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And.
Our.
Lord.
The.
That we might take up, at least for this meeting and maybe another one.
Luke's Gospel, chapter 12.
But not the entire chapter. I was thinking perhaps of beginning with verse 31.
Where it starts out. But rather seek ye the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.
It seems that in what we have had before us in our prayer meeting and also in the hymn at the beginning of this meeting.
There was an expression of knowing more of Christ, but especially of an exercise and a response in our hearts to His love.
And here I would suggest we get the Lord Jesus speaking to his own, bringing before them on the one hand the need not to be concerned about natural things, not to be unduly worried about what they were going to eat or what they were going to drink.
But then in this latter part of the chapter, it seems that the discourse goes beyond that, because he turns their thoughts to heavenly things.
And as we have often heard before, Luke's gospel, more than any other, is the introduction to Paul's ministry, and perhaps more than any other gives us a slant on things which leads in that direction. And so the exhortations here, while certainly good for Israel, yet at the same time are given in such a way that they speak to our hearts and our consciences as well.
What can my brethren think of that suggestion?
And perhaps of reading from verse 31 and we could read to the end of the chapter, although whether we would have time to get through it all is a question.
If you don't get stuck on some verses, sometimes we go over the same verse and make comments and sometimes we even make comments which don't explain the verses.
00:05:07
With the Lord's help, we can cover more ground.
Chapter 12. Verse 31. But rather seek ye the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little block, where does your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom? Tell that you have, and give alms. Provide yourselves banks which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not where no thief approaches, neither moth corrupted. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Let your loins be girded about, and your light burning, and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord.
When he will return from the wedding, that when he cometh to knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.
Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching. Verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meet, and will come forth and serve them.
And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find himself, blessed are those servants. And this know that if the good men of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.
Be therefore ready also for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when you think not.
Peter said unto him, Lord, speaketh now this parable unto us, unto us, or even to all. And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his Lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat and due season? So blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But an if not servant, say in his heart, My Lord delayeth his coming, and shall begin to beat the men's servants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken.
The Lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in Thunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
And that servant which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not Himself, neither did according to His will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he knew. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given of Him shall be much required. And to whom men have committed much of him, they will ask them more.
I am come to send fire on the earth, and what will I if it be already kindled, but I have a baptism to be baptized with? And how am I straightened? Will it be accomplished?
Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth, I tell you nay, rather division. Or from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided 3 against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother.
The mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
And he said also to the people, when you see a cloud rise out of the West straightway, you say they're coming to shower. And so it is. And when you see the South wind blow, you say there will be heat. And it comes to pass. He hypocrites. You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it that you do not, do not discern this time?
Yeah, and why even of yourself, judge ye not what is right, but now goes with an adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him, lest he hailed each of the judge, and the judge delivered thee to the officer, and the officer cast me into prison. I tell these thou shalt not depart fence till thou hast paid the very last mice.
We often find the expression the Kingdom of God in Scriptures and.
Excuse me here we find it in Luke's gospel.
Quite prominently, we find it, of course, in Mark and in other places as well. We find it in Paul's ministry.
Maybe someone could tell us what it means. What is the thought here when the Lord exhorts his own to seek first the Kingdom of God?
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It's not the future Kingdom when he comes back in power and glory, right? That is the Kingdom of.
The Son of Man when he comes back in power and glory, but seeking the things that have to do.
With God and our relationship to Him and our blessings in Christ, all of that is part of what is implied, right? And that's what we should be looking for and entering into a fuller understanding and enjoyment of these things. It's not just a question of intellectually entering into it, but that these things enter into our hearts and consciences.
And we come to enjoy them. All truths will enter by way of the conscience, Pearl and Dean said. So the conscience has to become involved. And so hopefully these meetings will result in us focusing our attention more on the things of God.
Things that have to do with the Lord Jesus and the place we have before God in Him.
Romans, Romans 1417 answer to the question, at least in part.
As for the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved the men.
We say that the Kingdom of God is that moral sphere of that which is agreeable to God.
And so your verse helps there. It's that sphere, that of that which is agreeable to God.
Generally speaking, if someone has a Kingdom, if it's their Kingdom, they rule there. Their Kingdom is is their sphere of rule and so.
We are.
Ruled, so to speak, by God.
Then we're in the realm of his rule and we're in his Kingdom.
But I think that what you're saying is.
In the sense of our morality and our walk in all that we do here.
We seek to be in the Kingdom of God. It means we seek to be under His authority, which we are anyway, but under it in a practical and dynamic way. Lead of the Spirit walking according to the Spirit.
So I suppose in the broad sense we can say that when the Lord Jesus came into this world, He preached that which was characteristic of God's Kingdom. And so, for example, in what is conventionally called the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-6 and seven, the Lord gave the character of that Kingdom that He would set up. Could man answer to that in his natural state? No, he could not.
And any man that were to be honest with himself, if he were to listen to what the Lord Jesus was saying, he would have to say, I can't possibly carry this out unless I have a new life. I can't do this. Man couldn't even keep the law, which was a minimum requirement, and yet the character of God's Kingdom went far beyond the law, because it took in the thoughts of the heart and that which underlay the open sin.
What happened then? Man rejected the rightful King, they crucified him, and now in that sense, the Kingdom that he would have set up has to wait until the coming day. But what about you and me? There are those who by grace have been brought to know God, who have been brought into favor through the Lord Jesus Christ, who had new life in Christ. And we acknowledge the rightful King as it were, even though he is absent and rejected.
Well, then there's a moral state, a moral character that answers to him, as our brother Neil was saying, a moral character that answers to God. And that is what we are exhorted to take up here. We can't expect a Kingdom in manifestation during this day of God's grace, and it is a mistake to do so. But we can exhibit by grace the moral character that is suitable to that Kingdom and so.
The Lord Jesus says, seek ye first.
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How does it read here?
Seek ye the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. Well, there's a priority here that is exhorted for every true believer but God and His claims and His things first. The rest of it is not a difficult matter for the Lord what to eat, what to drink, what to wear, where to live, and so on. But that moral character that suits God's Kingdom is of paramount importance, isn't it?
Kingdom and patience of our Lord Jesus Christ, because it's not a Kingdom in power. Man praise thy will be done on earth.
As in heaven, well, when the Lord's will is done on earth as it is in heaven, we'll be in the earth, will be in the Millennium, it will be in power. But now we're in the patience of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Kingdom of God has taken on the character of the Kingdom of heaven now. And as you referred to Matthew's Gospel, the Lord was rejected. They said he did those miracles by the power of bills above. And so the Kingdom of God took on the character, the Kingdom of heaven. The king was going back to heaven.
And there's a sphere now over which Christ rules on this earth, and we call it the Kingdom of heaven or Christendom Kingdom, but with Christ as its head naming the king. And all that are professedly in that are in the Kingdom of heaven. And in both the Kingdom of God, God and in the Kingdom of heaven, there is profession. There may be one that are enjoying the benefits and privileges of that Kingdom and yet not have light.
And so he says, you're seeking first the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you, because the Lord is not going to deprive us of anything to live our lives in a way that is morally suited to himself.
A brother, a brother once told me that he can't live for Christ in the situation he was in. And I said, well, you got into a situation you had no business getting into and.
We often ask what the will of God is in a situation when the only will of God is that we not be in this situation at all.
And so he said, seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you. And whether it's good health or poor health or wealth or poverty, we saw all of these things in Paul. He knew how to experience all of these things, that he was going to have everything that he needed to live to the glory in a morally suitable way to God. And that is what he's referring to. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. Sorry.
Should also mention that the Lord Jesus is not our King as Christians. That's not the relationship in which we have been brought by grace. He is our head, He is our bridegroom. You know we are in a much closer relationship to him than subjects are to a king. But we do know he is the King and.
When he comes back in power and glory, we come with him and reign with him. You have a beautiful picture of that in Joseph being rejected. And in his rejection he writes to power or ascends to power. And in his rejection a pride is given here. And when his brethren are restored to him, they find a Gentile bride.
At Joseph's side, that's a picture of Christ and a church. We are not in the relationship to Him as our King, although there are some hymns in Christian hymn books that express that thought. We are in a much closer relationship, but that also makes us responsible. To demonstrate this, you know there should be genuine affection and love for the One.
Who we are so close to?
How then Heinz, how do these verses about the Kingdom of God, how do they apply to us?
Let me before you answer that I want to read in Philippians 3 some verses, verse 18. Now when we get into the epistles, we're getting into Christian ground, Christian truth.
For many walk of whom I have told you often, and now tell you, even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.
Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, Who mind earthly things for our. This is the verse I was especially thinking of, for our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our bodies of humiliation, that it may be fashioned like unto his body of glory, and correcting that.
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According to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Now that word conversation in verse 20 is not the same word that's that is used elsewhere, meaning behavior. It's a different word pellet to pull it to a MA it it means citizenship or Commonwealth. I think there are five states in the United States that are commonwealths. It's very much like a state, but it's very similar to that.
But it's interesting that the very word that's rendered.
Here conversation or could be citizenship or it could be Commonwealth is a political from which we get the word politics.
Our politics are in heaven, not on earth. That ought to answer the question, do Christians vote? Should Christians vote? Someone asked me at the last election, have you voted yet? I said, oh, I voted a long time ago. Who did you vote for? Well, I voted for the Lord Jesus. I can't vote for anyone else. And he's not raining yet, but he will, and anyone else is not in the sphere.
That I'm concerned about, and what we're talking about when you talk about the Kingdom of God is more a moral sphere, and I think the Kingdom of heaven is more a dispensational term. Would you go along with that?
Matthew, the Kingdom of God is also found in Matthew, I think five times, but in Luke and Mark always the Kingdom of God and.
Vitally, you enter it according to John Three. You enter it when you're born again, when you're baptized. You enter it in an outward sense, but really you enter it when you have a new life. That's John Three. Can you agree with that?
It's it's probably a difficult subject.
To understand, but it's it's very precious we in the United States of America, not Malawi and these backward countries, but we in the United States of America are so.
Overfed.
Over entertained and I mean all the things that are being promoted to us on the air and television, radio, whatever it is, is all centered down here. But when it speaks of seeking the Kingdom of God, we're seeking.
That sphere over which God has complete authority and rule, and we should be living according to that.
And let the world go by.
Just to put it very simply.
That we recognize we're here, but our citizenship is in heaven. So sometimes you hear young people say, well, I'm 18 years old now.
And I can do, I'm, I'm free or whatever I am, whatever the law says, I'm 18 years old Now. We don't go by simply what the laws of the land say. We go by what the word of God says. We're citizens of heaven and we're to do what is morally suited to God. And so he gives us instruction as whether we're a child under the age of 12 years old or whether we're a young person or whether we're in our 20s. The word of God gives us instruction. And supposing tomorrow they legalize murder.
We're not going to go out and murder because we're in a different Kingdom, we have a citizenship in a different country.
And we're to take on the moral character of that country. But you often say to Christians, well, it's legal. There's nothing illegal about it. And yes, you're not going to get fined, you're not going to be put in jail, but it's entirely out of the character of God. And so we're to seek that which is suitable to God. And that's what it means to seek the Kingdom of heaven. But we're afflicted with this idea. Well, it's legal. There's nothing wrong with this. I'm 18 years old now, or this or that. And I'm not just picking on the young people. I'm using that as an example. But there is a moral character that is suited to God. And we get that by seeking those things from the word of God.
That.
We want to switch from the Kingdom of God to the Kingdom of heaven. But just to make clear that in Matthews Gospel you find the Kingdom of heaven and the Lord and John the Baptist said that the Kingdom of heaven was at hand. They meant the coming glory on earth.
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Where they made reference the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Had they accepted the Messiah, he would have come to reign.
But he was rejected. Then you have 10 parables in Matthew's Gospel that give you the present aspect of the Kingdom in mystical form, and that presently taking place the Kingdom of heaven in mystical form. The king is in heaven, but there is on earth a sphere where his authority is owned and those who are baptized.
Are.
In the Kingdom, whether they are real or not, you find in the Kingdom there is the good and the bad seed, the wise and the foolish. You know the bad and good fishes. You know that all comes out in these parables. So the Kingdom is larger than the church. In the church only two believers are part of the church. But this fear of Christian profession is large. And there is that which is real and that which is false. But here when he says of the Kingdom of God.
I don't think he uses it as it is in Matthew where you have the dispensational aspect brought out. And in that gospel for the Jew, it's so important that they came to understand the character that the Kingdom would take because the king is rejected and it takes on a mystical form and we are in that Kingdom and every baptized person, everyone that makes a profession.
To be a Christian is in that Kingdom, and hopefully there's nobody in this audience that is only in there outwardly to be real, to be a good.
Version a wise virgin and not be a foolish virgin. They had a profession, but they had no oil. Gerard speaks of the Spirit of God. Hopefully there's nobody in the audience that is only professingly a Christian.
And not in reality. They are not really truly in the Kingdom of God as it is presented here.
32 is reality, yeah.
Yeah.
You stay mystical form even the world recognize that there is something mysterious in this world. It's covered but they don't quite understand and they know it's there. I was talking to an OPP officer, an Ontario Provincial Police officer, and he was succumbed to various sent to various countries to train police forces. He was an ungodly man and I don't think he would object to me calling him one. He was proud of the fact he was on course ungodly man. But he told me he loved going to these countries that you referred to far away.
And so he enjoyed them, but he looked at me and he said, you know, they'll never have what we've got here in these. And he was stumbling for a word to use to describe what we have in these countries. And I looked at them and I said these Christian countries. And he said, yeah. And he recognized there was a sphere of blessing on this earth in the profession of Christianity. He recognized that that was not enjoyed elsewhere in the world. And I believe that's what our And there is a dispensation now. There is a sphere.
By which man enters into that by baptism. Know ye not as many of you have been baptized into Christ.
Have put on Christ, that is being the name of Christ being put upon a person, whether they are real or not.
And they they're brought into that spirit is a sphere of blessing, and those that have traveled elsewhere in the world realize that though they can't put their finger on it, it's a very real thing, though mystical.
Activate some verses in John 18. Connection with this subject. Verse 33.
The pilot entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?
Jesus answered him saith, Saw this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I unto you thine own nation, and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me. What hast thou done? Now here's the verse. Jesus answered, My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews? But now is my Kingdom not from hence that that answers the question.
Should a Christian go to war?
Absolutely not. My Kingdom is not of this world. We have another, another warfare that we are engaged in, but it's not this. It's not against Islam or whatever. And our president doesn't know that, but he is a Christian and most Christians have no idea what true Christianity is. It's a heavenly thing, isn't it?
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There's a verse in Acts 20.
For the Apostle Paul was addressing the Ephesian elders before he went to Rome.
X20.
And verse 25.
And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the Kingdom of God.
Shall see my face no more.
I think when the Apostle Paul said he went among the Saints preaching the Kingdom of God, he didn't go amongst the Saints as as we've had and sometimes very profitably to layout what the Kingdom of heaven is or the Kingdom of God and all the various details. But he really went about preaching practical righteousness in a walk before gone. And that's what he meant, that he went among them preaching, teaching the Kingdom of God. He taught them how to walk.
Righteously before God, and so another verse to connect with that in First Corinthians chapter 4.
And verse 20 For the Kingdom of God is not in Word, but in power, That moral power, so the apostle Peter says, add to your faith, virtue or moral courage or power. And so the Kingdom of God is in power, moral.
Courage, power to walk in a righteous way before God. And so our brother read to us that verse from Romans 14.
At the Kingdom of God was not in meat and drink, but righteousness first.
Then.
Peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
There has to be a righteous walk in the light before there's going to be peace in the soul. Peace is in nature that's satisfying. And what the Lord brings up in the beginning of Luke 12 is an unsatisfied nature, a heart that is worried and concerned about many things in life and anxious about eating and drinking and laying up treasure and all these things. And where there's unsatisfaction, that way, you know it can lead to.
Unrighteousness.
Covetousness and those kinds of things. And so.
He says, Seek ye the Kingdom of God.
Walk in a way that's pleasing to him. It's really, Simply put, a practical walk in righteousness before God, and all these things shall be added unto you. The Lord isn't advocating.
That, oh, if you walk for me, then I'm going to give you a lot of earthly things. If we came with that attitude, it's still an occupation with earthly thanks. We're just going to get it through this channel. All these things shall be added unto you. I think really is connected with peace. In other words, I'm going to add unto you a state of soul that isn't anxious about what you're going to wear, about what you're going to eat, about all those temporal things.
He will add those temporal things, for He knoweth that we have needed them, but He's going to add to us a state of soul.
That's not anxious about all those things.
All these things shall be added unto you. And isn't that the desire of the heart for peace, a nature satisfying? It's the desire of the nations. They'll not get it till he comes, but it's the desire of every heart.
That's very good, brothers, even I think, if I may lay a little emphasis on that, that is the point that we want to get perhaps more than anything from this chapter. And that is a moral state that is suitable to God is the greatest, shall we say, possible strength that a believer can have in this world.
Many dear believers, and we don't throw stones, we don't, we aren't trying to be critical, but many dear believers feel that the way the believer can affect a change in this world is to jump into the arena and try and get quote involved. Well, in a natural sense that may be true, but for the believer, he is far more effective if he walks through this world with his heavenly calling clearly before him as we have from Philippians 3.
00:35:14
And yet a moral state that carries with it that weight, that comes from a power that is outside himself, and the world recognizes that they can't resist it. There is moral power in a believer that walks to please the Lord, and the Kingdom of God brings before us that practical righteousness which is so necessary. That's why Paul emphasized it so clearly.
As part of his ministry in Acts 20, he speaks of the gospel of the grace of God. That's where it all starts. He speaks of the Kingdom of God. That's a moral walk that is suitable to God. Then he speaks of all the councils of God. That takes me into the realm of all that he has in Christ and a coming eternity. All three are needed in the life of the believer, but a moral state that walks before him in that way.
Will keep me at peace, real peace, and will give the best possible testimony to the outside world and to other believers.
Leading Mr. McIntosh years, years ago, he said if I was driving along with my horse and buggy and there was one that was at the side of the road road and his wheel came off, I would stop and help him get it fixed. But I wouldn't join a club to fix broken buggies. And that's the difference. That's that's understanding the moral, the difference between the moral thing and the dispensational thing. And dispensationally my Kingdom is not of the squirrel, the Lord said, Now keep that straight from.
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God. That's the moral thing. That's why I say it's difficult.
This is a subject that isn't so simple because you have to be able to rightly divide the word of truth, otherwise you're going to get all confused.
Along those lines, what is the Kingdom in verse 32? Is it the same as in verse 31 or is it something different?
He wants us to enjoy that now righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, and I just say this to move on is that the buggy wheel is found in verse 33.
Is sell what you have and give, give alms and provide for yourselves bags which wax not old and so the arms are what we give towards man. Cornelius was said his prayers went up to God and he gave much alms towards.
The people. He wasn't a saved man and God does not despise charity. As our brother said, we shouldn't be involved in charities.
Zacchaeus, before the Lord ever came along, he said the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I've taken anything, I restored fourfold the half of the goods that he gave her arms. And the Lord didn't say, well, you shouldn't be doing that and preach against that. But certainly as believers, there ought to be a readiness to stop and help somebody with their buggy wheel, to use Brother Chuck's illustration. And so that's what it's saying. We should provide so that we can help. And that's part of it, to show what is in the heart of God, because Christianity does not know what it known by what it looks for, but by what it it brings. And so.
It starts in that way, although we do not join, as I said, societies to prepare buggy wheels.
Your treasure is there will be your heart.
So the simple exploitation is what is the object of my heart.
Is it a bank account that we have?
Do I set my heart on that?
That's not what is suggested here. We are blessed with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places. That one of the verses in the epistles. We have spiritual blessings. That's all part of the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God is a general term that includes the Kingdom of heaven, the Kingdom of Christ.
And so on. But it's so important to realize that we have treasures that are not understood and appreciated by those who are not saved. But we who are saved hopefully enter into those things and enjoy them. And then our heart be there, not in the material possessions that we have. You know, what about the house that we built?
00:40:11
You know, does it have to be a multi million dollar piece of property? Well, it's just a dwelling place, you know.
The tent was good enough for the man of faith. I'm not saying that we should live in tents, but what I'm saying and suggesting is that we shouldn't go out for what the world goes out for. You know, we ought to have spiritual values and treasures.
And have them occupy our heart and not material possessions. Let me add to that. That's excellent. Second Peter one.
I'll start at verse 3.
According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue pertained unto life. I just want to pause there. The young person will come along and say we're going out and have a good time and we're going to see light. They're not looking at real life. They're looking at that which is really death. Real life is living for God, isn't it? Well, let me go on things that pertain to life and godliness.
Through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature. Now that just doesn't mean to be born again, but you're acting, you're seeking things which are in accordance with the divine nature and that new life that we have. But I, I haven't come to the point that I want to make.
Besides this giving all diligence.
Add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge. These are all moral things, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love. For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see it far off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things, you shall never fall. That was his next verse that I wanted to get to. For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Now, maybe 8090% of the time that's interpreted to mean your your future entrance into the Kingdom. I think it's right now.
I think it's right now that we can enter in to the real Kingdom. When we have these moral traits. We can do it right now. We don't have to wait for a future time.
32 Brother Chuck, is that what you're saying?
Of our chapter.
That's right.
In its fullness, in the future day. But we can have it right now, spiritually, morally.
Be poor from the stand work standpoint of the world, but we can be rich spiritually speaking. You might have heard me tell the story that my grandfather told me that one of the Lords servants was visiting in my hometown.
And a local brother was taking him around.
And they were going from home to home. That was the custom at that time, that the Lord's servants visited in every home in the meeting. And so underway to a certain.
Or do we even have an exercise to use what the Lord has entrusted to us like the faithful steward?
Which wasn't his. If one wasn't faithful and that which wasn't his, the true riches wouldn't be entrusted to him. You know that's in Luke's gospel too.
Well, anyway.
There's nothing wrong in having things, but the danger is that our hearts become attached to material things and we lose out spiritually.
00:45:07
Tell a story on someone. I won't tell you who it said it to me.
I after.
After I went to the hospital and my wife was in the nursing home and then I got back. And where are you going to live? Well, I'm not going to live in Allendale. It's too big a house. It's got a full basement. It's got 3 bedrooms. I'll just live in the little mobile home that we have. All that's that's that's not good enough for you? You're a laboring brother.
I shook my head. I said, oh, that's a mansion compared with a lot of people.
You've seen it over in Malawi, in these places, it's a mansion where I'm living. Me and my dog, that's all that's in there and it's fine. I don't need anything better.
I tell you, we in this country, this country, I'm including the United States, we're so filled with materialism.
Shame on us.
14 where the comforter is mentioned. I'm not really a.
Great quarter of Darby. I don't even know if I've got it right, but I believe that in one of the notes in his translation, he says that that comforter, if he could have used the word solicitor, he would have, because that's really the sense of the word that's used there. Only it's got too common a usage and the solicitor is really one who takes care of our interests. So when when the Lord sent the comforter, it wasn't only to comfort his disciples from having his departure.
Grieve them in their hearts. It was much more than that. He sent someone to take care of our affairs in this world. So if we have the Holy Spirit taking care of our affairs, it frees us to enjoy the Kingdom because our affairs are in a practical sense, are being taken care of by the Spirit of God Himself.
What we have to understand is they didn't wear clothes like we wear.
You know, they had ropes, you know, and when they walked, when they were going on a journey, they tied up the rope so that they wouldn't stumble over the ropes. That's what it means. Be ready to March, have your loins girded, you know, and you like burning, you know?
We are supposed to be lights in this world. You know how much light shines out from us, not in words, but in our actions, in the way we live.
You know we accomplish much more by our way of life than by words. Not that we should not speak when we should, but.
It's so important that we have the loin skirt it and that there is a light shining and the closer we are to the Lord Jesus and walk in communion with Him, the brighter that light shines. It is a reflection, you know that.
Is seen. It's really his life reflected in his own.
33rd Verse Sell that ye have and give alms provide yourselves bags which wax not old A treasure in the heavens that faileth not where your thief.
Where no thief approaches, neither moth corrupted. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. It always reminds me of a dear sister. She's still with us, I believe. Quite ancient. Can hardly see she used to use that verse. Regard not your stuff.
Regard not your stuff if you're in the process of.
Going through your house, which is what we've been doing. We're not sure whether we're going to sell this house or what. We're not sure what, where do we get all that stuff? Where did we get it all? It's just unneeded and if we would search our own hearts.
We would need maybe 110th of 1% of what we have.
That's true of the way we live in our countries.
Something do you think if you had a garage sale or a yard sale, you're going through that stuff in your house and if you're going to get rid of it, you're going to look at it and you look it over and you're going to evaluate it. You're going to say, well, that's worth $5, That's worth a dollar. And I think when the Lord says sell what you have, this really is thought is evaluated. Evaluate it in the light of eternal things, in the light of the Kingdom, Evaluate what you have, what's it really worth?
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Characteristic of Christianity as they turn to the true and living God to wait for his Son from heaven.
And so on our 37th verse it says, Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh.
Shall find watching that they were prepared as our brother said, their loins were gird about that. There was nothing to stumble on in their behavior. You see what happened. The 10 virgins all slumbered and slept. There was a time when there were real believers in this world and none of them were waiting for the Lord or looking for the Lord. Five were real, five that oil in their lamps and five didn't. But as far as sleeping men were concerned, you couldn't tell the difference. And so as our brother read in First Thessalonians chapter 5, let us not sleep as others that sleep in the night. And the Lord said, you know, while men slept, the enemy came in and sowed tares. All the seed that the sower sowed was good.
But men were asleep at the switch, so to speak, and the enemy came in and the watch, and they came in and watched. And this is a very, these are very good verses to show that whether it's in the second or third watch of the night, we're not looking for the fulfillment of any prophecy for the Lord to come.
We sing them night as far as spent because we've already I believe passed through the 2nd watch of the night. But there was nothing at any time in the churches history where they should not have expected the Lord to come. Is that true?
Now further, what the consequence is, and our brother referred to Christians getting involved in war and so on, is that if we don't aren't expecting the Lord to come, then there's a beating of the men, servants. We're going to try to straighten this world out.
We're going to fight for what's right.
If we don't, if we lose sight of the fact that the Lord is coming, and when the Lord comes, he'll set things right.
And to plead with men to, as the second Psalm says, kiss the son, lest he be angry with thee, and he removed thee in a stroke of his wrath. He's going to take the nations and dash them with a rod of iron like a dash of Potters vessel. And so we preach the Lords appearing to man because he's going to come and he's going to set things right. It's not for us to do. Talking to a young man this morning, the street and he said, why is it? He said I went to Europe and not because in the street he said, I went to Europe. And he said all these crusaders and so on going I said, I don't understand this. I said Peter, who was supposedly the first Pope.
I said this to him, he cut off the high priest servants here, and the Lord told him, put his sword away and put the ear back on. And I said, he said, why is it that that happens? I said because Christians don't read the Bible.
So we see what the consequence is. It has a devastating effect on our behavior, beating the men servants if we cease to really be ready for the Lord to come.
Anytime, open unto him immediately.
For the country in which we live, what can we do better than anything else? Pray.
Pray for the President of the United States. The scripture tells us that we should pray for kings and for all that are in authority when we applied for US citizenship. And forgive me for mentioning this, but it's interesting to bring in here.
I had taken the position of conscientious objector.
And the man that was talking to me said, how can I recommend you become a citizen? You're not willing to fight for the country?
I said, I do something for the country that is better than fighting. I'm praying for it, you know, and I pray for the president. And he had first turned me down. Then I said, what's my next thing? Oh, you have to appeal my decision. Well, I said then I appeal it. Where do I do it? You can do it right now. All right? I said I'd do it right now. What's the next thing? A judge will interview you. You know, I was never interviewed by a judge because.
The judge knew one of the men whose name I had given as a witness.
They had been in school together and he knew this man to be a devout Christian. You know, I suspect that when this man came to the judge and was trying to cause problems for me, he knew the man that I had given as a witness, you know, and I was never called before the judge until the swearing in ceremony.
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And then when the swearing in ceremony came.
The judge knew that I would not swear to fight for the country and so he said normally we swear in people separately.
The conscientious objector separately from the others, but he said I don't want to make a show, just stand with the others. And when it comes to the fighting for the country and defending the country, you just don't say anything.
And I know what the situation is. Well, we accepted that. But, you know, we're thankful to live in this land of freedom. And the best thing that we can do for the government and those in power is pray for them.
Pray for them every day, you know, and we have a Goodman in power, generally speaking, I believe he might even be a true Christian. Pray for the president and for all in authority. That's right. And I think, Brother Heinz, that reminds you to pray for our Prime Minister, too. He's a Christian and for all in power. Let's read those verses that you referred to. I exhort there for the first of all supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made.
For all men, for kings, and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
So that we have three groups that we need to pray for that mentions those in power and authority. And I believe that includes everybody in different lands and for All Saints and for all men. And to my way of thinking, that doesn't exclude too many. But how good it is for us to be able to pray not only for kings so important, but for all men. And sometimes we become exclusive in our requests for prayer. We need to include them all because.
He loves them all, doesn't he? God loves them all, and so we have that responsibility to pray for them all and in that way bring them to the knowledge of the truth. But that has to be in our own hearts before we can do it for the others. Would that be true?
Points out something nice in connection with Thessalonians. He says that which, let it be taken out of the way, are really governments that are ordained of God, that are empowered by the Spirit of God for the protection of his own, as long as the apple of his eye is in this world. And it goes along with what our brother was David was saying.
I don't think the governments of these lands realize the help that they're getting by the Spirit of God, unnaturally so, to protect us from much of the terrorism that is known elsewhere in the world.
And it's not just because they're clever, smarter, have bigger guns. The Spirit of God is present in this world and especially in these lands where there's profession professing Christianity and there's an undertaking to protect his own, the apple of his eye while present. And when the church is taken out of this scene, that protection will be removed.
And so we can leave that with the Lord.
I appreciated what Doug Buchanan said at Ernie Monk's house after that little breakfast after Walla Walla conference when you're somebody asked him if he'd go to war, and Doug said why would I do that? He said it wouldn't be fair. If I shoot my enemy, he goes straight to hell, and if he shoots me, I goes straight to heaven.
He says I want to pray for my enemy and preach the gospel to him.
I'd like to refer to verse 47 and 48.
I I I used gender translation and quite different. But that born man who knew his own floss will and had not prepared himself, not done his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
But he who knew it not, and did things worthy of His stripes shall be beaten with few, and to everyone to whom much has been given, much shall be required from him, and to men have committed must they will ask from Him the more. Sometimes we take this buses for the disciplinary matters in an assembly also, and we do at back home, because if a brother or sister has ungodly work, and which is not good in the sight of the God.
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And knowingly or unknowingly, and there are some believers who do it.
Knowingly and those others unknowingly. I think what we feel is that it all matters in the day-to-day life as a Christian hope we have to walk and how we have to be appreciable in the sight of God and what things we do. What are the things we do in a day-to-day life is approved by God or not and maybe when we see that the judgment seat of Christ. All these things will be counted whether on earth well we do things were approved of him or not.
Maybe this is very important to look at.
Prakash, the principle is certainly there that when God commits something to men, He takes them up on the ground of how much they know, and so to whom He has given more of them, He expects more, and so on. I would just suggest that perhaps to apply these verses to assembly discipline, though, is not really in keeping with the thought of the passage. I believe the thought here is for.
Those who are mere professors, and as it says at the end of the previous verse, verse 46, it says concerning the unfaithful servant.
It says the Lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in Thunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And then I believe it shows that God will take each one up on the degree of his responsibility. So there will be degrees of punishment in hell, and I believe God will hold men responsible for taking positions of authority and power.
Under the name of Christ and exercising it in a wrong way and.
If they are unbelievers, God will judge them for it. And of course some will be beaten with many stripes and some with few stripes. So I just suggest that the primary thought here is for an unbeliever who takes the place of being a Christian, operates under the name of Christ, but uses his energy to beat the men's servants and maidservants and to eat and drink with the drunken. And sad to say, of course, that is going on today. But it generally it is a general principle with God that He does take us up on the ground of.
What He has committed to us and so that those who are more in the understanding and knowledge of His will, he expects more from them.
Impossible that new Christians who are not safe very long might not understand certain aspects of the truth of God. And we ought to be patient.
And do not expect too much from a babe in Christ, you know? Give them an opportunity to grow, you know. And then even when the need arises to correct something, how do we do it, you know?
We better do it in humility, realizing that we will never grow to the point where we might not need correction. You know and have an attitude of and willingness to accept correction. And the Spirit of Christ, if He controls the individual, you know He will, even in these matters, when correction is necessary, will demonstrate the Spirit of Christ.
You know, there might be times when there is severity needed in words, at least never in action in Christianity, you know, But we better be careful that the flesh doesn't get the best of us. You know, many times we might say it's righteous anger when it is really the flesh showing itself in US. You know, we will not lose that flesh until the Lord comes.
And gives us to be a new creature that is have a body like unto his body of glory will be brought into full conformity to him. And so let's be careful when correction is needed that we manifest a spirit that is becoming for us as Christians.
More this beating of the of the slaves I was I'm interested in this notion that it has to do perhaps with those that are.
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Going about.
In a way, persecuting believers that really believe in the Lord's.
Actual return.
Persecuting him and that they are accusing them of aiding.
You know, the gay community and so on. There was a conference.
In its interest, I just tried to find documentation for it a few days ago and I don't. I don't even know why I was doing it, but there was a conference and it would have been, I believe, in the late 70s.
And there were some very prominent Christian leaders there.
Some are still very active in their ministries today, and they put forth the idea that the millennial Kingdom of Christ was going to be brought in through political action.
And that's where all of this that is so prominent today, that's where it started. That's why I was trying to find the documentation for that conference.
But that's where this whole movement that we see going on today started. And now, you know, you've got some nice Christian brethren. We have some neighbors that are Christians, and we love and appreciate them and we're glad that they're our neighbors. But the wife came to our door with a petition.
To sign to bring something to vote in the state of Maine.
And.
I know that I don't know if her particular preacher is preaching this, but I do know for a fact that there are preachers out there that are telling their congregations that Christians that don't vote and don't join with them in these, in this political action are helping.
They're preaching that and I'm just wondering if perhaps obviously to me, I feel that to say that the Kingdom of the millennial Kingdom of Christ.
Is going to come in through political action is blatant unbelief.
That would answer to my Lord Harris. My Lord delays delayeth his coming, and so he begins to be.
His fellow men, servants and the maidens.
Thousands of years old right from the beginning of the church, because the professing church took the place of the Roman Empire and the kings of the of the western world were crowned by the titular head of the Western church. And John Calvin, if you got caught dancing or playing cards, proposed that you lose your citizenship of the city of Geneva. And so there was a complete confusion between they thought that they were going to establish the Kingdom here on this earth. And so we lose sight of that.
We're going to be very discontented and very unhappy, but if we're really looking, whether in the 2nd or the 3rd Watch of the night for the Lords coming, then.
Not that we're not unconcerned or don't feel sad about what we see going on around us, but we're not here to set it straight. We're here to deliver men from that.
It's even more reason the brothers spoke about praying for our leaders. And it seems it's even more of an incentive for us to do so now. Because, you know, it always seems to be this pattern when when those who profess to be Christians take up political action or military action, it seems to backfire, right? And when it does and, and the false professors, they have an easy way out.
They're not real anyway, so they just give up the profession.
And who is left to be?
Beaten for it by the governments of this world, so to speak. It's the real ones because they won't give up the profession. And you see the stir, the pot being stirred by the so-called Christian political movement or Christian conservative movement, and it's being stirred and it's making the rulers of this world angry.
I think that we Christians can get caught up in these political things and it's interesting to read. I enjoy reading it. I am, I'm afraid, too much so sometimes because you you get into the interest of that side of it. But all these things that we've been mentioning, not that they're wrong, but it seems to me there's a principle that we can apply and should apply. Let me just refer to an accountant, Acts chapter 18, verse 24, and a certain Jew named Apollos, born in Alexandria, an eloquent man.
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And mighty in the Scriptures came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in the Spirit.
He spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.
And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, whom, when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them and expounded at him the way of God more perfectly. I just like to say that there's a responsibility we have, whether it be in a conference or whether it be privately. And I think maybe this brings out the private aspect of it, which is so good and important. It can be applied to the brothers and the sisters alike. There are things that we see. This menopause was eloquent.
He could no doubt sway a lot of people, but here was a couple that saw beyond that. And So what did they do? Did they openly criticize him or say, well, you're right there, but you're wrong here? No, they took him home to lunch and they had a quiet time with him and showed him a better way. And I believe we're not too good at that sometimes.
You know, I look at myself, it's perhaps easier to in a public forum to knock somebody down.
Let's do what it says here, brothers and sisters in Christ, Let's invite them back and talk about it privately. Maybe we can be a help and I believe that that is what happened here because it goes on to say and when he was disposed to passage of Kaif, the brethren wrote sorting the disciples to receive him who when he was come help them much which had believed through grace for he mightily convinced the Jews and that publicly showing by the Scripture that Jesus.
Was Christ. It gets us to the theme and to the enjoyment of those things that I believe.
We need to enjoy as a conference like this where we get on to the Scriptures. What about Jesus? Let me read that. Showing by the Scripture that Jesus was Christ. And does it not really boil down to that?
Thankful for those who take a stand, Maybe their knowledge isn't perfectly and certainly there are those that have been mentioned who perhaps handle the word of God deceitfully, or who are willingly ignorant and so on.
But I think there are a lot of Christians who see things in the Word of God who wish to take a stand for what they know to be right. And we benefit from that in a certain way, even though perhaps were they to be like Norm is saying, help belong and to understand the Word of God more perfectly, they might do things a little differently. At least we can recognize their willingness to take a stand of their courage to speak up when they see things that are, that are contrary to the Word of God. Not that we would take.
Sides with them, or you know, as we've said, join associations and such like, but let's recognize their faithfulness according to what they understand from Scripture.
A neighbor living in the same community where we were living was trying to persuade me that I should join him in an effort that was made by two Christians to influence the political arena, you know, the political world. And I tried to explain to him, I do not believe that that is my responsibility, but whenever.
I am personally confronted with something.
Or people suggesting things to me. I have a responsibility to speak up and present the Scriptures. I don't go around and become involved in political movements, even among Christians, but I have a responsibility whenever the Lord allows this to come into my life, to speak up and present the truth. And we have to remember the Lord said my Kingdom is not of this world.
If my Kingdom was of this world, then my servants would fight. That scripture helped me to take the position that I took as a conscientious objector, and that is not understood by some Christians. But the time is going to come after the church is gone.
When he comes back in power and glory, and then he will straighten out the mess in the world. Christians will not be able to straighten out the mess. If in any way they can be influenced for blessing, it is through their individual life and the examples that they live, not by joining organizations and trying in an organizational way to fight this and to fight that. But our life counts more.
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Than anything else I believe that the world observes, and hopefully it is to Christian living that they will see demonstrated. I have a small doubt if somebody can share on Boston 39 but this know that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, you would have lost and not have suffered his house to be dug through what I thought was.
Christ would not come.
For the church as thief, it might, it might. This act might take place during the time of tribulation.
I'm right, he's not fit for us, but he's a Brighton and this might take place during the time of tribulations for the Jews.
I don't know.
You're referring to 3939, I see.
Right from the project. The Lord never comes for us as a thief. We await His return, but He will come for those who are not expecting Him. And judgment, Hey, but as far.
To bless.
But as far as the world is concerned, he's going to come as a thief because man little appreciates the fact that every good thing that is enjoyed in this world is enjoyed because of the presence of the Church of God here now.
Suggest a thought, go right in. Well, you've you've tried twice to say something though.
Well, just a quick, quick thought on this. I would suggest that the Lord is presenting the situation here, Speaking of His coming as a thief in the night, because that is the character that He will come to this world as judge and the unbelieving servant.
We'll encounter him in that character because Peter says subsequently, Lord, speakest thou this parable to us or even unto all? Lord, are you talking to us or are you speaking to all? And then the Lord clarifies it and says, Well, who is that faithful and wise servant? The faithful and wise servant will never encounter the Lord as a thief in the night. He will be caught up at the rapture. He is looking for the Lord to come.
He's watching for the Lord in the character that we have in verse 36. But what about the unfaithful servant, the unbelieving servant, the one who takes the place of being the Lord servant, but there's no reality what happens to him? Oh, it says further down.
The Lord of that servant, verse 46, will come in a day when he looketh not for him.
That is, he will encounter the Lord as a judge, He will see the Lord as the Lord will come as a thief in the night. And as our brother says, that comes at the end of the tribulation when he appears to judge this world and to set up his Kingdom. So that the Lord, I believe, answers Peter's question by pointing out that yes, there is such a thing as a faithful servant, but sad to say, there'll be an unfaithful servant and he'll encounter the Lord in that character.
Go ahead, Brother Steve, we want to hear what you have to say, though. I think that's right, Brother Bill, because you get that with the address to the church in Sardis. I'll come upon me as a thief. And even though that's addressed to a church, there's still the possibility that they could meet the Lord in that character, not as the bridegroom. But overall, it's helpful when we go through these chapters in various places in the gospel to see that the Lord's addressing his disciples as such, and the truth that we have that was later brought out in fullness by Paul.
The Lord had not given yet the germs of it in some cases. And so the first verse of the chapter is He began to say unto His disciples, first of all, and He's really not taking up so much a matter of saved and lost as we tend to think of it, but He's taking up the disciples as responsible. Now there's the possibility of having a portion appointed with the unbelievers. There's the end of a course, but if we want to get the good of it, we need to realize that each one of us carry within us in nature.
That is a spring of every wicked thing that's in here, and it's a possibility for us to fall in the same course, though we might never end up.
Having a portion appointed with the unbelievers because we know from other New Testament truth of eternal security. But let's just take this chapter as the Spirit of God intends it as an arrow to the conscience in heart to take us up in our responsibility to remember the judgment seat of Christ is yet before us. And this chapter really is given to us in a certain sense that we might have an evaluation.
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Of all that is in our lives and life, of that evaluation which he is going to make in the coming day.
385 And to him comes to mind, because we don't wait for the Lord Jesus as the Son of Man. We Christians don't wait for him as the Son of Man. He comes for us as the Son of God, you know, and we wait for thee, O Son of God. 325.
For the old son.