Lawrenceville Conference: 1974
Table of Contents
Lessons for us from Abraham Lot Jehoshaphat
The Effect of Seeing Jesus
Address—G.H. Hayhoe
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I'd like to speak this afternoon about some examples in the Word where there were those who saw the Lord Jesus and the effect that it had upon them.
And I'd like to start first of all with the 20th chapter of John.
John, Chapter 20.
On verse 24. But Thomas, one of the 12, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
Well, here, first of all, let us look at this one passage. And we see here one who wasn't present when the Lord appeared in the midst of his own and saw all the other disciples saw him. We find that John, that Thomas didn't see him on this occasion. And when the disciples who were there spoke to Thomas afterwards, what was their message?
Did they say, well, you missed a nice meeting, Did they say?
It was a very unusual situation to see the risen Lord. Oh no, their message was so very simple. And they just said to Thomas, we have seen the Lord. And dear young people, this is so important in our lives. We can come to meetings and yet we can be present in body but absent in mind, as one boy used to say.
His parents wanted him to come and sometimes he used to make that remark.
Present in body but absent in mind. Just think. And it may be that there are some here. Your parents have brought you here. You've seen a lot of people. You've seen us with our Bibles open on our knees, and you've had your Bible and you've joined in the singing, but you haven't seen the Lord. And so Thomas wasn't there. Perhaps in one sense you're in the same position.
Well, what was the desire of the rest of the disciples for Thomas?
The desire of the rest of the disciples was that Thomas would see the Lord too. And I think, as I said, that this little message they gave to him was so touching. And I'm sure that if we really entered into what it means together with the Lord in the midst A gather around him, it would touch our hearts and perhaps we wouldn't be talking so much.
About the people that were here and about all the little things that might interest us.
But that we would be occupied with this wonderful privilege, that we can be here and see the Lord, that we can see Him with the eye of faith, just as in the instance that we have read. He stood in the midst of His disciples, and He showed them His hands and His side. Well, the Lord can bring us to know Him by faith and to see Him.
And I'm more and more persuaded that unless one sees him.
Unless the eye of faith really sees Jesus, it doesn't have any effect upon our lives to be brought under the sound of the truth. It doesn't have any effect upon us really that we have been in company with other Christians unless we see the Lord. And so that's my desire for you this afternoon, that in this meeting and this experience which Thomas afterwards had, might be your experience.
Now of course, as I said, Thomas later.
Saw the Lord with the eye of faith with, with his actual eyes, and he said that my Lord and my God. But I am also sure that if your eyes are open to see the Lord now that it's going to make an effect upon you too. It changed Thomas, and it will change you too. Well, the first instance that I would like to speak of is perhaps.
By way of type, if you'll turn with me to First Samuel. First Samuel.
The 17th chapter and the 55th verse.
And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host Abner, Whose son is this youth. And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. And the king said, Enquire thou whose son the stripling is. And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul.
Said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant, Jesse the Bethlehemite. And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David. And Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more, home to his father's house.
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Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he was.
Him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the rod that was upon him, and gave it to David and his garments, even to his sword and to his bow, and to his girdle.
Well, as we know, this great victory that David won over Goliath the giant is a wonderful picture of the victory that the Lord Jesus won at Calvary's cross. That great giant Goliath pictures to us. Satan and Goliath held the people of Israel in ******* and Satan too holds men and women in ******* in sin.
Who could set Israel free from this great giant? Well, God raised up a deliverer. And isn't it wonderful that there has been one who came into this world who was greater? As the Scripture says, greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. The one who could meet Satan, who could overcome him, who is the mighty victor, so that we who are saved can save. He's delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the Kingdom.
Of his dear son.
Well, when this victory was won, it was a marvelous thing for Israel. But we see two people specially that are brought before us here and one person didn't know the victor at all or at least said that he didn't. And the other one, when he found out who he was, it caused a great change in his life.
How was it that Saul didn't know who David was? If you read before, you'll find that.
That David had played the harp in his presence on several occasions previous to this. And how was it that Saul didn't know David when he came back after this great victory? Well, it's just like the world today. They know about Christ, they've heard about him, they celebrate his birth. They celebrate his death.
And resurrection may profess to know him as the one who gives many good things to us in life, but they don't know him as the one who has done that great work on Calvary's cross. And so just as Saul knew about David being able to play the harp.
Still, he didn't know him as the victor over Goliath. And perhaps you say, well, I know the Lord's been good to me. I have good health. He's helped me in many things. But it may be that you just know him in that way, but you don't know him in any other way. You've never, in other words, become personally acquainted with him. It says in in job, acquaint now thyself with him and be at peace.
And so we find here that when this victory was won, the king said to Abner, Inquire thou whose son the stripling is? And so when David came back with the head of the Philistine in his hand, Abner asked him.
And it says that.
He brought him to Saul, and in the 58th verse Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant, Justly the Bethlehemite. Yes, now he found out. But it was just intellectual knowledge to King Saul. It didn't make any change in his life. Indeed, if there was any change, it was for the worse, because when he found out who he was.
And that he had won this victory. Why he became his enemy and all How many there are when you speak to them about the Lord Jesus and about His death upon Calvary's cross, they become your enemy. They become your enemy. Perhaps some of you young people have tried it. You talked to some of your friends about the Lord Jesus, and instead of wanting to know Him as the one who has done that great work on Calvary's cross, they turn against.
You, they become your enemy. And Saul on several occasions after this cast a shamble in a David. He had no heart for him. Oh, is there a young person like that here this afternoon? And you have no love for the Lord Jesus. If after this meeting someone came and put his hand on your shoulder and said, do you know the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior, you'd feel like running away.
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You'd say why bother me and it would upset you instead of.
And making you happy all can it be there's there's someone here and you only know about the Lord. You know about him as the one who provides the good things of life and you bow your head and give thanks, but you've never seen him as your own personal savior. How May God grant that if that is so that you will be brought to know him this very afternoon.
That you will accept him as your savior.
Well, how different it was with Jonathan. With Jonathan there was an entirely different attitude about this whole situation. And it says here in the first verse of the 18th chapter. And it came to pass when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. All what a difference this was to King Saul.
Yes, I'd like to bring this before you as an instance where Jonathan saw David as the victor. And what a wonderful moment it is when you see the Lord Jesus as the one who died on the cross for you, who took your place, who was willing to bear the wrath and the judgment that your sins deserved, that you might be delivered from eternal judgment, that you might be brought into the family of God, that you might be blessed.
All spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ always say what a wonderful thing it is when you find this out and what is the result when it's a real thing? Well, the result was that Jonathan loved David as he loved his own soul. And you know, friends, that's the difference between believing in your head and believing in your heart. There are many people that just believe in their heads. They say, oh, I've heard those things since I was a child.
They can repeat all the gospel verses. Yes, they know all about the Lord, but they have never seen the Lord. They have never come face to face with Him, the personal acquaintance of their own souls about with Jonathan. Now this was a real thing.
And the result was, He loved him. And the Scripture says unto you therefore which believe he is precious. And another verse in First Corinthians chapter 16 says.
If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. That's a solemn word, isn't it? If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema Maranatha that is accursed. When the Lord comes and all, if you are not saved, I know there is no love in your heart to the Lord Jesus, but the proof that you have really become one of His, that you have passed from death unto life.
That there's affection in your heart for the Lord Jesus. That you can say, yes, I love him because he first loved me.
So that's what happened with Jonathan. But there was more than this. He not only professed his love to him, but his love to him produced an effect in the life of Jonathan. And you know when we love him, it produces an effect in our lives too. The Lord Jesus said if ye love me, keep my commandments. You wouldn't believe that I love my parents if I didn't want to do things to please them.
You wouldn't believe that I love someone if I never tried in any way to do the things that are pleasing to them. And so, you know, when there is real love, there's a real desire. We're willing to make sacrifices for that precious savior. We hear a lot in the world today about doing your own thing and going your own way, making your own decisions.
But the Bible says, Oh Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man that walketh to direct his step.
The root principle of sin is doing our own will.
The scripture gives us a definition of sin. Sin is flawlessness. It's just doing our own will and independence of God. And even if the thing may not be wrong in itself, if God is left out, it is sin. So the scripture says the plowing of the wicked is sin. It's not that there's wrong in plowing, but if God is left out, if a man plows his field without any thought.
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But he has any responsibility to God. Why then he's acting in in self will because the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. If someone was clawing in your field tomorrow morning and he didn't recognize that it was your field and never spoke to you about it, would you call him? Would you say that he was free of any blame? Would you say, well, there's nothing wrong in plowing, so I couldn't blame the man nor you'd say he has a.
Responsibility to me because it's my field. And so just to leave God out of your life, just to do your own thing without any reference to God is sin.
Three Wrecks
John 15:1
John 15:1