Open—Steve Sacksteder
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The latter half of the verse says there is a friend.
That sticketh closer than a brother.
This morning and the remembrance of the Lord, a brother read John 1513.
Greater love hath no man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends.
Very next clause I'd like to include, it says ye are my friends.
And I've had impressed on my heart lately.
And have even spoken with a few in private conversation during this weekend.
About what kind of a friend the Lord is to us.
Verse we just read, you know, we, you know, the verse that was read this morning and we think of in the context of his giving up everything that he might have us for himself. He loves us. He wants, he wants you, he wants your affection, he wants all that you are and he's invested everything in you to that end.
This verse here in Proverbs reminds me of another verse.
John 13 verse one.
And it has more to do with throughout our pathway here.
Says now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that he should depart out of the world under the Father.
In this clause, having loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. I'd like to read a note in my Bible, a translator's note.
To the End Quote, UN quote does not give the full force of the expression, for it makes it refer merely to time, whereas going through with everything is, as it seems to me, implied.
Perhaps you could paraphrase it this way. Having loved his own, he loved them through everything.
At home in our weeknight meetings, we're going through the Gospel of Luke, and we've noticed in recent chapters many things that the Lord suffered along with his disciples. And he tells them, I'm going up to Jerusalem, be delivered in the hands of sinners, and be killed.
And their response? Well, they they were arguing among themselves which one of them should be the greatest.
What does he do?
He takes a living object lesson, a little child, and he shows them how they can be the greatest.
What condescending love.
What grace, what gentleness, what a friend.
Well, I was thinking of something that has been on my heart from the prophet of Hosea.
I'm going to read the third chapter of the prophet Hosea.
And I will not presume that everyone here is real familiar with the prophet Hosea, but he was himself a living object lesson to the people of Israel on behalf of Jehovah, who loved them, who brought them out of Egypt, who carried them through the wilderness on eagle's wings.
Who bore with their murmuring? Who chastened them?
Who cared for them, who loved them through everything, Who has a purpose for them and is going to bring that purpose about? Because love, as we read this morning, divine love never faileth.
Hosea 3.
Then said the Lord unto me, Go, yet love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the Lord, according to the love of Jehovah, toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love flagons of wine.
So says Hosea, I bought her. That would be Gomer, the daughter of Diplom, a woman that the Lord had instructed him to marry and who had been unfaithful to him, as Israel had been to Jehovah.
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So I bought her to me for 15 pieces of silver, and for an Omar of barley, and an half Omar of barley. And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days. Thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man. So will I also be for thee. For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king.
And without a Prince, that is, without royalty, without leadership, and without a sacrifice, that is a levitical means of approach to the Lord.
And without an image.
And without an ephod and without terraphim.
The Lord is going to take Israel.
In a time that we believe is not very far off and he's going to bring her through the most difficult and horrendous.
Earthly trial that any people could ever face.
And he's doing it because he loves her so much and he's going to have her heart.
The last verse of this chapter says Afterward, shall the children of Israel return and seek Jehovah their God, and David their king, and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days?
He is going to.
Bring their hearts around full circle.
He looks back, does the Lord many times in the prophets, and he speaks about the day, the early days when he brought them out of Egypt, and their heart rejoiced.
And.
They sang the song of redemption and that was so pleasing to him. And he looks back on that with fondness. Why? Because he had their affection and their love and they wanted nothing more than to be with him.
But then in the process of time, they become taken up with other things.
They become distracted.
They they turn away from him and they turn to idols. They attribute the blessings that he had given to them to their idols. And he says there are those who who love idols and who.
Who look to other gods verse one and love flagons of wine. They were all about pleasure, self seeking.
And depending on anything and everything but him.
What a challenge. Who is equal to the task of changing the hearts of ones like this?
Our God is one who knows how to bring in reconciliation, and when our brethren were speaking about reconciliation in the in the earlier in the reading meetings, my my thoughts went to this chapter.
You remember our brother James, the way he he, the way he described, the way he defined reconciliation.
Mutual comfort in his presence.
And despite all that, all that has gone on in the past, the Lord, praise be to His name, is going to bring His people around to that point where where they'll nonetheless, and we, they and we will be comfortable, happy, fulfilled in His presence.
We know that for ourselves, in our day, in the context of history where we find ourselves, this is a day of ruin and weakness. All of the 2nd epistles point to it. We've been taught that, and we can see it, I trust, clearly.
That the Lord is not surprised by the condition of things in which we find ourselves, and we need not be surprised by it. A brother mentioned earlier. There's plenty to discourage. It's not hard to find things that are discouraging, but to find what is encouraging.
Takes a little more effort sometimes.
We just had a verse read to us. Rejoice evermore. How can we do that?
But we have a friend that sticketh closer than a brother, and I don't suppose that there will be many things more precious to us.
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When once these bodies have been changed.
And we're like him bodily, and the flesh is gone, and we are like him morally, for we shall see him as he is.
That will be more valuable, more precious and to look back.
And see how he never once stepped away from us. He never once gave up on you or me. Despite all that has gone on, we'll see that he loved us through everything.
I think that will mean everything to us.
We often sing that hymn, O Jesus, friend, unfailing.
What a wonderful hymn, How dear art thou to me our cares or fears assailing. I triumph, Lord, in thee. Why should my feet grow weary of this my Pilgrim way? Rough though the path and dreary, it ends in a perfect day.
We have a friend whose friendship alone, whose love alone, should be enough to carry us through the long dark night, that night, the long dark night of his absence.
It's almost over.
He says in the Gospel of John.
I must work the works of my father while it is day.
The night cometh when no man can work. I believe he's referring there to works that are that point to the Millennium millennial works. We know that the Lord went about healing and and and doing those things, raising the dead to life again. So on things that exhibited that power and he did that work while he was here.
But he pointed to a time when those things would not be so much in evidence.
That time is almost over. The Lord is soon to come back to receive His bride to Himself, and then to set up His Kingdom, to come back in judgment thereafter and set up His Kingdom.
Just as an aside.
We've often heard, and it's true, that the Christian pathway is not a Sprint, it's a long distance race.
I think that's true.
That said.
I have two of my kids have run cross country. I did too when I was younger.
The apostle Paul speaks about about that, about running as an object lesson. He says that know ye not that all that run in a race, that that all run, but only one receives a prize.
So run that ye may obtain.
Even in a long distance race.
When you're nearing the end.
Usually there's a there's a shoot at the very end, lines of flags that show you that lead you right into the finish line.
And even before that comes into view, you can hear the cheering crowd on either side of that.
And you can you can hear the noise.
And you may be spent, completely spent, but there is something within you and in your training.
That says pick up the pace, let's go, it's time to Sprint.
And you know, the apostle Peter, he speaks about having an abundant entrance into the Kingdom of God.
The Everlasting Kingdom.
Friends, I believe we're very close to seeing him whom having not seen, we love.
And the time is short.
Let's run with purpose.
Let's have our hearts focused on Him.
Let's remember that through everything.
He loves us.
Even if we're the part and even if we're part of a testimony that has failed.
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He loves his own.
And faith longs to be with him. If you ever wonder how long will it be, you know Israel is going to ask that question, How long, O Lord, will outcast us off? Oh, little do they know that their being alone and abiding without the opportunity to go into their land and, and being separated from worship and all of these things is actually the Lord working to turn their hearts back to himself.
Well, if you've ever felt that way, how long is it going to be?
How long are we going to pray for one another while we're suffering and we see we see people who are going through trials that we don't understand?
Please believe that the Lord would not pass us through anything.
But he's going to have a purpose of love for it, and he's going to bring blessing about from it.
He means it for our good.
We can thank him.
16 in the appendix. 16 in the appendix.
Scriptures in closing.
Hebrews, Chapter 11.
Verse 13.
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country, and truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country.
That is in heavenly, Wherefore God?
It's not a shame to be called their God, for He hath prepared for them a city.
Towards the end of the chapter.
Verse 36 and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, a moreover of bonds and imprisonment. They were stolen, they were sown asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword.
They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented. Of whom the world?
Was not worthy.
They wandered in deserts and in mountains and in dens and in caves of the earth.
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These all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise, God, having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
Wherefore, seeing we.
Also our compassed about was so great a cloud of witnesses. Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, let us run.
With patients, the race that is set before us, looking on to Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Maybe just one other place in Revelation chapter 3.
Verse 20 of chapter 3. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him, and will Sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant you, sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and I'm sat down with my Father in his throne. He did have an ear.
Let them hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches just.
Commend ourselves.
Our God and Father, we thank thee.
This afternoon, for the faithful word that we have had, we thank Thee for what we have seen in the person of the Lord Jesus.
What He endured for us and the hope that was set before him. And so, as we separate now, we pray for Thy preserving grace over each one, that we might be kept in the love of God, that we might recognize that we are pilgrims here in this earth and be kept from the world's attractions.
We might remember our heavenly calling, and so we thank thee again for the graciousness of our brethren here. We pray that there might be a special blessing comfort.
Encouragement to them for their efforts.
So we just look to thee for the remainder of this day to commend the meetings to follow to Thy care as well. Again, we thank Thee for thy goodness and we give thanks in the name of thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.