savior.
Verse 43. After the two days he departed to go back into Galilee. Now his ministry is going up into Galilee.
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And he heals the noble man's son there, and he performs the second miracle.
And he, he tried them a little bit about needing a second miracle.
In this noble son who was sick to die, and he tells this noble man he's not going to go up to where that son was. He speaks, he speaks the word only, and the nobleman son is healed. But the Lord Jesus would not come down to times, to this world to accomplish our redemption.
It once is enough, doesn't need a second visit.
Well, we shouldn't need two visits either. We shouldn't need two miracles. We shouldn't need two gospel meetings to believe who he is when once the evidence is presented, to need a second witness is a discredit to who he is and what he's done.
And that's why he chides them about this. But he's patient and he's faithful. And I'm thankful that we've had many, many meetings and that God gave me many, many opportunities to to believe what a patient savior he is.
That's day 10.
Now we go on to the fifth chapter verse one and we have day 11 and this we have the impotent man.
Who is laid there by the the pool? Siloam, 38 years waiting to be healed of his infirmities. And every time there was some blessing there at that place, somebody else beat him to it and he was left there in his condition. It's a picture of the natural man, perhaps the Jew, perhaps you and me in our natural estate. And in our attempt to get the blessing, we get close and then all of a sudden it's gone.
We miss it.
Sin is very degrading. And so the Lord Jesus comes and he lifts that man up, gives him strength and, and the man takes the very bed that had been carrying him for so many years, and he carries his bed. It's a picture of what Christianity does. The law couldn't do that. The law said you had to do this and do that and nobody could do it. And so they ended up infirm on a bed of sickness.
But Christianity lifts you up and gives you power and strength to carry those things that are that used to be a burden to you or carry you.
Power through life and faith in the Lord Jesus. He's here. He's proving it.
Day 12 in Chapter 6.
We have on day 12 The feeding of the 5000, we have the Lord Jesus walking on the sea, and we have Him calming the storm. These are evidences of who he was, His power.
And what he could do, this is ministry for the practical care along the way, the storms of life. The disciples were in the boat and they were rowing. And then.
But he in the power of the spirit, walking on the water, and it's so beautiful how this story ends up.
I like to think of it as a picture of this whole life, or a picture of 1 little trial that we might go through where there's a storm and immediately it says when the Lord Jesus got to the boat or the ship, they were at the land whither they weep that they went.
What it means is when you get the Lord Jesus there, you're at your destiny.
You've got the place of blessing. You're there, you've arrived. He's with you.
In your trouble.
Sometimes we think we have to get out of our troubles before we can be happy. But if you've got the Lord Jesus with you, it says that they were there and they arrived actually at the other side. Well, it's a picture, I believe, of the end of this age when we'll be caught up to, but it's nice to think of it practically.
Doesn't really matter where you are, as long as the Lord's with you, does it?
When Daniel's in glory and he's reminiscent about being in the lion's den, do you think he's going to be up there complaining about that hard night he had?
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No, I believe the Lord was with him there.
And that was his heaven on earth for the moment.
Chapter 6 and a little farther down in verse 22.
They have we have in this chapter the Lord Jesus as the bread of heaven that come down from heaven.
We eat and we live. He's that heavenly man come down here to earth to, to give the ministry that we need for the time we're here on earth.
We eat of him and we live, and it's beautiful to think of this as.
The Lord Jesus as His humanity here on earth is enough to help us in all our earthly circumstances here.
The one who feeds and cares for us as we go through circumstances of life.
It's interesting what our brother was speaking about the other night about the serpent of brass, when the serpents were out there biting the the people and they were dying and their their desire is that the Lord, that Moses would take away those serpents, but the Lord didn't answer or Moses didn't answer them.
From the Lord. In that way He didn't take away the serpents, but what did he do?
He did something better. He gave them a remedy from the bite of death.
And he put up a pole where all they had to do was to look and to live. And that's what the Lord Jesus has done for us. He's come down, He's been lifted up on the pole, He's been lifted up on the cross. And he doesn't, he doesn't necessarily take us out of all our trials and testings, but he says you look and live.
You get through it. The Bread of Heaven ministers to us too, as we go through life's circumstances.
Chapter 7.
We have day 14. The Lord Jesus is, is, is. He's being rejected here.
Their unbelief. You read through this chapter and you see lots of.
Criticism of the Lord.
But he doesn't work.
And they had complained how that he had healed a man on the Sabbath day and they were wanting to keep the Sabbath. They loved their Sabbath day more than that man that was infirm and needed healing and the Lord Jesus.
When he came down to earth to live amongst us and he saw all the degradation and sorrow that sin had brought about, he just couldn't go over and take an easy chair and rest.
He had to work.
He loved us, he cares for us and he would do that even to the criticism of being rejected for it.
That's how much the Son of God loved us.
No, my father worketh and I work, he had told them previously.
Well, we'll go on. There's much more could be said about all of these, but.
In verse 37. Now in Chapter 7.
We have the feast day and the Lord Jesus is there.
And he notice in verse 38, at verse 37, in that in the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me. In this, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
This was the.
Feast of Tabernacles. This was the feast that was the prophetic view of the the millennial reign of peace and joy, when Israel every Monday would dwell under their own fig and vine, fig tree and vine, and they would dwell in booze and they'd be at peace. And there would be any no enemies about them. There would be no danger of anybody coming in and destroying them. They would live in peace and enjoy the fruit of the lamb.
But that had all been postponed because of sin.
But the Lord Jesus stands up a witness and says, I'm the one that can give this. And he gave a witness to all those people there that he would give. He was the source of blessing. They would believe on him. They would not only have blessing, but they would have the source of it. They would have the living waters themselves. Those of us who are born again partake of that new life and that, that and that joy and that blessing.
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So he's offering it there. It's what's going to take place in its fullness in the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus. But he was offering it there, or they rejected him by and large. And so he gave witness to that.
Wonderful gospel message.
Chapter 8.
Now we come to, as it were, a new part of the ministry of the Lord.
There's so much could be said about this chapter. We have the woman taken in adultery here and they are making a big scandal out of her and accusing the Lord, and they're seeking to find fault with the Lord because he was showing blessing to the guilty and to the lost, to the publicans and sinners, and they didn't like that.
And so they bring this woman, intentionally caught, in order to try to prove that the Lord Jesus wasn't right, wasn't righteous in what he was doing.
And the Lord Jesus so beautifully takes care of the difficulty in removing all those those accusers of that woman and setting her at peace. And she's the only one who stayed there with the Lord Jesus until the end to get the final blessing.
Oh, what a lesson for us.
Don't leave the presence of this Son of God who comes. You'll miss everything. And that's what it includes in this book if they reject the Lord Jesus.
There's nothing left for them. There is none of their name under heaven given among men whereby we might be, must be saved is true today. But he was there with that woman, and he gave her.
Forgiveness, even though it meant he was going to have to take her guilt and bear it there on the cross that was to follow later on. Think of that blessed Savior, knowing full well when He forgave her that he was going to have to go up to the cross to bear all of that.
They were accusing him about being unjust about that.
But he's a just savior, and he's a gracious savior.
To get those two things together, remember chapter one, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ and he's holding it forth here. Grace and truth. We didn't deserve to be blessed. We don't deserve to go to heaven at the end of our life.
But His grace has made a way whereby it's possible.
And so this woman is a demonstration for us of that. And then there are other events that go along with it.
He speaks about going away at this time and they couldn't wouldn't be able to follow him. You see, as as the Jews began rejecting him, then his thoughts go out instead of being smaller and smaller and saying, well, they won't have me, so I'll just stick with this littler company. The ways of God are different. Instead of that, he's saying I'm going to go out wider. If you won't have me, I'm going to go out and blessing whiter yet.
The Gentiles are going to hear.
Oh, aren't we glad of that?
Yes, he's gone out to the whole world today. At that time, it was only to the Jews.
Or someone who became like a Jew.
Now in Chapter 9 we have the It's still the same day we have the blind man. It's as I think I mentioned before, it shows the blindness of those who are unbelieving. They became so blundering and made so many mistakes in the 9th chapter. They couldn't see who the Lord Jesus was, but there was one man who went after. He had his eyes open, he saw and he wor.
Him, the blind man, picture to us of ourselves and all our blindness, and the Lord opens our eyes. Aren't we thankful that He has opened our eyes?
Don't close your eyes to the witness that God has given concerning the Lord Jesus. Don't be like the blind.
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Chapter 10.
Still.
It's the still the same day. He's the Good Shepherd and He's the shepherd that goes into the sheepfold, but they wouldn't receive him. And so he's going to take those sheep and he's going to lead them out and there's going to be 1 flock here. The Lord Jesus is beginning to introduce His ministry to the Gentiles and to the Jews who believed, and He was going to take them out of that.
Fold of of Judaism.
To form 1 flock that was going to be the heavenly company that he was going to take to be with him in the Father's house. You see it's a it's a process here. The Lord Jesus didn't come just and say Oh well Judaism is done for strike that off and let's start all over again. No, he came to the Jews. He gave them first chance and then he then.
And that little remnant that that did receive him, he says OK.
You're going to be the first of this new flock and this new place of blessing that I'm going to take outside of Judaism and its limitations and all its boundaries. And I'm going to bless you and there's going to be 1 flock and we enjoy that one flock today. We our little, our, our hymn book is named after that the little flock. What a beautiful thing one people, even though I know Christians are.
Are are separated and divided all over. There's still 1 flock and there's only going to be one in heaven.
This is his. He's planning this now. He's beginning it in this Gospel of John.
Down at the end of the chapter 10, then it goes on to the next day. This is day 17 verse 40 and it goes on in Chapter 11 about Lazarus.
Says in verse one the Chapter 11 now certain man was sick named Lazarus and so the Lord loved Lazarus and he hears about this.
But he stays there.
And I'd like to just kind of speak of these two days together in verse six. It's the next.
Episode he abode there two days. Still interesting. Another two days here. I'd like to hear some ministry on that. But the Lord at this time intentionally stayed two more days in that place, and in the meanwhile, Lazarus had died.
Was this out of control? That's what Mary and Martha seemed to thank. Lord, if that's been here, my brother had not died. I believe it's a picture of Israel. It could be a picture of us in our sins too. We needed to be have a new life. We needed to be brought onto resurrection ground. And so the Lord here intentionally waits.
It looked like it was out of control, but it wasn't if he hadn't let Lazarus die.
And then raise them again. We have missed this story, this witness to his power.
And so intentionally, he lets it happen. It's a purpose of it. It's a purpose of why he let the Jews run their course. And then he brings in something new. But it's not just a redo, a recreation of the old. It's something new. It's resurrection.
Life from among the dead. And so when you are born again, you get this new resurrection life, a life that cannot die and will not die.
Everlasting life. This is a picture of it in the raising of Lazarus from the dead. And So what a what a what a hope we have, what a comfort we have when one of our loved one is laid aside. The Lord calls, doesn't call it death. He calls it sleep. Because it's only temporary and we can call it that too.
Many times on the tombstones we see see that little verse part of a verse asleep.
And Jesus.
Arise again. Those of us that are alive are going to be changed too and receive new bodies.
The life is not going to be changed, but the body is, and so we have the resurrection power.
And that's on day 19. Lazarus is raised and now we have a person on resurrection ground. We notice that following that.
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In Chapter 11 verse 55. Notice it begins day 20.
No, it's, it's on day 21. I'm getting ahead of myself on day 20.
They reject, they make preparations to catch the Lord Jesus, and they.
Are making plans to take him and they demand that if anybody knows who he is to reveal him to him. This is the total rejection of the Lord Jesus. How wonderful it is to in even though we live.
In the same world that would reject him today to go on and it I don't believe it's necessarily God's intention for us to go out and display the Lord Jesus as to be received here on earth. We display him so that he be received individually in the heart by faith, but not that he set up his Kingdom here. Now that's over with for the time being.
But on day 21.
We noticed that.
They have a feast there, they Martha serves, and they the Mary anoints him at his feet, and it's a picture of the heart of those who loved him and how the Lord Jesus accepted that, how much he appreciated that. Today, sad to say, in many circles of fellowship, they think it's more important to preach the gospel than to come and sit at the Lord's feet and worship him.
And pour out your heart. Don't, beloved, forget to give something to the Lord.
Of what you have appreciated about him like Mary. But we noticed that they they want to put Lazarus to death because he's a witness to the resurrection power of the Lord. And that's a picture of what it's like to be a Christian on resurrection ground. Here you follow this risen Savior with that new life, and you will find that the world doesn't want you either.
Never mind, the Lord Jesus appreciates you.
And he cares for you.
Chapter 12 and verse 12 we have day 22.
And in this the Lord Jesus rise into Jerusalem as the King. He is formally presented here to people receive him. He was the King, but there is also rejection of Him, and he is about to be.
Rejected. And he speaks to himself as the corn of wheat to fall into the ground and die. He's on his way up to Jerusalem now for the last time.
He's about to give his life. He's that corn of wheat, that a grain of wheat has fallen in the ground to die, to bring forth much fruit. We are the fruit of his death and resurrection. And this is a necessary thing for God the Father to have a people with himself.
He must. He was the only person.
Only one capable of going down and robbing death from the enemy of our souls and giving us life.
And so he speaks about that.
Then I go on in chapter 13.
We begin the upper room ministry.
This is the longest section in the book of John. It goes all the way from chapter 13 all the way through chapter 17 into chapter 18 part way. It's called the Upper Room ministry. And this was that night there when he was to be betrayed and the Lord gathered his disciples that little.
Small group of those that were followers of him and in these series of chapters and we won't be able to go over them in much detail.
But the Lord Jesus reveals to them what he is about to do.
And how he is going to.
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Depart out of the world and once he's gone, he's going to take care of them while he's gone.
He's going to he's going to be like one who washes their feet.
So that we can have fellowship with him.
That's the that's what the Lord Jesus is doing now in heaven in cleansing us.
Because we would get dirty with sin, but we are not that it is not to maintain our salvation. It's the maintained fellowship with him. That's why it says with him, if I cleanse, if I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. He tells Peter, that's the what the Lord Jesus is doing in heaven now. But he's telling his disciples because he this was his last night with them. And so in this last night he unfolds through them.
Whole history, as it were, of what's to follow after his death, of how he's going to be taken up into heaven, and then he's going to come back. And so in chapter 14, he speaks about the Father's house. That's where he was going to go, but he said he's going to come back. We're still waiting for him to come back.
Chapter 14.
We're still waiting. What a wonderful prospect. Chapter 15 speaks about how we can bear fruit while he's gone abiding in Christ. You have to be close to Him in the vine. He's the fruitful, that one, the only fruitful one, and we have to abide in Him. Without him, we cannot bear fruit to God at all. What a wonderful way, though, that we have the ability to bear fruit.
Chapter 16 is about the comforter.
And that's going to be with us. That's the Holy Spirit to care for us while the Lord is away. The Holy Spirit has come down to seal us, to take care of us, and so on.
Then in chapter 17, we have his last prayer there. It's where he as the perfect servant takes the oath of the of, of service to serve forever. And he says, I don't want to go back to heaven alone, Father. I want to have my people there with me. Well, and he asked the Father to let him have. That's the only time in the Bible where the Lord Jesus.
Expresses His will to the Father. Of course it was the Father's will, but he expresses it in this prayer that He wants you and me, those of us who believe on Him as our Savior. The redeemed ones. He says, I don't want to leave them on here on earth. I want them to be with me in heaven so that they can behold my glory.
Beautiful prayer on our behalf. If the Lord hadn't appraised that prayer, we'd have never had entrance into heaven.
Then in chapter 18, we begins his rejection. It's also the first part is on day 23 where Judas comes and two things happen there. Judas betrays him and Peter denies him on day 23.
It's sad. Many lessons there. Bobo, you must go on Day 24 begins chapter 18, verse 28, before Caiaphas in the judgment hall. He's condemned there. He's rejected because of two things, especially because he was king and because he was son of God.
And he truly was both, and that was his crime, and he died.
For that crime, do you have any doubt that he is that what of abundant proof?
Day 25 chapter 19 and verse 38, Joseph and Nicodemus, they take his precious holy body and put it in it in the tomb and annoying it and it's a witness to the death of the Lord Jesus important Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again the third day if the Lord Jesus hadn't have died.
We hadn't had this witness, this day of witnesses.
We wouldn't be sure about the end of our sins.
The end of our old Adam man. Where would it be if there had still been some life in him?
But he died and he was buried.
Chapter 20 Verse Day 26 And Mary and the others go to the sepulchre to see him there, and he reveals himself to Mary Magdalene.
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And he says.
Let's read it. It's one of the most important verses of this gospel.
Chapter 20 and verse 17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my father, and your father to my God, and your God.
What would it have been if he said Mary, I'm going up to my father and to my God, Goodbye.
Oh, he says. He's your father now. He's your God.
Hear God, Don't you want to be with him there? Don't you love him?
Oh, what a heart that. Can you imagine Mary there? Picture yourself there as she was there. What a rejoicing, what a comfort to her heart. She had loved him here as a man here on earth, and now she was learning to love him as the one that went up to the Father. Do you love him there? Do you see him that way? Do you see God as your Father too?
He's revealed them to you. That's the blessing.
Well, there's other there's one other. There's two days left, Day 27, eight days later and verse 26 of chapter 20.
He appears eight days later into the disciples, and this time Thomas is there. It's a special revelation to one that was unbelieving. It's that it's it's as if he waited an extra week here just for one of them because he wanted that one to Thomas. And Thomas did believe, and he gives a blessing to those who believe without seeing.
And that can apply to everyone of us here. We can believe without seeing with our physical eyes that is.
Beautiful the last day is the last chapter chapter 21 of John day 28 and we have here the.
The fish multiplied. Peter had been discouraged and was fishing, and he caught nothing. He feeds them on the seashore there ministers to him, he reveals himself to them, and he restores Peter.
And he gives us that.
Or he gives Peter anyway that.
The word feed my lambs, shepherd my sheep, feed my sheep.
And so he gives them that Commission.
And may we respond.
In a way.
Love it, he tells Peter.
Lovest thou me?
More than these.
Do you love him?
Have you seen in this son of God something that makes you want to respond?
Oh, he's everything, he said.
And he's presented here to you and me this afternoon. Do you love him? If you love him?
Take care of his sheep. Prove it.
What a what a motive for service for us. Our brother was speaking to us about service.
There's no obligation here. It's a question of love. Love is the main strength.
The main basis of Christianity.
And it's left open to us.
It ends up with many other things that couldn't be written in books.
And it's true, but we have 28 days worth. May the Lord bless it to your heart.
And see in those 28 days that he is the Son of God.
Shall we pray?
The Person of the Christ
Address—Doug Buchanan
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
To introduce our subject this afternoon, I'd like to turn to a few verses in the Proverbs chapter 30. We'll begin reading with from the first verse, Proverbs 30, verse one.
The words of anger, the son of Chica, even the prophecy the man spoke unto Ethiel, even unto Ethiel and Yuca.
Surely I am more brutish than any man and have not the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom nor have the knowledge of the holy.
Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended?
Who hath gathered the wind in his fists?
Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name and what is his sons name? If thou canst tell to Matthews Gospel chapter one verse one, the book of the generation of Jesus Christ.
The son of David.
The son of Abraham.
Now it'd be nice to read the whole book, but we won't do that.
We'll turn over to the last chapter.
Get the conclusion Matthew 28.
Verse 18 And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo.
I am with you.
Alway even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Well, I read these verses.
And rather odd verses about being a brutish man.
Perhaps I could suggest that Agar, in his search to know God, in his search to find the man, the man.
The holy One, the one in control.
It was a feudal search.
And don't know if he found it or not, except maybe by faith.
But I'd like to suggest for us a different perspective to those verses, those of us who have seen and come to know the Lord Jesus.
God's Son come down to earth as man.
Displaying all that God wants displayed.
By his creatures.
We have such a wealth of information, such a wealth of beauty and things to lay hold of.
Will never scratch the surface.
The Lord Jesus Christ, I would like to talk about Him.
Before this meeting, I asked the Lord to fill me up with the Lord Jesus.
Well, I think he did.
I don't think I'll be able to get it all out.
But I hope there's something here for you in these scriptures that we read to lay hold of Him.
This morning we had him before us in our meetings and.
In fact, I'll confess that quite a few of the hymns and scriptures they took right out of my mouth.
Are of my heart to speak on.
That there's plenty more, plenty more we have in this book.
Genesis through Revelation.
The story of two men has been said.
Let's turn back to Genesis chapter one briefly. I'm not going to spend very much time in the Old Testament.
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Genesis 1 verse one. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Chapter 2, Verse four. These are the generations of heaven and the earth.
Chapter 5, verse one. This is the book of the generations of Adam.
In the day that God created man.
In the likeness of God made he, him, and so on. And we could go on and we'll find that there were.
There are 12 generations in the book of Genesis describing the history of man that continues on through the book of Genesis all the way up to the end of Malachi.
Adam and his race, his genealogies, of which everybody in this room is a member.
We're all partake of his life and flesh, His nature.
Now we turn what we read over in the book of Matthew starts out.
A different generation, a different genealogy.
The Lord Jesus Christ, the 2nd man, the last Adam, and that's what we purpose to talk about Genesis or Matthew 11, the book of the generation of Jesus Christ.
It's interesting here, the son of David, the son of Abraham, if you'll trace through those generations in the book of.
Of Genesis, you'll find that Abraham is left out.
I was always going to ask one of the older brethren why that was. This afternoon the Lord told me why.
It comes in right here.
Matthew 11.
By faith, that is a rather, Abraham was the father of the faithful.
The Father of faith, and he became the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so the chapter that was skipped over in the book of Genesis.
This book of Matthew takes up.
The Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, I enjoyed that. That's what we want to talk about.
Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham, that is he this this gospel and therefore this gospel gives us the Lord Jesus presented as to the Jews, their King, their Messiah, the son of Abraham, who was the father of the Jews, the beginning of that race, the the first king was David.
And he is their King, the Lord Jesus.
Was born a king.
We had this morning the superscription that was written over his cross. This is Jesus.
I better I better read it so I don't misquote it. This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. What a story.
A king on a cross.
Never happened before in the history.
A king crucified.
And he is our Lord and Savior. Well, I'd like to go on now.
Trace through a few scriptures in this book. Well, before we do that, I should comment on the last chapter.
All power is given me in heaven and on earth.
There you see the final.
End of the story. The Lord Jesus.
In control, the very one who was rejected by his people is the one who has all power given to him.
Do you believe that?
Do we really believe that all power is in his hands now? That's what the proverbs, that's what Agar was brutish about because he didn't lay hold of that. But we've read this story over and over again.
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About the birth of the Lord Jesus, who he was, His name and what it means, you know, just before I came here.
Yesterday morning when we went down to the airport.
There was a air show going on and the Blue Angels were there and all seven of their aircraft were sitting right there where we were. And so we walked out and we took a little tour some of the airplanes there and I noticed on the side of every one of those Blue Angels.
Was written the name of the captain of each one number one, number two, Lieutenant so and so.
And I saw those lieutenants walk out there and climb into their cockpits and fire them up.
And get ready to take off.
Their name was written there. A name is important. We've been talking about the name of the Lord Jesus. You know, I thought about inviting somebody to come up here and introduce themselves as their name when somebody comes up and you meet them and there's a lot of people here that I've.
Never met before, at least I don't know your name.
But we ask people, what's your name?
Well, somebody comes up and says, well, my name is Bill.
Well, who's Bill? I know lots of Bills. Who's Bill? Or who's John? I know lots of Johns, but that doesn't mean anything to me other than it's the name of the Bible. But then somebody may say, oh, he's the son of so and so. Oh, I know that man. And immediately we begin to form a relationship, a feeling of mutual understanding between one another, the name starts to mean something.
Or when I walk up to the side of that Blue angel's jet there and I see.
Lieutenant So and so there then all that name starts to identify with me something that that man has done or is doing or a position that he has.
At More.
That's what I'd like to do with the Lord Jesus this afternoon.
We'd like to look at some of his attributes, what he stands for, what his name means. What is that to you? Where did he come from?
What is he able to do?
Oh, that's the Lord Jesus, all power.
Is given me. He has it in his hands. Well, we'd have to read the whole book of Matthew, the whole Bible.
To really find out who he is, but we'll notice a few scriptures. Let's go on down now in chapter one of Matthew.
Verse 18.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise.
When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost, then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these things, behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph.
The Son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife.
For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost, and she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.
Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son. They shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us.
Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the Angel of the Lord had bidden him.
And took unto him his wife, and knew her not until she had brought forth her first born son, and he called his name Jesus.
It's amazing here how?
The very one who would be perhaps the least likely to want and take that child and name it is the one who does name him Jesus.
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He was not the true Father of the Lord Jesus the Holy Spirit. God the Spirit had come down and caused Mary to conceive the Lord Jesus Christ, and so he was both God and man. He was.
Of the Holy Spirit, and he was conceived in a human womb.
In the Virgin Mary.
A holy child.
God was his father.
Mary was his mother.
But he gets inheritage here.
Of the kingly line Joseph.
His father. His father.
That is according to right? Because it says.
He called his name Jesus. That's what the Lord had told him. Thou shalt in verse 21, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. Mary did not name him. Joseph gave him his name.
The Lord Jesus received the birthright of Joseph of the mind of David. He was heir to be king.
That's his title here in the Gospel of Matthew, and Matthew develops that all the way through. We've seen it on the cross. This is Jesus, the King of the Jews and so on. Beautiful story, a king, royalty.
But more than that, here it says.
His name shall be, he says.
In verse 7. The prophet in verse 22.
And shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us.
God come down in flesh.
Now we'll we'll notice that.
As we go through a few just a few little excerpts out of this book, we'll notice how that the Lord Jesus Christ.
Displayed and proved to those around him and to us who read this book that He really was everything that he was spoken to be. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is in John 8.
Where they asked him, Who art thou?
Now, if somebody asked you that, somebody asked me that.
I'm probably going to tell them what my name is.
The name that my parents put upon me.
The Lord Jesus didn't answer that way.
He said, I am altogether that which I say unto you, That's not the King James translation, but that's the sense of it.
Everything that the Lord Jesus pretended to be by name or action, he was.
Now to get down to ground level here, so all the young ones can understand. If somebody asks you who you are, another way I might answer. I might say I'm Doug Buchanan and I am a farmer.
And there will be a lot of people in this room that will immediately say, oh, yeah, I know what? I know a little about farming. I'm a farmer, too. I know. And they'll immediately be something there between us, something conveyed.
The Lord Jesus didn't answer that way. He said everything that I represent to you to be I am. That is, His actions were considered perfectly consistent with everything that he was named. He's named Savior Jesus, which means Savior. Was the Lord Jesus a savior?
The Savior. Yes, He was the savior. He is the savior.
Is done as much as he has to save his people from their sins. He is Savior and when he took that name as Savior.
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It meant that he was going to have to go to the cross to prove who he really was, that he would be what he came to earth to be, to be a savior. That's just one thing. He was Emmanuel, God with us. He proved that God was here on earth with his people.
Read the book of Matthew. It's all through the book.
And every other name I wish I had brought with me this there's a text, there's a great big text out of all the names that the Lord Jesus.
That belonged to him.
There's over 100 of them. I couldn't begin to enumerate the mall. We have two here.
Savior, oh Jesus, Emmanuel, Christ, the son of David, son of Abraham, and the list goes on. He was all of those. It's interesting how often we, you know, we have a saying, we put our best foot forward.
Usually the first time we meet somebody there, we try to make the best impressions upon them so they see the best side of us. Why is that?
We have to admit because there's a lot of bad sides to us.
It wasn't that way with the Lord Jesus.
None of that. He was everything and he displayed it when he came down here.
He's he's the answer to everything we every need we have.
You look at the list of all the things that the Lord Jesus is, all the names that he takes upon him.
And they accuse him of not being that and will notice some of those. Some of the things that he said when he was on the cross we had about it. He saved. Others himself he could not save as if he was a weakling there, hanging on there, as if he was one who was a victim of their power and the circumstances of the day.
And that because he was a weakling. He's coming to his end.
Is that what you? Is that the picture you get when you read the story of the cross?
It's not the picture that I get. It was the picture that the world tried to make evident of him. He wasn't a weakling there. They didn't take his life from him.
It wasn't because his best friend betrayed him and that he fell into bad circumstances that he ended up there.
He went there with purpose of heart to save you and to save me. There was a reason for him.
And so many didn't get the point. Everybody missed it. They didn't see who he was.
Have you seen who he is?
Is he your savior?
Have you seen that he died for your sins there?
Is he your Lord? Do you let him dictate your life?
You know, we talk about how hard it is to go through life. I want to make a suggestion. It's the easiest thing in the world to do if you have the Lord Jesus before you.
Oh yeah, there's hard things, but the answer is always simply found in him.
Do you need comfort?
He said come hurt her.
Do you need encouragement?
He's that.
You name it, whatever the need.
You will find a resource in him.
Now we must go on.
I'd like to.
I'd like to go to the second chapter, Matthew chapter 2.
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judah, in the days of Herod the King, behold, there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the King had heard these things, he was troubled in all Jerusalem with him, and when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes.
Of the people together he demanded of them where Christ should be born, and they said unto him in Bethlehem of Judith, Judea.
For thus it is written in the prophets.
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In verse 8 we'll drop down. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child. And when you found him, bring me word again that I may come and worship Him. When they had heard the king, they departed, and lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them till they came and stood over where the young child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshipped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
What a phenomena.
For a newborn child.
Is there any question who has the control of the stars in his hands?
A little newborn baby in Bethlehem in a major.
Where the horses feed laying there.
And a star is directing people.
Someone with a willing heart.
A searching eye, willing heart to go and to find him.
Had this ever happened before?
Who is this child?
The story speaks for itself.
It's God.
It's the controller of the universe, it's the creator, but it isn't a creator. That's a long ways off our off where we don't have access to them. Job complained about that, and he was full of himself and he was arguing about his own righteousness.
And he complained that God was not dealing with him fairly and he was far away, and because he had a lot of power, they weren't meeting on equal ground and therefore Job was in his predicament that he was.
Dear friend, dear brother and sister in the Lord.
Here we have an answer to Job, an answer to you, a little baby down in the Manger. Is that low enough for you to get relate to?
And yet.
He's controlling the stars.
Well, these three men doesn't say three sorry. These men presented their gifts. Well, I believe we've had the privilege of doing something like that this morning in our remembrance pouring out to him. Endured what our brother spoke on that this morning. But I'd like to go on now in the book and let's turn on over to the 11Th chapter.
Matthew, Chapter 11.
We'll begin with the second verse.
Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto them, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again, those things which ye do hear and see. The blind receive their sight and the lame walk. The lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear.
The dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them, and blessed is he.
Whosoever shall not be offended in me.
I'd like to before we go on, I'd like to just comment a little bit on this.
The setting here is that John with the forerunner to announce the coming of the King, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And he had faithfully announced that the Lord Jesus was their King to get ready for him to repent, deal with their sins, get get yourself in the frame of mind and the state of soul to receive the King, for here he is.
And what had happened to him?
He lands up.
In Is this what was supposed to happen when the king came?
And I believe we can relate to a little bit of the feelings of John.
And I think that many times we have similar feelings when everything doesn't go nice and rosy in our life and problems come along in our life and we seeking to go on for the Lord. And yet one thing after another of hindrances and problems. And I doubt if there's anybody here, I don't know if there's anybody here that's been put in jail over it or not. I won't ask for a show of hands.
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But I really doubt that you've been up where John the Baptist was.
You haven't had it as bad as he did, in other words.
But yeah, we relate to those things. We feel that when there's injustice.
And so John sins from the prison.
To the Lord Jesus. And if I understand the sentiment here, he's saying.
Lord Jesus, if you are the King, why are you allowing me to be here locked up?
And all this injustice going on.
It's not a wrong feeling.
But what we allow the feelings to carry is to could lead to wrong things. Yes, the Lord Jesus graciously answers this.
Let's go on and read.
Verse 7.
And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see a Reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see man clothed in soft raiment?
Speaking about a king.
Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in King's houses. But what went ye out to see a prophet? Yeah, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
For this is he of whom it was written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist, notwithstanding he that is least in the Kingdom of heaven.
Is greater than he.
We'll just stop there. Well, I think it's so lovely how this ends up about the Lord.
The Lord, in answering John, he speaks about what John did, where he went. You see, John had gone out. He was. He didn't grow up in the normal.
Place of education of the Jews, which are abandoned with the Scribes or Pharisees, or one of the sects of the Jews at that time.
John the Baptist grew up place all by himself.
Independent, separate from all the influence that Judaism had degenerated into so that he could be a.
Suitable messenger to announce for the king. That's why it was necessary for John to be dressed like he was and to eat the food that he ate. To be different. It wasn't just to be different for different sake that he was. That way he had to be separate from a wicked and adulterous generation, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to carry his message.
Properly.
It won't do to be like a lot and go back into the city and tell them that you got to leave the city because God is going to judge it.
If you've been living in the city, unlike the city, your words won't have any power.
John the Baptist was different. He was a separate man. He wasn't contaminated with any of those things. And he went out and the people found him oftentimes in the wilderness then.
And so the Lord asked, well, why did he, why did he go out there? What was he looking for? He's kind of taken him up on their, what their line of thinking is, because where do you find kings? You find kings out in the wilderness.
No, that's not where we look for kings.
But he was there.
He was there, he was in the Manger, he was out in the wilderness.
He was a Carpenter, he worked for a living in that way, and he was a king.
And this is the answer that he gives to John the Baptist.
But it doesn't stop there.
Commends John for his ministry.
Their king was there.
They were missing the boat as to.
00:35:00
Acknowledging him and receiving him as their king, if they had received his. Him. Oh, he was prepared. He had the power. He had shown the capacity to do.
All that was necessary for a king to do.
It's been said if the world had received him then we wouldn't have any hospitals in the world today.
We wouldn't have any wars in the world today.
And how many other things we wouldn't have to use pesticides and herbicides to kill all the bugs and the diseases and all of those things.
Did the Lord Jesus display that He was able to remedy all those things? Yes, he did.
And yet there was a man that was doing all this, and it seems like their eyes are blinded, they cannot see him.
Interesting in that 9th chapter of John that we read about the blind man, you know.
You know, there were a lot of, there were a lot more blind men in that chapter. If you read that chapter, you'll find there were a whole lot more blind people in that chapter than that one man.
They were a whole lot blinder than he was.
Because when the Lord Jesus opened his eyes, his physical eyes.
He saw how the Son of God and he worshipped him.
He saw him for who he was and all those other people.
One evidence after another evidence and they can't see him.
They miss it. Why?
Will for heart.
Will for heart.
Wouldn't happen.
Oh, dear friend.
Don't have this willful, stubborn heart.
Don't say no to the Lord.
Look at him. Who is he to you? Is he really everything?
He said he was.
Oh, maybe we know it in our heads, Maybe we believe it in our heads, but do we really believe it in our hearts and in our actions and how we behave?
Well, here the Lord is telling John.
Look at all these evidences, the blind that see all this.
Is there any doubt that I'm the king?
Well, I'm sure John had to say, Oh yes, Oh yes. But he couldn't understand the rejection. He couldn't understand him being king and not wielding his power and just putting it on display before everybody right then and now. And that's what.
That's the generation that we're living in to the now generation. Everybody wants it right now.
There's no that's not new. It's always been in hard man that that is we. That's natural.
Oh, the Lord Jesus has a perfect plan.
He isn't just all powerful and he's not a person who has to just put it on display to convince everybody for just for display sake or just for the sake that they will not acknowledge him for what he is at that moment. It has to fit in with his whole plan.
And he has a plan.
And he's coming back as king. It's part of that. And we've read in the end of Matthew about all power being given and he sends the disciples out. And we have that now. And that's why we baptize people in the name of the Father and the Son of the Holy Spirit, because we believe that the Lord Jesus has all power and we own allegiance to him, and we make disciples to his name.
Because he's the one in control.
And he's going to execute it all when the right time comes.
And that's why in the last part of this here in the answer.
When he speaks about how what a wonderful person John the Baptist was, he adds a footnote to it and says never notwithstanding he that is leashed in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
That's because the Lord Jesus, when he or as he forms his Kingdom right now and this time through the preaching of the gospel, and everyone who enters into that Kingdom is going to be in a far better and nearer relationship than anyone like John the Baptist here on earth.
00:40:23
Who lives to possess the Kingdom here on earth?
Which part do you want to partake of? The part in heaven with Christ?
For the part down here on earth now, they're both places of blessing, but the Lord Jesus is introducing and it's just starting to introduce this subject here of how of the formation of his Kingdom. And we spoke about that previously about the Kingdom of heaven.
But what a wonderful thing to see that the Lord Jesus has all power to own Him, to enter into his Kingdom, even though everything outwardly seems in ruin. And may we find comfort in this when things don't go our way, that it's still the time.
Before the Lord Jesus is going to put aside.
All the effects of sin, all the works of man, and all the present kingdoms, and all the other things that are passing in here.
Forgive me a little personal story that happened yesterday.
You know, I started out yesterday morning to come down to come out here and we flew out. We had plane tickets to fly to San Francisco and then rent a car and come here. And because we didn't want to ride so late, we decided, well, we tried to board a earlier flight and see if we could get on standby and come out here and get to Lassen on a little nicer time.
And and so on. Well, we got out the airport, checked in. They were very kind to us and let us.
Check our baggage through.
Early on an earlier flight and they said, but we plane this full we'll have to wait till the last minute and see if there's a flight, I mean see if there's availability of seats. So we go out to the gate, we're out there and and.
Plain fills up and all these people get on and we're crossing our fingers there's too many people, looks like there are too many people getting on. We're not going to get on this flight. And so finally after everybody gets on, we go up and ask the ticket, ticket counter and she says.
We have one vacancy.
Well, we weren't going to split up into two and so we had to thank him and say, but no thanks, we won't take that seat. Well, I was, I was a little down about that. So we go out and I see the Blue Angels and I tour around and see these, see these airplanes and spend some time with my grandchildren and children and enjoy it. Few hours later we go back, check in, get our flight, go up to Detroit, we get up there.
And we taxi in and there's no room for us at the gate. And the pilot comes on and he says, sorry, ladies and gentlemen, we're 19 minutes early and they don't have a spot yet here for us, but they'll have it in a minute. And so sure enough, they did and we got in there early. We walk in the airport terminal and start walking down and we look up on the screen to see where our next flight is. And.
The flight that we had earlier flight that we had wanted to catch the San Francisco was says now boarding. Well, we walked quickly down there and we get on the earlier flying and get in.
Well, I think here what an example. This is what life is like. God is in control. My Savior is king. He knows what he's doing. I had my cake and I eat it too. I got to take go look at the Blue Angels and I got on their earlier flight both.
That's a little example.
When we don't understand, like John the Baptist, what's going on and why these problems are coming.
Don't fret about it. Look up to your King. Look up to the Lord Jesus. Recognize He's in control.
Seek the good Ever enjoy the moments that your cars broke down along the side of the road where you're sick, in the hospital where you failed your exam?
00:45:01
There's a blessing in it for you. He's such a God. He's in so much in control. He can even control when it looks like it's out of control.
You know, if I am in control of something, I have to pretty much have things organized. But if things get disorganized then I lose my ability to manipulate and make things go the way I want them to go. But God's not that way.
This confused state that's out there where the Kingdom of heaven is formed is in control by the Lord Jesus. All things, all things.
Well, let's go on to in our chapter.
I'd like to drop down now a little farther and consider the last verses of the 11Th chapter.
We'll begin with the.
Verse 25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and has revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed, seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father.
And no man knoweth the Son, but the Father.
Neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whom the son, whomsoever the Son, will reveal him.
Come unto me, all ye that are that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Now this is another sequel to the story about John the Baptist being in prison and the the misunderstanding of the ways of God at that time when the Lord was here on earth. Because you see, they thought the Lord was going to form a Kingdom on earth right then and there. And then they were going to sit on 12 Thrones and around under the Lord and he was going to use them to dispense blessing out to Israel.
In all the nations of the world. But that wasn't coming to pass.
And here the Lord Jesus, instead of that being received as a king, he Pikes, and they don't dance.
They don't sing when they ought to sound.
Their hearts are dead.
They don't get it.
They're missing out.
Do you get what God's doing in your life?
Are you willing to look to see to the Lord Jesus Christ and see what He's doing in your life, how He wants to bless you?
Who is it that understands this? Is it human intelligence? Is this just for the best educated?
No, the opposite.
A meek and a humble heart.
And so God the Lord Jesus Christ.
He thanks God that there's somebody, there's some souls that are laying hold of it in the measure and he praises God for that.
At that time, Jesus, I thank you for the Lord of heaven, because thou hast hid these things in the wise and prudent, and hid revealed them unto babes.
A baby. What's characteristic of a baby is it doesn't reason. It believes everything you say to it, everything you teach it. It's only after a few Hard Knocks that they start doubting things. Got a little grandson. I enjoy the grandchildren, I enjoy you little children, but even the littler ones.
So interesting to see that they don't have any fears until they fallen off their chair a few times or fallen down the steps and then they Start learning the hard way some of these things.
Oh, to have a heart before him like that. Obey the heart of a babe, to receive from the Lord Jesus what He would give to you of Himself.
Don't distrust him. You can be like that little baby and believe everything he says because it's true.
00:50:04
You can't believe everything everybody says, but you can believe everything that he says. He's all that he pretends to be, and he'll never let you down.
And so these ones, like the babes are getting the picture. They're laying hold of him a little bit and he thanks God for that. And what is the result of this?
It's communion with God, It's knowing God and his Son, Jesus Christ. This is the circle. This is the place we're brought into blessing.
Well, it's interesting.
Verse verse 20 says verse 27 says all things are delivered unto me and my father that is.
The Lord Jesus as man here, the King, the Messiah come down to earth, was one man that God could.
Deliver over everything and entrust to his care and keeping. You see, Adam was put in that place in the beginning.
And he failed and he lost control because he sinned, He doubted God, and he turned from God. He didn't obey explicitly.
And he lost control, and we're still seeing the devastating effects of that today. Thank God that the Lord Jesus is going to undo that one day. That's one of the last things that he's going to do. He's going to do away with death. The last thing, the very last enemy that's going to be put down is death.
That's going to be done away with.
Well, there's a man here nearby that has that power.
You know, I think about the story of Jonah, when Jonah was thrown into the sea. What happened?
The sea became quiet.
And then what happened? The Mariners, the men on the boat, they fear God and they worshipped him because they saw that Jonas God was in power and a calm took place there the minute that man that was in the place of disobedience.
Went down into the waters. Death.
But that God was a far off. They didn't know where he was. He was still in control, but he they didn't know a a nearby relationship. But we, beloved, have God right here where we are on earth, Jesus Christ displaying the same thing.
All things were given into his hands.
Now we know God. We're near him.
And what is the Lord Jesus say? Come unto me, all ye that favor, and every land. Do you have problems, the results of sin, cares and burdens? He's inviting you to come. That's why He came, because He wanted your fellowship and mine, and He's inviting you.
The Son of God.
And all those things that he is in himself.
Saying, Come unto me.
Well, take my yoke upon you. That seems to go a little step farther. Taking the yoke, he said. Now I want you not just to come to me, but I want you to go on and follow with me for after me. Come back to the statement. Overcoming evil is not difficult when you got the Lord's yoke on you.
It's easy, it's light, it's not burdensome.
We focus on the wrong thing when we say it's hard.
When we say it's hard to walk the Christian path, we're focusing on all the obstacles and we're leaving our blessed Savior in the background.
Look at him, get near him, come to him.
You'll find he's all that he pretends to be. He'll not let you down. He didn't let me down yesterday, and that was only one little piddly circumstance.
You could name a lot of them yourself, things that have happened in your life. God is in control.
And he wants your fellowship while you're there.
Maybe we could sing, just briefly.
152.
00:55:02
Thy name we love Lord Jesus, and lowly bow before Thee. And while we live to Thee we give all blessing, worship, glory. We sing aloud Thy praises, our hearts and voices blending. Tis Thou alone we worthy own Thy beauties, all transcending. We'll begin with verse 2.
Thanks.
Steps and Decisions #1: Salvation
Steps and Decisions #2: Following the Lord
Steps and Decisions #3: Fellowship
Steps and Decisions #4: Occupation, Where to Live, Partner, Service
Special Singing 1