Lawrenceville Conference: 2006
Table of Contents
1 Thessalonians 5:1-5
Reading
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Suggest something at least for one or two readings to see what the brethren think of it. It seems in the hymns that have been before us, both in the prayer meeting and in this meeting, the Lord's coming was brought before us, but particularly with an emphasis on the Lord's guidance in our time down here.
We have often remarked from time to time on how near the Lord's return is.
And I believe Scripture brings that before us too, but also lays emphasis on the moral state that is in keeping with what we know in that respect.
I wonder if the 5th chapter of First Thessalonians would be acceptable, at least for perhaps one or two readings.
Sorry, brother. Clem, say that again.
I had to say.
Thinking of reading the entire chapter. I think it would be nice to read the entire chapter. There are some very good exhortations toward the end that perhaps we don't need to dwell on because they're pretty clear, but I think it'd be nice to read the whole chapter.
First Thessalonians chapter 5, beginning at verse one.
But of the time.
And the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you for yourself. Know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night, Or when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that they should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of life and the children of the day.
We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
For God hath not appointed us to us, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you.
And are over you and the Lord, and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work sake, and be at peace among yourselves. Now we exalt you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, Comfort the feeble minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man, but ever follow that which is good.
Both among yourselves and to all men, rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing in everything. Give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit, despise not prophesizing. Prove all things, Hold fast that which is good. Abstained from all appearance of evil.
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. And I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless, until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, faithful with the that calleth you, who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren.
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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, be with, be with you. Amen.
Just to mention a little background for this, which is familiar, I'm sure, to many of us, and that is that we know that when Paul went to Thessalonica, as is recorded in the book of the Act, he stayed there only a relatively short time.
Three Sabbath days, it says. And so he wasn't there for more than three or four weeks. But when he left, he left believers behind. He left an assembly and they went on, but they had difficulties because they were not perhaps well grounded in some things, although Paul had taught them many things and they got a little bit confused about some things concerning the Lord's coming and so.
In both epistles to the Thessalonians, in every chapter the Lord's coming is brought in in some way. Sometimes it is coming for us, sometimes it is appearing. But Paul seeks to correct some of the difficulties that they had and some of the questions, but also impresses on them, as we have in this chapter. What is in keeping with those who have that blessed hope before them?
And that, perhaps, is what has laid emphasis on here in the beginning, isn't it?
One thing that they hadn't been taught to differentiate between was, as you say, the Lord's coming for his Saints and the Lord's coming with his Saints. That what we refer to so often as the rapture and has been mentioned the appearing. And this caused a bit of consternation because in the first chapter when it says they turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven, what they really were waiting for and expecting was the Lord to come back and set up the Kingdom.
And in the interim, as they were waiting, some of their number died, some of them passed on. And so they wondered, have they missed out on the Kingdom? Have they missed out on the Lord coming back to establish things according to his righteousness? And so the apostle Paul writes these epistles to, as it were, leave nothing unexplained as to an event that was going to take place between the Lord's, the death of the Saints and the Lord's coming back with his Saints.
And so if we were to back up in the 4th chapter, we would find he spells this out very clearly. He says they haven't missed out. They're asleep in Jesus. Their body is asleep in the grave. They've been laid to rest. But they're waiting for an event, the same event rather than that we're waiting for this morning. They're waiting for the Lord to come and to call the dead in Christ to be with themselves, we to rise to be with him, and then he's going to come back with his Saints.
But if we don't understand the order of those events, we're going to be confused too. And not only so, but there isn't going to be the proper character of those who are waiting for these two events. I say waiting for these two events because the two things are part of our whole. We often speak of the Lord's coming for his Saints, the rapture, as the proper hope of the believer, and certainly that is true.
But when the apostle Paul writes to Titus, he brings the two things together.
He says, looking for that blessed hope, that's the hope of hearing the shout at any moment, what Paul spells out in the end of the fourth chapter of First Thessalonians. But he doesn't stop there, he says, and the glorious appearing we're that's part of our hope too. All speaks of all those that love his appearing. And so it's all part of our hope, but we need to keep it in the proper perspective. And so having taken that up in the end of the fourth chapter.
Now he goes on to speak of another event, and what we have in the beginning of this 5th chapter is not the Lord's coming for His Saints, but the Lords coming with His Saints.
If you if you look at the 4th chapter, the 14th verse, I think it becomes clear that he's speaking in verse 14 of chapter four of the Lord's coming.
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In his appearing at the end of the tribulation period and then 15 through 18 is a parenthesis in which he explained how those that have died in faith in Christ will be with the Lord to be able to accompany him when he comes back in power and glory at the end of the tribulation period to establish his Kingdom. So.
It says in verse 14 if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, Even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him in his appearing at the end of the tribulation, How do they get to be with him if they have died? So verses 15 through 18 explain how those will be raised and be with the Lord.
The rapture which takes place, we believe, before those seven years of tribulation.
To begin.
So it's looked at as one coming, isn't it? The second coming is 1 Coming, but it does have its two distinct parts.
If you read the 14th verse of chapter 4 at the end of it says them also with sleep in Jesus will God bring with him and then if you skip the ( 15 to 18, he connects that in verse one of chapter 5, but of the times and the season spread and whatever he speaks of times and seasons, he's Speaking of something that takes place here on earth.
There are no times and seasons in heaven.
So of the times and the seasons, brethren, it says when he comes back, verse 14, he God will bring with him. How do they get there? Well, Bob, let's just explain 15 to 18 explains that. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you for yourselves. Know perfectly that the day of the Lord, day of the Lord is not the rapture. That's the day when he will come back and set things right down here, the day of the Lord.
Umm, so cometh as a thief in the night. We're not looking for him. You don't look for a thief. Uh, we're looking for him. That's the rapture. But when he comes back, as he'll come back as a thief in the night, they won't be expecting him and looking for him. The world won't, and he'll come as a thief. So we're not looking for him as a thief. We're looking for him as a savior.
Another fourteen and four fo uh yeah, 14 and four is Zachariah. And that's where.
Uh, the Lord Jesus?
His feet stand on the Mount of Olives, the Mount of Olives. This is as as his coming we have here in chapter 5. So Mount of Olives split wide open an earthquake or whatever it is, the Lord works there and uh, causes a great valley going east and West.
And that is?
Shortly before.
The someone in the room, one of the remnants, will see the nail prints in his hands.
And, uh, that will be the conversion of the nation of Israel, the time of the conversion when you, you will get Isaiah 53, uh, when they confess he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our people's appointment with his stripes were healed all we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way.
We appropriate now for ourselves Isaiah 53. Yeah. But it's really for Israel is right. And they see him. They realize he was wounded for our transgression. What what a day that will be of awakening for that nation. Yeah.
Jim quoted it, but I'd like us to go back again and read it in chapter one of First Thessalonians.
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Uh, middle of verse 9.
For Setonians 1, the middle of verse 9.
Ye turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from Heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus. Mr. Darby translates the end of it. Our deliverer from the coming wrath.
Just like to again give emphasis that maybe already it seems like some of the details that we've taken up in this reading meeting might seem a little difficult to understand, might seem at first glance to be a little bit of a fine point, but it's not intended to be. So for us, this statement here were. And this letter was written to new believers, those who had only been saved, perhaps a matter of weeks.
Receive this letter and so don't let us this morning be afraid and say, well, I can't understand this or that aspect of what's said. He starts the chapter 5 and he says, you know perfectly well you who've been saved just a matter of weeks. And in this first end of this first chapter is something to me very important. A person in their sins has their idols. Now these here have physical idols that probably could be seen.
In Thessalonica, but a person's life is characterized by idolatry until they come to the Lord Jesus. But the minute we come to the Lord Jesus as Savior, our whole life changes. And he says now what is characterize their life? They've been saved a few weeks to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven.
And so our lives here this morning, we have these two things, the serving of the living and true God, in contrast to the dead idol. And we sit here this morning in anticipation and waiting for the sun from heaven, who is our deliverer from the wrath that is shortly to fall upon this this world.
And what does it do for us practically?
It changes the true proper appreciation and expectation of the Lord's coming for us will totally affect our daily life. It's not just something about what people call prophecy. Even this is not actually prophecy, but the anticipation of the Lord's coming is not just, well, it is an event, but it's more than that to us. It is the anticipation and the waiting of seeing Him.
Who's going to call us? Who's going to come and take us home to be with himself? And so as we take up the chapter, please, let's treat it as, can I say, simple instructions for us, even if we are a new believer.
Lord's coming should be connected without every aid our everyday life and our unique writer in this book pointed out very nicely. We'll find that after in this book in connection with the lowest economy, but each one has a little bit different character to it a rather rate of risk averse in chapter one. Let's just look at it one more time in chapter one there in verse 10 you step 10 and to wait.
For his Son from heaven will be raised from the dead, even Jesus, which deliver us from the wrath to come. For the first in connection to the Lord's coming is the ways we're waiting for it coming. What a blessed hope that we have been reminded whether you would say yes to this or reminded you have that lesser flow to wait for his son. And then when we'll go to the second chapter, we'll find that in verse 19.
It raised that question about daily now is that for what is our home? Ah, do we ever ask ourselves that question? We often get so occupied with the cares of this world and then we get so occupied with my own problem that we forget here what is our home or joy or ground of rejoicing, and then it goes on here.
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Are not even be in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ as his coming. Oh, we need to be reminded, don't we and then when we go to the third chapter that we are reminded about the fact that he's going to be coming in verse 13.
A lot of hard there the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his things and again we'd be reminded that obvious we have to be taken out of this scene in order to be able to come back without bless the Lord and you know it's good to raise all of these principles because this world, especially Christendom often gets all mixed up. Let's let's go on chapter 4 then it reminded us about the Lord's coming in regard to those.
Who have already uh, uh, uh, asleep. Those who are with Jesus. Oh, how precious. You know, this morning when our brother mentioned that our brother, uh, one of our brother is uh, getting close towards the end of his pilgrimage. And I saw tears in various quantize. Yes, the Lord gave us natural affections, but you know that that is our blessed hope is to be with the Lord and the CLDR brother going before us now into our chapter chapter 5.
Here there is a theme to that as well, isn't it? We know about waiting for the Lord to come in. We know about the plastic hope. We know about coming coming with him and we know about those who have gone before. Now this chapter again is back to us about our practical work in the in verse 23 it says and the peace and the very God of peace will sanctify.
You holy?
And then they pray. Notice here the order. He's praying for your whole spirit and soul and body. You know, we often talk about body, soul and spirit because we're so self-centered here in praying for your, for your spirit first, your spirit and soul and body. What is your spirit and soul and body's focus here? The apostle was praying that you may be preserved.
Blameless until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There is a verse in Proverbs 29 that says where there is no vision, the people perish, or I think Mr. Darby translates it, or at least has a footnote, The people cast off restraint. And brethren, if we don't have this hope that we've been speaking out before our souls, if we're not looking for something beyond the horizons of this world, we're going to get discouraged. And not only are we going to get discouraged, but there isn't going to be that proper moral character.
That is to be exhibited in our lives in a practical way, as those who are going on to something else, something far better. You turn on the news, you read a newspaper and the events of this world show that things are not getting better in this world. Man is trying to set things right today by peace packs and and negotiations and summits and lining up with the United States and the allied forces and this kind of thing.
They're trying to make peace by introducing democracy into corners of the world where it's never been introduced before. Is this going to solve the world's problems? Are things getting better? Regards This World notes, and Scripture teaches us that it will never get better until the King of Righteousness rises with healing in his wings and the Prince of Peace comes back to reign and has his rightful place. Then, and only then, will there be righteousness and equity.
Exhibited in this world. But if we don't have this before our souls, we're gonna get discouraged. There's many zealous Christians today who don't understand the difference between the Lord's coming for his Saints and the Lord's coming with his Saints. And what are they doing? They're out zealously lobbying for the betterment of this world, rising up against governments and all this kind of thing. And you've heard this before. You know what I'm Speaking of. But it's because that that through misteaching or misguidance.
They've lost sight or they don't understand the truth of the Lord's coming and how his brother Bob said it's in two parts. And so if we can keep this before us where there is no vision, the people perish. But brethren, how can we go on in a world where things are deteriorating economically, morally, politically in every sphere of society? How can we go on quietly for the Lord? Oh, it's to realize that he's going to take us out very soon. It's to look up every day and say perhaps today the Lord is coming.
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It's to live in the good of that and then to realize that there is a glorious appearing when He and only He will set things right. This turns to a verse in 3rd John. I think it's helpful in this regard. I might just say this too, that in John's Gospel chapter 14, the Lord simply said to the disciples to encourage them before he left them in this sad world alone. He gave them many things for their comfort, but one of the things he said to encourage them was.
I will come again and receive it unto myself. But he doesn't develop it there. He just leaves it there for their encouragement. But it's interesting that John develops this a little further in First John chapter 3 and verse 2.
Beloved now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Now John here takes us beyond just the Lord coming for us. It's true. When He comes for us, we're going to get bodies of glory like unto His body of glory, and there's going to be an instantaneous change, and we're going to rise to meet the Lord. We get that from first Corinthians 15 and so on. But here he says, when he shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
But he's saying his brethren, there's a day when the Lord Jesus is going to appear in this world and we're going to appear with him. And it says in Thessalonians, he's coming to be glorified in his Saints and admired in all those that are about him in that game. That is when the world looks gone and they see the believers, they're going to see a perfect reflection of Christ in that, in the in the church, in the believer, not only going to be with Christ, we're going to be like him. And then he says.
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. And what I take from this in a simple way, brethren, is that in the measure in which you and I have both the coming of the Lord for his Saints, and his appearing with His Saints before our souls. Not just as a mere doctrine, good to be doctrinally correct and accurate when we enumerate these this truth from Scripture, but when we have this hope as a reality in our souls from day-to-day.
And we're living in the good of it. What is going to be the result? It's going to have a practical purifying effect on your life and mind if we get up every morning with the realization that the Lord may come today.
If we get up every morning with that thought and with the realization that there's a day coming when he's going to appear back in this world and we're going to be with him, I believe it will make a difference in our conduct, in our relationships, in our reactions, in our testimony to this world. Every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself even as he is pure.
Because the passage that says every eye shall see him, not of the rapture.
Right at the Rapture, we'll be gone, we'll be missing, but he won't be seen until he comes back with us. Then so on. The one in in first part of His coming, they don't see us go and they don't see him. The second part of his coming, they'll see both him and us.
What we speak about this morning is not the view of the world.
The view of the world is given to us in verses 2:00 and 3:00.
They say the day of the Lord, or can I say we would see about the world. The day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night.
People don't appreciate thieves.
Nobody wants the thief to come to their house at night, but that's the attitude of the world in which we live. The thought of the coming of the Lord to this earth again is an unwanted, unappreciated and undesired thought among men.
He was gone. We're thankful he lived here. He left some examples, but the bottom line is we didn't want him. He left and that's just the way we'd like it to remain. So his coming for those who are of this world is will be like a thief, an unwanted person who comes in the middle of their night. And the present attitude of the world is in verse 3.
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They shall say peace and safety. The world doesn't look at things today and say it's hopeless. It'll never get better. But man wise men of the world are using every energy and every means that their disposal to try to make this world.
A place of peace and a place of safety.
But what's going to happen to such verse? The end of verse 3?
Sudden destruction cometh upon them. The coming of the Lord is going to give God's estimate of the state of things in the world, which is such a state of disorder in the rejection of His Son, that He has pronounced judgment upon it. And the coming of the Lord is going to begin. The day of the Lord is going to begin with the execution of this judgment.
Of which no man will escape, as he says in the end of verse three, they shall not escape. Now when we see that side of it, what attitude do we want to have ourselves? The Lord, when He comes, is going to bring judgment. The man of the world is not going to escape it. Am I going to live my daily life right alongside with him with the same attitudes, the same interest, the same desire?
And say, well, yes, we'll do all we can for peace and safety and let's hope things are better tomorrow and next week. Not if I'm on the Lord's side, not if my spirit and my soul is with the Lord. I say to that man, judgment is coming. You need to flee. So the alarms of the Savior, the deliverer to be saved from the wrath to come. Or is my neighbor my work associate someday if they could.
Say, why didn't you tell me? Why did you act just like I acted as it were, living the same kind of life with the same kind of intentions and interest in talking about the same hopes and expectations?
All connected only with this world. Or why didn't you warn me to flee from the wrath to come? The difference between Abraham.
And lots stand out as examples of what you're saying on and they're different attitudes. Abraham dwelt with God on the mountain and these current pieces of Thessalonians I believe were in a similar state of Seoul. Their affection for Christ was great. I believe rather than we're living in a time though when we can easily.
Umm re replace.
Affection for Christ with occupation, with kind and seasons. Uh, if we look at the Lord as coming as a bridegroom, coming for the bride, we think about a bride waiting for her bridegroom.
The great thing for her is she's going to be united to her loved one. And if we saw a bride getting taken up with, well, what the times in there. There's some signs showing that my wedding day is getting close. I see the the the flowers of blooming springs come and that isn't this wonderful. That should not take the place of what her real heart is looking for, to be united to her loved one.
And that's what Price wants from us and that's what our attitude could be. And how good to have that affection. Then we'll be like Abraham, who understood and interpreted the signs and see, uh, around him, Lot didn't properly know how to interpret things. He was saved as by fire as as it were. And so I think it's important for us, umm.
Not just to be occupied with the times and seasons. That's important to know the heavenly hall and guard the Lord, but let us never uh, neglect Lord a heart for Christ. It it it comes out in in verse, Umm, umm.
16 of chapter 4 it says for the Lord himself.
That is his person. He himself is coming. That's the great thing. Not as a thief in the night.
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I like that, Doug, because we get the Lord Jesus Christ before us both in the rapture and in the appearing, don't we? In the rapture it's the blessed hope of being united to the One who is our Bridegroom. And we find in not this epistle, but the third chapter of the 2nd epistle that His desire to have us with Him.
Exceeds ours to be there. But then when it comes to His appearing, we know Paul could say in Second Timothy four, He could speak of a crown of righteousness. And not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing. Why do we love His appearing? Because He will have His rightful place. He will be given that place of glory and exaltation publicly.
That we trust He has today at the Father's. I shouldn't say that that he has today at the Father's right hand and that we trust He has in our hearts. But in that day He will be given that place publicly. And we love His appearing for that reason. But then it takes us back, doesn't it, to the little book that's mentioned at the end of Revelation 10, I believe, where John was told to eat the little book, no doubt bringing judgment before us.
And when he ate it, it made his mouth sweet as honey. It wasn't his mouth sweet as honey for the reason we've just given.
The Lord Jesus Christ is being given his rightful place, but then it makes his belly bitter. Why? Oh, because of the awful judgments that have to fall on this poor world in order for all that to come about. There's no other way. When they judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. And so I believe that's what's brought before us that twofold aspect in this chapter. Yes. Is there joy in looking forward to his appearing? Yes, there is.
And we see, we will see him in his glory.
But then what an awful thing to contemplate what this poor world has to go through. As we've just heard, they're trying in every way possible now to achieve what they never will. It'll only come when the Lord Jesus has his place. And so there's a moral state that is important for those who know all these things ahead of time.
Our president thinks that he's a Christian, I believe, but he thinks that democracy is the ideal government.
A government of the people, for the people, by the people. That's about as far away removed from the Bible as you can get. The ideal government is one man rule and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. They don't want that. They don't want that. They want to do it themselves. They want to do it themselves and.
That is, that is going to come to failure, of course, and that's why.
That's one of the reasons I don't vote because.
We're not going to set the world right. We are guilty. By we, I mean the world is guilty of rejecting, committing the greatest sin that man has ever committed, rejecting the only righteous ruler, and that's the Lord Jesus. We will not have this man to reign over us. That's what they said, and that's the attitude of everyone that is unsaved.
They want to do it themselves and that's going to fail. And we don't. If we're intelligent in our pathway, we walk down here as strangers and pilgrims, not as citizens of this earth, but as citizens of heaven. And the, the, the one that's going to rain and do it righteously is our precious Lord Jesus. And we wait for that moment when that will take place. And it'll go on for 1000 years.
The EV everything is going to be set right in the millennial day by one man, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. Men aren't going to do it. They're going to go through the worst tribulation this world has ever seen before that comes to pass. But we belong to the heavenly state, and to get involved in these things is just to take the level of land can do it.
And he can't do it. He can't do it not without the Lord. And uh, God is going to have one man sit on the throne and rule in righteousness. And we'll be part of that. We'll all rule with him. I'd like to make a comment on this expression in our verse the Day of the Lord. But before I do that, I'd like to just give a little illustration in connection with what brother Bill said in to loving his appearing.
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And looking forward to the full exaltation of Christ here in this world, where they cast him out and spit in his face and set away with him, crucify him. It might be a bit of a feeble illustration, but perhaps it will help when the president of the United States or the Prime Minister of Canada is elected to office and his picture is splashed across the pages of the press. Who rejoices with him at his side? His wife. Why is she there at his side?
Not because she was elected to office, but because of her relationship to the one who is. And she rejoices that her husband has been elevated to this place of prominence, that he has a place in the as head of the nation or whatever it might be. And so she rejoices in that all through the election, she's been looking forward to the time when the ballots will be counted and she'll stand by her husband as he is.
As he's proclaimed the winner.
Now that may be a feeble illustration because there's no balance to be counted, rather than if I can speak reverently and put it that way.
With full assurance, we know that God's man is going to have his rightful place.
Lot of things I don't understand about the Bible, but I do know the end of the story. I know that God's man is going to be exalted.
And I know another thing too. I'm going to be at his side. You know, it's interesting. In the end of the fourth chapter, he says. And so shall we ever be with the Lord?
Just think about that little expression. When He's in the Father's house, we're with him. When he comes back to reign, we're with Him. We're going to be ever with the Lord. And so we rejoice to think not so much of our position, but to think of that day when He's going to be exalted. You walk down the street of Lawrenceville or Allendale or any other town or city in the world today, you hear the name of the Lord taken in vain. You see on every hand that.
He he he's still the son of the drunkard, the on the lips of the cursor he still rejected. Does it rejoice your heart to think there's a day coming when that will no longer be so? And if it is so, it will be judged immediately. Sin will be judged morning by morning. And so I just say that in connection with what brother Bill is so good to keep in mind that Christ is going to have his full exaltation and wonder of wonders, we're going to be associated with him.
But I would like to make a little comment or two on this expression, the day of the Lord. It's an expression I grew up hearing in the meetings and perhaps and perhaps still don't fully understand it, but to put it very simply, the day of the Lord is a day when his rights will be outwardly owned and executed here in this world. It's in contrast. Just go back to First Corinthians chapter 4 for a moment, in contrast to what we have.
In First Corinthians chapter 4.
And verse 3.
But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you or of man if you notice your margin. And this is the way Mr. Darby translates it. Man's day. Now this is man's day. God is allowing man to a certain extent to have his way. Today. Man is exerting his rights. And I believe that the final climax of man's history of sin.
It's what it says the king shall do according to his own will. Unbridled self will and the assertion of man's rights will be the final climax to man's history of sin. The verse I quoted is in connection with the man of sin in the coming day. But don't we see things heading up that way today? Human rights are glorified today. It's ingrained in our students the minute they step into the public school system that no one's to tell us what to do.
We're taught to rebel against authority and to assert our own rights.
I would like to just say this too, that in man's day, outwardly it seems like man is having his way, but we want to be very clear that God is behind the scenes. But Chuck was talking about how he doesn't vote. And what gives me confidence in not going to the ballot box on Election Day is that the most high rule is in the kingdoms of men. And set us up whomsoever He will in the kingdoms of men, the basis of men in the kingdoms of men.
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God is in control. The man in power in the United States or Canada or any other country in this world today is there because God is in control. God set him there. All there may have been secondary means elections or in some countries military coups or whatever it might have been, but God is in control. And brethren, if we can keep that before our souls, that the powers that be, even in man's day, are ordained of God, then that gives me confidence.
To bow and say, Lord, whoever you put in power, I'm content to go on and to pray as Timothy was told to pray for those in power. Timothy wasn't told to lobby against the government. And who was in power when Timothy was told to pray for kings and those in authority, Probably one of the worst tyrants that ever reigned in this world, the emperor Nero, was he to go out and lobby against what was going on? No, he was to pray. And I believe if Christians would spend more of their time and energy praying for those in authority.
It would have a lot more effect, it would do a lot more good than rising up and lobbying against them and joining coalitions and all that kind of thing. But I simply want to point out that even though this is man's day, outwardly God is still in control. But there is a day when the Lord Jesus will have his rightful place in this world. It isn't now. Now we see, not yet, all things put under him. And brethren, I trust there's no thought even in corners of our hearts this morning.
As to this being the reigning time, this is not the reigning time. Paul said would that we reign, but this is not the reigning time. The reigning time is coming. What we are to do is to have him reign in our hearts alone and own Him, Lord of our life. But this is not the reigning time. But let's go on realizing the day of the Lord is coming. It's going to be a surprise for this world, but it is a day when his rights are going to be asserted and God is going to be finally satisfied.
Laodicea, the period just before the return of Christ and, uh, it, the word means the people speak. It's the time when man is having his day and he's going to see in the end that his leaving God out of his life and not, uh, submitting to God and his word and his ways is going to be fatal. But.
If only we would judge ourselves. And I'm Speaking of our the very people who are I'm speaking to now.
All of us need to be very much.
Thinking about what my part is in label darceanism, am I guilty of having my own opinion about things that are personal instead of reading the word of God and having him direct me and give me wisdom as a where to go, what to do, and what and how to do it?
When the Lord Jesus came into this world, and John's Gospel particularly, he said in the very beginning of his ministry, I am the light of the world.
And so when the Lord Jesus came into this world, a brilliance of light came into the world to shine upon men.
Man in himself with darkness, he wasn't just in the dark, but he says when concerning the Lord Jesus and John one the darkness comprehended it not.
The state of man was he was darkness itself. And so when the Lord Jesus shined upon him and exposed what was in his heart, it exposed the fact that he was darkness itself. But there were those who by the grace of God and the work of the Holy Spirit.
Responded to the Lord Jesus, and that darkness was changed to light when the Lord Jesus on the day of his death.
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Was cast out and crucified.
Night descended upon this world, and this world lives in the darkness of night.
And it has done so from the day of the death of the Lord Jesus. We live in a World of Darkness and night. And so here in our chapter what he's saying to his brethren in verse four, he says, brethren, ye brethren are not in the darkness, that the day should overtake you.
They as people and we'll look at it in a moment. We're not in the darkness. It was night around them.
But they had a life that the world did not have.
So that the thief would not overtake them. What is man? He loves darkness. He doesn't mind that he lives in a World of Darkness. It says the men love darkness. Why? Because their deeds are evil. If it's dark as it were, physically outside and I'm going to rob something, I think I have a better chance of getting away with it. And so if I'm going to live according to the desires of my flesh.
And I'm not seeing well, so much the better. I have a sense of maybe I'll get away with it. And so as a consequence, this world, it really loves the darkness because its deeds are evil. But with respect to us, he says, brethren, you're not of the darkness. He says in verse five, your children of light and children of the day, our proper.
Place is to wait for the day because we're children of the day, we're not children of the night. We don't look for darkness to hide evil. We by nature, by new birth, we enjoy the light. We would rather be in a place of light than in a place of darkness. And Peter speaks of it in the in his second first chapter of the 2nd letter. He says let the day star.
Arise in your heart. In other words, the day of the dawn is almost approaching, he says of the new day, the day when the Lord comes. And then when the Lord comes and sets up his Kingdom, it will be a day of righteousness. It will be a day of the brilliance of the noonday sun again on this earth. But what about us? I'd just like to turn for one moment to 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 and see our portion in the midst of this night.
As we await for the day, he says to us.
Concerning those who don't accept the gospel, 2nd Corinthians 4. Three. If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not. Satan is busy keeping it dark, so that man won't see and believe, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
We preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servants for Jesus sake. Now verse six is what's happened to us. God commanded the light to shine out of darkness as it were. We were in the midst of this darkness, but God shined his light as Paul saw it or saw on in the road of the act. It was the brightness greater than the noonday sun that shone in his soul that day of his salvation.
Has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We have this treasure in earthen vessels. We have the treasure of the glory of the light of God. God is opened up heaven for us because it's dark down here that we might see the full brightness of the heavens for our souls by faith and that we might be occupied with that and say, oh Lord.
How wonderful to see him in his glory at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Eternal light in his presence, and we carry in us that light. And consequently in Ephesians chapter 5, what about this Dark World? What does it see by the Lord's? Not here the Lord Paul said to the Ephesians Saints in chapter five. He said, you, ye are the light of the world. What light does the darkness have in your daily life around you? What light do the people have?
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You, you. You are the light that this world presently has.
Tremendous responsibility to one of us live in our daily lives as we await the coming of the Lord. You are the light in your community. You are the light in your school. You are the light at work.
We belong to an entirely different world, he said. Ye are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before you. If you were of the world, the world would love his own. But because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. We belong to a Heavenly St. Our citizenship is in heaven.
Recently my my physician, my doctor handed handed out a paper that they want to update their files and one of the statements was.
Your present occupation, Your present employer, I wrote down the Lord Jesus Christ.
They might think I'm nuts, but that's what I wrote. And that's, that's where we belong. That's where we belong. So we're children of day and children of the light for two reasons. Is it fair to say that on the one hand, as we've just heard, we see in the face of the Lord Jesus all the light of God's glory? And in that sense we are called to reflect that light here in this world which is dark.
So then there's a day coming when the Lord will have his rightful place. That will be day for this world. It's night now, but there's a day coming. And when He comes and that day dawns, we will be associated with Him. And so, as was being brought out earlier, we don't by grace seek to straighten things out now. We're not of the darkness. We're not part of this particular situation.
But there is a day when we will live and reign with Christ.
Evangelical world is trying to set things right.
Did wrong. MMM.
So our responsibility is to point souls to Christ. The world's under judgment. Someone has said the ship is going down. What are we to do? We're to point people to Christ, point people to the way out, point them to the light. And again, if Christians would spend their more energy propagating the gospel and praying for the good seed of its own would be a lot more desirable, a lot more according to the word of God. And it would be perhaps a lot more results as to souls being saved as the gospel goes out. But we are here to point people to that other world, to Christ, tell them how they can become the children of light.
Separation is almost a lost word in vocabularies, but umm, that's where we're to be a separated people.
We'll find 2 with our Christian walk when we get into difficulties, when we feel that we're in a trial of some sort. Often if we look at our our own walk closely, we will find that we have forgotten. We have forgotten about the soon return of our blessed Savior.
Just a little story time is gone, but appreciated reading about John Wesley and.
He was passing one of the great Manor homes in Britain and he stopped and had a little chat with the gardener. And the gardener took him on a tour of that beautiful mansion. And after they were done the tour and they returned to the gate of that grand home, John Wesley turned to the gardener and he said, I too have a liking for these things, but there's another world and brethren, there is another world. We're going on to something far better. And then the Lord Jesus, as we've been saying, is going to come back and straighten things out.
As regards to what he sees is righteous.
208 M #208.
Nsnoise.
170 versus 5 and six. Tis thy heavenly bride and Spirit, Jesus Lord, that bid thee come. 170 verses 5 and six, and somehow would seem fitting to stand up for it.
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As I have me.
Thy Love to Me
Address—Don Rule
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White Forest and sing again.
To the fact that.
In parts of this hymn you are going to be speaking.
Directly to the Lord Jesus.
The first hymn that we sang in in the reading meeting had exactly the same character as we sang it. There were times in it when we were speaking in song directly to the Lord Jesus and making requests of Him.
We said or sang.
Guide us, keep us calm, and so on.
I want and desire that we would give conscious emphasis that we're not just singing to Him or a spiritual song, but we are actually hopefully directly addressing the Lord Jesus.
With a desire, a thought.
That is true of us and we're saying it to him.
Someone started please.
Nsnoise.
By way of introduction, please turn with me to umm, Second Samuel, Chapter One.
Second Chance Samuel, chapter one and verse 26.
I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan. Very pleasant hast thou been to me?
Thy love to me was wonderful.
Passing the love of women.
Psalm 23.
And verse one.
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.
Elite us, me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul.
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake.
Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
I will fear no evil.
For thou art with me.
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.
Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.
And I will dwell in the House of the Lord.
Forever.
So my heart this afternoon.
Seek to encourage you and myself.
Into a more intimate.
And personal daily relationship with.
Our Lord, our Savior, our Friend, our lover.
Our Lord Jesus Christ.
When I was 15 years old.
I my eye was attracted to a.
Sister and the Lord, a young person about my own age.
And for the next five years or so, my eye was honor whenever we were together, which wasn't very often at a conference or Gordon Hayhoe's cottage at Otter Lake or up in the Maritimes in the tent work in the summer.
But when I was about 20 years of age.
At a Toronto conference, just before leaving, I went up to her and I asked her. I said Grace.
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Umm, if I correspond, if I write you a letter, would you be willing to write back?
And I would like and told her with serious intention that we might know each other better with the very possibility that the end of that might end up in a in a marriage.
She said yes, she would write.
It wasn't the day of cell phones. They hadn't been invented. It wasn't today when those of us who had any money, who, like me, who had no money, could make telephone calls.
But we could write and it started a correspondence and it changed the pattern of my life at that point in time because I was still in school, but as soon as I got home from school during the day.
The first stop I made I went to school on a bicycle and I stopped by the.
The uh, post box or in front of our house and I opened up the post box to see if there was a letter.
And if it could, if it was empty then the first one. As soon as I went into the house I asked my mom is there a letter today And I after not very many days I didn't have to ask her I just walk in the house and she could say yes or no knowing what the question was.
If there was a letter, the first item of business was to read it.
And usually that day, the last item of business, if you will, before going to bed was to read it again.
And it was always read before answering at least a third time.
No one had to say to me, Don, you got a letter, you better read it.
There was no must do whatever connected with those letters.
But I read them and I reread them and I read them again and.
I still have some of them in a box.
Those letters.
Were important to me because I wanted to know the person who was writing those letters and had rare opportunity to see her face to face. And yet those letters were my opportunity to get to know her.
Not just the words, as important as they were, or the information that was contained in those letters.
But it was the person who wrote them.
That interested me in my heart.
And so I read them and so on.
I have in my hand a a letter if you will.
Written by somebody whose love for me exceeds my telling or my understanding.
And I want, and I want for you to have the same desire to pick up this letter and read it and re read it as often as possible.
Why that you and I might get to know better, more completely and fully the person?
Who has given it to us that our hearts might be so taken up with himself?
That as we are occupied. You know when I it wasn't the 1St letter.
But you can be sure that I recognized without any difficulty when the letter arrived one day, and in fact when I wrote a letter and I signed it in the end, I love you.
The first letter didn't say that.
But in the course of time my letters went out and that's what they said, and the letters that came back said the same.
And in fact, over a period of time, the expressions in the letters changed and you started to find my beloved or words like that that appeared.
David.
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In the Samuel.
Murray Reed had a.
Relationship with Jonathan.
And.
We know David's love exceeded Jonathan's love for him, but there was a law of relationship between the two of them.
And what does David say?
Thy love to me.
It's wonderful.
This afternoon, the emphasis that we're going to give in this little time together is his love and His desire toward us.
And when we read words like that, the Spirit of God wants us to apply them. The Lord Jesus wants us to apply them to ourselves, individually and personally.
That when David said to Jonathan, thy love to me is wonderful.
This afternoon the Lord Jesus by the Spirit would say to you, your love to me.
Is wonderful.
The Lord Jesus.
Is deeply, personally, individually.
Wanting you to know and me to know.
That his love or can I say any response in our heart.
To his love is wonderful to him.
He appreciates it. He seeks it.
He values it.
When you open the word of God, His letter to you, and there is that individual personal expressions from Himself to your heart, I love you. Yes, He says that, but He also wants you and I to recognize that He sees, He desires, He appreciates.
Your love, however feeble it may be, don't worry about it. Don't measure it, don't be even occupied with it, but appreciate.
That he values it.
That he wants it. He wants to see it.
We're not gonna study Psalm 23.
I just read it primarily for one purpose.
And it is a pattern that is found in different places in the Word of God, and it's seen here in David and his relationship with the Lord.
Then it's what I would desire for my soul and yours and our relationship with the Lord.
This song begins with David.
Speaking about his shepherd, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, and so on. But there is a distinct and important change in the Psalm in the middle.
In verse.
For he says, yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
Or thou art with me.
He changes from speaking about the Lord.
To speaking to the Lord.
There are times when Paul is writing a letter to some brethren and he's speaking for the Lord to the brethren, but as he as he has the Lord before him and his occupation, we find him stopping to praise the Lord.
As the word has its proper effect on its own soul.
When Job is having to deal with the Lord in his life and the Lord has his hand on Job through Satan and through the circumstances of his life.
Job starts out and he's, I'm going to use the word arguing with his friends.
Back and forth, back and forth. But when it comes to Elihu and Elihu speaks.
For the Lord to job.
It's very interesting how the word is written. Allahu is speaking and then at some point the Lord is speaking with no transition. It's just a lie. Who's speaking and, and, and the next thing, if you will, you know the Lord is speaking to Joe.
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In almost every instance, when Job starts to answer his friends, he starts to answer his friends, but halfway through his answer, he stops talking to his friends and he starts talking to the Lord.
And why is the Lord doing this and that?
Oh to God that our lives were more like that.
That when we have the word of God or when we have someone else who may be speaking to us. Someone asked me, I forget just the words, but before this meeting was I going to be speaking? And I said, I hope that the Lord is going to be speaking through me.
We need a direct, individual communication between ourselves and the Lord.
In the circumstances of our life.
I have occasion to go each week with others in this room to a detention center and quite often I use this illustration when trying to encourage them to have an individual relationship.
And a consciousness of that relationship with the Lord and things that they're going to do or not do in their life. I say suppose.
I left this room this evening and as I leave and I go, I go down to the 711 with the intention of robbing it.
Am I going to ask the Lord Jesus to go with me?
We want to have that kind of relationship with the Lord Jesus that we enter consciously into with him into our thoughts.
And our actions.
With the real realization in our souls that He is with us.
Lo, I am with you, he says.
I will never leave thee or forsake thee.
He would desire that each one of us, as we go through this day and as we sit in these meetings and as we have our supper and whatever fellowship we have together, a sense in our souls and the enjoyment in our souls that the Lord Jesus.
Is with us.
And part of all that is taking place.
It's not that I desire that you learn anything this afternoon or anything specifically, but I'd like to turn for a little bit to some of the expressions in the Word that express His desire concerning us, if you will. It's not your side of it. It's not my side of it. Let's think this afternoon and enjoy in our hearts His.
Side of the relationship.
Turn with me to Luke's Gospel for an illustration of this in chapter 22.
Luke, chapter 22.
And verse 15.
He said unto them with desire.
I have desired.
To eat this Passover with you.
Before I suffer.
First Corinthians, chapter 15.
First Corinthians chapter 15, the middle of verse 23.
Well, the whole of verse 23 First Corinthians 1523 For I have desired of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you.
That the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, he break it and said, take, eat. This is my body which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also He took the cup when he had stopped saying this cup.
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Is the New Testament in my blood. This do ye as OFT as ye drink it in remembrance of me. There are many wonderful things connected with what we have just read, but I want to emphasize just one of them, particularly this afternoon.
His desire concerning you.
His desire, not yours, not mine, his.
The night before he is to die.
There was something he wanted to do.
And he didn't want to do it alone.
He was a man. He felt as a man.
And.
He said with desire I have desired.
To eat this Passover with you.
Before I suffer.
The emphasis in First Corinthians 11 and verse 23.
The Lord Jesus.
Personally communicated with Paul.
Something he wanted to pass on to us.
I have received of the Lord.
That which also I delivered unto you.
That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed.
May we enter something into his feelings, his emotions.
At that moment in his life.
He was troubled that Judas would betray him.
He felt the rejection of man.
He felt it in his soul.
It was on the very night in which Judas goes out with the intent purpose of betraying him.
When the next day he is going to face the absolute and complete and full rejection of the world he had come to speak to?
And he says.
That's the time.
When he expresses the desire of his heart.
When he had given thanks.
Imagine.
We we've we're used to somebody standing up and giving thanks for loaf and cup on a large day morning.
But the way it's presented to us here is very much connected and individually with his own self and his own desire when he had given thanks.
How could he give thanks?
When it spoke of his own death.
When it represented as far as the world was concerned, is rejection.
That was the circumstances in which it was done. That is the the evening.
Was at a time when the soul would naturally give thanks.
Did.
It could.
But then having given thanks.
Try to picture it from his side.
Is it where he takes that, that loaf that and he, he says take he?
He personally himself is presented to us here as the one that says holds out his hands, holds out the loaf, and he says take, eat.
This is my body.
And then the cup.
This is my blood.
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May we?
Respond to his heart, his desire.
I thank God, at least by the work of his grace and my own soul, that.
Out of 168 hours of a week, there's one hour that's more important to me than any other.
What is it for you?
What's important?
What has precedence over other things?
Think of him.
And what it means to him.
And to his heart.
And how he appreciates it.
We don't have very much in the Word of God that specifically expresses the desire of the Lord Jesus.
Because he didn't come into this world to express his own desires.
He came here.
To live perfectly for somebody else.
The whole purpose and object of his life.
Was to do his father's will.
To present his father to us.
To give his Father's words, his God to us, and consequently for himself. He had no will of his own to express most of his life. So we can't look here, there and everywhere, for we see him as a perfect man and a perfect servant of God living.
Someone else?
But thankfully God has given to us the Lord Jesus as He was leaving the world. In His prayer in John 17 that I'd like to turn to, He does express.
Some of the desires of his own heart.
We aren't gonna try to go into detail, but like to notice a little bit of it.
As it relates to him.
In his thoughts and his feelings at this time.
Start in verse.
Verse eight I have given unto them.
The words which thou gavest me, and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed.
That thou did send me.
I pray for them.
I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me.
For they are thine.
And all mine are thine and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them.
Stop there for a moment.
He's going to pray here, and he does.
Particularly in these verses for the disciples.
Or before his soul.
And he had.
To bring the Father to them.
The Father's words to make God known to them.
What a wonderful, blessed thing that God wants me to know him.
And he has sent his son so that I might know him.
That I might know his heart I might know is if I can use the expression, his character, who he is and all that he is.
And what his thoughts are. And so here he says, I have given unto them thy words which thou gavest me. And there's a joy for him. He says they received them.
We trust by God's grace that this afternoon you sit in your seat as one that that the Father's words have come to you and it can be said you have received them.
00:35:04
That you recognize the source of those words, not an opinion of men, but the words that have come to you from God himself.
Now.
It's wonderful. Don't really want to enter in, particularly to the the side of getting off the focus of the Lord's desire, but just as a side point perhaps.
It's wonderful that the basis on which he makes his request.
Is the father.
Father's.
Interest in them for whom he prays.
And the Father's desire.
Toward the sun.
Are you going to pray for somebody? You can't have two better reasons to present to God in the request that you make than those.
Father.
You love.
It's not father I love.
But you lost.
Are you going to pray for a child or a mother? A father? A friend?
Is your basis of asking something of God going to be your love, your desire?
Or do you have a better reason?
You bring them before one who loves them infinitely more than you can and cares for them.
The Lord Jesus said also I am glorified in them.
That is that which you do. They are connected with me and.
When you respond to this, you're going to be doing something concerning me.
So we can come and make requests knowing those things that the Lord Jesus would be honored in them.
For His glory.
Martha had a little sense of it. Mary, Lord, he whom thou lovest.
Sick. They didn't understand that God was going to glorify Him.
Through allowing Lazarus to die.
But God had a better purpose because not only was there bringing before him one that that He loved, but God also acts for his own glory and what He does. And so there was the added reason that the Lord Jesus had to wait so that the second purpose could be realized in the resurrection of Lazarus.
Verse 11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world. And I come to the Holy Father, Keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those thou gave us me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the Son of Perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
He had come to bring them, the disciples, into the same relationship with the Father that was His.
And they had done so.
They were to be the sons of God. They were to be the objects of the Father's love.
They were to be brought into a commonness with the Father and the Son of their thoughts, their heart, their object, their purpose in all things.
It's a pretty big desire of God and the Lord Jesus that is being realized in you.
God's purpose.
Is that you might, with the Sun and with himself, have perfectly common interests, object, desire.
You're a creature, what more could you want?
Than to be brought into such a relationship.
That you and I.
00:40:00
Could this afternoon address the God of the universe and say Father?
Father.
Not a a God. That's a way out there somewhere.
Father.
And that your father and his son.
Would by the power of the Spirit of God.
And this is the Lord's desire. It isn't bringing in our responsibility that comes in its place or our power or exhortations to us this afternoon. My heart is concerning his desire for you and what he has expressed. And can I say, you know, I've had a lot of prayers in my life and they probably and not probably.
They were not at all in keeping with the oneness of the purposes and counsels of God. But this one I absolutely can say, and you can too. And no, this prayer is perfectly answered yes, in every detail. There is no maybe or no or I'll have to teach you better. But I have a relationship and you do too, with someone who is said.
On our behalf or for himself really, this is what I desire. That they might be in the same relationship, one with us. That we might be one.
Verse 13 Now I come to thee, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy.
Fulfilled in themselves. What a desire.
He wants your joy. I'm sorry. He wants his joy.
Fulfilled in you.
He wants you to experience.
His joy.
He lived on this earth, he said. My delight is to do thy will, Oh my God.
And he found perfect pleasure in it.
He has imparted to you. God is imparted to you by the power of the Spirit of God, a life.
A life which says thy delight.
Is my delight is to do thy will.
That's what the new life is.
And in the measure, practically in which you live that life, you experience a joy that can't be known any other way.
And in the reality of heaven.
Your joy will be perfect.
But he wants you to experience it each day.
To go through that day with his joy.
In the end of John's gospel, when he was about ready to leave the world, he said, My peace I give with you, I leave with you.
His desire is that you experience in your daily life the same piece that he experienced in his life.
He didn't say keep from sorrow, keep from trouble, keep from anxiety or the things that come upon us in the circumstances of life. No, I didn't say that He didn't ask for that.
But he said to the disciples, My peace I give unto you, May you go forward.
It's been pointed out that.
The disciples, Peter, but they also said the rest said it. Lord, we'll go with you to death.
They didn't have the capacity to do that.
For more than one reason.
For one reason, the Lord Jesus at that point was going into death to stand before God about the matter of sin.
He was going to give himself an offering to God.
To be the sin bearer, could they go with him into that death?
No, they couldn't follow him, but once he had accomplished that, then they could pass through death.
00:45:11
In fellowship with his interests.
As belonging to him.
But here he says.
Verse 14. I have given them Thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that Thou should just take them out of the world, but that Thou should just keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth. Thy word is truth. As Thou hast sent me into the world, Even so I also send them into the world, and for their sakes I thank to My sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
He's not gonna be with him.
When he prays this prayer because he's going to leave them and go back to the Father, and he's here entrusting them to the Father's care in his absence among them. And as such, he says, I, I don't ask that you take them out of the world, but Father, they're not of the world.
They have been taken out of the world and brought into relationship with us so that their relationship with respect to the world is the same as ours.
They're not worldlings anymore.
Their hopes, their objects, their purpose has no longer anything to say to this. What what they the world they once were in, they're in it. But in motive and purpose and character, they're not of it. They're no longer part of the darkness. They're part of the light. And he says, keep them, keep them from that evil that whatever work to draw them back into.
The ways and will and thoughts of the world.
Sanctify them through Thy truth. Set them apart by the words that I have given to them from yourself.
And more than that, the Lord Jesus said I'm I'm going up into the glory, as you know now I'm going to be separated up there and they're going to be able to see my place.
Of honor and glory and acceptance.
And there I have sanctified myself for their sake, so that as they go through the world, they can view me, they can see me, and they can have their hearts attached to me.
And I'm doing it for them. It's his desire for us. He says I have set and that's his present today place for us. He said I set myself apart here. And you can see I yes, I know in the world I was rejected and so are you. And you're passing through that rejection. But here you are with myself. See, this is the end of the road. Keep your eye on me. Keep your eye on me and don't be drawn into the the mud.
Of the world.
Verse 20 I neither pray aye for these alone, but for them also, which shall believe on me through their word, that they may be one, as thou Father art in me, and I in them, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
The first versus verse 11, the what he was praying was particularly for the disciples, but here he says now I pray not just for them but also for those.
Who shall believe? And you have the fulfillment of this in in picture form in John's epistle, when John goes out as one of these witnesses for the Lord that he had sent into the world, and he he says to those about him.
Here, this is the one that we have seen and handled and seen, and we declare him unto you, that your fellowship may be with us.
With himself.
Oh, he said. I we want you to be brought into the same oneness with us, and that's our place.
We have too heard that word from John.
Through or another servant of the Lord, and been brought into that same place in fellowship with them, that we may say, we have fellowship with the Father and with the Son.
00:50:00
And the Lord Jesus, he wants us to have it.
With himself every day.
And in every circumstance of every day, it's his desire. It's his prayer.
For you personally and for me.
Verse 23 I and them, thou and me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou was sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. I believe this part of his prayer is still future and it's fulfillment. In the previous verse he said that the world may know.
But here or the world may believe. I'm sorry, he said. That the world may believe. But here he says that the world may know, and the world is going to know.
In the millennial glory, when the whole earth shall see our relationship with Him and his place, and our place with Him, and they'll know.
Everyone will see.
That what?
That the Father has loved us as he has loved the Son.
The Father loves the Son and for many reasons He has a right and a place in the glory that exceeds ours. But here in the prayer of the Lord Jesus, he said, Father, I want the world to know.
That you love them.
As you loved me.
Isn't that wonderful, that the expressions of the heart of the Lord Jesus?
He said. I want him to be with me, Father. I want them to. I want the whole world to know.
That you love them just like you love me.
Verse 24 Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou has given me, for thou lovest may before the foundation of the world.
My heart's.
Touched by this verse.
There's a portion for us that the world will never see.
The glory of our place, the glory of the Lord in His place and our place with Him. There's that aspect of it which the world will see and it will show that we've been loved. But I believe what we have in this verse is is just for us.
And it's based on his.
Soul Sense.
That we love him and we want to see that glory.
He's saying, as it were, Lord, Father, not Lord, but Father they, they saw my rejection.
They saw what I went through in this world.
And he said, I want him to be now with me where I am, that they may behold my glory here.
That they may see the place that you have given me, and that belongs to me.
And you might say he just assumes your affection.
That you would desire that. That you would want that.
Since you, as it were, in a sense of seeing his rejection in the world, that you might be there and see him in his glory.
Time is almost up. I want to turn to one more place, the end of the Word of God, Revelation chapter 22.
Revelation chapter 22 we had this morning and the reading The Lord's coming.
Uh, the rapture side of it. That is the the Lord Himself.
Coming, the Father says, as it were, Son, the time has come and I can just in my heart see the Lord Jesus rise up from that seat.
And say wonderful, I'm not going to send an Angel, I'm going myself. I love him too much and I want to see him too much face to face. And he he comes and he gives the shout and he calls us up to himself and he personally escorts his home.
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To the Father's house.
Umm, that's what I hope.
That's what we hope for this afternoon.
But whenever it's an assurance for us. And now the word that you might say the love letter is coming to its very end. And he in this 20th verse, he says he that testify at these things sayeth surely I come quickly. Amen.
His last words.
And all that he has to say to us in this love letter, his last his, his very last words are Shirley. I come quickly.
But isn't it something to think, as it were? He doesn't say. I'll have to have the last word.
He values, he appreciates, he cares. What kind of response does that produce in you?
When he says to you, surely I come quickly.
What does the affection of your heart, What does the appreciation of your soul respond?
He gives you the last word.
The Spirit of God in you, with you. How do you respond?
Even so, come Lord Jesus, what grace, what love.
What confidence?
In him concerning you and me.
That he would put this before us as his last little personal message to us. Surely I come quickly.
He stops.
And then he lets you and I we're have the last word. Even so calm.
Oh Jesus, let's pray.
Our God and Father, we do pray.
For the sake of ISON.
That the desires of his heart might be practically realized.
In each of our daily lives.
That there might be our God by the workings of thy grace.
A daily increased appreciation of himself as we view him.
As we occupy with him.
And our Father, we count upon thee to produce a result in US.
Which would satisfy.
His soul.
We're thankful, Lord Jesus, that in the end result of it all, that when we're all around thyself, I was already told us that thou shalt see.
As thou just looked upon us the fruit of the travail of thy soul.
And shall be satisfied.
We're thankful, Lord Jesus, that it is so.
And we give thanks, our God, for sharing.
Thy son with us.
Now in For eternity.
And would desire that as thou would glorify thy Son, so to our lives would be to His glory.
We ask this our God in his name, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
1 Thessalonians 5:6-12
The Gospel
Gospel—Bill Prost
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Well, we'd like to welcome everyone to the Gospel meeting tonight.
Many faces here today I am very familiar with and know them well.
And some I don't. And whether you're a face that is well known to many of us here or whether you have come in tonight.
As the result of an invitation given to you.
We extend you a warm welcome because what we have before us tonight is God's good news, good for everyone.
Let's start by singing a hymn. Hymn #25 hymn #25. This is a very serious hymn.
This afternoon when Dawn Rule was speaking, he called our attention to what we were singing about and the fact that we were speaking, in that case sometimes directly to the Lord Jesus himself.
This hymn is also a very serious hymn because it brings before us the issues of life and death, of time and eternity.
Blessings and judgment.
And I would like each one here to think seriously about what we are going to sing together.
#25 life at best is very brief, like the falling of a leaf, like the binding of a sheep.
Some of us, some of us here, are old enough to remember a binder, and we saw them go through the wheat fields and how quickly that sheaf was bound when that binder was doing its job properly. Now we use combines, but the imagery is the same.
B In time, let's stand please and sing #25.
The Holy House of the day, like the White House.
3000 lbs. So I have to go to the bars soon. The power of the power and the rain of life in the heart of the heart of it is gone.
In.
Nsnoise.
Nsnoise.
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Nsnoise.
Nsnoise.
I'm sorry for having you.
10-4, 001003.
Let's ask the Lords help together.
Before we open the word of God.
I wanna tell you a story.
And it perhaps explains a little why I'm a bit choked up, and why I had trouble singing the last two verses of that hymn.
But earlier this week.
I was over in North Carolina.
And they looked up a classmate of mine with whom I had gone to medical school together.
Quite a few years ago.
I know him well.
For some reason we hit it off.
Right away when we started university way back in 1962.
I don't quite know why we hit it off, because he was from a very wealthy home in Toronto, ON, and I was a farmer's boy.
But for some reason we hit it off.
And I well remember bringing him to a gospel meeting like this.
How long ago is that now? Almost 44 years ago.
And how he heard a faithful gospel preached.
By a man by the name of Ernie Wakefield.
And how I could see that the Lord was working with him.
But somehow the tug of things in this world pulled them in the other direction.
He was a good student. He did well.
Became a plastic surgeon. Practiced in Charlotte, NC for many years.
And from time to time we would see one another. I remember visiting him over 25 years ago.
I have seen him at occasional class reunions.
And every time we have been together.
The question of his sole salvation has come up.
And still he went on without Christ.
The last time I saw him was a little over three years ago.
And I asked him how he was.
Oh, he said to me, addressing him by my college nickname, Willie, he said. Willie, I'm in big trouble.
He said. I didn't tell you.
But less than a year ago, I had a brain hemorrhage.
And as you can see, I have practically recovered from it.
But it has destroyed the part of my brain that allows me to focus on something in a sequential way, and my career as a surgeon is finished.
00:10:12
I can't remember exactly what I did, but at least in a measure I took him by the lapels and shook them.
And I said, Bill, that's his name too. I said, Bill, the Lord is speaking to you. He brought you to within inches of death and He has allowed you to be here. Yes, your career may be ruined, but God has still given you time to get saved.
Willie, I know, I know. I need to come.
But he still wasn't saved.
I knew his family well. He had one brother and one sister.
Three months after that encounter, I got a phone call from a mutual friend. Guess what happened?
Bill Laird's sister Kathy had a brain hemorrhage.
And she didn't make it.
Again I tried to get hold of them.
Couldn't reach him.
When I contacted him this time.
He said to me, Willie, guess what happened a year ago?
He said my brother had a brain hemorrhage too.
And he was gone within 24 hours.
This time, he responded a little better.
I didn't have a chance to go and see him because he lives on the other side of the state of North Carolina.
But we had several good chats over the phone and in the end he broke down on the phone and said, Willie, I know, I know. I've got to come.
Oh, beloved friend, where are you tonight with the Lord Jesus Christ? That man heard the gospel. How long ago?
Almost 45 years ago and he's still not safe.
Many here tonight have heard the Gospel many times.
Where do you stand with the Lord Jesus Christ?
Let's turn first of all, please, in the Word of God to 2nd Corinthians chapter 4.
2nd Corinthians, chapter 4.
And verse 3.
2nd Corinthians 4 and verse 3.
But if our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light.
And read it in a little different way, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.
Who is the image of God should shine unto them?
Oh, I am persuaded, and I hope I'm wrong, but I believe I'm right that there are those sitting right in this room tonight of whom this verse is true. God has blinded the minds, it says of them which believe not what God, The true God? No, the God of this world, the devil.
And you know, the Bible doesn't use that designation for Satan until this world rejected the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, Satan was active all through man's history, right from the beginning there in the Garden of Eden, when he persuaded our first parents that somehow God was holding something back, that somehow there was something good that God was holding back.
And that if they would disobey God.
They would be the winners, the gainers, rather than the losers.
And all through man's history, Satan's attempt has been to persuade man of that fact that God is holding something back.
00:15:10
But, O beloved friends, when this world rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, when this world nailed the Son of God to Calvary's cross?
Then the word of God calls Satan the God of this world.
And the Prince of this world.
Why is he designated in those words? Because God sent his beloved Son into this world in order that there might be peace and blessing and love and grace and man said we don't want him.
Oh, there is probably no one in this room who, if I were to come to you and ask you point blank this question, would you like to have Satan as your master? There is probably no one in this room who would say yes, I would.
But you know when man rejects the Lord Jesus Christ.
There's only one other master, and that is the devil, so that he has become the Prince of this world, if we could say it this way, politically, and the God of this world religiously. And he wants to blind your minds to what?
To the Gospel of the glory of Christ.
What does that mean?
All that means, in simple terms, that God has before him.
The honor, the glory, the exaltation of His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Gospel of the glory of Christ simply means that God has before Him to place His beloved Son, the Man Christ Jesus in the highest place as head over everything in heaven and on earth. And He wants you.
And me to be associated with them.
Isn't that wonderful?
You know, men like to have other men as heroes.
I've always been interested in history.
And I have enjoyed learning American history. I happen to be a Canadian, but I've enjoyed learning American history. And I can well remember visiting Monticello in Virginia, there Thomas Jefferson's home.
Very, very impressive.
And in learning a little about that man, I became more and more impressed with his achievements. The man who, perhaps more than any other, was responsible for writing the Constitution of the United States. The man who had that wonderful vision of a nation from sea to sea.
When nothing had ever moved any faster than a horse, and when others were mocking and laughing and saying, how can we possibly have a nation thousands of miles across? How can we govern and administer and have trade in a nation that large?
Thomas Jefferson never even saw a train, but he had a vision. And because of his vision, at least in part, the United States exists as it does today.
But what made me sad was to learn that there was a group of people who were setting up Thomas Jefferson almost as a God. Oh, they wouldn't use those terms, but they were putting him forward as a hero to whom they would look back to, to whose achievements they would relate to, whose expertise and genius they would want to be connected, and in whose footsteps they wanted to follow. Old man wants a hero. And that has happened with many people down through the ages of this world.
Sometimes they have been, we might say, relatively good people, as the world would call them. Other times they have been men, men like Joseph Stalin or Adolf Hitler or people like that, who have led this world into war and caused untold problems and difficulties. But oh beloved friends, tonight God has, if we could use the term reverently, his man that he wants to place before you.
His beloved Son and God connects the word Gospel with the Lord Jesus Christ.
What does the word gospel mean? The word gospel means good news, good news.
00:20:05
Has man been able to achieve anything in this world with all his workings and with all his ideas and plans? Oh, you and I know the answer very well. We give full credit to those who are trying to bring peace in this world.
But you and I know that it is not happening and I am not looking for peace in this world because the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ, has been rejected and it will not be until He comes back and until He has His rightful place.
That this world will have peace.
An old friend of mine up in the city of Hamilton, ON where I come from.
Was in his 90s and he was always a good driver.
But when people get older up in our area and maybe down here too, they have to have their driver's licenses reviewed. And when they got to have too many of those older people to test them frequently, they decided they would get together, get them together and simply give them a good lecture on safe driving and the rules of the road and so on.
And this man who happened to be a preacher of the gospel, he was, you might say, retired, but he was somewhat well known.
Went to hear this lecture and the woman that was giving the lecture, knowing that he was in the audience, ventured to bring the word of God into the picture and she said referring to the Lord Jesus Christ, she said, you know the Lord Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount.
And if men would only follow the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount in their lives, and especially when they're driving, things would be a lot better. And what did she mean? Oh, she meant verses like blessed are the peacemakers and so on, those that would approach driving with the attitude and spirit of the Sermon on the Mount.
Well, the man I'm speaking about was not noted for his shyness and he put up his hand. He said, ma'am, he said, you will allow me please to make a comment or two. So she gave him permission and in front of that audience of people, he stood up and said, I want you all to know that you cannot hear and respond to the Sermon on the Mount until you have listened to and responded to.
The sermon from the cross.
You cannot carry out the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount until you have listened to the Sermon from the Cross.
Oh, my friend, we want to tell you that tonight because the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is going to be head over all things. God's Word tells us that God is going to see the exaltation and glory of His beloved Son.
Why does the Devil Devil want to blind you and me to his glory?
Because the gospel that is connected with that man, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is the only way that you can be brought into blessing? Oh, what an awful thing to be blinded.
Let's turn to another scripture, though, because it doesn't end there. You don't have to remain in that condition. Turn, please, to Acts chapter 20.
Acts Chapter 20.
And.
We'll read from verse 18. Now this concerns the Apostle Paul, and notice what he says here. We'll read from verse 18 to get the connection.
And when they, that is, the elders of the Ephesian assembly, were come to him, he said unto them.
Ye know from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews. And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house. Now here's the verse.
00:25:05
Testifying both to the Jews.
And also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
And then he talks about some difficulties that lay ahead of him. But then skip down to verse 24. He says, But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
All beloved people, whoever you are.
In 2nd Corinthians 4, it's the gospel of the glory of Christ, but here it's the gospel of the grace of God. Oh, what is grace? Grace is the favor of God that is extended to you and me when we don't deserve it.
Oh, has there ever been a message like that? The gospel of the grace of God? Think of it, could be heart of Man have invented a story like that? That when the creature, the ones who had been created, had dishonored their creator in every possible way and sinned against him for hundreds and thousands of years. The God who made this universe.
The God who made you and me would look down in love.
And God would send his son into this world to die.
In order that God could come out in love and in blessing to the very ones who had nailed His beloved Son to the cross. Oh, perhaps you say, I would not do that. I would not do such a thing. I couldn't ever do such an awful thing. Don't accuse me of something like that.
I suppose in everyone there is a sense of right and wrong and a sense of good and evil, because we have a conscience.
That too, God gave us.
But if you and I are tempted to think that somehow we are better than other people, if we are tempted to look at others who perhaps at least in an outward way have sinned more seriously and pat ourselves on the back, let us remember. And we don't need to turn to the verse that Romans chapter 3 and verse 22 and 23 say. There is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
What we get here in verse 11.
Is needful for every one of us. Repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
What is repentance?
Repentance means that I recognize that I am a guilty Sinner before God.
And that I realized that God as a holy God.
Cannot have me in my sins.
I suppose in one sense there's a degree of repentance that comes sometimes when we have done something for which the consequences were very serious. No doubt you haven't. I have to done things that we knew to be wrong, but we did them anyway. But then perhaps when we saw the consequences, we said I wish I hadn't done it. Many people have said that.
And I suppose we might apply the word repentance to that.
But you know, beloved friends, repentance before God is quite different.
Because repentance before God means getting to see things as.
God sees them. Repentance is the result of faith.
Let me illustrate it this way.
We'll suppose for purposes of discussion.
That's some boys suddenly opened that door and with a hood of laughter, yelled out. The building's on fire. The building's on fire.
I suppose many of us might not take it very seriously and we might say get out of here you fellas.
00:30:05
But if Craig Buchanan were to stand up at the mic, as he has been.
Anywhere to say there's a fire in this building and I want everyone to proceed in an orderly way out these two doors as quickly as possible. I venture to say that everyone in this room would pay attention. Why? Because of the faith you would have in the one who gave the message. You would believe what was said and you would act on it.
Oh, beloved friends, what it really comes down to.
Do you believe what God has said, first of all about yourself and then about His beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ?
Sometimes it's not easy. Permit me to tell another story about another classmate of mine.
It's one of the enjoyable things about going to a class reunion once in a while. They have them every five years.
And it's always interesting to see who has gotten saved.
At the class reunion we had back about 12 or 13 years ago, I think it was in 1993.
There was a fellow in our class whom I venture to say was one of the biggest rascals is if I could use that term advisedly and he would have agreed with it. He had no use for God or for Christianity or anything.
He was a reasonable student too, but he lived a wildlife. I knew him well, was always out partying and enjoying himself and.
Drinking, carrying on with girls and all kinds of things. You know the lifestyle very well.
When I met him back in 1993, things were different.
His name was Lee Clark.
And it was very evident by his deportment and his manner that something had changed. And he came up to me with a big smile and said, Bill, guess what, I got saved.
Oh, Lee, I said, that's wonderful news. That's wonderful news, he says. Bill, get to think that I heard the gospel when I was a teenager, and he said I wouldn't listen.
He said a man came to a fair that I was at and he was handing out gospel tracts and trying to speak to people about the Lord. And he accosted me along with three friends as teenagers and tried to get us to read a gospel tract and tried to tell us about the Lord Jesus. And I just laughed at him and walked away. But he said the Lord thank him was not done with me yet.
I said Lee, tell me how it happened.
Well, he said. We got married, my wife and I, and neither of us were saved.
But eventually we were persuaded to go to another gospel meeting. This happened to be in the province of Quebec in Canada. And he said, again, we heard the Gospel and he said both of us realized that we needed to get saved.
Well, I said, did you get saved that night?
He said yes, but it wasn't easy.
He said I would hold.
And I knew I had to accept Christ as my Savior.
So I stood there in my bedroom, he said. My wife was off somewhere else and I was all alone. And as I stood there in my bedroom, I said looking up, Lord Jesus, I accept you as my savior. I want to be saved.
And he said when I opened my eyes, I knew very well I wasn't saved.
And something, said Lee.
Neil Dow.
Kneel down.
He said I didn't want to kneel down.
And you said finally.
I thought, well, maybe I can kneel down on one knee.
So I kneel down on one knee.
The other one up.
And again I said the same words, Lord Jesus.
I accept you as my savior because I want to be saved.
And he said, still I knew very well I wasn't saved.
00:35:05
And something seemed to say Lee.
Put the other knee down.
And he said to me with tears in his eyes, he said, Bill, you have no idea the struggle to get that other knee down.
I tried and I tried and I tried for 5 minutes and it wouldn't go down. And you said finally I had to take that other knee in both my hands and I forced it onto the floor.
And I looked up and I said, Lord Jesus, I want to be saved, and I accept you as my savior.
He said Bill that time when I got up from my niece.
I knew I was saved.
What does that tell us? It tells us that repentance is not simply a recognition that I have done wrong. It's not simply a recognition that I need a Savior. It is a recognition that I come into God's presence not merely as a Sinner, but as a lost, guilty, bankrupt center.
Oh, what was wrong? Why wouldn't that knee go down? Why was it such a struggle to get that second knee down? Oh, there was pride there that said, you've still got some good in you. You're not that bad. You don't need to humble yourself quite so much in order to be saved. But you know, beloved friends, if you and I could do even one little bit towards saving ourselves, than the Lord Jesus Christ didn't need to die.
He didn't need to shed his precious blood. He didn't need to go to Calvary's cross and suffer in those three hours of darkness if you and I could do anything to save ourselves.
But thank God, the blood of Jesus Christ.
Cleanseth us from all sin.
Wouldn't you like to know that?
Cleanse us from all sin.
I hope I don't tell too many stories.
When I was over in India this last time.
I heard a story that really touched my heart.
There are some young men over there who love to preach the gospel.
And unlike North America, there is not always total freedom there to preach.
They are going out in some cases to primitive villages where Satan has a very strong hold on those people.
They went to one village, a very primitive village. They'd never heard the gospel before.
And the leading man in that village, I suppose you would call him, in conventional terms, the witch doctor.
Said if you fellows are not out of here in 10 minutes.
Well, you'll see what'll happen.
And it was no idle threat.
So they left, but not without much prayer that somehow, some way, the Lord would open the way for blessing.
Wasn't too long after that, maybe a week or two, when that same witch doctor came and sought out those men. I don't know how he knew where to find them, but if I may say it, over in India, if you want to find out something, there are ways. You can find out just about anything by talking to the right people. And he found out where these men were that had come to preach the gospel, and he went to them. Why?
All because he felt a need.
He went to them and as I understand it, he said something like this, he said.
I am in sin right up to here.
I don't know what to do about it because nothing that I have to offer these people can do anything for a burden of sin. All I do is take their money and go through the motions of this that you know all about. But I know and you know that it doesn't give any lasting peace. Is the message that you came to present any good for someone who's in sin right up to here?
00:40:06
Oh, those who are believers here can only imagine the response.
How they immediately took out the word of God and said, yes, by the grace of God, we have the answer. That's what we came to tell you. This is the message that we had for you. And if you are in sin right up to here, you are the kind that Jesus came to save.
Needless to say, that man was brightly saved. It didn't matter that his sin was right up to here.
The precious blood of Christ cleanses from all sin. He went back to that village of save man and you can imagine the impact it made when he came back.
A believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. O beloved friends, that man heard the gospel for the first time, and he believed it. Now, I don't know everyone here in this room. It's entirely possible that someone is here tonight who has never heard, at least clearly the gospel of the grace of God presented before. But as I look around at the faces here, I know I am looking at those who, for the most part.
Have heard the gospel many times and I want to ask you in the middle and in the solemnity of a gospel meeting, what have you done with the Lord Jesus Christ?
Have you believed the gospel of the grace of God? Are your sins washed away through the blood of Christ?
Because if not.
Like that witch doctor, you too are in sin right up to here. Oh, you may say, don't accuse me of anything like that. I have never been connected with any of that sort of thing. Quite possibly not. But God's word says as faith answereth to face in water, so the heart of man to man, and your heart, my heart, the heart of anyone in this world, no matter how wicked.
Have in the seeds of it all of the sins that have ever been committed. All you may say, I don't believe that, but God's Word says that is true. But God has the remedy in the precious work of Christ that He did on Calvary's cross. And tonight we present to you the gospel of the grace of God. God is reaching out to you in love and grace because He wants you.
To come.
Will you come tonight?
Many, many years ago.
There was a man who got saved.
And a good friend of his who was a Christian visited him after he had gotten saved. And the man on his deathbed made some remarks something like this. He said, why didn't you tell me more about the Lord Jesus Christ before?
And his Christian friend was very surprised. He said, I beg your pardon? He said, many times I brought Christ before you. Many times I talked to you about the need to be saved. How can you say that I didn't bring Christ before you?
All the man on his death bed said yes you did. Yes, you did speak to me about Christ. Yes, you did tell me about my need.
But he said You never grabbed me by the collar and shook me and told me that if I didn't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, I was headed for a lost eternity.
When I read that, I had to bow my head.
Because, as I may say, that's not natural to me.
I don't find it easy to do that sort of thing.
The closest I ever came to it was with that doctor friend of mine that I told you about at the beginning of the meeting. But, beloved friend, tonight, if that's what you need, if that's what it takes, consider yourself grabbed by the collar. Consider yourself shaken. Because I wish we could do it tonight. Only God can do that. We know. Because it's God that saves, not we.
00:45:01
But Oh my friend, if you're not saved, where are you headed? Turn to another verse that's very, very solemn. Romans chapter 2.
We've mentioned the gospel of the glory of Christ. We've mentioned the gospel of the grace of God. But notice here in Romans chapter 2 and we're going to read a verse and then skip over the next few verses that are in brackets and then read another verse, Romans 2 and verse 11.
Excuse me?
For there is no respect of persons with God.
For as many as have sinned without law, shall also perish without law.
And as many as have sinned in the law, shall be judged by the law.
Now skip down to verse 16.
In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men.
By Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
All you may say this is rather.
A strange thing to put together.
You may say to lose to use the language of English. This is an oxymoron. Two things that don't fit together.
The word Gospel which means good news and God judging the secrets of men.
O my friend, why is the word gospel, which means good news?
Put down here in connection with God's having no respect of persons and judging the secrets of men.
I believe for this reason.
That God alone knows.
How awful the judgment for sin has to be.
And in love to your soul, God has told us the end.
Of those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ.
I don't believe.
That it gave the Lord Jesus Christ any pleasure to talk about that awful place called hell.
But he spoke about hell far more than he spoke about.
And the word hell in the word of God.
Falls from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Far more than it is spoken about by anyone else.
Why is that?
All because the Lord Jesus Christ wants to warn you and me of the end of a life without Christ.
A brother mentioned in the meeting this afternoon how difficult it had been to stand up and preach a funeral.
When he knew full well that the one who lay there in the casket had died without Christ. Could you still preach the gospel? Yes, you could, and I'm sure it was preached.
But as far as the one in the casket was concerned, it was too late.
No, he faces judgment.
I talked to another man not too long ago whose father had died without Christ.
And he knew very well.
That he had gone into a lost eternity.
People say there can't be a hell.
How can a loving God?
Consigned men and women, boys and girls, to hell.
Our time is nearly gone and we don't have time to talk about it, but I would suggest that there are at least two reasons, and maybe three why there is a hell.
First and foremost, there is a hell.
Because of the devil and his angels.
00:50:02
I remember well in a gospel meeting about 40 years ago speaking about hell.
As it's being created.
And I was thankful for the correction that came afterward because a brother came up to me, an older brother, and he said, Bill, I just want you to correct something. He said Scripture never talks about hell as being created. It was prepared.
Created perhaps implies.
Planning and design with a view the blessing. But Hell was prepared. Why for the devil and his angels? Because.
With the Devil there is no salvation for those fallen angels, and Hell was prepared for the Devil and his angels.
There is a.
Because of the holiness of God, who cannot have sin in His presence.
What is hell?
Hell is simply the absence of all of the goodness of God.
Did you get up this morning and enjoy a sunny morning? God's goodness gave that to you. You won't have that in hell. Did you get up this morning and enjoy your breakfast?
You won't have the enjoyment of that in hell.
Did you enjoy a warm human relationship this morning? Maybe a hug or a kiss? I've gotten a number of hugs today and I enjoyed them, but there won't be any such thing in hell. Did you enjoy going out today and just having the happy feeling of being alive?
Did you enjoy a beautiful flower?
And I could go on and on with these things. There won't be any of that in hell. No, none of the goodness of God will be there. It will be the absence of everything, all the goodness of God, because those who end up in a lost eternity have chosen to go without God.
There's a hell because God is holy and cannot have sin in his presence.
And the third reason I would suggest is, and this to me is the most touching and yet the most solemn, There is a hell because of Calvin's cross. Oh, my friend, there's a hell because of Calvary's cross, because God's answer.
So the work of Christ on the cross must be the judgment of those who have rejected have turned to Revelation 10 for a solemn verse.
Revelation chapter 10.
No, I don't want to get into things that are difficult to understand and explain.
But notice here in verse one, and I saw another mighty Angel come down from heaven clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire. That no doubt is the Lord Jesus Christ personified as a mighty Angel. And he had in his hand a little book open, a book of judgment, And he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, and cried with a loud voices, when a lion roared.
And when he had cried, 7 thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write, and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.
We're not going to try and explain this as to how everything fits into prophecy, but I suggest this thought.
Those seven thunders Thunder in Scripture always speaks of coming judgment.
And those seven thunders utter their voices.
And John hears them, and he's about to write them down.
And he's told to seal them up and write them not.
Others may have different thoughts as to this.
But I remember while asking an old brother some years ago now.
I said, what are the seven thunders and why could John not write them?
00:55:04
And I submit his answer to you, especially to any here that are without Christ.
Because I thought his answer was a good one, he said. Those seven thunders.
Are God's answer to the seven cries of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross. And the judgment of God in response to man's rejection of Christ is so awful that God did not write it down.
Whether you agree with that or not, my friend, I suggest the import of it needs to catch hold of your soul and mine.
There is a hell because of Calvary's cross.
Where do you stand with the Lord Jesus Christ? Our gospel hour is gone. Now we're going to sing part of a hymn.
But if there's anyone here tonight?
That isn't saved.
After the meeting, I know what's going to happen and I'm not finding fault. People are going to get up. Talking will begin.
People will begin to go in different directions. Young people will head off to a hymn sing. Various people will go in different directions, and it's easy to lose the solemnity of what we've been talking about. If you're not safe, don't do that. There are many here that would be glad to talk.
Over in Romania.
Last summer.
We had a gospel meeting there, a very short one.
And after that gospel meeting, there was a man and his wife who came up and said.
We want to be saved.
And what an experience it was to get together there out on a porch.
And quietly before the Lord.
To look to Him and to see those two accept Christ as their Savior and get up from their knees with the joy written on their faces.
That they knew that the question was settled.
Oh, would to God that we would see that here tonight.
Let's sing part of a hymn.
#8.
Shall we gather that is coming?
When the dead in Christ arise, shall we hear the Savior summons to God's home beyond the skies?
You know, so often in the past, way back in the 1800s, the river of death was often spoken of in that way and people spoke of crossing the river as if it were going into death was crossing a river.
The one Christian man, he thought that's that's not the way scripture presents it. The river I read about in Revelation chapter 21 is a river.
Of water of life clears crystal proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. And so he said, I'm going to write something better than that. And he wrote that him shall we gather at the river where bright Angel feet of trod with its crystal tide forever flowing from the throne of God. Yes, we'll gather at the river. Beautiful hymns.
But then someone got a hold of that him, and I'm glad they did. And they said we can improve on it even more because we don't have to wait to see that river of water of life. Yes, that'll flow out in millennial blessing. But the believer can look forward to the Lord's coming at any moment. And so he wrote this hymn. Shall we gather at his coming? Let's just remain seated versus 1:00 and 4:00.
Of #8.
01:00:50
Hello. Hello.
1000 Feet Up With the Smokestack on Fire Below
Children—Stephen Rule
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.
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Remind me of something yesterday, Mr. Paul James said to me.
Said you talked to the you'd be happy to talk to the children tomorrow. I thought, uh oh, I better ask the Lord about it. I went for a walk and asked the Lord about it and he would give me something to talk about with you this morning. Then I would and he gave me something to talk about. And then you know what happened? They spent three hours up here talking to these microphones about the exact same thing yesterday. Can I tell it again this morning?
Is that OK? We're gonna sell it again in just a little bit. So is there time for one other song? OK, I have a couple come over here. I'm not gonna get to everybody, so I'll just go to different parts of the room.
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Great Ziploc and the seriousness of them and the danger of an eternity without the far from their presence would be made clear to each other in every single heart of the room. Thanks of these things and just ask where they were saying just pray I name our mercy.
OK.
How many of you thought this morning is conference time? They probably won't get to me, so I don't need to learn my verse.
To anybody that thought that, OK, maybe you learned it anyway, but they'd go through your mind, it might happen. Does that mean everybody learned the verse this morning or this morning? Everybody got it all learned perfectly. OK, well, it is true I'm not going to get to all of you. So you're right. If you thought you were going to get away with it, you might. But was there anyone that would like to say a verse they learned for this week? OK, you. There's one, there's two, there's 30. We've got lots now. We'll get to just a few of you then and we'll start with.
Andrew.
00:10:08
He also ready for.
Umm, for a touch an hour. Do you think that said a man cometh Matthew 2444. Good, thank you. OK, we'll get a couple more. Let's see who didn't get a chance for us. MMM, lots of people to choose one. Just one from this room and one from this room. You go ahead.
Be also ready for such an hour as you think not the Son of Man cometh Matthew 2444.
Him. So we'll look for a couple more. We'll see if Clement can say it for us.
You seem not determined for 2444. Very good. OK, So many of you. I'm sorry, I'm not going to get to all of you, but how about a couple more from this side of the room? Is this the shy side of the room? All right, that's OK. You had a chance to give out a song. I don't want to give more different people an opportunity.
Anymore. OK, you haven't had a chance yet. Go ahead.
Are you also ready for in such an hour as you think Doctor Zenomenal Matthew 2444 very good. Thank you very much OK we'll get I'll see if I can get a couple more from over here. Be also ready for in such an hour as you think not Son of man cometh Matthew 2444 OK and why don't you say it as well for us. We also ready for such narrow she take note of seven men come with actually 24th 44.
No, I appreciate that several of you still wanna say it. And if we can at the end, I'll try to get you if we can. I'm not going to promise though. No, I there's a lot to talk about. There's a lot to think about, but I want to start with a pretty important story from God's Word, because it's as though, because of this story in God's Word, as it's as if it were all the lights in the world got turned out after this particular story, It's as though this.
Is what turned out the lights for the world. So let's look at it in Matthew's Gospel chapter 27.
Matthew chapter 27 or just read a little part of it.
Matthew's Gospel chapter 27. I'll read a couple verses to make it go a little quicker.
Verse 15 Now it's a feast the governor was want to release unto the people a prisoner whom they would, and they had that a notable prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you Barabbas, or Jesus, which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. It was set down and then just a little bit further. Verse 20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask parabus.
And destroy.
Jesus. It talks about asking for Barabbas and destroying Jesus. Is that a good thing? Is there anything at your house you're allowed to destroy?
Anything at your house? No. What's destroyed? You know what destroy is? No. Yeah, kinda. Not really. All right. Can you tell me, uh, someone that has a chance to answer you? Tell me what destroyed me. Tell me what destroyed me.
Take something away, he said. OK, maybe you take it away to the garbage and you get rid of it. Is there anybody around here where at your house they burn the garbage?
People that live out around here, they burden the garbage, they get it away, they destroy it, they get rid of it. And what did they want to do with the Lord Jesus? What did they just say? What did they want to do with him? What did it say? Andrew, destroy him. They wanted to destroy and get rid of the Lord Jesus. Well, he was the light, and getting rid of the Lord Jesus means there wasn't much light left in the world. I want to tell you a story about something that happened at night, and I want to see if there's anyone here that's kind of like me. I bet. So there's lots that aren't.
But how many of you are afraid of heights? I don't have too many fears, I don't think, but I'm afraid of heights.
I don't like it too high up. I don't mind if I could sit on top of that basketball hoop, that would be OK, and I wouldn't mind standing up here or on top of there. But when you get up over about 20 feet, I don't like that. How many people have a corn bin on your property or a bin of some kind? How many of you climbed up onto a bin? I climbed up on one year bins a long time ago. And the only reason I went is that because my little sister and the little boy from there, they were going up there and I just couldn't tell them that I couldn't go. So I went up too. But I didn't like it because they had a bunch of little handles on the outside and you climbed up one after the other and if you look down, it was a long way down.
00:15:18
All right, I'm going to tell you about a story where a person was afraid. And there's a reason I want you. If you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ is your Savior. I think it's important that you're afraid to, but not just that. We'll talk about something else. This person, he didn't like heights at all. I've forgotten his name. So we'll call him by my name. We'll call him Steven. And he worked for a company that builds great big, huge smokestacks and something inside them that cleaned them out there for power plants. This happened just a little over a month ago. And so he, he's from Saint Louis too. Some of you are from Saint Louis.
Anybody in the front part from Saint Louis or that area? Maybe from a city close by, A few of you. OK. Got a few of you from Saint Louis. This man was from Saint Louis. He went all the way over to West Virginia, and he liked to run the equipment down below. How many of you like to drive trucks? Our little farm beer. I wish that you could drive a truck. All right. Yeah. You would love to. I love it. He likes to do that. He enjoyed it. He was 28 years old, so he's a little bit older. And he went and he drove the truck and they told him that day. It was a Saturday night and it was dark. It was dark out, just like in this world that hated and threw out the Lord Jesus.
And it was dark and he they said to him, you have to go up today or tonight on that smokestack. And it wasn't just tall, it was very tall. The ceiling of this might be maybe 30 feet tall, do you think? I'm not sure exactly. It was up above the ceiling. And if there are trees, they could be up hotel in this, couldn't they? It was up above the trees. And the leg on your corn helps. Then how tall is it, Caleb? 90 feet. It was up above that. And the water tower. Did you see the water tower in Allendale today when you came?
How many of you saw that?
Didn't look. How many of you have seen the water tower, OK. It was taller than it goes up past the water tower. Can you climb all the way up to the top of the water tower? Some people can. And it kept going up and up and up, 1000 feet high, 1000 feet up in the air. And they said you have to climb up that. He said no way, I'm not climbing up that. And they said you don't have a job, said I'm climbing up that. So he went to climb up the ladder to get up into that high, up into the air.
And he got up a few feet, probably not higher than top of this gym, and he said, I don't have a safety harness. You better get me a safety harness. And that's what I want you to have this morning. And so he called down and they said, oh, there he goes again, I suppose. And they sent him up a safety harness and he got a safety harness up there. And I want to read you what they read to us yesterday. Or in fact, one of you could read it, turn in your Bibles to 1St Thessalonians chapter one. And I'm pretty sure they read this verse yesterday. And it's so important. We're just going to apply a little part of it.
First That'ssalonians, chapter one.
And it will be verse 10. All right, if you read that for us then.
And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead. Even Jesus went delivered us from the correct account. OK, well you can take the whole time on this story, but I'm just going to have to go quickly because it's pretty important. The important part I want you to think about is that the Lord Jesus came the first time He came to this earth. One very important thing He came to do was to die for your sins and for mine. Because we're all sinners. We've all been disobedient to God. And all of us, I am sure, have been disobedient to our parents.
Two So anybody here who's never ever been naughty? Not once, not ever been naughty?
OK, some people don't think they have. Some people don't think they have, but they're not so sure. And the rest of you know, oh, yeah, this morning even I got in trouble or I was not all right. We've all been disobedient, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And that means that we are.
If you have don't know the Lord Jesus is your Savior, that means you are in trouble, that you are in danger, whether you're sitting in the front or you're sitting in the back or you're sitting in the middle. If you don't know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, then you cannot enjoy the fact that the Lord Jesus came to deliver you from the wrath to come. So this man, he was climbing up and he got all the way up and I don't know how high up he went at first. I guess what happened at the bottom of the smokestack.
Nobody has an idea. What do you think happens? He might have fallen, could have fallen. But what happened? We're short on time. I'll tell you. A fire started. A fire started at the bottom of the smokestack. So do you think he went over the fire escaping down? No. The whole fighter was coming up from down below. There was only One Direction he could go. And so he did. He went all the way up. And he hated heights. And so Steven went all the way up, 1000 feet, straight up in the air. He got to the top.
00:20:23
And he was stuck and the fire kept getting hotter and that was a cold day. It was a little over a month ago. It was a cold day. He got 3 layers of clothes on and he was hugging on tight. He had a safety harness around that smoke stack and his clothes started to catch on fire. It was so hot up there.
What do you think he did? He's starting to pat out the flames over here and you move around a little bit and then they catch on fire in a different spot and you've had all the flames there and you move around a little bit.
Do you think he was enjoying it up there? No. And if you have a conscience that was awake.
Last night and yesterday and you listened about the rats to come. You're not enjoying it this morning either because if you're Constance is telling you that you're a Sinner that all have sinned. That's what God's word says and come short of the glory of God and you're not comfortable this morning. I can't see it, but you're not comfortable and he was not comfortable. He had his pocket of cell phone, so he called on his cell phone and who do you think around near there wanted to climb up inside the fire to get to him.
Think there was somebody. So I got a fighter's game. The firefighters from all the communities around him. In fact, when they were building the smokestack, they made a preparation ahead of time. They got all the fire, stayed the fire departments close by together, and they had a disaster plant. And so they all came and they got there within about 1520 minutes. And there were six or seven different communities with all their fire trucks. Which one of them do you think had a ladder 1000 feet tall?
Oh, they're ready for all kinds of fires on the ground, but they couldn't put it out. They couldn't get that fire out. They didn't have a ladder 1000 feet tall.
What did he need help from? Where is he going to get help? He called on the cell phone for help. They all came, they were all prepared. They just weren't prepared to go 1000 feet up and they couldn't put down the off the fire down below. So where is he going to get help from?
OK, you can tell me the Lord Jesus. That's true. The Lord Jesus is the only one that could help him. And you know what? There's only one person you know. He did. He cried out to the Lord Jesus. He called out to the Lord Jesus for help.
And the Lord Jesus chose to send help a special way. Where in what direction do you think it's going to come from?
What is the rainstorm? That's an excellent yes. That's one way the Lord Jesus could send help. So that that night it was dark and there was smoke and there was fire. And the Lord didn't send us rainstorm. He sent a helicopter. And that helicopter came from quite a ways away. And a helicopter arrived and then stuck down a bucket. And remember, Steven doesn't like heights. And there was smoke and there was fire out around there and that bucket was bouncing all around. Do you think he said, oh, I'm just looking forward to letting go of the smokestack, getting rid of my safety harness and climbing into that bucket of that helicopter bounces around the head up above it.
I don't think he looked forward to it at all.
And you know, there's some people that think about the Lord Jesus and they think, oh, I, I'm not sure. I don't know. I don't think my faith is strong enough. But you know what? He had a choice to have two said teeny little bit of faith and trying to get into that bucket or to stay on that smokestack, trying to put out those flames as different parts of his clothing started to catch on fire. Which do you think he chose?
But you think you toast, he toes the bucket. And you know what? The bucket was a good choice. They got him into that bucket. They got him up off that smokestack and out of there to the hospital.
That's an important part of our message this morning. But there's another part that I think is even nicer. So let's look at a verse in Matthew S Gospel chapter 10. I'm sorry, Mark S Gospel chapter 10, and I'll read it and you have 5 minutes left. And there's something that's even more wonderful. It's important to think about judgment to come, but it's wonderful to think about this.
In Mark's Gospel chapter 10 and.
First umm 1St 14.
I'm going to read from verse 14 to verse 16. But when Jesus saw, he was much displeased, and sent into them supper. Or allow the little children to come unto me, and forbid them for such as the Kingdom of God. Verse 16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them. You know what? The Lord Jesus this morning loves you, and he loves you far more than I could ever love you.
00:25:02
And you know, my arms aren't that big. How many of you do you think I could get into my arms?
Not very many. Can I get you all into my arms?
No, but the Lord Jesus took these children up into his arms. Which one didn't get to get up into his arms, did it? Name one that didn't make it. His arms were big enough for all of us. You know, Friday night I had Paul on one knee and Luke on the other knee and my arms around them reading a book, and that was about full. That was about full. That was pretty good.
But the Lord sees his arms are big enough, you know he's put his arms around the fall in the Bible.
And the Luke in the Bible and he's put his arms around a whole bunch more. Do you think he has room left?
Yes, he does, and He wants to call you this morning to him to believe in Him as your Savior. And if your conscience is working inside, there's only one choice, accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior because he died for you, because He loved you, because he shed his blood to wash away your sins. But he's coming back, right? He's going to come back and he's going to come back for you. And I want to illustrate that with you in a few minutes. We have left. He's coming back to take you where if you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
Where is it Heaven and heaven is where who is?
Heaven is where who is you tell me so Lord Jesus is there and it's also a place he calls the Father's house. And that's what I'm going to illustrate for you. I'm going to call somebody to come to me and if they will all of these at once, the house is big enough. All of you that want can come with me to the Father's house that you have to follow. You have to come when you call. So I'll just call Paul. Will you come come to your daddy. You come to Puffy.
Yeah, come on. Thank you. All right. You know, there's the Lord Jesus going to come to get you.
Right. You're gonna call you to come, if you know what you're saying. He's gonna come and get you. And anybody that wants can come with me. You can come to the father's house. You can come to the father's house with me. We're gonna take him to my father's house.
I had 24 of these to share and I only got to share one. Isn't that too bad? I had 24 of them. They're pretty nice. They bounce up pretty well. And then there's this kind and you guys hear me? Oops, I can't throw.
That's what I had to share with all of you. How many people got one?
How many people came to the Father's house with me? My Father's house? How many came? One. I had more than enough, I think. Well, I had. If there hadn't been enough, I would have been happy to get more. But the Lord Jesus has room at his Father's house for everyone that wants to come to him. Isn't that too bad? Maybe if you say a few verses later I'll be integration, but there was room for everybody that wanted to come.
And after all went there, what's coming next for the earth? What's coming next after we're all home in the Father's house?
What's coming next? OK. Oh, you haven't helped me as much. You helped me out. The judgment is coming when I brought something. And it's nothing like the judgment that's coming. But for some of you, I think it's the judgment. You'll understand. So I went out and bought four of these, and I asked somebody this morning what these were for, and they told me.
I got four of these, they told me. What's this for?
What's the format?
Ah, uh-huh.
Well, some people, when they sell them in the store, I think they sell them in the cooking section. And this is a spoon, I suppose, to stir all the ingredients together when you're cooking. But that's the answer I got when I asked. And sometimes something like this gets used for something other than cooking to get used for correction.
But what's coming for this Earth is a whole lot more than just instruction and correction and training. That's what it's for.
I got, but it's used for correction and instruction and training. But what's coming for this Earth is something far more awful. You know, if the lights were turned out and I had something else for you this morning, our times just run away.
When it's all dark in the world, what are these?
What are these?
What are they? They're candles and they're for light. And if all the lights in this room has been out and you have movies in your hands and it had been turned on, would have been as good as the lights up there. No, would have given a little bit of light, would have given a little bit of light. Now, we're all to be lights when we wait here. But someday the sun of righteousness, the Lord Jesus Christ is going to come back in judgment and clean up the earth and it does all the lights. The sun will come back on. The lights will be on.
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And there will be what you can see outwardly, righteousness here. Let's pray. Let's thank Him for it.
Our Lord Jesus.
Just give thanks for the great love for each one of us. Ask if there's someone here in the room this morning. Conscience is troubled. Just listen. Smiled outwardly, but inside they know that they haven't bowed both knees, do they?
Just ask that they would come before it's too late, before the judgment comes. I would open and come, my arms of love, the mercy, forgiveness and cleansing by their blood. Just ask it. Lord Jesus, in thy name, by thy power, Amen.
Good morning. Just have a couple of announcements real quick here. Umm, first of all, lost and found one item right here. Anybody recognizes this?
Umm, Also, the card for Merle Graham is still available over in the corner to sign before, uh, Paul takes it back, so you might want to do that right away.
The servers have been doing a good job of signing up, so I don't think there's any more need. Thank you.
For your help, the next meeting will be, uh, breaking the bread at 10:30. It'd be nice to be seated by quarter after. Thank you.
Oh yeah.
Prayer
Address—Jim Hyland
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Want to Jesus, Thou needy, anxious one, spread out thy case to Jesus and look to him alone to God. Confess through Jesus. He's faithful to forgive and love the name of Jesus, through whom alone we live. I think since this is the meeting directly after our meal, it would be helpful to stand up hymn #65 in the appendix and if someone would, please start it.
Let's ask God's help and blessings our blessings.
I'd like to connect at the beginning of the meeting 3 portions of the Word of God. The first one is found in Luke's Gospel, chapter 18.
Luke's Gospel, chapter 18.
And verse 10.
Two men went up into the temple to pray the 1A Pharisee, the other a publican, and then in the end of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 13.
Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 15.
By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. One more portion for now in Philippians Chapter 4.
Philippians chapter 4.
And verse 6.
Be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication.
With Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. Well, I have it on my heart this afternoon to take up a subject that I realize we're all familiar with. We're going to turn to some scriptures that most of us have known from the very early days of our childhood. But I have it before my soul this afternoon to take up the subject of prayer, because prayer is one of the wonderful resources that God has given us.
For the path of faith and service through this world, God has given us many wonderful resources. He's given us His living word, and when we open His Word and read it, He speaks to us through His Word. And how important it is from day-to-day in every sphere of our lives to put the Word of God before us, whether it's individually, whether it's in the family circle, whether it's in the assembly to have the word of God before us.
And to hear his voice speaking to us through the pages of this living book.
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But then we have the privilege of coming and speaking to Him. He speaks to us through the Word, but then we're invited to come and speak to Him. And again I'd like to show from the scriptures that we take up today.
How this applies to every aspect of our Christian lives? Because Christianity is a very practical thing.
It takes grace and faith to go on day by day.
We're looking for the Lord Jesus to come, as we've spoken of at length in these meetings, but we're not home yet, and if the Lord leaves us here another little while, we're going to leave these meetings and we're going to face the trials and difficulties and circumstances of life. It's not easy in the world in which we live, and it's not easy to be a Christian today, but the resources that have always been available to the people of God are the same resources that you and I have at our disposal.
Right at the end of our history, before the Lord comes. But I thought it would be good to begin in Luke's Gospel.
Because whenever we take up a subject in the word of God, it's always good to go back to the beginning.
And what is the beginning for us? Well, the beginning in our Christian lives is that time when we came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior.
And we look back. I trust that most, if not all here, look back to that time with rejoicing. Some here I realized, look back over many, many years. You've known the Lord Jesus for a long, long time.
Some look back over a few years. Maybe there's someone here and you've just been saved recently. But doesn't it rejoice our hearts, brethren, to look back to that time when there was a work of grace in our souls that brought us to the point that we read of in Luke's gospel where this man realized that he had a great need? Now we know the story well. Two men went up to the temple to pray. This is the Lord Jesus telling this story.
And one of those men, it says he prayed thus with himself.
In other words, his prayer never got above the temple roof. He prayed thus with himself, and he tried to tell God that he was a pretty good fellow.
He said I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess. He looked at the other man standing there and he said, oh, I'm glad I'm not like that man.
I'm not like that public and I'm not so bad. What about that? What about that man?
Oh, I say. His prayer never got above the temple roof. But there was another man there that we read of, and he realized that he was a Sinner. He wouldn't so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, smote himself upon his breast and said, God be merciful to me a Sinner. And so we look back to that time. Perhaps it wasn't just quite in this way. Perhaps it wasn't just quite these words, but that time when there was such a work in our souls that we realized that not only were we great sinners, but that God had a great savior for us.
And it's interesting what the Lord Jesus said about this man. You know, you don't often read language like this in the scriptures, but the Lord Jesus said.
I tell you or make no mistake about it, this man went down to his house justified.
Rather than the other, his prayer was heard and his prayer was answered. And I want to impress upon us too before we go on that Goddess are open to our prayers. Whether it's a repentant Sinner coming for salvation or whether it's a Saint of God going through some trial or difficulty or with some special request, his ears are open to our prayers. Not only so, but he delights to answer our prayers according to his will and for our good and blessing.
I would just say this too, that a Christian can pray in any situation.
You know, a Christian may not be able to see. He may not be able to hear. He may not be able to speak. They may lie on a bed paralyzed. But a conscious Christian can always pray. There's no situation that a Christian gets into that he can't pray. He may not be able to do many things, but he can pray. Not only that, but he can pray wherever he is. We're gonna see some examples from the word of God. Wherever a Christian is, he can pray, Daniel prayed in his room with his windows open towards Jerusalem.
Nehemiah prayed in the presence of the king. Jonah prayed in the fish S belly.
The Lord Jesus prayed on a mountaintop and many other places when he was here as a man in this world. Peter prayed on the rooftop. Cornelius prayed in his house. Wherever you are, whether you're driving your car, whether you're in your room, wherever you are, whatever your situation, you can turn to him. And but I I trust and I say again before we pass on, if you haven't come to the point that this man came to in Luke's Gospel, Chapter 18.
00:10:24
Oh, I want to encourage you. The way of blessing is open for you. If you've never come as a repentant Sinner, then the things that we're going to speak of concerning prayer this afternoon have no application to you. It must begin at this point. But then I read in the book of Hebrews, because here we have what we might say is the next thing, and that is pray, a praise and Thanksgiving, you know, if someone has done a great deal for you.
You'd be an ingrate indeed, wouldn't you, if you didn't return to thank that person for what they have done? And I just exercise each of our hearts this afternoon. When is the last time we looked up and thanked God for giving His Son? When was the last time there was a note of praise on our lips to the Lord Jesus and a thankfulness for the fact that He came into this world and died for us? And so it says here by Him. Therefore let us offer the sacrifice.
Of praise. I want to apply this, as I say, to every aspect of our lives, every sphere of our lives. And I would apply this first of all in connection with the privilege that we had this morning. It's often been pointed out that when we come on Lord's Day morning, we don't come to get. We come to give. And what do we come to give? We come to give the sacrifice of praise. Was there that suitable note in our hearts and on our lips this morning?
That's what he wants. He wants us to pour out our hearts in praise and Thanksgiving.
It says in the Old Testament, whoso offereth praise glorifieth me. Not silence, but praise. You know, it's interesting that praise usually has to do with with what is audible, the fruit of the lips. A new song. He put a new song in my mouth. Even praise to our God now. Praise, of course, ought to come from a heart overflowing with an appreciation of what the Lord Jesus has done for us.
The Lord said of those in his day. This generation draws nigh unto me with their mouth.
And praise with me, with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And so he wants the praise of our hearts, but he wants to hear it. He wants that which is audible. I'm just going to say a word. Two. And two, Those of us who are, uh, parents, you know, sometimes I look around the meeting room on Lord's Day Morning and other occasions when these good Christ exalting hymns are given out. And I find that there are young people and sometimes those who are not so young.
Who do not open their lips to sing. Now I know some of us can sing better than others.
I'm thankful for those who can carry a tune, those who can start the hymns, but we can all make a joyful noise unto the Lord. But I would just suggest that one of the difficulties is the fact that perhaps we as parents have not taught our children in the home to sing. You know, we cannot expect our children and young people to open their mouths in the assembly and saying if we haven't taught them at home when I look back at my upbringing in a Christian home.
I'm thankful that there were times set aside when the hymn books were handed out and we sang a few hymns. Sometimes it was at the dining room table, sometimes it was standing around the piano while someone played and we sang these hymns. I'm thankful for that. Let's teach our young people to sing in our homes so that when we come to the assembly, there's they, they know the sound of their own voice. But all I say let's be exercised to come on Lord's Day Morning.
With a heart overflowing with praise and Thanksgiving, I'd like to just make a little application from what we have in John's Gospel chapter 2 in connection with the marriage at Canaan of Galilee.
Now, brethren, I realize there's a prophetic character to what we have in that chapter.
With the third day and the water turned to wine and the millennial joy of Israel and so on. But I'm just going to make a little application that has exercised my own soul and perhaps it will exercise yours as well. Because you know, on Lord's day morning when we come to remember the Lord, it's too late to sit down at 10:50 and try to re to generate a response of praise in our hearts if we haven't been occupied with the person and work of Christ.
00:15:11
During the week, I say it's too late at 10:50 to try to generate that response. And what I've enjoyed in connection with those water pots that were at the marriage of Canaan of Galilee is that there were six water pots. Now what vessels in scripture are often used as a figure of the human form? It speaks of the believer which treasure we have in earthen vessels. And I thought of those water pots as six days of the week.
And when they needed wine, which speaks of joy and praise, what were they to do?
At the instructions of the Lord Jesus, they filled them with water. They actually went beyond the instructions.
They were told to fill them with water. They filled them to the brim and perhaps an application, the water would speak.
Of filling our lives with Christ 6 days of the week. Water often speaks of the is used as a figure of the word of God. And if we're occupied with Christ from the pages of this book 6 days of the week, then it's like filling the water pot. And if you fill it to the brim there isn't going to be room for anything else. And then when they fill those water pots to the brim, the Lord had something that he could take and turn to wine, which I say speaks of joy and praise.
And if you fill your life with Christ 6 days of the week, when you come on Lord's Day morning, you're going to come with a heart overflowing with praise and Thanksgiving. And so it's the sacrifice of praise and then notice something else to God continually. Because again, he doesn't just want our praise for one hour on Lord's Day, He wants it all through the week. Do we seek to walk with the spirit of praise and Thanksgiving in our hearts and on our lips?
You know, I'm encouraged when I visit in a home and a brother maybe is working around the yard and you hear him whistling or humming or singing the words of some hymn. A sister is working around the house and you hear that little note of praise. The children are coming from school and pretty soon you hear some him on their lips and you know so much. Does he value that note of praise that he counts it as a sacrifice? I think that's tremendous because.
If there is any note of praise in our hearts and on our lips, he puts it there. All things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. He creates the fruit of the lips that tells us, and then when we give it back to him, so much does he value it that he says I count it as a sacrifice. I know there are lots of difficulties in life. I have no doubt there are brethren sitting in these chairs and you're burdened. You're concerned as you think of leaving these meetings.
Going back to problems, maybe in the family circle, sometimes in the assembly, he said. I don't know how we're going to go on. It's so easy to get under it. It's so easy to criticize, It's so easy to grumble. It's so easy, like the children of Israel, to murmur and complain. But I want to encourage you to, as another has said when I was growing up, cultivate the habit of praise and Thanksgiving in our lives, the sacrifice of praise to God.
Continually. That is the fruit of our lips. You know, every Christian here has a desire deep down to bear fruit for God's glory. You want to bear fruit for God every time there's a note of praise. So much does he value it that he jots it down in his book of remembrance as fruit to his name. He's going to reward for every note of praise that's been on your lips as you walked here through this world. Oh, I say, what a wonderful thing to praise him. Let's learn to sing his praises.
Let's learn to have a song in our hearts and on our lips. It'll encourage you to go on at difficult times. I remember a brother was going through some real trials and I called him up one day and he said we're still able to sing. I thought that was very good. He was going through some real trials, things that I've never been called on to pass through, and instead of being crushed by it, he was still able to sing. Oh, let's learn to sing through the trials and the difficulties, and let's learn to give the sacrifice of praise to God continually.
That is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But you say, what about the needs you say, Jim, You don't know what I face. You don't know how many needs there are in my life from day-to-day. Well, that's why I read in Philippians, because here he tells us, be careful for nothing or don't be full of care. You know, this speaks especially to my own soul because I'm a person that worries about everything. I look ahead, I think about tomorrow or next week, and I anticipate things that I think are going to happen tomorrow.
00:20:26
I guess that's why I've learned to appreciate, at least in some measure, that verse in the end of Matthew 6 that says.
Take no thought for the moral, for the moral shall take thought for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. What does that verse saying? Very simply, what that verse is telling us is Live for Christ today, and don't worry about tomorrow. Leave tomorrow in his hand.
Because, you know, sometimes we worry about things we think are going to happen tomorrow, and when tomorrow comes, the thing never happens. And even if it does, is the Lord going to be any different today? Tomorrow. He helped us yesterday, He's helping us today. Is he going to be any less tomorrow? Is the situation going to be too great for him that we think we're going to face if we're left here another day? No, brethren, he's the same yesterday.
Today and forever, you've heard me say this before, but I've enjoyed that in connection with those ladies that were coming early to the Sepulchre on the resurrection morning, because Mark's Gospel tells us the subject of their conversation, who of us shall roll away the stone? In other words, they were concerned about a problem that they thought was going to present itself when they got to the Sepulchre. Now I realized that there were perhaps a couple of reasons why the stone was rolled away.
But I would just say this, the stone wasn't rolled away so the Lord Jesus could come out in resurrection.
No, He had a body and resurrection that wasn't subject to physical hindrances. When the doors were shut for fear of the Jews where the disciples were meeting, he came and stood in their midst. Those walls and that closed door were not a hindrance. He could have come out of the tomb without the stone being rolled away. But the stone was rolled away so that there would be ample testimony that, and without a a doubt that the Lord Jesus had bodily risen from the dead, that there was an empty tomb.
But I believe too, it was rolled away so that the difficulty that they thought was going to present itself was already taken care of. They needn't have worried about it. And isn't that what we're like sometimes? We're so full of care. But he says here, be careful for nothing and then notice this. But in everything, I want you to notice that word, everything. You know, I could save myself a lot of frustration in my life if I would take heed to this little word, everything.
You know, some of the things I think I can handle myself, some of the things I struggle with myself, but in everything, not just the big things, not just the things that seem so monumental, but the everything, the little things too, in everything by prayer and supplication, with Thanksgiving. Why does he say that? Well, you know, I suggest that when we bring a need to the Lord, often the tendency of our hearts is to forget to thank him for past answers to prayer.
If we've got a fresh request, yes, bring it. But look back and remember the past answers to prayer, because as I said earlier, he does answer prayer. In fact, I was impressed. I was reading a little story recently about a Cambodian boy of 12 years of age. For our purposes, this afternoon we'll call him Lem. His name was much longer than that, but we'll call him Lamb. And you know, as Lamb reached the age of 12 years, he had an empty aching in his heart.
Oh, he was used to.
The rituals of the heathen practices that surrounded him. But he wondered if anybody ever received an answer to prayer. And so he went to the temple one day where his uncle was a priest. And there at the temple, when someone wanted to know something, they would take some bamboo sticks with numbers on them or different sizes, and the priests would shake them and dump them out on the ground. And then the priest would interpret whatever.
The the bamboo sticks were supposed to represent, and that was the answer. But that didn't satisfy this young boy, he said to his uncle. He said, Have you ever had a direct answer to prayer? Well, his uncle was surprised at his brashness, but he had to admit to his nephew that no, he really never had had a direct answer to prayer. Lem kept searching, asking different ones, and finally a Christian man came to his community.
00:25:17
And Lamb approached him and said to him, Have you ever had answered prayer in your life?
All the Christian man said absolutely. And he was able to recount several instances where he had prayed about something and the Lord had come in and answered his prayer. Lem was so impressed that he received the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior that very day. And you know, I know there are just so many in this room that could stand up and recount time and time again how the Lord came in and answered prayer in a very wonderful way.
And so let's be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, because there are requests, and he loves to have us come and make those requests known to to him. Sometimes. Perhaps the reason there isn't the blessing in our lives that there ought to be is because we have failed to ask. Let us let let's learn to ask.
And let's learn to ask in faith. Nothing wavering. Well, as I say, I want to look at some scriptures very quickly that show how prayer applies then to every aspect of our lives. Let's go first of all to Matthew's Gospel, chapter 6.
Matthews, Gospel, chapter 6 and verse 6. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father, which is in secret, and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. Well, we're going to speak for a few moments about private or individual prayer, because it does start with the individual. Someone has said Christianity is intensely individual.
We got saved as individuals, and I realize there's a collective aspect of things which we will speak of later on, but I say it begins with the individual. We're all individuals in God's sight. He knows us through and through, knows our thoughts afar off, our down sittings and our uprisings. He knows the very number of the hairs of our head. Now the Lord Jesus in this 6th chapter of Matthew was making a contract. Now this is just a little aside, but it helped me.
In reading the Word of God to realize that it's a book of contrasts, and God often teaches us by contrast. When you read the Word of God, notice the contrast in Scripture. And the Lord was making a contrast here.
Between those who liked in his day to make long speeches and prayers in public, they like to go out into the marketplace where people could see and hear them and people would commend them and pat them on the back as to how well they were able to express things and how long they could pray and so on. But the Lord says to His own when you pray, don't pray like that. You get a loan with me, you go into your room, you shut your door.
And you pray to me in secret. Have you ever done that? I want to encourage you to set aside times for prayer. It's true, as I said earlier, that we can pray wherever we are, in whatever situation we are in. You know, we often hear, exhorted and rightly so, that it's good to have a place and a time for reading of the word of God, to discipline ourselves for that. But I believe too.
That we need to discipline ourselves and have a stated place for prayer. You'll find it very helpful.
You know, brethren, prayer is not easy. Prayer is hard work. You know, they talk, we talk about exercise and divine things. And the young people here know that exercise is hard work and it takes discipline. Maybe you get up a little earlier, two or three times a week, and you go down and you work out at the gym. Maybe you in the evening, couple times a week you go out and you run. So far it takes exercise, it takes discipline, it takes energy. And it's just the same in divine things.
If you're going to spend time in prayer, it's not going to be easy. And not only that, but the enemy is going to be opposed. The enemy is going to introduce every thought and activity during the day to keep you from those times spent alone with the Lord. But I want to encourage you to get along with the Lord, to pray. You know, as we trace through the word of God, we find that those men and women and young people.
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Who had power and fruit in their lives were men and women and young people of prayer.
Because prayer is the powerhouse of the Christian life. You ever read any of the old missionary stories and those men and women of God?
That God has used in the past in marvelous ways in other corners of the earth. And you say, how could they do what they did? How could they accomplish what they did? How did they have the faith to live in conditions and face circumstances like they did? Or you look at their life closely. They were men and women of prayer. They rose early in the day to pray. They stayed up late at night to pray, sometimes for hours and hours.
No wonder they had prayer. They had power and fruit as they sought to serve the Lord. There's no other way, young people. There's no other way to have power in your Christian life. If you're not a young person of prayer, then you don't really have power in your Christian life. And learn while you're young to discipline yourself. I know life is busy. I know there's pressures at school, there's pressures at work. I know life is fast. But all I want to encourage you how well you'll be rewarded if you learn while you're young to discipline yourself to do what the Lord was telling his own here.
To get a loan and to pray now I just want to notice very quickly going thought without turning to it.
The two examples of man of prayer in the Scriptures I think of one in the New Testament.
A man we're not told very much about. His name is Epifras. I say we're not told very much of him, just a few short statements. We know from the book of Philemon that he was a fellow prisoner of the Apostle Paul. He was willing to suffer a little reproach for the testimony we know from Colossians, one that he was a faithful minister of Christ. But I think the most outstanding remark made about Epifras is and Epifras, who is one of you?
Laborers for you, always in prayer.
Do we know what it is to labor in prayer for the people of God? You know, when Epiphros prayed, he didn't just pray for his own needs. Sometimes I'm selfish in my prayers. I pray for my own needs. Nothing wrong with praying for those needs that we have as individuals. But when Epifras prayed, he prayed for the needs of his brethren, and not only in his home assembly in Colossi, but it tells us there for those of Heropoulos and Laodicea.
And I can just picture Epifras going into his room and praying name by name and need by need.
For the people of God, you know, if we would do that, I think it would.
Adjust our relationships one with another. I think there would be less difficulties one with another because.
Because you know you cannot genuinely get down on your knees before God in your room and pray for a brother or sister by name, and then get up and speak I'll of that brother or sister, or do something towards that brother or sister that you ought not to do. And so he prayed for them. And what was his prayer for the Saints? Not just that things would go well naturally speaking. Good to pray in that regard too.
But Scripture tells us he was praying that they might stand perfect and complete in the will of God.
You ever pray for your brethren in that light? You ever pray that they'll go on for the Lord, that they'll grow, and that the assembly will go on happily together? Epiphrosis prayers are prayers recorded there. And as he prayed for the Saints name by name and need by need, little did he realize that it would be recorded in God's eternal record for your encouragement and mine. And then in the Old Testament, we have an example of a man of prayer. Of course, his name is Daniel.
We've heard that story from the very early days of our youth, and we marvel at the power and fruit there was in Daniel's life.
But prayer was the secret of Daniel's whole life, And it's interesting when you come to the 6th chapter, there was a very difficult situation that Daniel felt effaced. Was he overwhelmed by it? No. He knew where to turn. It says he went into his room and it says his windows being opened toward Jerusalem. Now there was provision, as we know in the Old Testament, that if the people of God were ever in difficulty and they prayed toward God's center.
00:35:07
This house at Jerusalem, that Jehovah promised to hear, and Daniel understanding this, he prayed toward Jerusalem. But I want you to notice something in connection with those windows. You know, scripture is tremendously accurate. It doesn't say he opened his windows on that occasion. If he opened them, he would have been courting persecution. It doesn't say he closed them. If he closed them, he would have been a coward. It simply says, and his windows being open, you know, it was the habit of Daniel's life.
To keep his windows open toward Jerusalem and to pray three times a day.
Because it says there as he did a four time. I want you to notice that you know Daniel didn't just pray when he got into trouble. It's good to pray when we get into trouble. Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorify me. But it was the habit of Daniel's life to pray even when things were going well. That's what invoked jealousy amongst his coworkers. And things had been going well up to that point for Daniel. He'd been promoted under the new king.
But it was still the habit of his life to pray three times a day, because brethren.
Prayer is more than making requests. In fact, I suppose the best definition of prayer in Scripture is what we find in First Timothy Chapter 4, verse five. If you notice Mr. Darby's translation, he's speaking about the food we eat. It's sanctified by the word of God and freely addressing God. You know, the wonderful thing that we can freely address God? You know, if you have a friend and you only go to that friend when you're in trouble.
Pretty soon that friend gets tired of you. That friend says you never come and just enjoy the happy times. You never come and just commune when there's, uh good times and there is no request or any problem. But you know, on the other hand, if you have a friend and you enjoy those happy times of communion, you know where to turn when the problem comes. You say, I can go to that friend because that friend understands me. You don't mind going to a friend like that. Daniel had a friend that he talked to three times a day.
And when the problem came, he could go and speak to that friend. And so let's cultivate this habit in our lives of getting along with the Lord a freely addressing him. And then when there are needs and there are many, when there are difficulties and there are plenty, then we know where to turn. But you know, even if you have that friend you have enjoys the good times with you. You know, after you ask a friend a request two or three times, you hesitate to ask again. You say they're gonna get tired of me asking.
But you know, not so with the Lord Jesus. He wants us to come again and again. He doesn't tire us of us coming. We can talk to him wherever we are. And you know, it doesn't matter how long it takes. You know, you might start to tell me all your problems, and after a while I'd hold up my hands and say I I can't take anymore. You've taken enough of my time. But you can come to the Lord Jesus in the middle of the night. You can talk to him. You can tell him all about it, if it takes 5 hours to tell him all about it.
He's still willing to listen, and so this is private or individual prayer. But now let's go to First Peter chapter 3.
First Peter chapter 3 and verse 7.
Likewise she husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered. We've spoken of private prayer, individual prayer. Now I'd like to apply this in connection with the family. You know, whatever God has set up and instituted for the blessing of man on the earth, the enemy is always busy to tear down and destroy if he can.
And there were two great institutions that God set up for the blessing of man on the earth.
The second was the assembly, but the first was the family. And has there ever been a day when the enemy is as busy as he is today to destroy the family? And not just the family, but the Christian household? And so here he speaks of prayer in the husband and wife relationship in the context for our purposes this afternoon of the family. Again, I'm thankful as I look back on my upbringing that every day there was a time set aside in our home.
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Not only for the reading of God's word, but a family prayer time, because there are things that affect us, not just as individuals.
But there are things that affect us as families and the family prayer time is to bring before the Lord.
Those things that affect us as families, you know, it's interesting. If we were to go back to the 10th chapter of Acts, we would find a man of faith and prayer there. His name is Cornelius, and it's interesting that if you notice, I think it's the second verse of that chapter and the 30th verse. I believe there's a little hint there that not only was Cornelius the man of prayer himself, but that he brought his household under the exercise of prayer.
Fathers, is there that exercise on your part and mine to set aside those times for prayer in the family circle? What a blessing there was in that house, in that home of Cornelius. Why, that was the very spot where the gospel went forth to the Gentiles and the they are They were brought into the Church of God, a blessing. Because not only was Cornelius a man of prayer himself, but he brought his household under the exercise of prayer.
Are there problems in your family? Are there problems in the family circle? Oh, learn to.
Set aside those times to bring those matters before the Lord. Because, brethren, if prayer is the powerhouse of our lives individually, then prayer is the powerhouse of our lives as families. Now let's go to Acts Chapter 2.
Acts Chapter 2.
And verse 42.
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers. And then I want to read a verse in Matthew chapter 18.
Matthew's Gospel, chapter 18 and verse 19.
And again I say unto you that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father, which is in heaven. But we've spoken a prayer individually. We've spoken of it in the family circle. Now we're going to speak of it in the context of the assembly, collective prayer, assembly, prayer. You know, if we were to go over to the 12Th chapter of Acts, we have a very beautiful example of assembly prayer in the early church.
Peter was in prison and the Saints were concerned for the deliverance of Peter.
And it says prayer was made for him by the church without ceasing. And we have a little glimpse there into a prayer meeting that was held one night. It was again a big request to think that the Lord would deliver Peter under those circumstances. They really didn't even have the faith that as they prayed, but God honored the exercise of the assembly as they came together to bring this matter before the Lord.
And so in the verse we read in Acts two, we find what characterized the early believers. They continued steadfastly. Or Mr. Darby's translation, they persevered in these things. These are what we might say are the assembly meetings, assembly meetings for ministry of the word, for the breaking of bread. And then particularly I'm thinking of prayer and you know, they had to persevere in these things. And, you know, it does take perseverance, it does take real diligence to be at the assembly meetings.
But it's interesting, again, going back to the incident that we mentioned in Acts 12, it's interesting there that brothers and sisters met together for prayer that night. I say that because there were at least two sisters, probably more, but at least two sisters that that prayer meeting that night. You know, there's always encouragement in Scripture for the sisters, and I want to encourage the sisters to be at the assembly prayer meeting.
You say, well, I can pray at home. I can't pray out loud in the assembly, the brothers pray. And that's true. I would that men pray everywhere holding up holy hands. It's the men that pray publicly. But your presence at the assembly prayer meeting with exercise is a blessing. And it's interesting. I say there were two sisters at least, because the assembly prayer meeting was held in the home of a Sister Mary, the mother of John Mark. And then there was Rhoda. Rhoda was a damsel or a young girl.
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And I believe, sisters, that the Lord gave Rhoda a special blessing for being at the prayer meeting that night.
He allowed it. So she was the one who went to the door and saw first hand the power of God to answer assembly prayer. You want to see the power of God to answer assembly prayer. You've got to be at the prayer meeting. If Rhoda hadn't been there that night, she would have heard about it the next day. She would have rejoiced with the Saints. But it wouldn't have been the same. I don't suppose Rhoda missed many prayer meetings after that. She knew the power of assembly prayer.
And so prayer, assembly, prayer is to bring before the Lord those things that affect the people of God as a whole.
And aren't there many things that affect us as assemblies affect the people of God, as at large, that's where we can bring those things before the Lord. You know, I'm saddened sometimes when I visit an assembly and nothing is mentioned for prayer before they kneel down to pray. Now I realize we can take too much time for that. We're not there to discuss the Lord's work or the insurance and outs of certain individuals.
Circumstances, but it's nice when something specific is mentioned for prayer.
Because I believe, brethren, if we were more specific in our assembly prayers, we would see more answers to prayer. Now, don't misunderstand me. It's good to pray for the gospel work worldwide. It's good in our prayers to embrace the whole household of faith. But we need to be specific to. And when we turn over to Matthew 18, we find that one of the things that is to characterize the local assembly is dependence. You know, prayer is really the expression of two things.
Dependence and confidence. When we pray, we're really telling the Lord we're not able for this situation, but we also express confidence that he is able. And there it says if two of you shall agree. I want to make a very, very practical remark on that expression when it says if two of you shall agree, I don't believe it necessarily means every brother has to pray for the same thing. Now they might, if it's a situation like Peter, some real burden that's facing the local assembly, we might all pray for the same thing.
But I believe that agreeing is actually accomplished when we say Amen at the end of our brethren's prayers. And why is it so often at the end of a brother's prayer there's dead silence or a few half hearted amens. You know, when a young brother prays in the assembly, there's nothing more discouraging than that. Let's learn together to audibly say Amen. Have we heard what the brother has said? Have we agreed with him? Has he? Has, Has he prayed as the mouthpiece of the assembly? Let's learn to say Amen. If we would do that, then together we could bring many more needs and requests.
Before, before the Lord. And I might just say this too, and I say this to my own heart. Let's those of us who are a little older leave ample time for others to pray. You know, I think sometimes the young brothers don't pray on assembly, prayer, meeting night because they feel there isn't sufficient time or that everything's been covered.
Leave some things, leave some time, and uh, perhaps it will exercise those who are younger to open their mouth and to pray.
I remember being in Trinidad, as I often AM, and realizing there are no non praying brothers in the assembly in Trinidad. When they come on prayer meeting night, every brother prays they stay on their knees till every brother is prayed. May not be a long prayer, but every brother has expressed something, some need or some little note of praise and Thanksgiving before the throne of grace. Well, may we avail ourselves of the assembly prayer meeting not just to be there, that's important.
But to utilize it in the way that God has given it to us, prayer is the powerhouse of our lives collectively.
Now let's turn to 1St Thessalonians Chapter 5.
First Thessalonians chapter 5.
And verse 17, Pray without ceasing. Well, here's something a little different. What someone has said is instantaneous prayer or prayer without ceasing. We've spoken about praying in our closet. We've spoken about praying in the family circle. We've spoken about praying in the assembly, at the assembly prayer meeting. But now here's something a little different. Pray without ceasing. I believe what we learn from this expression is.
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That we need to be in an attitude in a state of soul, where we can turn to the Lord in any situation. And I know you've experienced this. You're driving your car to work or school and something's pressing on your soul or you know there's some de decision needs to be made that day. Maybe you have to give your boss or your teacher some answer and you're just there and you're you're one and you look to the Lord and He gives you the answer. Just to be in that spirit and attitude.
Sometimes somebody asks you something and maybe you have to give an immediate answer.
You know, Nehemiah was like that. He didn't have time like Daniel to pray in his room about the matter.
Nehemiah in the second chapter was in the presence of the king. And you know, the king looked at Nehemiah one day and Nehemiah was sad.
And Nehemiah was the King's cup bearer, and he was not to be said in the presence of the king. And those kings, as we know, had the power of life and death. And the king looked at Nehemiah, and he said, Nehemiah, for what do you make request? Did Nehemiah have time to go to his room and pray about it? Did he have time to gather his friends together like Daniel did on another occasion? No. So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said unto the king.
And did the Lord come in and answer and give him wisdom? Indeed he did. If any man lack wisdom, let a mask of God. And so I want to encourage you to be wherever you are, to keep an open line between yourself and the Lord. You know, if you have a friend and something's come between you, the next time you have a problem, you say, I'm not free to go to that friend. I just don't feel comfortable anymore. But you go to that friend and you get the matter taken care of. And now you say I can go to that friend and maybe there's someone here and you've let something come into your life.
That hinders you from turning to the Lord in the situations of life. Oh, get before the Lord, confess that thing, it's not worth having it there. Have it out with the Lord so that you can pray without ceasing. Now I'd like in closing to turn to one more portion first Peter, chapter 5.
First Peter chapter 5 and verse 6.
Humble yourselves therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. Well, I left this verse to the last, because I want to apply it in this way.
And that is when we've prayed about something to humble ourselves and accept whatever answer He gives to us. You know, I've heard people say, well, I prayed about a matter and the Lord never answered my prayer. Well, I know what people mean when they say that. But really, in a sense, the Lord always answers our prayers. Sometimes, if it's according to his will, He says, yes, He grants us the request. And the Lord Jesus told his own If they did ask according to his will, they would have the request.
But sometimes it's not according to his will, and he says no. Are we willing to accept that? And I just would say this too. Don't ever beg the Lord for something that may not be according to his will. Oh, I realize the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. The Lord told about the man who came to his friend at midnight, and he wanted three loaves, and he gave him, not because he was his friend, but because of his opportunity, his constant knocking. But I I'm not talking about things that we have scripture for.
I'm talking about the everyday things that we think we want or need in life.
Always learn to pray in the Spirit of the Lord Jesus. Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done. Because he might give us what we begged for, but it won't be for His our blessing. The children of Israel got what they begged for. It says he granted them their request but sent leanness into their soul. Sometimes too, I believe we get ahead of the Lord. I do that. I'm impulsive. I get ahead of the Lord. Sometimes it's the right thing, but it's not the right timing.
Are we willing to hear him say, slow down and wait a while? And so if we are willing to humble ourselves under His hand to accept His answer, then I believe we can cast our care upon the Lord. Casting all your care upon him, for He cares for you. And I would just say at the end of the meeting, He does want the very best for us. He wants us to be happy Christians. He doesn't want us to be sad. Oh, there may be many trials and difficulties, but He wants us to be happy. And so let's learn to be men and women of prayer.
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Let's learn to have the sacrifice of praise on our lips. Let's learn to turn to him in our private life, in our family life, and be at the assembly, prayer meetings, and then wherever we are to be able to utilize that resource. Oh, I say, what a resource we have, what a power we have. You know, as you trace the life of the Lord Jesus, you find him so often in prayer. And I would just conclude my remarks by saying this, and I want to say it ever so carefully.
But if the Lord Jesus as the perfect dependent man, could feel the need of prayer in his life down here.
And leave us such an example. How much more, you and me, we need it. Oh, let's learn to utilize this blessed resource of prayer in our lives. Let's pray our God and Father. We thank Thee for Thy word. We thank Thee for its exhortations and encouragements. We pray that Thou bless that which has been before us to our souls. We pray that we might learn to walk independence through this world. So we thank you for this time. Commit ourselves to Thee in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
1 Thessalonians 5:13-28
Isaiah
Gospel—David So
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I'd like to welcome to the Gospel meeting tonight.
Perhaps we can begin our meeting by singing hymn #26 hymn #26 before we sing this hymn.
Thought I'd share with you a little story.
Just before.
I was able to come here in the beginning of the week.
I actually have decided to come very late and it was gracious to the brethren that I was able to call on Monday.
You see if I could still come.
We've been traveling quite a bit, I.
Never really understood what people meant when they say time change and jet lag. Well it caught up to me on Tuesday. I was sick.
In fact, I began to lose my voice and I thought maybe the Lord doesn't want me to be here.
Was my wife being a nurse? The first thing she did was send me to the doctor, as much as I didn't like that.
And at the doctor's office, he prescribed me some prescriptions to take. And as I was taking this antibiotic just before I came up, I thought what an interesting thought to share with you.
Not too sure about the pharmacies down here in the United States, but in Canada every pharmacy have a symbol on the outside. The symbol is just simply a snake on the pole.
What an interesting picture they use to remind us.
When you have a problem and you need medication. They reminded us of the serpent that was lifted up high.
No, the word of God said, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
Obviously the problem I have is not a very big problem.
So tonight we're pleased to tell you a very big problem that men have on this earth.
I remember a brother at home used to use this expression, he said. Tonight he said, I want to share with you another skin issue, but a thin issue.
The Word of God tells us that for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Then it go on and tells us that for the wages of sinus death.
And tonight being the gospel meaning, the meaning of good news, we're able to present to you that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And this hymn we have before us. Hymn #26 I'm sure many of you know the story of how the children of Israel, they murmured against God and serpents were standing to the tent. Many were bitten, many died.
And the solution for that was God told Moses to make this serpent a brass and have it lifted up high. And if they were to come out and look, they'll be saved. So the hymn writer expressed this as such. There is life in a look at the crucified one. There is life at this moment for thee. Then look, Sinner, look unto him and be saved.
Unto him who was nailed to the tree.
It is not thy tears of repentance, nor prayers, but the blood that atones for the soul. Oh, then on him then believe, and a harden received for his blood.
Now can make me quite old.
We are healed by his stripes. Would thou add to the word? And He is our righteousness made the best Grove of heaven. He bids thee put on. O quit, thou be better arrayed.
Love, love, look and live. There is life in a look at the crucified one. There is light.
There is life at this moment for thee. Let's rise and sing this hymn together.
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Live in my Lord's world, they find one.
There is one right there. Falls and 40.
Them for them, and put them in the Lord's heart medium, and has been saying unto them.
I'll be out here and don't play that. No worries, it becomes.
More, more, more.
In our life and I'd like to be my one.
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We thank the that we can preach tonight Christ Jesus, the one who was crucified for us. We thank thee that the way of salvation has been made open to man. The way of salvation is so simple.
And that by believing on our blessed Saviour, believing that he died on the cross, believing that he shared his precious blood for us, believing that he rose from the dead.
In that way and that we are saved. And tonight we thank thee that many here can acknowledge that we were sinners. Say by grace, but would you look to thee? And we would pray if there be anyone here in this room still lost.
Did you ask ernestly tonight, Lord, that that will work in the heart and conscience?
That I would help them to repent while they still time.
So we look to the and we will commit this meeting into thine hand. We think of the gospel messages go forth in other places too. We do ask for thy richest blessing. So we commit this meeting now to 98.
Asking for Thy help in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I'd like to turn to the book of Isaiah.
Isaiah, chapter one.
The Book of Isaiah is a rather interesting book.
It's almost like.
The whole Bible in a miniature form.
Many of you have learned that the books in the Bible, 39 books in the Old Testament, 27 books in the New Testament, forming 66 books in the word of God and they're finding that in the book of Isaiah there were exactly 66 chapters. Very interesting to compare that with the word of God and we find many similarities throughout, but tonight for the thought and express purpose.
Of the gospel meeting like to present it from a different light.
Like the Word of God, the 1St chapter begins by defining the condition of man.
Perhaps I should rather say the ruined condition of man. Yes, I do know that this is the gospel meeting, the meeting of good news. But the good news of salvation have to define the fact that men are sinners before God.
Will find as we go into it from the beginning of the chapter God used Israel as a picture.
To define how terrible they were and that they themselves did not even recognize what we'll do is we perhaps a few verses and we'll comment that a little bit and with the Lord's help, perhaps we can bring the glorious gospel of our Jesus of in regard to our Lord Jesus Christ out. Let's read the first few verses here in this book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter one. Let's just read the first four or five verses or so.
The vision of Isaiah the son of Amos, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In the day, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, here, O heavens, and give ye, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken. I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox know what his owner, and the *** his master's crib, but Israel does not know my people.
Does not consider our sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil doers, children that are corrupters. They have forsaken the Lord. They have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger. They have gone away backward.
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Why shouldn't ye be stricken anymore? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint from the soul of the foot. Even unto the head. There is no soundness in it but wounds and bruises and petrifying sores. They have not been closed.
Neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
Let's stop there for a minute.
Does it not sound terrible conditions?
Not the Lord has described about this nation, the nation that He chose to be His.
The vision of this man, Isaiah.
It's interesting too, when we go through the Word of God to look at the meanings of names You'll find throughout scriptures. If you understand the meaning of the names often it gives you a lot of insight about what the Lord is trying to tell us.
The name Isaiah means that salvation is of the Lord.
Oh, what a wonderful message from the very beginning, even though God has told us how wicked we are, we are without hope in this world.
We're Sinner in his sight, no part with his inheritance alienated from him, but yet we can talk about focus. Such salvation is of the Lord.
Children sometimes sing that hymn. Salvation is a big word. You sing that and you sing. But I am not too small. But what is that about? I said to go on, and it said to know. To know what?
That Jesus Christ being our Savior, to know that God loves this world of sinners lost, to recognize the fact that we are sinners and we can save ourselves.
To recognize that the wages of sin is death.
To recognize that he sent his Son. His name is Jesus. He came to save, He came, He died, He shed his blood on the cross to redeem you unto himself.
The salvation is of the Lord. And it's interesting too, is that the vision of Isaiah, the son of Amos, Amos means that he shall strengthen.
Oh is from God himself.
But we must recognize our room conditions. You know, it is refreshing here to see many family with children.
And it's refreshing too to see many here as I speak with them identified with grandchildren and great grandchildren. And you can see the joy as they tell me the children and grandchildren and great grandchildren. And we even see others were passing pictures or showing us the grandchildren, children we know as a joy to our hearts.
But here in this nation of Israel, we find how sad it is that he said that they have brought up children and they rebelled against me.
Oh, how's that?
How much does that break a mother or a father's heart when we see our children rebel against us?
And this morning?
Our young brother Sunday School talk about discipline and it was interesting to see when he brought out those mixing spoons that each one of us can relate to that rather than a cooking apparatus, we related that to a form of correction. We know we need to be corrected.
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We know that we're to bring up our children.
In the fear of the Lord. But here can you picture your children grew up rebel against you. That is the picture of this world.
Then there's a picture of you and I being left alone with all God without hope in this world.
And even compare to worse than a rebellious children, compare to as the ox worse than the ox, worse than the *** who know not his master.
Even as a nation that God would identify them as a sinful nation.
A people laden with iniquity, A seed of evil doers. Here you may say, this happened 760 years before Christ.
That was a long time ago.
If we didn't put that time frame into this.
Can we, in all honesty?
Relate that with a nation that we know.
Can we release that with our own heart?
How terrible it is.
We must recognize that.
You know, it's interesting when I mentioned the prescriptions.
I don't know how many men here perhaps I should be careful how I speak on that often refuse to go to the doctor when we have problems because we know it's not as big of a problem and we wait and the word of God tells us that he that is whole need not a physician. If you don't recognize the fact that you have a problem, you would not look for solution which.
Oh dear friends, we must recognize that the word of God told us, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
But God being thy God of love.
Offer us far more than the rod of correction that we fully deserve. You know, as parents here too.
And perhaps younger children may not understand that. Yet when that rod of Corrections being used, it hurts the parents just as much, if not more, does it not?
And as a child, I remember how terrible it is to be punished. And then we realized that often.
Correction really is in association with love, isn't it?
Let's go one further in this chapter.
Verse 8 Here we are reminded, tells us, Come, come now, let us reason together, sayeth the Lord. Though your sins be a scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like Crimson, they shall be as wool.
Oh, how precious to think that the Lord says, come, let us reason.
Together, you know, there's really nothing we can do to reason with God.
But God want to reason with you to have you recognize your sinful conditions.
And to recognize that he's a God of love. He's willing to forgive your sins.
Not to cover it up.
You know, sometimes.
We like to paint houses.
You know, it's a wonderful experience when you have a house that's fairly old or perhaps you have children who have make a mess of the walls and things. And the easiest thing is to clean it up a little bit, sand it down a bit and put a fresh coat of paint on it and you cover it all up. It looks nice. In fact, I believe sometimes they use the word whitewash just to cover it up. But here, the word of God, you don't want us to cover it up.
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Oh, we need to reason with God here. We need our sins to be washed white. Not to be white washed, but but to be washed white. The word of God says the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanseth us from all sins. Isn't that wonderful to know that He shed his blood for you on the cross and that his blood can cleanse you from?
All things let's go down to the second chapter. Who's responsible God want us to recognize?
Our conditions.
Chapter 2. Read a few verses together here in verse 12. For the day of the Lord of the whole shall be upon everyone.
You know we had the day of the Lord before us now, brother reminded us of the wrath to come here. We reminded again the day of the Lord of holy shall be upon everyone that is proud and lofty, and upon everyone that is lifted up.
And he shall be brought low, and upon all the Cedars of Lebanon.
That are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of patience O here.
God is addressing, oh man, that the judgment of God.
Will be passed upon man because of the sinful condition we're in. Verse 14 And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, and upon every high tower, and upon every fan's war. Oh, he's saying, even the governments of the land will be responsible for the sin of the nations. Verse 16 And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all the pleasant pictures.
Oh, now he goes on and further and tells us ships the commerce of this world is not helping us, neither it increase and create more so of the sinful condition of this world. Even the pleasantness of pictures of arts and perhaps of lusts that are brought in. Oh, he's bringing all to be responsible. Verse 17 and the loftiness of man shall be.
Bowed down.
And the haughtiness of man shall be made low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day, and the idol shall be utterly abolished. Oh, this is the word of God telling us the responsibility man have, and that he is to make men humble. The proudness of man, the pride of man. Do not stand up before God.
And there are no remedies that men could do. There are no medications that men could come up with to get rid of this sinful condition, this word.
SIN It's a terrible thing.
As I drove down Hwy. 41 Coming here as small as a place that this is.
There were two graveyards that I've noticed. What a reminder to us that it is a it is appointed unto man once to die.
But after this the judgment.
Are you ready, dear friends, the face the wrath of God?
Without the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But God is a God of love. Let's go a little further. So time is going chapter 4. But God loves us so much that he send.
A Savior, chapter 4, verse two. And that day, in that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent.
And comely for them that are escaped of Israel. Oh, he's telling us that that future day.
Is so blessed to see from the word of God, and on one hand he pronounced the judgment, He shows the wickedness of man, on the other hand there is blessings.
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What would you choose, dear friends? Let's go down to Chapter 7, Chapter 7, verse 14.
And then he go on, He says, Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign.
Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel. God be with us, Chapter 9, verse six. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called wonderful.
Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father.
The Prince of Peace, Oh dear friends, God's purpose is for blessing this year 7 almost 800 years before the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. He told his people that there will be a Savior born unto them, born of a virgin, and his name shall be called wonderful all, the one that will save his people.
From Thursday, this is the God that we're presenting to you tonight. This is the same year that we have the one who came to save the one who loves you.
That he came into this world.
Born in the Manger.
Sin apart.
When it came into this world as the Savior, we as men would say away with Him, crucified Him.
When he was born, we said there is no room in this world.
He even sent messenger to prepare a way for him in the earlier of this meeting. A remark that this book is somewhat like a miniature Bible. We won't have time to go through the details, but I'd like to turn to chapter 40 so you can see how when the Old Testament as if it were talking about the Savior to come to redeem his people.
Now we read of something very interesting. As you recall, there are 39 books in the Old Testament. That means the 40th book will be equivalent in a sands to the beginning of the New Testament. Is it not in the 40th chapter of this book? Let's read a few verses, see if you can remember or perhaps relayed.
To the one that was mentioned.
Chapter 40.
We have to read the 1St 3 verses. Comfort E Comfort E my people, sayeth your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, for she has received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice, the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way.
Of the Lord mixed straight in the desert away for our God.
Oh, isn't that interesting to see one voice crying out from the wilderness. Perhaps this man would even eat honey and locust.
Have camels hair for clothing. He was preparing that way to proclaim the One the true Savior for this world. Let's go down to verse 21 of the same chapter.
Have ye not known? Have ye not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers that stretch out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.
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Have you not heard, dear friends?
Have you not heard?
Have you never heard of it from the very beginning?
As I scan across this room.
I believe many here.
Have heard of the gospel message from the very beginning.
Many of you can quote these verses by heart.
Better than many of us can up on this podium.
Has that done anything for you in your heart?
Have you not heard? Have you not known?
That the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Who came to be a man?
Who came to do the Father's will, who was obedient to what God the Father would would have him to do? Is that in the Word of God, obedient unto death, even the death of the cross?
He came.
So that he can be a substitute. He came so he can bear your sins, My sins.
On his own body, on that tree.
The word of God said, curse it be the one who hangeth upon the tree. He was made a curse.
We as men set away with him. We nail him to that cross. We wanted nothing to do with that man.
We all, as men, put him away.
On that.
Alone he bare your sins and my sins.
O my inequities on him laid.
You think that him sometimes don't wait.
All the hatred of men is upon him.
That wasn't it. That wasn't all.
And then God would have to unleash every stroke of judgment that should have been mine, that should have been ours upon our Blessed One.
For three hours, darkness was upon the face of this earth.
At the end of that.
Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.
7 utterances, as we have been reminded this weekend.
And then at the end he would say it is finished. And he said, Father, I command my spirit.
Then we as men. As if that wasn't enough.
We find, Scriptures tells us.
They want to hasten his death. They came up to him. They break the leg of the one on the one side, the leg of the other.
Came to him, they found him dead already.
So that soldier took a spear.
And he pierced upon his blessed side. A scripture would record it forthwith. King, blood and water.
Dear friends, a pleasant savior king to save.
He shed his blood.
So that your sins and my sins can be washed. He knew that without shedding of blood there is no remission.
And today, by the grace of God, we can say those verses that we know so well. As Moses lifted up the surf engine, the wilderness, Even so must the Son of man be lifted up. And then we can go on and say, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
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God send not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world.
Through him might be saved.
And then we learn other verses. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Oh, this way of salvation is so simple. If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. There is no condition to it.
Confess him tonight, dear friends.
Believe that God sent him.
That he died for you, that he stay in the grave. And on the third day he overcome, triumphantly overcome the sting of death.
Oh, what blessed word we have. We won't have time to go for the rest of the book of Isaiah, Isaiah, but you'll find the rest of the book toward the end again reminded us of the glorious scene of how Israel is to be restored.
But with a few minutes left, I'd like to turn back to the first chapter of Isaiah.
Isaiah, chapter one.
I have on my heart.
Particularly.
To the children.
The grandchildren.
Those, as we use the word, who have, who grew up in the meeting.
Heard the word of God.
That you have seen the walk.
Of your father.
Of your grandfather and your great grandfather.
And with the Lord's help, I like to look at verse one from that light.
Let's read that verse again.
The vision of Isaiah the son of Amos, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham Ahaz.
And Hezekiah.
Kings of Judah.
We see four generations mentioned here.
And I'm sure it's not difficult to look around and see.
4 generations in this room. It's interesting enough too. We find 4 generations mentioned often. Israel went into Egypt and they stayed in for four generations. Of the 70 sold from the Loin of Jacob, millions came out in just four generations.
I'd like to turn to.
Leave us in Second Chronicles very briefly. I like to look first at Uzziah.
Second Chronicles. Umm.
Chapter 26.
Just gonna read a couple of verses here.
Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was 16 years old, and made him king in the room of his father, a Messiah.
16 years, yeah.
How many young people here?
That age group 16 years he was making verse 316 years old was Uzziah when he began to reign and he reigned 50 and two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Jay Colaya of Jerusalem. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father and Messiah did.
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And he thought God in the days of Zechariah.
Isn't it nice to read someone so nicely commended in the Word of God? And some of you may say, that's my great grandfather. He walked in a way which was right in the sight of the Lord. Young people, what a desire that would be for us to see you walk right.
Before the sight of the Lord and mothers. You may have heard me mention this before.
Is very interesting mothers.
When a child walked right here, the mother's name is mentioned. I say that as an encouragement because it's so important for mothers to raise a child rightly before God. And you'll find that there are not very many kings that have this commendations and the ones that were wicked, the mother's name often.
Are not mentioned at all. So here we know of Uzziah. Oh young man, under the guidance of the high priest, he walked in a way that was right in the sight of God. He walked in the fear of the Lord.
But you know.
Just like many of us as we grow older, sometimes we too could list the path we find that Uzziah.
Later on in life.
Decided to go into temple. He was not a priest, but he wanted to offer offerings he did not do according to the word of God.
And he died a very sad aunt.
Chapter 27.
His son Jotham, Jotham verse one, was 20 and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name also was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.
Now before we read on mothers, you can probably guess by now that is he probably too did walk right before the Lord, the daughter of a high priest verse two, and he did that which was right.
In the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Uzziah did, howbeeth he entered not into the temple of the Lord.
And the people did, yet corruptly, Oh, it was sad in a in a way he walked right, But he didn't go to be where the Lord wanted him to be, to be at the temple.
I say this as an encouragement, young man.
You should go when the Lord.
Where the Lord is, though, he walked right, His people perish. How's that?
Chapter 28.
Ahas Ahas was 20 years old when he began to reign. He reigned 16 years in Jerusalem, but he did not. That was right.
In the sight of the Lord, like David his father, For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Balaam. For Balaam, moreover, he burned incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and so on.
Dear friends.
The faithfulness of your father and your grandfather.
Does not buy you.
Any salvation?
He has here as a faithful father and grandfather.
But he was distracted. He followed the nation of the tribe of Israel.
And they worship the false God.
Do you think that his parents have taught him the right way?
And parents, sometimes when we walk.
In a way that is not pleasing to the Lord. It hindered our children too. Do you remember that, Joseph? He did not enter into the temple, and now his son?
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Walk in a way. In fact, we read of the terrible things that he did when we read of his son Hezekiah, when we see what his son did are the great grandson of Uzziah. We'll see how terrible things that he has did. Let's go down to chapter 29.
A Hezekiah began to rain when he was 5 and 20 years old.
We find many of these kings are in the age of many of the young men here, and they have they were given the responsibilities to look after the nations. By the way, we all know that is a redeem one. We have been made both kings and priests, and we should know what the kings ought to do.
With the copy, the law as a king, aren't we with the Levites a copy of the law, the word of God before them? Well, let's get back to our chapter, Hezekiah.
Began to reign. He was 25 years old, and he reigned 9 and 20 years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abidja, the daughter of Zachariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. According to all that David his father has done, he in the first year of his reign, in the first month opened the doors of the House of the Lord and repair them. And he brought in the priests and the Levis, and gathered them together into the East St.
Let's go down further here. Umm.
Verse 6.
He made a confession here, For our fathers have trespassed and done that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the inhabitation of the Lord, and turned their backs. Also. They have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lambs, and have not burned in sands, nor offer burnt offerings in a holy place.
Unto the God of Israel.
Ah, we're told the sin that his father did and that Hezekiah has changed.
What was the scene? The scene was that he closed the access between God and man. We find in verse seven. He shut up the porch, he put out the lamps and he stopped burning incense.
And making offering.
They shut, they close the porch so man can access the temple, but we see the results of that because his grandfather did not go to the temple. Then his father actually gone further and they close the door.
They stop the Lambs.
And we know the lamps in those days were oil lamps. Picture of the Holy Spirit, isn't it? And just before this we were able to enjoy the portion. Quench, not the spirit. Oh, they put it out. They quenched it so badly they put it out. They didn't allow the spirit to work freely. And they stopped making burnt offerings. Those sweet smelling savor.
About our Lord Jesus Christ, all the sweetness that should be all about Him, ascended to God.
Dear friends.
Can we relate to that without present conditions? And perhaps the condition is within our own heart. Have you closed the porch?
Have you put out the lamb?
Have you stopped the burnt offering that we ought to?
Oh, I thank God that this morning we were able to have the privilege to remember our blessed Savior in His death for us in a sense that form of a burnt offering all about Him. This morning we didn't come to be about me, it was about Him.
Of what He has done, it was about Him, how He will be exalted high. It was about Him as we look back to the cross and be reminded once more the great price that He did paid in order to bring me, to bring us night until our God and our Father, and to give us that blessed hope and that we can say about the glorious.
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Appearing of our great God and Savior.
Jesus Christ.
All we find here, Hezekiah, he learned, he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. He sanctified the Levites, he cleaned, he purged the house, and he opened the access. And dear friends, tonight we have free access. We have free access to God.
At the cross, after all, blessed Savior cried. It is finished.
We learn from scripture that veil in the temple, that veil the separate God and man, is that that veil ran in train from the top to the bottom. It signifies that the access to God, from men to God has been opened. We now have a mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.
And tonight, we have him as a savior.
We have him as the one who loves us, the one who died for us.
And if you are still lost in your sins, dear friends.
You must repent toward God.
You must look like the children of Israel. Look, look, look unto him and be saved, because there is no other way. There's no other name under heaven given among men whereby ye must be saved. Yesterday our brother reminded us the urgency of how his friend could be snapped away from this scene any moment, but yet.
He still refused to accept.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior, what about you? Tonight, dear friends, the Word of God tells us, behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Tomorrow, maybe too late. And what thankfulness we can have before us these two days we'll reminded because of the finished work. We can look forward to the soon return of our blessed Savior.
And if our Lord Jesus does come in the next few moments?
Where will you?
Spend eternity.
Eternity.
Without Christ.
How sad that would be.
If thou be safe, why not tonight?
Let's see, just one.
Him in closing.
Him #37 The gospel of thy grace. My stubborn heart has won. For God so loved the world He gave his only Son, That whosoever will believe shall ever.
Lasting life received. The serpent lifted up. Quit life and healing gifts. So Jesus.
On the cross once died that we might live. For whosoever will believe shall ever last in life receive. Perhaps you can sing verse versus 3:00 and 4:00.
So that's in the dark.
Holy Night.
Our daughter's my last word and all the Lords were at home.
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No.
No, no world can reach the highway.
And clean down.
The Earth. And it's like, it's really.
Songs
1 Thessalonians 5:6-13
1 Thessalonians 5:14-28