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All we can do or say.
All those merciful.
Very good 12 or someone has something else?
I.
Simply consent.
Well, that's set.
00:05:04
OK. I guess there were a number that there are a number that we're not here yesterday. Yesterday in the reading we considered Luke 12 beginning at verse 31 and.
If it's the mind of the brethren to go on with that.
I would suggest perhaps starting at verse 41.
Luke chapter 12, then verse 41. Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable 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 in due season?
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 has. But an if that servant say in his heart, My Lord delayeth his coming, and shall begin to beat the men, servants, and mates, 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, at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
And that servant which knew his Lords will and prepared not himself, neither did according to his wills. He'll be beaten with many stripes.
But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes.
Friend of whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required, and to whom men have committed much of him, they will ask the more.
I have come to send fire on the earth, and what will I? As if he already kindled.
But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straightened till it be accomplished? Suppose he that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you nay, but rather division. For 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 often to the people, when you see a cloud rise out of the West straightway, you stay there, come at the shower, and so it is. And when you see the South wind blow, you say there will be heat. And it comes to pass, you hypocrites, you can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it that you do not discern this time?
Yay, and why even of yourself judging not what is right? But now goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way. Give diligence that thou mayst be delivered from him, lest he hail thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer caste into prison. I tell thee thou shalt not depart fence to thou hast paid the very last mice.
Was used yesterday that I think might deserve some definition or perhaps some description, and that is the word moral. It was used in the context of Matthew, we have the Kingdom of of heaven, which is dispensational, and Luke the Kingdom of God which is moral.
And there seem to be many definitions of the word moral.
And for those that are interested, I'd recommend looking in the Oxford English Dictionary and you will get.
The fullest definition that's known in the English language.
And I cannot remember all that it says because it goes for at least the page. But one of the thoughts that has struck me is that what what is moral is something that is designed to affect our character, designed to affect our character. And so we use the word as the moral of a story. We also have that.
It is expected to.
Change our behavior.
Or to affect our behavior to a right and virtuous way. So that's two ways of looking at moral, which perhaps applies to the comments yesterday, and perhaps others would have a little more enlightenment on the use of the word moral.
00:10:08
I think that's very good, brother Bruce, because.
I believe everyone in this room would recognize that God has made man a moral being.
But sad to say, man has tried, through the instrumentality of Satan, to stamp out every bit of moral light in this world and to reduce man, at least in his own estimation, to nothing more than an animal. And he finds, of course, that it doesn't work even in natural things. You cannot address issues of right and wrong. You cannot address issues of character, issues of behavior.
Without coming to the conclusion that man is a moral being, false religions in this world have tried in a sense to do that and have ended up in a hopeless situation where they at on one hand impose standards of behavior and ideas of right and wrong, and yet at the same time, in denying the moral being of man, have made fools out of themselves.
But I suggest that this chapter particularly brings before us that which is very basic, very necessary, as we talked yesterday, having to do with the Kingdom of God, having to do with our behavior as believers.
And if I could, I'd like to lay a little emphasis on a comment that Brother Steve made Brother Steve Stewart made yesterday concerning this chapter.
On the one hand, it is necessary, very necessary as we get in Timothy, to be rightly dividing the word of truth. It is necessary to have a clear understanding of what Scripture means, to keep it in its place, to understand what a verse refers to, its proper interpretation, those for whom it is intended.
But many times in the Word of God, God will put in a passage through the Spirit. The Spirit of God will put in a passage that in its strict interpretation may apply to someone other than ourselves. And yet the moral intent of it is for us. And we get that here in this chapter when it talks, for example, about the unfaithful servant.
The one who says, My Lord, delay of his coming.
Clearly in its final essence it refers to an unbeliever, but does that allow me, you and me to just say, well OK, then I disregard that. It doesn't apply to me. If I read Philippians chapter 3 that was brought before us yesterday and read about those who are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose God is their belly, who mind earthly things, whose end is destruction.
Clearly in its final essence, an unbeliever does that allow me to disregard that and say, well, I don't have to pay attention to that because it isn't written to me. Oh my no. God puts it there because there is a danger of my minding earthly things. God puts this passage here in Luke 12 because there is a danger that you and I can be found saying, My Lord delayeth his coming and we can settle down here. We can eat and drink with the drunken. We can be found beating.
Men, servants and maidservants and acting in a way that is unbecoming. And so I suggest that while it is most important to keep Scripture in its place, yet let us remember that the import of what God has given here through the mouth of our blessed Savior is intended for each one of us and intended to exercise us as to our walk and ways in this world, given the light that we have and given the fact that.
Much has been committed to us.
To say that the point of the stories in the Old Testament is not to know the eternal destiny of souls, but to know what the end of the pathway of life is. And so by consider the character of Absalom Light. I have no doubt that I am not going to see Absalom or Saul in heaven, but I may. There is a grave danger that I may get taken up with the same character of Absalom's or Saul's behavior.
00:15:02
And in naturally my life the same way that they did. And I believe that that's the point. The other thing we need to say about morality is that we sometimes hear the expression that morality is absolute. God alone is absolute. Morality is relative. God is the one who has the right to determine what is right in a relationship. And that is what man rejects. There are many people in this world, even in his own religions, that believe that morality is absolute.
And so you say, well, who did Adam's sons marry? Well, Scripture is silent on this subject, but we know who they married of necessity, if we believe the word of God and God permitted that because God is God and he has a right to say that. And what God may have allowed to go on in the Old Testament, we we cannot use that as a pretext for bad behavior on our side that God bore with that because as our brother Brakish brought out that.
One is far more responsible given the light that he has. And in this passage it is not a question of the eternal destiny of souls so much as a question of the question of what I profess to be and what I the place that I take before God. So the man who's preaching down the street, who denies that Jesus is the Son of God, who calls himself a minister of the gospel and has got pastor on the front of his church, who denies the inerrancy of Scripture and who denies that Jesus is the Son of God, He is going to be judged as a servant.
Not the same way that some Muslim moolah over in Iraq is going to be judged. And so this is really what's being brought out. And a person may be in a place of privilege and responsibility and yet not have life. And so this, these ones here that it's speaking about servants, it's one who takes that place and we're held in responsibility according to the light that we have and the place that we take. And this is something that's generally denied in Christendom because they say, well, he was saved and they divide everybody between the saved and the lost and only responsibility on that basis.
But.
The the Gospels especially take man up based on what he professes, and God will deal with him on that basis. And so the assembly has to take up a man based on what he professes, not just the question about whether he's saved or not. We have to sometimes leave that question aside.
Have to do with what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is bad. And there's a standard that we have. We're holding it in our hands. I'm just going to read one passage. There are many lists like this in the New Testament, but I'll turn to Galatians 5 and here, the one that establishes the true morals, the things which are moral and acceptable with God contrasted with the things which are immoral.
And not acceptable with God and who sets the standard well in Galatians 5 verse 16. I say then walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh, for the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary the one to the other, so that you should not should read do the things that she would.
But if you be LED of the Spirit, you're not under the law. Now notice here's the list. Now the works of the flesh are manifest. Which are these? Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft.
Hatred.
Variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such life. That's not a complete list. He ends by saying in such life of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.
That's the sphere that we were talking about yesterday, that God is ruler in that spirit.
And we're subject to Him and he sets the rules. But the fruit of the Spirit, notice it's the works of the flesh contrasted with the fruit of the Spirit. We often misquote that as it says the fruits of the Spirit, doesn't say that. It says the fruit of the Spirit. It's a nine flavored fruit that he's talking about. And when the Spirit of God works in our lives, in our new natures, it produces this fruit, beautiful fruit, the sweetest fruit you'll ever taste. If you could eat this physically.
00:20:22
But this is a moral thing. The fruit of the Spirit is Lovejoy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there's no law. Now who sets these standards? The Word of God, the Spirit of God who has indicted the Scriptures. Everything the Lord said was given to him by the Father. So when he spoke, the Father was speaking.
When he did a work of a miracle work, it was the Father that he was manifesting. He could say he that sees me sees him that sent me. What do we know of the Father? We know that he's just like his Son and his Son is just like his Father. And the Spirit of God works in US and he indwells every single one of us who's a true believer. So that these moral standards, that which is wrong and that which is right, things that are wrong, we stay away from.
The things that are right, the Spirit of God produces that 9 flavored fruit in each one of us as we walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Now this is just one list. There are many lists in the New Testament that contrast these things. If you throw the Bible out, there is no standard for morality. There's no standard. It's if it's if I like it, I'll do it.
And you can't tell me not to because that's just your opinion, not mine. And there's just nothing to guide us without the word of God. And that's why the our country, your country here is in such a mess. And other countries that don't even know the true God, we at least acknowledge the true God in our country. We have him. He had him in our coinage, in our in our money, in God we trust. But are we subject to him? That's the question.
Something that is moral is something that is in that sphere of the Kingdom of God where God rules and He sets the standards, and we have no right to change those or to counter them by our opinions. Our opinion means nothing in the things of God. We get everything from the Scriptures, and without that, if you don't have your Bible, it's not enough. I was talking to one of the nurses when I was being cared for and had a wonderful opportunity to talk to people.
There. And I said you have a Bible. And she said no, I said you don't have a Bible. You don't.
You're talking to a person that's in the country that everyone you think have a Bible, but it's not enough young people to have a Bible and to put it on a shelf and not read it. I remember when I was lying in bed, I couldn't read my Bible. I couldn't even hold it.
But one thing I could do, we mentioned in this morning, I could pray. And the other thing I could do that I didn't do enough of, I could meditate. And what I learned, the scriptures that I had memorized, the Spirit of God enabled me to draw them forth and.
With tears running down my cheeks.
I medicated on those precious things which are ours. Do you value them?
It's too late when you get my age to do a lot of reading.
Thank God when I was in my 20s I spent hours over this book. I'll never forget it, I'll never reject it. I'll never regret it.
Read your scriptures, meditate upon these things. Give thyself holy to them.
That they profiting me appeared to all.
You'll never regret it. Don't. Don't spend all your extra time playing games and doing all those things that have no eternal value whatsoever. Becomes so familiar with this book and with him, with him. Become familiar with him, the Lord Jesus Christ, and meditate upon him. Ponder his words, ponder his works, ponder his rebukes.
00:25:05
I remember speaking to a Jewish man, an engineer at work, and we were in the screen room. I was testing microphones and I said to him, Do you know why your people rejected the Lord Jesus Christ? I want to read to you, Matthew.
And I read to him those passages where he's speaking to the religious leaders. Ye hypocrites, ye generation of Vipers, how shall ye escape the damnation of hell? The Lord spoke the most serious condemnation words against the religious hypocrites, Ye hypocrites, He called them, and they couldn't stand it. And when I got through, I closed my book and I looked up and his face was beat red. And I said they couldn't stand the truth.
He was the truth and without this book, you don't know the truth. You can't know it because this book is truth and the Spirit of God is the truth, and the Lord Jesus Christ is the truth. And without them, without the word, without the Lord Jesus, without the Spirit, you're just at sea without knowing what's right and what's wrong. It's all a matter of opinion. That's what you think. I think differently and you have no.
Standard.
To guide us, and that's what we mean by something that's moral or immoral.
Let me throw lies what I understood in an individual's life life and the moral claims. When a good looks 16, we see unfaithfully stored and it talks of the individual responsibility towards God, how he can stand straight with God. Then when you go to look 1St Corinthians 5, they just sing in Corinthians.
And when the individual responsibility towards God was filled and it was known to the other believers and how that matter was judged. And when you go back to Matthew 1820, when the judgment was not there. I mean that was it forecast made by Lord when in time to come the assembly would have to judge a decision. And in that way we find that the the the when the matter was.
Went beyond the person responsibility between two people.
If there's anything and her brother has committed, let's take it between two people. And if that brother is still continues, take another witness and when it didn't listen to another brother, also take it to the assembly. And this is something which we can when the man in his personal level fails to be straight with God and it becomes public, then assembly has to come in and it is something to.
Take on or something to give your thoughts on this.
I just mentioned this in connection of the relationship of morality to the law. Every pure heart believes that every word from Genesis to Revelation is the word of God. But there were things that were permissible under the law that now under grace are unthinkable. And you say, well, what do I mean? Well, supposing two brothers in the assembly here, we went out into the forest. I went out with Dave Mearns there to cut down a tree and I got careless and, and through my carelessness, the tree fell on my brother Dave and he.
He died under the law. His family could pursue me and I would have to go to the city of refuge to hide.
And if they caught me before I got there, they could kill me. Well, I believe every conscience in this room tells you that under Christianity that was unthinkable. Under the law, it was permissible for a man to put his way his wife for any uncleanness that he found under found in her. But under the law, but under grace, it's unthinkable. The Lord said to put away your life except for fornication. You've caused her to commit adultery. And the one who marries this innocent one put away, commits adultery by marrying her. So the law, so grace raises the standard, if I may put it this way.
And so it's in relation to God and God alone and our conduct. And so I believe it's important in this chapter when we see that the position in which we are in relationship, in which we are now with God, determines what our conduct ought to be and how God will judge us. And so this one here in this chapter, we should not take the edge off of this and say, well, this wicked servant is going to wind up in hell. Therefore, as our brother said, it has nothing to say to me.
00:30:08
It does have something to say to me, and I may well be like that wicked servant who spends my life beating the men's servants rather than feeding the people of God, Giving the people of God. Meet in due season.
Stewards here to get back to verse 42, We are stewards.
And unfortunately, in the King James Version, the word ruler is used repeatedly in different scriptures. The correct rendering is leader. You know there are leaders even in Christianity and it is our responsibility to recognise them. But here it is not a question.
Of recognizing a ruler, but the Lord speaks to those who are in the lead, and what is their duty.
To rule no, but to give them meat in due season, you know feeding the flock of God is our responsibility and by bringing the scriptures before the Saints and living the scriptures we will lead in the right way. So it is leadership that we have but not.
Rulers.
You know that's not suited for Christianity and following the meek and lowly Jesus.
Clerk of God.
You know, that's a very important question.
Do we bring the truth of God before souls in the power of the Spirit so that they can take it in and it becomes a guide in their life?
Question who? And the Lord turns it around, and he says to Peter, Who? And so this is laid at the feet of every.
Servant of God in the Kingdom. And the Lord doesn't answer Peter's question by detailing exactly who we're saying, Oh no, it's just the 12 or anything. He turns around and he lays it right at our feet and he says who? Who?
Actually, you said it's at the feet of every servant.
I think it's at the feet of everyone who professes to be a servant, whether true or not.
Right, everyone of us.
In a greater or smaller measure. But we're all servants. We have a master.
A couple of us were just looking at Deuteronomy 22 in the intermission, and it might be helpful because we sometimes may wonder how we may be helped to those not only who are not, who are not gathered with us or Christians that we meet or that we know. Just maybe turn to that passage because I believe that there's some very helpful instruction here for each one of us.
Deuteronomy 22.
Thou shalt not see thy brothers ox or his sheep go astray and hide thyself from them. Thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother. And if thy brother be not an eye to thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it on to unto thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again. And like manner thou shalt do with his ***.
And so shall thou do with his raiment.
And with all lost things, I brothers, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, thou shalt do likewise. Thou mayest not hide thyself. Thou shalt not see thy brothers *** or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them. Thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.
Well, you know, you may be at school and you see somebody else in your classroom that's a believer. I don't care whether you're 8 years old or 38 years old and you see somebody and they profess to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. And they're going on with something that is not a good testimony as a Christian. They've they've lost their raiment. They're not acting like a Christian anymore. You're not to hide yourself. And so many a child has sweetly gone home.
00:35:19
From school and prayed for somebody else at school. They maybe don't go up and talk to them, but you take it home and you tie it up. You keep it at home until they come looking for it, you know, because sometimes you're not. You don't even know the person. And if you went up to them and said, well, that's no way for a Christian to act. You know, you may cause real harm. But you can take it home and pray about it. You can tie it up. You can maybe ask the Lord for a little word of Paul prayed for a door of utterance. Maybe they're not close to you. Maybe there's even a brother in the assembly and he's not close to you.
And you couldn't just go over to his house and sit down and talk to him about something. But you see, maybe there's something in his life that he's allowed that's causing real damage. He's lost his ox, his ability to, to, to just plod on for the Lord or his *** is burden bearing. And so you can take that home and tie it up and take care of it. It's working its energy. But you can look after your brother in that way. And so it's not just we, I, I say this because brother Heinz referred to those that take the lead. And that's very good, but he's speaking in the future.
About he'll give them the take the lead, but in the present Stephen and Philip and those others they learn to.
They were put in a place of leadership because they learned to wait on tables. It was a was a difficult task. And so there are many things that we can do that we can see. There's a brother here and a sister at work with into Christian Comedy. And he gave her a little tract and she kind of slept it off and so on.
But you're sometime later she came back and with tears and she said, you know, the custodian here propositioned me because I was always speaking to him in a lighthearted way. And so I believe his efforts and his concern for her. She wasn't gathered with us, but his concern for her had before proved. And so we can help. We can feed the Saints of God in this way and help one another. And I believe that that's what the Lord is really speaking about here that we have a concern as our brother spoke last night and they care for one another, but it does not automatically translate and right away.
Leaving the ox back to the person saying here's your ox back, or here's your *** back or here's your garment back. But it's not to be indifferent or to hide yourself from it. Say well, am I my brother's keeper as our brother reminded us last night?
Two is to be faithful and wise, faithful and and prudent. So a person may be faithful, may be zealous, they may be sincere, but as many have said, they may be sincerely mistaken. So they're the other side is to be prudent, to be wise, to know what is the right course. So our brother Gordon used to remind us of that verse in Romans 15.
Where it says.
And I myself AM.
Also persuaded of you, my brethren.
Romans 15 and verse 14.
I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. And.
So when it comes to the aspect of our stewardship in regards to one another.
It's a heart that is full of goodness that you're for me, but it also needs to be according to knowledge, according to the wisdom that's in the word of God. You may love me and care for me deeply and speak to me, but if your thoughts are informed by the word of God, you're the tendency of your words would be in the wrong direction. On the other hand, you may have all wisdom but no love. And then it can be like in Proverbs. There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise is health.
And so.
We wash one another's feet, hopefully, graciously, not, as someone said with a fire hose from a distance. So it's beautiful to see that balance. Faithful and wise, faithful and prudent.
That we.
Rightly divide the word of truth. I'm going to read a passage from Deuteronomy 20. Now this is the Old Testament. This applies to Israel. It does not apply to us. When thou goest out to battle against sign enemies, and see his horses and Chariots and the people more than thou, be not afraid of them. For the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people, and she'll say to them, Here, O Israel, you approach this day unto battle against your enemies.
00:40:10
Let not your heart speak, fear not and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them.
The Lord your God is he that goeth with you to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. That could be used today by those that are promoting in the in the political arena and so on, that Christians should go to war against their enemies.
And that's totally contrary to the New Testament and to the Epistles to the Church, period.
You have to rightly divide the word of truth. A passage like this could be misused. So when we say is it according to the word of God, we have to know what dispensation are we talking about? Is it today? Is it Christian truth that we're looking at, or is it something that was given to the Jewish people?
The United States has looked at maybe Canada too, just like the Jews looked at Israel. That was a nation and God stood for them and he went out with them to battle and so on against their enemies that had other gods. But Christianity is entirely different. There's no such thing as a nation on earth today that's Christian, never was. The Christians are everywhere throughout the world. They're members of the body of Christ. And it's, it's an entirely different dispensation where we are. So we have to.
In order to to know how we are to act morally in this present day, like the 10 commandments says thou shalt not kill. But here in Deuteronomy 20 the Israelites were to kill their enemies. So you have to rightly divide the word of truth so you know how to apply it properly. But moral things that we have in the New Testament do we get lists all through the New Testament what is right and what is wrong according for a Christian?
That's what we go by. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal is a statement from the New Testament. We have weapons and we are involved in a war, but it is a spiritual conflict and the weapon of our warfare are not carnal. It's this book, you know, and the word of God that we can use. And many people have been won by love.
You know when there was hatred and animosity demonstrated or wrong being done.
And there was a Christian attitude and spirit manifested. People were one. And that is still a possibility today. You know, it's easier to say than to do, you know. But that is nevertheless what the Word of God admonishes us as Christians. You know, we should love our enemies, and we overcome evil, supposedly with good.
Look at the Old Testament. They had many, many wives. Abraham.
Isaac, Jacob.
Solomon, David, we don't have that today. It's it's unscriptural. That's not biblical in the in the Christian dispensation where we're living, that's wrong. So they can go back to the old and apply that and say, well, they had it, they could do it. How come we can't because the dispensation has changed if we don't.
See, that will not be rightly dividing the word of truth. We'll be using Scripture against itself to prove our point. So it's just a word of caution.
As to what is right and what is wrong, we have to know where we are in the dispensation of God. How many, How many brides does the Lord Jesus have?
What the church, you know, Rich, we have an opportunity.
To give a demonstration of what is perfectly true of Christ and the church lost the husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church. We husbands do well to remember that and bring that scripture to our mind. We need it, do we not? We need to be reminded that we should love our wives as Christ loved the church. Now even wife, let me just add this. Then you go ahead. In the Old Testament, Israel was the right.
Uh-huh. Jerusalem and New Testament. It's the church, the body of Christ. So even there that you have two brides, but we're not living in a dispensation where two brides are acceptable. Go ahead. Only one. Yeah. So how? Testament in connection with Israel. Everything in connection with Israel with a picture.
00:45:12
In the Old Testament we have pictures or illustrations as whatever in the New Testament, and so we have in connection with Israel. That's not an eternal relationship between.
God and his, the bride of Israel. It's just a picture.
That we can see in the Old Testament. Christ doesn't have two brides. It's a picture that we see in the Old Testament. I have a picture of my wife and I say that's my bride. And you say, well, you have two brides, your bride sitting next to you and the bride sitting on your bedside table at home. It's a picture, an illustration that we have in the Old Testament of the news. I believe that's important because we have illustrations of truth in the Old Testament that we can take up. They were not revealed and we can see.
What God's intentions are like, you have instructions for something and we get the dispensation, we get the instruction in the New Testament, and then we get illustrations of it in the old.
You shouldn't confuse the two.
Even in the in the old, the Song of Solomon often is preached, is talked on as though the bride there is the church. That's wrong. The bride is Jerusalem, the bride is Israel, and the bride is not in a known, established relationship with the bridegroom. We are.
We are completely different.
Our relationship and and the bride in the Song of Solomon.
But the relationship of pride is still mentioned in Revelation, right? The Lamb's pride. In other words, the honeymoon is never going to be over, spiritually speaking. It will be like the first love, you know. Unfortunately, in our married life, sometimes the honeymoon is over, you know? But that is not going to be the case.
With Christ and the Church there will always be that first love for all eternity in that ought to be wonderful to be with all the Saints that are the bride of Christ together from all countries, whether they're from Bhutan. You know, we will all be together and we will all be with the Lord Jesus like him forever in the Father's house. Wonderful future that we have.
You know our home is in heaven. Our home is not here. We often sing. You know we have trials here. But then there will be perfect happiness and contentment for all eternity. It's not just a short time. It lasts on forever and ever and ever.
Let me give one third on the things going on now. If you see Matthew 25, we see both Jews and Gentiles brought in and they say he Lord is coming for the church and both. It also gives a a picture of the full denomination like shaped Christians and nominals. But at the same time I fully agree that the Judaism and the Christianity are different.
And and it is a new, the Christianity is a new thing is who is the brighter prospect for the salvation and it's something to go about. But when I talk again of the moral responsibility, I take it more responsibly towards God, towards the Lord and as well as immoral responsibility towards the assembly, because the God raises leaders in each assembly as well as he gives gives to the assembly who are by assembly. It's built up.
Edified and this is something to think about the Judaism as well as Christianity and the ghosts loving care for the assembly.
Helpful just from Israel as the bride of Jehovah and the church is the bride of the Son of God. And that helps to distinguish a little because really when Israel is taken up as a bride, it's it's not to the Son of God, it's really to Jehovah.
To well to remember the Assembly is not a democratic system.
There are those who lead and those who are let.
In the Apostolic days, the apostles would appoint appoint elders, overseers, those who took the spiritual lead, you know, and even morally.
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We don't have Apostolic authority, but doesn't mean we don't have those who are elders or serve in the capacity of elders and leaders. Yes, we have them. The Holy Spirit appoints them. That is our responsibility to recognise them.
And how can we recognize them?
If they have the love of the Saints, characterize them, if they have them on their hearts, that is the surest way of finding out who they are that the Lord has put among us in the lead, you know, in the position of responsibility. We are not a democratic system. So let's accept God's order in the assembly, you know, and there are those who lead and those who are left, and hopefully those who lead.
Will be leading according to the principles of the word of God. Unfortunately, sometimes people have misled the Saints of God and sometimes those most gifted have been most guilty. You know, the people follow them and it's very responsible to be in a position of leadership and then leading a right and not to mislead or lead the Saints astray. That has happened.
Sometimes people do that and then they want to come back as if everything was like it was before. What about this mistake, this error, misleading the Saints and causing and having part in a division that needs to be judged, you know, and then the Lord can use these very people that have been wrong and through their humbling experiences, perhaps they might be better qualified and used.
Humility in leading amongst the Saints. So we have those that lead and those who are left and we can recognize who they are and we do well to accept God's order and not go by the democratic system. We are not all speaking with the same voice in the assembly and it's especially the local assembly where you have oversight. There is no overseer beyond the local assembly.
That's a local responsibility. That does not mean that somebody can come to an assembly.
Where there is a problem, may it be doctrinally or whatever, and the Saints, local Saints, might not exactly know how to handle it and what the position scripturally is. And then they can ask a brother or two, as it has happened in the past, what is the Scripture that guides us in this kind of a situation. And the brethren can tell them what the Scripture teaches, but then they have to tell them that isn't for us.
To make the decisions for you, you have to make the decisions. And whatever decision you make, we accept, you know, Mr. Darby said. We accept the decision of the assembly, right or wrong. If it is wrong, trust that the Lord will correct it. You know, I'm not suggesting that wrong decisions should not be corrected. The Lord will see to it that it will be corrected, but we have to accept the fact.
There is an order in the assembly that God has established. Although there aren't official elders, official leaders, but there are those who lead and those who are in the position of elders unofficially.
Important that I recognize that I submit myself through these and it's submission on my part that recognizes those who have the lead over me and those who have the lead over me. It may be not in AIDS so much, but in in in moral ways. And it may be somebody who is younger than me that I recognize that has moral weight in the things of God. And when he brings things my attention, it's my responsibility to submit to that.
And this is what he peaked in the assembly and this is what God's order is all about. And so I believe it's important to remember that that we submit ourselves one to another. We're told in in Peter chapter 5 where we're told to take the the lead and that's not taking it because of so that we will have some something of importance. But we feel that.
There should be that thought and each heart, especially of the brothers, that there is a need amongst the Saints of God for to to feed the Saints of God. And so it should be our responsibility, regardless of what our age is, to take that lead to feed the Saints of God. And then it's my responsibility to submit myself to those who do. That's why it brings that out in that same chapter that we are to take the lead, but then we are to submit everyone to one another.
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And that is what what I say that is what keeps peace and unity in the Assembly of God. I'd just like to point out that what we have here is future about the making him leader over a leader over all he has. Let's read the 43rd verse.
Blessed is that servant who when his Lord cometh, when he cometh, shall find him so doing. Of a truth I say unto you that he will make him. He will make him a ruler over all that he has. And so I believe that the emphasis is now more on the president. I'm not don't want to take away anything that was said about bleeding, but there are many young people here and you want to be a help.
And we certainly see what has been said is that Steven earned a good degree by the way in which he conducted himself in waiting on the tables. It was a difficult thing. And anybody who's tried to help the Saints, they know that they're going to run into trouble. People don't like how this is done or that is done. And it takes the edge off our personalities as we just learned to quietly serve the Saints. But you see friends at school and you see people and, and I say it starts when you're 8 years old and you're going to school and you're seeing another Christian going on with something that they shouldn't be or you think that they don't know something that might be a help to them as a Christian and you want to help.
This is what he's speaking about it giving meat and due season. And then the future consequences of that is that the Lord's going to make him a leader, as has been pointed out overall that he has.
But I just like to turn back to a verse while our brother Bruce was speaking about wisdom, and I believe it's helpful in Romans here, Romans 15.
And.
I believe this illustrates the point of wisdom that we often lack when we're young.
Sometimes you're ready to take pick up the sword and chase somebody with a sword, and other times you're trying to encourage somebody and they need the sword. If I can put it that way, and I'm going to just read these verses. We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the Romans 15 verse one. We then that are strong out to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves that everyone please his neighbor for his goodification for even Christ please not himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of them that reproach.
Thee fell on me.
That is a quotation from the 69th Psalm. Let's just go back there and look at it, and I believe we're going to get some wisdom as we do as we see this, because this verse is quoted 2 Times in the New Testament.
69th Psalm in the ninth verse.
The zeal of mine house hath eaten me up.
The reproaches of them, that reproach thee, are falling upon me.
So here you find this first quoted in the Old Testament. Many a young man has said the zeal of God's house eating them up, And you see that quoted in connection with the Lord, when he overturned the money changer's tables. They remembered the Psalm, and they said, The deal of thine house hath beaten me up. The very same verse is used in the word of God to say, We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of them that are weak.
One case that calls for patience and going on with the people of God and the other time it calls for overturning a money changers table. And we're not always wise and especially when we're younger, we're not always wise.
As to those things. And so we are going to get that wisdom by turning to the Word of God. But the encouragement here is as to the future is that in the present that we might feed the people of God, strengthen the people of God. And I say it starts with the children. When they're a little child, 7 or even three or four, they get saved and they see their brother and they maybe see their brother, their sister doing something that's not pleasing to the Lord.
And you can be a help to them by tying that up at home, taking care of that, praying about it, maybe giving them a little verse of Scripture. The Lord will give you wisdom as to what to do. And as you grow up, you'll give you more and more wisdom. And that's what the Lord is trying to encourage here in this passage.
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A little with Romans 15 with verse four. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hoped. Now the God of patience and consolation granted to be like minded one toward another, according to Christ Jesus, that Jimmy with one mind and one note, glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I think we should not just keep referring to those who are younger who need these things.
Verse 7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
I think those of us who are older sometimes need to learn from those who are younger. I don't think anyone of us can hold up our heads as examples. I think we need to.
Remember and think a little of what has happened amongst us. We've spoken of leaders and so on, but I think there's a much more precious formula found in these verses to submit.
One to another.
To the point where we could with one mind and one mouth glorify God. And often those who are younger are more of an example of these things than perhaps those of us who are older. When we take the scriptures in the Old Testament, especially in referring to verse four, may we have an exercise that it would be for patients comfort and hope and not.
To impose things on each other or take positions of.
Leadership that are perhaps beyond what's necessary, but maybe you learn to submit to each other so that we can glorify God together. I'd like to add to that an incident that happened some years back out East in an assembly. There are two businessmen that had odds with each other and one accused the other one of stealing and.
The assembly looked into it and they they disciplined one of the two, the one that had been accused, and some came to him and said, we know that you're innocent. We know you're not guilty of this and we'll stand for you. And he said, no, you won't. You just leave it with the Lord and he'll take care of it. He knew that he was innocent and the other one knew that he was guilty. But it just sat that way. The assembly had.
Dealt with the wrong person, misinformation, whatever it was, and the one did not allow any to rally themselves around him and to correct it. A year later, the one that was really guilty of the crime came forward and said I'm the guilty one. And the assembly corrected the mistake they had made and received back the one that they had put away and put away the real guilty one. But the importance in that story is the one that was unjustly treated.
Accepted it.
Bowed to it, knowing that he was not guilty, but he left it with the Lord to correct it. And he did. And that's the spirit of Christ. And not to champion your cause by gathering a party around you and then splitting the assembly up. I can't think of a sin that one could commit that is more serious than dividing the Church of God.
I like to read some verses first in First Thessalonians chapter 5.
Verse 12.
And we beseech you, brethren, to know them, or to recognize them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you. In this democratic land where we live, the democracy tends to slip into the assembly, but it goes on. And to esteem them very highly in love for your work's sake, and be at peace.
Among yourself now, we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly. Comfort to feeble minded, support the weak, be patient towards all.
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And then in Hebrews chapter 13.
Verse.
17.
Obey them that have to rule over you, or that take the lead among you and submit yourselves. For they watch over your souls, as they that must give account that they may do it with joy and not with greed, for that is unprofitable for you. So this is what the scripture teaches, and it's always good.
To go by the scriptures and the danger is in our society that majority rule is going to be applied, the democratic principle. Just be careful. The Lord appoints those that lead and qualifies them and it is our responsibility to recognise them and to submit.
To such people, by doing so, we are submitting to the Lord's order in the church.
Majority is often wrong. Yes, very much so. I believe we need to look at the realization that he is the shepherd, the chief shepherd, and sets the example for that. As our brother Ken referred to Ephesians 5. There needs to be that feeding of the flock and we have made reference to the Old Testament and I believe it gives us some good instructions in that connection. I just like to read a couple of verses because we need to see that tenderness.
In the heart of a shepherd who takes the lambs in his arm. Let's just read a couple of verses in Isaiah 40.
Verse 10. Behold the Lord God will come with strong hand in, and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his rewardeth with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. This is the Good Shepherd, the character of the Good Shepherd.
We, if we're older, if the Lord has given any leadership to us, are we doing that? Are we bringing along those that are younger? Are we reaching out to those that may not understand? It's true that maybe we apply some of these things to those that are young and forget that we are older need them too. But I say this because there is there's a need for their sheltering, the carrying of some of those who are young.
Then we read in Ezekiel 34.
And verse Yeah, Ezekiel 34.
Verse 15 I will feed my flock and I will cause them to lie down, sayeth the Lord. I will seek that which was lost and so on. There are so many references to the comfort, the strength, and the encouragement, and surely that has to be the first thing. And if that is in place, the chances are some of those other things that are distasteful. Necessary perhaps, but distasteful may not have to be so. I say that to my own heart and to the heart of any of us who are getting a little older.
What kind of characteristics are we displaying in the leadership of the little lambs? Are they being fed or are we? Are we stacking the hay so high that they can't feed? So have we not a special responsibility, as we see so many young lambs in our midst here today, to feed them and to bring that good word before them, as has been done this morning? I'd like to read the first verses of Ezekiel 34. Very serious.
The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of Man, prophecy against the shepherds of Israel.
Prophecy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds, Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves. Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat, and you clothe you with the wool. You kill them that are fed, but you feed not the flock the diseased. Have you not strengthened, Neither have you healed that which was sick, neither have you bound up that which was broken, neither have you brought again that which was driven away, neither have you sought that which was lost. But with force and with cruelty have you ruled them, and they were scattered, because there's no shepherd.
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And they became meat to all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. Because that's enough to read, but it's enough to make you shiver when you think that those that are in that place of responsibility were like this. And it was the shepherds of Israel. It was the leaders that put the blessed Lord on that cross and would do away with Him. They were the guilty ones. So you read Jeremiah 23 and Ezekiel 34 and to keep everything balanced properly.
Well, it's enough.
We might not be shepherds, we might say, well, I'm not shepherd, I don't have the gift of a shepherd. And that is certainly true of many of us, but that doesn't mean that we cannot have a shepherd's heart. You know, I think you can have a shepherd's heart without having the gift of a shepherd. So what is needed amongst the gathered Saints, more than any other gift, is the gift of the shepherd.
You know, of course he will feed the flock, He will bring the truth of God before them. But it's the shepherds that we need. And they are especially needed in the local assembly. And the gift of the shepherd is not just local, it is for the body at large. But hopefully there will be in the local assembly those that will have an exercise to shepherd the flock of God.
Why did so many of these assemblies disappear that at one time were flourishing assemblies? I believe the main reason is that perhaps they were lacking in shepherd care. And so this is speaking to my own heart and conscience and to all of our hearts and consciences that are in a position of responsibility in the local assembly. You might say I'm not a shepherd.
Yes, you might be true in saying so, but you can have a shepherd's heart. I believe it's important.
Peter 5 again, that is the plot. It is the flock of God, it's God's assembly, it's God's people. And diatrophies did not have the sense of that in his soul, and so he tried to put out of the assembly. 31 He doesn't have the heart of a shepherd.
And he lost sight of the fact that it was God's flock, God's chief. And and it's not mine. It's not, we're told in Peter there. It's not for filthy Lucas sake and it's not for being Lords over God's heritage because it's God's assembly. And so I, I think it's important to remember to our brother Bruce brought before us in in Romans 15 those qualifications of a pastor.
If you want to know what a pastor is like, those are the qualifications right there. We'll read them again, full of goodness.
And we have that is that our our desire to be good to the Saints of God for Christ sake and the other is filled with all knowledge and we spent time over the word of God. Are we qualified in any way to not only feed our own souls, but the the the souls of the Saints of God, even if it's in a little measure. Young people can qualify in a sense to help their Phil they can they can point out that which is wrong as it has been mentioned.
Your same stuff someone who glotted their garments. You can point these things out. You're not walking as a Christian. OK, so there's there's one of the qualifications someone has mentioned. Get start can start when you're 8 years old and then it says able to admonish one another. Can we just gently and quietly say that's not right brother?
Maybe you could read in Ephesians 4.
I'd just like to get back a little to the thought of the Lord's heart.
Peter Five was referenced.
And Peter brings before us that great shepherd of the sheep, and he's going to return, and He's going to give a reward for faithfulness and connection with that shepherding we had in our chapter earlier that our treasures in heaven. But where's the Lord's treasure and where's His heart? Our hearts are to be in heaven, but His heart's down here because His treasure is here. It's the occupation of His heart. And in Ephesians 4, where we get the body taken up, that's not Luke 12.
That's a household and servants, but in Ephesians four were the bodies taken up. The head has given gifts to the church, and verse 12 for the perfecting of the Saints. And it should be translated with a view to the ministry, with a view to the edifying of the body of Christ, and whether the ministry fails or whether the testimony fails. His unceasing object is the perfecting of his Saints. And so he lays before Peter when he asks this question.
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He says, who is that faithful and wise servant who is going to take up that which I am occupied with down here, my household, and feed them and perfect them? That's where my heart is. And when I come back, I'm going to give a reward to those whose hearts have been knit with mine. And the only way that can be is if our heart and our treasure is in heaven and our occupation is with him. And the more we're occupied with him, the more we're going to be occupied and serious about His interest down here where his heart is.
And he's going to give a reward for that. But that's also how we're kept in that service is occupation with him. And remembering he's going to return. He's going to return as taken up as a shepherd, the great shepherd of the sheep. He's going to return as chief shepherd and give a reward to those who have been faithfully occupied about his business while he was absent.
Because my heart had turned to Ephesians 4 as we spoke of pastors. Pastors, teachers is a hyphenated thing.
And it's very important because very many times we want to help, but you can't help unless you're ready to get into the Word of God and be sound as to your teaching. And I believe this goes back to what our brother Bruce was saying. We're never going to get the wisdom of how to help, how to pass to the people of God unless we did. What Brother Chuck said was get into reading the Word of God and reading the ministry and being instructed. Nothing is worse than somebody getting involved in something, however well meaning they are.
And are uninstructed or uninstructible in the things of God. And so the time is, as our brother Chuck told us, when you're younger and your mind is eager and questions are coming before you to get into the Word of God and see what the Word of God and the ministry, valuable ministry is to read that so that you're equipped to do what your heart wants to do. And that's helped the people of God.
As we go on in our chapter, there's a very solemn thing here in connection with this.
It says.