Address—G.H. Hayhoe
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2nd Corinthians chapter 5 meaning at the first verse.
We know that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed upon with our host, which is from heaven, if so be that being clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this Tabernacle do groan, being burdened not for that we would be unclothed, but.
Called upon that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath brought us for the self, same thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be.
With the Lord, Wherefore we labored that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in His body, according to that He hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest unto God. And I first also are made manifest in your consciences.
For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion the glory on our behalf, that she may have somewhat to answer them with glory and appearance, and nodding heart. And whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God, or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead.
And we died for all that they which live should not henceforth live under themselves.
But unto him which died for them, and rose again, wherever henceforth know we know man after the flesh. Yeah, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new, and all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ.
And have given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to whip that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, And hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ, then be reconciled to God.
For he hath made him to be sin for us.
Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
I like to look at this precious portion of God's Word as perhaps bringing before us three reasons why we shouldn't live for the present, why we should live for eternal things and for eternal values. And I believe it's very clearly brought out before us in this chapter, and surely a lot to speak to our hearts too, because we're in a world where materialism is taking over and people are living for things that pass away.
About how blessed that you and I have something worthwhile to live for.
Or should I say someone worthwhile, the Lord Jesus himself, the one who accomplished that mighty work of redemption for us. And so I believe in this chapter. Perhaps we could look at it this way. But first of all, we are constantly reminded by these bodies with their aches and pains and groans that were not here to stay. I suppose every one of us today have had some reminder that these bodies are bodies of humiliation.
Bodies that are subjected to the effects of being part of a grown creation.
And every day reminds us that we really are not here to stay, we're just here for a short time. And what is the ordinary pilgrimage? 3 score years in 10. What is it compared to eternity? But the results of our lives are eternal. That's often said, you know, that every act in our lives has a present and an eternal consequence. And so this being sold heard me constantly.
Every day at our time here is so short and eternity is so long, and then the next thing that is brought before us is that at the judgment seat of Christ, our lives will pass into review. Everything that we have done will pass into review at the judgment seat of Christ. Isn't that also something that would make us think now that it's very important how we spend our time, how we use our energy when we think that?
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Things are going to pass into review as they will at the judgment seat of Christ. And then perhaps we could say that the third reason that is brought before us is and it's surely the motivation for everything we do, and that is the love of Christ constraineth us. In other words, we're not just living in view of eternity in a sense of beauty or in a sense of fear because of our lives passing into review, but there is a strong motivating force for the Christians life.
That is the love of Christ. There's every reason why when we think of how much He loved us and what He has done for us, that we would want to use our lives and spend our time in view of eternity. Really just mention those things because I think it's very lovely to see those things brought before us in this chapter and surely they do speak to our hearts.
Notice how the chapter begins before we know that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved.
We have a building of God and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens.
Many people give up their present, and that is they'll give up present pleasures, they'll give up present comforts.
In order to have something down here in this world, it's all filled with uncertainty. Many men work hard and prepare for their retirement, and when their retirement comes, it's a big disappointment. It's not what they expected at all, and very often it's much shorter than they expected to. But how different for the Christian we know. Isn't that lovely? We know. And what do we know? We know the future that's ahead of us, not just a few years.
Are not just a few years to enjoy something that we've worked hard to get but if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved we have we don't hope to have we have it belongs to us just as if you own the home in another state and someone says have you been there yet you say no, but it's my home and I'm going to be there to enjoy it well there's a lot of uncertainty about things in this world but.
We know that we have a building of God and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. We know it on the very best of authority, because the Lord Jesus, before He went away, said that I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go away, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. Truly we can rely upon His Word.
The word of man may disappoint us, but all when we rely on His word, it's sure.
And I often have said those two words characterize Christianity. We know it's not something that is full of uncertainty. We know that we possess eternal life. We know that we have a building of God. We know that all things work together for good. Life for the Christian is not filled with uncertainty. It's filled with certainty because God has given us.
Assurance about the things that are most important. Paul spoke about the body in which he lived as the earthly House of this Tabernacle.
He looked upon his body as a mere tent in which he lived temporarily and saw he knew that beyond that there was a house not made with hands. And so in this world in which we live is full of groaning and suffering. But it's just a tense. You know, when you when you go on a vacation and you sleep in a tangent, right, there's often a lot of inconveniences and.
Times it rains and so on, but you always say to yourself, well, it's only for a night or two or I'm going to move on and you're hoping that the next place will be a little better. And so if you put up with a discomfort and the inconveniences, because it's only temporary. And so Paul spoke of his life in that way. And the earthly House of this Tabernacle, this body in which we now live, is only a Tabernacle.
Attempt in which we live, but we have a building of God. Oh, what a blessed thing to have this assurance. And then it says eternal in the heavens. I just mentioned this because I believe it's very important that we see this and our portion is eternal in the heavens. Many people think about some future on the earth, but our portion is eternal in the heavens.
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When the Lord Jesus sets up his Kingdom, we're not going to reign on the earth, we're going to reign over the earth. Our home is there. It's true. When the Lord comes, we'll come with him for the setting up of the Kingdom as it tells us. The Lord my God shall come, and all the Saints with thee. But this is never going to be our home permanently. It's only a temporary thing. Our home is eternal in the heavens.
So he says in this we groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed upon with our host, which is from heaven.
That someone has said God permits us to groan but not to grumble. We shouldn't grumble, but it's not wrong to groan and tells us about the Lord Jesus. He groaned in spirit and was troubled. The Lord Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus. The Lord Jesus felt things he even said.
Reproach had broken my heart. I am full of heaviness. I look for some to take pity. And there was none, and for comforters and I found none. The Lord Jesus's man here has through every form and kind of suffering that it was possible for him.
As the blessed of the Holy Son of God to pass through down here in this world, He went through these things that he might be merciful and faithful High Priest, that he might know what we passed through. Only He passed through it all apart from sin.
And so as I say again, we do grow on. We're not made without feelings. We not only feel pain, but we feel as I say things that happen that first, perhaps even emotionally, as the Lord said, reproach hath broken my heart. That wasn't a physical pain, but he felt it and said he approaches to them that reproach me. They are falling upon me. When God his Father was reproached, the Lord Jesus felt it.
He entered into these things and he said lover and friend thou is put far from me and mine acquaintance Into Darkness isn't very blessed to enter into these things and to see that the Lord knows what we can go through and our feelings and and he doesn't may as without feelings. He has given us these feelings, but let us be careful, Brandon that we don't allow these things to make us murmur. We need to learn as the Lord Jesus.
Perfect Pathway told us when the nation rejected him, he looked up and spoke to his Father and said, I thank the Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hit these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in my sight, and so when someone hurts you.
When physical pain comes, may we have the grace to say Even so bothered, for so it seemed good in Thy sight to be able to take that which happens as from Him. And yet we do groan, and we long for that time when we will be clothed upon with our house, which is from heaven, and that will be at the coming of the Lord Jesus.
When at his coming will be caught up and changed, He'll change these bodies of humiliation.
To be fashioned like unto His own glorious body. We'll have bodies in glory like Him. We won't have physical suffering. We won't groan, we won't have pain in that scene because God himself will wipe away all tears from off of all faces.
Now there's a little warning in this third verse, I believe. If so be that being closed, we shall not be found naked.
Beating clothes means that.
As he says, clothed upon with our house, which is from heaven. And there will be a resurrection of believers, There will be a resurrection of the unbelievers. The Scripture speaks of the resurrection of the just and the resurrection of the unjust. And so I believe there's a little warning here that there might be those who had taken the place of profession and to them they would be raised. They would come forth in resurrection.
But they would be found naked. Those he refers to in the end of the in the 11Th verse. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade man what a solemn thing for those who come forth out of their graves to stand before God and in their sins found naked. Oh, how dreadfully solemn. And if there's anyone here tonight as I talk of this.
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Blessed fact that we have this building of God, this home above. Is there anybody here that is only a professor?
And you will come forth in resurrection, but he stand before God in your sin, naked, with no robe of righteousness. Oh, how dreadfully solemn where we find these warnings, because God constantly brings these before us, lest there might be some who take their place among Christians, but are only empty professors.
Well, it's not too late. The door is open now. The best robe of heaven awaits the returning prodigal. Everyone who comes will receive that best Grove.
And be made, as we have the end of the chapter, the righteousness of God in Christ.
But now the fourth verse says, For we that are in this Tabernacle do groan, being burdened.
Not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up with light. This verse is very instructive and striking. It says here we've grown, but it says not for that we would be unclawed, but clothed upon. Now death is the unclothed state, clothed upon his resurrection. And so.
When a person dies that is spoken of as the unclosed state, the body is laid in the grave. The spirit is absent from the body and present with the Lord.
That is the unclosed date, but notice the way it's worded here. Not that we would be unblocked, but clothed upon. I think this is very beautiful, brethren. In other words, the hope of the Christian is never going through death, but always the Lords coming. And so you can visit a a sick Christian in the hospital and while you can present to him the confidence that he has that he doesn't need to fear death because.
Death for him is to be absent from the body and present with the Lord.
We can always set before that Christian the blessed fact now that the Lord is coming. And so he says not that we would be on the cloth, but clothed upon. So the Christian hope is always the Lord's coming. And this is very lovely that we can go on from day-to-day and as we get older we can say, well, it's not death the world.
Calls it sunset and death and so on. That's what they have before them. But as Christians, we should always.
Young girls have the hope of the Lords coming in sickness, not the thought. Well, this is a terminal case.
We always are to have, not that we would be unemployed, but close the time. It tells us, as it goes on to say, if death should come. We are confident. There's no question of certainty in the presence of death, but it is not the proper hope of the Christian. I think it's quite interesting because I remember hearing of a man who said to a believer one time.
He said many believers talk about how wonderful it is and that if you should die, you would be with the Lord and glory and that it's far better. I said when you get sick, you all run to the doctor. He said how is that you're you're not consistent. If you really believe what you said, you would be very anxious to get go through death and be with the Lord. Oh, this Christian, I thought.
And replied to him very intelligently, he said. But you unbelievers, you know you won't read the Bible carefully.
The Bible never tells me to look for death, and if the doctor makes me better so that I can live a little longer, I'm hoping that I'll be alive when the Lord Jesus comes. And the Bible so perfect in everything. We have No Fear in the president's death. We're confident.
But what we look for is not the unemployed state, but the cold upon state. Now that will take place right there again, when the Lord Jesus comes, and will change these bodies of humiliation to be fashioned like unto His own glorious body. And so he goes on to say, Now He could have brought us for the self. Same thing is God.
Who also have given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
We know that when the Lord cleaved us, we received the salvation of our souls, such what Peter refers to when he says receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. But Romans says now is our salvation here than when we believe. What does he mean by this? Well, we only have part of our salvation.
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You're waiting for the completion and that will be when the Lord Jesus comes, and then we'll have not the only the salvation of our souls which we have now.
But we don't have the salvation of our bodies. And so that is what he is Speaking of here when he says either that brought us for the self same thing and that is to have these glorified bodies to be clothed upon in bodies like Christ. He says that's why he has saved us, not to leave us part of this groaning creation, but.
To give us the assurance that our salvation will be completed another day, and we will be with him like Christ in this lovely. What kind of an earnest has he given?
Sometimes a person is going to buy a piece of property and he gives a certain sum of money as the earnest money if he should decide to back out of the deal. Maybe if he's only given a small amount, he figures well, better to lose the money than go through with the deal. But supposing that you were going to buy a piece of property and the real estate agent said, how much money will you put down for?
As earnest money on the property.
And you say, well, I'll give you twice the value of the property. Police said you don't need to give that much. Well, I want to be sure to get it. So we'll say it's $25,000 piece of property. And you give them a check for $50,000. And this is the earnest money. This is the assurance that you're going to complete the deal. And the next day somebody says to him, you think that man might back out of the deal.
I said never, never. Why he didn't place the value of the property?
There isn't a chance it's going to back out now. What kind of an earnest did God give to me to give me an assurance that He's going to complete? What have you done? Isn't this blessed? Is given the Holy Spirit of God, a divine Person, one of the Persons of the Holy Trinity, to dwell in your body as the pledge that He's going to complete what He has become. Therefore, we're always confident.
Therefore, we're always confident knowing the clouds were at home in the body. It hasn't happened yet.
I haven't got my glorified body, still have some aches and groans, but I'm confident because I have the earnest, the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within me as the assurance. And then he goes on to say that whilst we're at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. We want by faith, not by sight. The deal hasn't yet gone through.
When the money is there, but it's going to be completed all right. And we are confident that we walk by faith.
We haven't seen our precious Savior. We haven't seen that glorious home of her confidence.
And then more than this, if death should intervene before we are brought into this blessed home and glorified bodies, then we know that we'll be absent from the body and present with him in spirit, so that the state in which the believer is, while he waits, the Lord's coming, if he passes through death.
Is to be absent from the body and present with the Lord so he's he's confident he's not looking for death if he comes he's confident because.
He knows that death for him is to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. But the assurance that he has by the Spirit is that he is going to another day have a body of glory like Christ and speaks of this in Romans 8. It says He shall quicken your immortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you. That same blessed spirit in dwelling the believer is going to complete that word. That's very precious as.
Think of it so we can see how that believer who knows the Lord is his Savior. Everything is confidence. But I say again, isn't all this a reason, brethren, why we should live for eternity? We know that our time here is so short. Some of us are a few years older and we hardly know where the years have gone. They just flown by. We look at the younger people and we think.
All they only realize how life short, how short life is. They want to spend their use for the Lord.
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Because you get older, you begin to say where is my life? It's just flown by. It's gone by as a job sense like a Weaver shuttle fly so quickly. But surely when we think of this and think of how these, these aches and pains every time you have a toothache, every time you have a headache, the Lord is saying, I'm just reminding you that you're not here to stay on a Gray hair comes in your head. Remember, the Lord is saying, remember, you're not here to stay.
You're just passing through. So all these things are given to us as reminders that we should live in view of eternity.
And now Patty says in the ninth verse, Wherefore we labor, that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him, or another translation says, agreeable to him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad.
Now there's another reason brought before us here.
It has nothing to do with our confidence. Our confidence all rests upon what Christ has done upon His precious word. But because we have this confidence, therefore we labor. Notice if you read the 1St 3 verses, the words of the eighth verse we are confident, and then the ninth verse, wherefore we labor.
Some people say that your labor is so you can have confidence, and if you labor enough, then you can be sure that everything will be all right in the end. But God reverses the order. He says we're confident and therefore we labor. Or as someone have put it in a little bomb, I could not work.
My soul to save for that my Lord has done, but I would work like any slave for the love of God's dear Son. So that we're confident. And that's why we labor. And God always starts us with that confidence. We're saying we know we're saved, we know our home and we know what Christ has done for us. And now because of this, we we labor. And now this brings us to the second point.
Paul desire that, whether present or absent.
He would live a life that was agreeable to the Lord. And surely as we think of what the Lord has done for us, and then when we think that our lives are going to pass into review, perhaps you're allowed to buy a present for somebody and it's somebody you love very much, somebody you think a great deal about. And all the time you're buying that gift, you're saying, oh, I hope they like it. I hope they.
You haven't yet given it to them, but you're thinking about whether they like it or whether they're going to like it when they see it. And you deliberate and you think about how you'd like to show them that you think a good deal of them, you pay a good price for them, and so on. And then they waited for the next thing. When they receive it, you're wondering what they're going to say.
Are they going to tell you that they like it? You want them to really, honestly tell you whether they like it or not.
You want some talk that they are just putting on. You really want to know. You really want to know whether what you have got for them is pleasing to them. Well, this was Paul's life. He said that I saw. I see whoever is in the present in such a way now that I have the sense in my soul of the Lord's approval. But he said, I'm waiting for the day when my wife passes into review and then I'll find out, but I don't.
Till that day, I want this to be my earnest desire now while I'm here, so that when in that day my life has been reviewed, there will be that confidence that I have sought in this life to live to please Him and speak to your hardened mind that we might live our lives and such.
That's why Paul speaks so often of that day, he says about the crown of righteousness which the Lord shall give in that day, he said, and not to me only, but to all them that love is appearing. He really desire to live his life in such a way as to have the Lord's approval, because he knew that his life another day was going to pass into review and surely.
Think of this. It does speak to us, doesn't it, that our lives are going to early living during this life in such a way as to seek to be acceptable to Him? Well, He's given us His word so that we might know what is pleasing to him. He's given us his word to tell us not every detail of our lives.
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I like the way I believe it was Mr. Darby put it, he said. There's some things that God has told us very, very definitely.
That such things pleasing and such things don't please him. He said there are other things that he wants us to discover by a close walk with him. Now, isn't that true in a love relationship? You know, in a love relationship, why usually the husband and the wife. There's some things that you know your partner definitely likes and definitely dislikes, but there's only things you only discover about living with them. They they can tell you, but you just want.
Right, just get into a master, perhaps dishonor the Lord when you get over involved in making money or something. It's so hard to make a right balance in those things of all of us who have tried to be provided in the home realized. And so we need a right way for all our substance ourselves.
Our children and all our substance, well, they pray they passed them. They realized that this was no easy matter, but they turned to the right person to get guidance. And it says here, for I was ashamed to require the kids, advances, soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way, because he had spoken unto the King saying.
The hand of our God is upon all things with goodness.
By his power and his broth is against all, and must forsake him. Well, isn't this a good thing? He was ashamed to go to the king and ask for a band of soldiers and horsemen. And I didn't mean that he didn't recognize the powers of Bee. Notice the last verse of the chapter. And they delivered the king of commissions under the King's lieutenants into the governors on this side of the river.
And they further the people in the House of God.
This is very interesting to see that they recognize the powers that be as being ordained of God, and we should too. We should never forget this, our attitude toward government. We have to be careful that we don't sign folks because we might see the misuse of power. There's plenty of it in those days.
And so we might find fault that they recognize the powers that be, that they were not pretending to come. And that's good for us. Rather, we're not dependent upon the world. The world may have a lot of plans and ideas, but you and I are not becoming upon man. We can have that full dependence upon the Lord. Now He may use the, He may use the powers of these. You might find that you read in Nehemiah that.
Asking the king provided soldiers and horsemen for Nehemiah and sometimes were very very thankful for protection that we get protection we we're things that we can meet together here in peace and quietness but it's another thing to count upon the world we count upon the Lord we count upon his power and his might to protect us there's a perfect balance in scripture there's a full recognition of the powers that they but the.
Independence upon the Lord.
And so it says in the 23rd verse, going faster than besought our God for this. And he was entreated of us. God answered their prayer. He came in and delivered them, and undertook for them in this serious and difficult journey from Babylon up to Jerusalem.
Now tells us what Ezra did here, and he had some vessels of silver and gold, as that were to be carried up to the House of God at Jerusalem. And these vessels were weighed into the hands of these chief of the priests, and tells us that a great responsibility was laid upon them. And the three of verses mentions.
So took the priests and the Levites the way the silver. So we can see that this little company that went up, they had these vessels.
They were given to carry and I believe if I could apply it in this way, that they represent to us the truth of God that has been committed to us, it tells us.
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Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast received with me. No verses holding fast the faithful word. We find today in wisdom that there's a tendency to compromise the truth of God.
And we have a responsibility. The scripture says the Church of God is to be the pillar and ground of the truth. Never expect unbelievers to support the truth of God. Who is going to support it? The only people that are doing the responsibility of supporting the truth of God. As the Church of the living God, we have a responsibility. And what a sad thing on those who profess the name of Christ. Let's slip some part of the truth of God.
We have no rights with this at all. These people were given these vessels and they were not their own. They were given to them to keep and the brain of the Jerusalem. And we have no right to make any compromises in regard to the truth of God. It has been committed to us. The Church does not teach.
But I say again, the Church is responsible and to keep the truth that has been committed to us. And more than that, the truth is never spoken of in the Scripture in the plural, because we use the expression often, well, that person has a lot of truth where that person goes to certain truth.
But the Scripture speaks of it in its entirety. Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life, and it speaks, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. When he speaks about the faith, it says earnestly contending for the faith. The world talks about a different faith and Scripture. There is the truth, there is the faith, there is the way.
It's in the singular, and I say again, it's most important.
That human eye should realize his responsibility in breaks one's heart and finds those who profess the name of Christ gradually letting part of the truth of God slip away. Even find in recent times that people are beginning, even in places where we hardly ever expected it, to question whether the Word of God is fully inspired, whether we can rely upon it fully.
Oh, my sadness is, oh, brethren, I say, there's something been waved to us.
We have been given this precious book and Paul exhorted Timothy, Paul, Timothy, he thought was just coming into my Christ and brethren, may we realize this great responsibility that has been given to us. So if you wait to them the silver and the gold and the vessels that were taken.
And all the number of vessels and the weight was all written down. It says you were three things.
There was the gold and the silver, and there was a copper. I believe those three things are very, very important. The goal representing divine righteousness, the glory of the person of Christ, because he himself is the one who is truly the fine goal. And then the silver that represents redemption, and then the copper represents the righteousness of God's judgment. And we see those things living alone.
We find people setting aside parts of the glory of Christ, some teaching that our blessed Lord Jesus could sin. We find new things creaking in the gold, cutting off the little parts. When they came up, it wasn't just do you have the same number of vessels that were given to you, but the vessels were way because a man might take a gold vessel and he might cleverly cut.
Little bit of that normal vessel and think it would never be noticed and perhaps it wouldn't be noticed, but it would be noticed when it went on the scales. They noticed that then. And when we think of what gold is worth in the market today, we can see how it wouldn't take very much to run into a little bit. And so we think of those vessels that were given to them. So we speak of the glory of the person of Christ.
Let's not compromise or give up any part of it when we speak of redemption.
The people who say that you're saved but you could be lost again, I believe they've taken away some of the silver, they've spoiled the redemption work of Christ. And then to where those come realize that the Lord Jesus on the cross was there under the judgment of God, bearing the wrath and judgment of God against sin. And so these things were committed into the hands of these.
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Jerusalem and it was all written down and it's all written down here.
It says forever our Lord, thy word is settled in heaven, and I expect them to get to glory, that God is going to remind us that we had his word and this will be the standard by which everything is properly managed. And so with those who are judged. It says the Lord Jesus said the word which I have spoken the same shall judge in the last day, not the opinions of them.
That I've spoken the same shall judge it in the last day. So these were given to these people, and in the 28th verse it says, And I said unto them, We are holding under the Lord. The vessels are holy also, and the silver and the gold are a free rental, offering unto the Lord God of your Father's. Now that is, we are a holy people.
It tells us in Peter's epistle, Be ye holy for I am holy, and exhorts us that we are to walk as obedient children.
Because we are home. And then the first Super Bowl, the truth was home, and it was a legal offering unto the Lord. That is, Christianity is holy liberty never, liberty for the flesh never, but liberty, true liberty, Because what is true Christian liberty?
Why someone has said that if it were possible to rob the Lord Jesus of his liberty, it would only be to rob him of his ability to do his Father's will. There was no other liberty to him. We speak of liberty meaning that we have certain rights to do things on our own, but the Lord Jesus blessing pathway all through this world was a path of perfect liberty. Because he said I would like.
Thy will, my God, it's always limited to do what you like to do. And to the Lord Jesus that was liberty, and for us it's liberty, It's ******* to do our own will. It's liberty to allow the new man to act. If the Son therefore shall make you free, we shall be free of need. Remember when Lazarus was raised, the Lord said lose him and put him under some new laws. No, loosen and let him go.
He had a light now in resurrection.
That way and now if life was a life of liberty and that's the path of the Christian. And so they were to watch these and keep them for how long until they were weighed in in the chambers of the House of the Lord of Jerusalem? And are we just because we're living in the last days of the church's history and legacy and days?
Are we allowed to kind of sort of make compromises?
Just because it's near the end and a lot of other people are doing it, Thou shalt not follow another Cheers to be able, however, to watch them until they were way in at the well. It wasn't easy. It wasn't easy. It says unless 31St verse.
Then we departed from the river of the harbour on the 12Th day of the first month to go under Muslim and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and such as laying wait by the way, and we came to Jerusalem, and a vote there three days have beautiful.
Here they were, they started out, they didn't have any protection from the king. They didn't have a band of soldiers and horsemen, but there were plenty of enemies in the way. What enabled them to make this journey? Well, they had to be sought, the Lord.
He was included for them. And brethren, who are we the most? Can we say we can do anything of ourselves? Do we have any strength of our own? Can we say it would never happen to us? We have to be constantly dependent upon the Lord constantly. And I can just feel that all those people made that journey up to Jerusalem, that they were constantly depended, looking up to the Lord and saying Lord their enemies.
Can keep us. We can't handle this situation. We don't have any soldiers and horsemen with us.
But we have the Lord our God with us that fight us, that did help us and to fight our battles. And so we made the journey. We got there to Jerusalem. How long was the journey? I was threatened when I was reading that. It doesn't tell how many days it took. Now there are many times that it tells how long the journey took, but here it doesn't tell because we don't know.
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And to me it just suggests that the fact that we only have the rest of our time, I don't know.
It might be a day, might be a month, might be a year, might be several years, I don't know. But I didn't know this, that whatever have had the Lord is sufficient. Whatever enemies will spring up. And I don't expect things to get easier. I expect them to get more difficult. You often find that you're traveling along the highway, that there's a truck just before the end of the next day, isn't it? You just think, oh, I'm just about to do it. There's a truck just before you enter the next.
The enemies along the way.
I've done pretty well. Let's be careful as we get near the end why the enemy has a threat. He's trying to catch us. And so we need to be constantly dependent upon the Lord walking to please him for all to walking to please him. We don't need you don't need to fear a trap if you're always doing the right speed. And so we don't need to fear if we're going on in obedience to the Lord.
We can count upon him along the way. He is the one who protects us Well they came there and then business. They have all three days in tents and they came to Jerusalem. They bought 3 days doesn't say intense because they were in Jerusalem. Now they're in Jerusalem now I think this is very lovely that they have load there and to me it suggests this thought and just passed on this little thought that when.
Jesus comes for his own and give that show. It's not with any plot of responsibility. Did you ever notice that all the scriptures that that speak about the rapture always are the thought of joy and comfort and meeting the Lord. The responsibility always comes after himself and is always in scripture associated with the appearance because when the Lord gives the show, faithful and on faithful Christians are all going to love.
And I just like I sometimes said when I was away from home.
My children was naughty when I was away. I never wanted that to come up when I first got home because I wanted to return home to the the joy of being with my wonders and children again. I wanted to give joyful greed. And isn't it lovely to know that when we meet the Lord in the air, there's nothing to be raised at that point it will be just the joy of meeting you and being with you. So they got there.
In three days, answering no doubt to this wonderful truth of the Lord work for us.
They just stayed there for three days. Then on the 4th day, now with the rest and between the rapture and the appearing, the judgment seat of Christ was in place. Between the rapture and the appearing, our lives will pass in the review on the 4th day, then something happened. It tells us that they.
The gold and the silver was weighed in the House of our God. The 34th verse by number.
And by weight of everyone and all the weight was written at that time. It had been given to them and it had been way before they started. And now there's going to be again a weighing in. First it was weighed to the people, now it's weighed in Jerusalem. Is this something for us to consider?
When our lives pass into review, how we act and how we treated the truth that had been committed to us.
The knowledge that God had given to us in His Word, how did we treat it? Did we, did we really seek to value it and walk in or did we give up articles or just what was our attitude? Well, along the way, whatever they did is not mentioned, but it is mentioned. What happened at the end? It was way in brethren, there is a manifestation going to take place. There is a manifestation.
That Ohio, how we need that word is spoken to, Philadelphia says.
All that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy ground.
The enemy wants to rise of the preciousness of the truth of God. He wants to rob us of the privilege of walking in the path that God is marked out for us in His precious word. The value of blessing who we really desire to give the Lord Jesus His rightful place in our lives.
Oh, May God grant and you'll not only know the truth, but walk in it to not only be like this little remnant. They were going up to Jerusalem, but they needed they needed Levites and we need to be devoted. We devoted to the Lord. We were willing to have that self denial in our lives. And so they finally reached there. Everything was written down and that tells us in the 35th verse.
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Also the children of those that have been carried away, which were come out of the captivity.
Offered burnt offerings under the God of Israel for all the bullets for all Israel 90 and six rounds 70 and seven lambs 12 He goes for a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering not to the Lord. It seems to me that this is quite instructive too, because actually the ones that came back were really from the two tribes, but when they came back they.
Recognized that God's people were one and some.
They offered 12 bullets for all Israel. They could have said not really faithful ones, but they didn't. It tells us here. They offered twelve books for all Israel and the heart of the Christian and thought of God takes them all equal of their life. We certainly will and have you because they'll all be there.
Yeah, I'll be there from every kindred and time and people and nation, right will be presented there and all her glory. But he runs into the practical thought for us that these who have come out from the captivity now they offer these 12 bullets, the largest type of burnt offering that was, and they offered it for all Israel and then 90 and six rounds. You notice here that this also is a multiple of 12.
12 * 8 makes 96 and eight in the Bible is a figure of new creation. The first day of the week is the 8th day. The Lord rose and appeared to his own on the eighth day. And so here we have the thought brought before us of the the new creation, and there again is as well. And then the 70 and seven land seems to me to represent perfection.
There were seventy and seven. Seven is the perfect number. And then.
Well, eagles were a sin offering. Isn't this lovely to see this recognition of all that perfection in Christ of the 12 tribes, the whole company of God's people and those who returned from the captivity had this largeness of heart.
Took in all the people of God as soon as we speak this way this afternoon. May the Lord enlarge our hearts too, when He give us the view. The people of God rejoice that there is one body, Rejoice to know that they are one. But knowing all this kind of should never in any way affect our desires a lot in obedience. We thank God that there is one body, but there is a path of obedience.
Now these perhaps you could say to you that went off in this journey. They had the privilege and the joy of fulfilling a responsibility that was laid upon them, but their hearts went out to all the people of God and Father used to often have a level of expression rather than you said we need large hearts and narrow feet. And I thought that was perhaps very expressive of what we have here. Here were large hearts, the whole of Israel.
But Thief had lost in God's ways that made that journey that humbly sought of Him.
Right way for themselves or their little ones, for all their substance, devotedness, all this brought before us in such a touching way. Oh brethren, may it speak to our hearts. We're not making a physical journey from the river of the habit to Jerusalem, but we're going through one of these land. We're on our way to the heavenly Jerusalem. May the Lord granted we will.
Value the privileges and feel responsibilities that are ours until that day when the manifestation takes place.
You can tell how much you owe him gladly. Let us bring it to one all we have.
The last verse Then we shall be where we would be. Then we shall be what we should be. Things that are not now, or could be soon, shall be. All 256 will say.