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Name we love to hear.
We love to sing its word, its music in our ear. The sweetest.
Name on Earth 184.
Love to hear me. Now it sounds like you're taking my years of skin in the snappers on earth.
And I do that. I'm not free.
Because I'm some of his friends, just like the sinners perfectly.
We love so well my name. We love to be.
When Jesus?
Ever night.
2nd chapter of Philippians.
Speaking of the Lord Jesus who humbled himself.
Wherefore God, altar verse 9 hath highly exalted him.
And given him a name which is above every name.
That at the name of Jesus, every need.
Bob, praise Lord Jesus.
Verses in our chapter, but.
I just want to suggest so we get some outlines that are I think very helpful in this chapter. Maybe this morning we could start reading at the 15th verse. I know we commented on some of these, but if we could read from verse 15 to the end of the chapter.
The Gospel of Luke, chapter 24.
Beginning of verse 15.
And it came to pass that while the commune together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were holding that they should not know Him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these, that ye have one to another as you walk, and are sad? And the one of them, whose name was Cleophus answering, said unto him.
Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem?
And has not known the things which are come to pass there in these days. And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty indeed, and word before God and be, and all the people, And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.
But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel. And beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done. Yeah. And certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early, which were early at the suffocate. And when they found not his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels.
Which said that he was alive, and certain of them which were with us went to the suffocate, and found it Even so, as the women had said, but Him they saw not. Then he said unto them, Oh fools and slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
00:05:19
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village, whether they went. And he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
And it came to pass as he sat at me with them.
He took bread and blessed it, and brick, and gave to them, and their eyes were opened, and they knew Him, and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another. And did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures? And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem.
And found the 11 gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them.
Peace be with peace be unto you. But they were terrified.
And are frightened, And suppose that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them.
Why IE troubled? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself handle me and see, for Spirit hath not flush, and bones, as you see me have. And when He had thus spoken, He showed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy and wondered, he said unto them.
Have ye hear any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish.
And up and honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them.
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you.
While I was yet with you, and all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooves Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead.
The third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses to these things. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you. But tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endure with the power from on high. And he let them out as far as to Bethany.
And he lifted up his hands and blessed them, and it came to pass while he blessed them.
He was parted from them and carried up into heaven, and they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.
I suggested that we start at this portion because I want to just make a few comments in connection with the Lord being with us individually and in the midst collectively because there is a vast difference. And I believe there's been a great deal of confusion amongst Christians and not understanding the difference between the Lord being, as I say, with us individually and in the midst collectively. Now it's interesting here that these two as they turned in discouragement.
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And unbelief to go down the road toward Emmaus. Notice what it says.
Jesus himself drew near and noticed this, went with them because, as we said the other day, every Christian has the Lord with them. He'll never leave us nor forsake us. And as we said, even when we don't understand or appreciate his presence because of something we're allowing in our lives, He's still with us. And wherever Christians are, the Lord Jesus is with them. Christians meet for various reasons.
The Lord is with them and so he went with them and just dropped down to verse 29. It says, and they constrained him, saying, now notice this, abide with us the end of the verse. And he went into Terry with them and it came to pass that as he took as he sat at me with them. Notice the language here. Now it's interesting that as soon as they realized who this one was, He vanished out of their sight.
Because they really ought not to have been at Emmaus, as we said the other day, morally in an application, as we're taking this up in this line of things, they ought to have remained back at Jerusalem. I realized that the charge hadn't been given as of yet to remain at Jerusalem until they were endowed with power from on high. But really in their own hearts they knew where they should be. And so as soon as he they understand who He is, he vanishes out of their sight. And there's that exercise and burning of soul to rise up.
That same night and returned to Jerusalem. And so before we go on, I'll just say again, the Lord was with them on the Emmaus Rd. He was with them in their home as he sat at the table and enjoyed a meal. He was with them. But now notice after they return. Verse 36 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood. Now it's not with them here, but in the midst of them, and says unto them, peace be unto you.
And so they have returned to Jerusalem. Now they're now gathered together with those who were waiting in obedience, who were in the place where they should have been. And what happens now? Now they find the Lord Jesus not just with them. They had enjoyed that earlier, but now there's something even more than the Lord Jesus being with them. The Lord Jesus now comes and stands in their midst.
The difference between somebody being with us and somebody in the midst is that when it's in the mids, that's the focal point.
You take the hub of a wheel, that's what holds the spokes together and gives the wheel stability, and all the spokes run to the hub of the wheel. We might have somebody with us today in these meetings, but do we recognize the one who's in the midst? That's the focal point? Brother Bruce. He won't mind me using him as an illustration. He's with us today, and we're thankful for his presence with us. But we don't say Bruce is in our midst. No, we speak to the Lord Jesus as being in the midst because Bruce is not the focal point.
It's the Lord Jesus that's the focal point. But what I want to point out, brethren, is that it is only as we are led by the Spirit of God, the Word of God, and the power of the Spirit of God in the place of obedience where we can claim to have the Lord in the midst. There are many who claim to have the Lord's presence, and they do. As far as the Lord is with every believer, if believers, maybe I'll use another illustration.
God forbid, but suppose some of us yesterday had become upset with some of the things that were said and some of the actions of our brethren. And suppose we had decided to rent another room in the hotel here and we weren't going to break bread with our brethren, gather to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ here in this Conference Center. And so a few of us decided to go upstairs and we'd break bread ourselves. We could have said the Lord was with us because he's with every believer, but I don't believe we could have claimed to have the Lord in the midst.
There's quite a difference, brethren. And so let's, when we take up the Scripture, there's always the individual aspect of things and there's always the collective aspect of things. And I believe there's been much confusion amongst the people of God when we take verses that apply individually and we try to apply them collectively or vice versa. We take verses that apply in a collective sense and we try to apply them individually.
These two lines of truth run through Scripture, the individual physician and responsibility of believers and the collective side of things. And so I think it's very beautifully illustrated here. The Lord was with them individually, but He was only in their midst collectively as they were back gathered with others who were there in the place of obedience. This is so important, it'd be good to just say another word on it.
00:15:27
Because if you get nothing else out of this morning, this is it.
Really, brethren, it's the truth of the one body and being gathered according to His Word. Now we have an adversary and the adversary is particularly against the gathering, the truth of the one body, the truth of what we give out and know. Adversary likes to change the word of God, but he's so clever. What he did to Eve, he does to this verse you're quoting, brother.
Matthew 1820 And you know what he did to Eve? He told something that was true, but it was not the truth. And brethren, that's everything. Now what is true is where two or three are gathered together under My name. There am I in the midst of them.
That's what we claimed yesterday, today, whenever we gather as an assembly around him. All right, that's very clear. But I've passed many beautifully constructed edifices with the sign in front. You know what it says, When two or three come together in my name, I will be with them.
Now that's true. That's not the truth. It's not the truth of 1820, but it's the truth of their Bible, the most popular Bible in the United States today.
Satan's life.
Brought out with partial truth because it's true that when there are believers.
In any system in this world.
Christ is in them, He's with them. In that sense, He's there, not corporately, but he's with each believer. Even in Romanism. I don't care. I don't like to call names, but any place, they're under the cloud, under the banner of Chris adoption.
He's with them. But brethren, let's don't ever give an inch on this. He's in the midst when they are gathered, not when they gather. When they are gathered unto His name, He is in the midst. There's a great deal of difference. And you know most Bibles have that Satan's way today.
We're told in the original that the form of the verb is passive, in other words.
It's in English. It's ambiguous where two or three are gathered together, but in the original it is clear that there is a power outside of themselves that is doing the gathering. It is not Christians that are deciding to come together to to, to.
For fellowship, it is one outside of themselves and we believe it to be the Holy Spirit that is gathering and gathering to the name of the Lord Jesus. And I think it's very important what you're pointing out. How did you find the place, brethren?
I would say each one is a very miraculous story.
For a long time I used to be interested in ones recently gathered how they were gathered.
And it takes a man with a pitcher of water to guide them. That means the Spirit of God. By the word of God. That's the only way. I didn't find a place. The Lord led me there against my will sometimes, but He led me there, and I'm so happy being there. Don't say you found the place.
I don't know how they would better not go on. That's enough. But it's the most important verse, for gathered sakes. Since we're on this, since we're on this subject, let's just back up a few pages to Luke 22.
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We touched on this at this thing a little bit with the young people, but let's just notice.
Well, we'll start reading it. Verse 8 Luke 22 And he sent Peter and John saying, Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat. And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you bearing a pitcher of water. Follow him into the house where he entereth in.
And ye shall say unto the Goodman of the house, the Master saith unto thee, Where is the guest chamber, where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples? And he shall show you a large upper room furnished. There make ready. And they went and found as he had said unto them, And they made ready the Passover. And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the 12 apostles with him. Well, I think there are some very important principles here. And I realized that as the Lord Jesus tells the disciples to go and prepare.
That first of all, it was the Passover that was in view. But brethren, the Lord Jesus also knew that this was going to be the very spot.
Where after the Passover supper, he was going to take a loaf and a cup and institute the feast of remembrance for us, and to tell them this due in remembrance of me. And it's interesting that he sends them to prepare, and then he pauses and he waits for a response on their part. And it must have really thrilled the heart of the Lord Jesus, as this response came. Where wilt thou that we prepare? Now? Why did the disciples ask this?
Well, they understood very clearly from the Old Testament that the choice was never left to them.
That they were expressly told in the Old Testament that they were not to offer their sacrifices wherever they chose, but where He placed His name and chose. And we know that place was at Jerusalem, and it was to be the exercise of every godly Israelite to come up to the House of the Lord at Jerusalem and worship. And so understanding this, they asked the Lord, Where wilt thou that we prepare, and when there was a response on their part.
Then the Lord Jesus gave very, very specific instruction. He didn't leave them to decide anything. First of all, they go into the city. What would the city speak to us of? It would speak to us of the confusion of this world. We're in this world, a world of confusion, even religious confusion today. But they go into the city. But that wasn't enough. They were to go into a certain house, but even to go into a certain house wasn't enough.
If the city speaks to us in application here of the world, then the house would perhaps speak of what Christendom has become. It's become a great house. Now brethren, I don't want to read into scripture or assume more than this is here, But as I have read this, I have sometimes wondered, were there other, perhaps even God fearing Jews, who in other rooms of this house kept the Passover that night? There may well have been, and if the disciples had chosen any other room in the house.
They could have kept the Passover, but they would have missed the company of the Lord Jesus in their in their midst. They might have said, well, why does it need to be upper? It would be more convenient to have a room on the 1St floor. Why does it need to be so large? There's only going to be a handful of us. We don't need such a big room. But if I say if they chosen any other room, they would have missed the company of the Lord Jesus because in that house he had a place.
An upper room speaks of separation, large because the ground is large enough to embrace all believers. It's normal Christianity for a believer to be at the Lords table as a member of the body of Christ, and so these things were important. But isn't it precious when they followed his instructions?
And notice it's the man bearing the pitcher of water. We often say it's the word of God that's the water.
It's the Spirit of God that's the unnamed man. Often in scripture, the unnamed man is a picture of the Spirit of God.
They, the Spirit of God, the word of God applied in the power of the Spirit, and they come to this very room and they make ready. And isn't it thrilling to read this, this statement? When the hour was come, he sat down in the 12 apostles with him. But what I want to impress upon our souls, brethren, is that it was not their choice. They didn't choose their company. They didn't choose the place. It was strictly to follow the instructions that he gave them.
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And then they were able to sit down with the Lord in the midst, and if we are willing.
To bow to the Word of God and follow the leading of the Spirit of God. I believe by grace and brethren, it's only by grace. But by grace, if we're willing, then He wants to show us and we can claim to be gathered to the name of the Lord. I just make one further comment in connection with Matthew 18. Birds gather together, but eggs are gathered. Birds will come together, especially when they're ready to migrate. They'll gather together in large flocks. But if you see a dozen eggs in a basket, you know those eggs didn't have any power to gather themselves.
Those eggs were gathered by some outward force and in connection with what we're Speaking of. It's the Spirit of God that gathers to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ truly no place so precious on this earth as to be where Jesus is in the midst. And I was thinking as you were speaking, brother of the.
17th chapter of Matthew where we have the account of the transfiguration. Would like to read a little bit there in connection with it.
Starting with the Matthew 17 verse one.
And carefully notice the words here. So precious.
And after six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart.
And he was transfigured before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, And how often we think this way, do we not, dear brethren? He answered and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here.
If thou wilt, let us make 3 tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and 1:00 for Elijah, while he yet spake, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
Jesus came and touched them and said.
Arise and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes.
They saw no man save Jesus only.
All beloved brethren, how precious it is. I often think of the little example that.
We might consider the thinking is so common with us to.
Think wrongly and say if the Lord Jesus were to come to Burbank, for example.
Which church? Which place would he go? Which place would he would he endorse? That is to totally miss the point. But how blessed it is that the Lord Jesus would have every child, blood bought child of God, gathered to Himself alone to that blessed place outside of all of man's doings and man's systems, gathered unto Himself. All beloved brethren, what a privilege to be in that blessed place.
Of his will.
How valuable is His will to us and the blessing that is there and by the grace of God.
What a precious thing it is, and we would trust, and we can say that the Lord has brought us.
The Lord has brought us to that place. We're going to have to move on with our portion. But before we do. Luke 22, which was brought up very cogently and very beautifully, but I just mentioned in verse 14, it says in our translation, which is a good translation. He sat down he.
What does the better translation read? He placed himself at the table. Now there's a world of difference. He sat down with his disciples, but he placed himself at the table. Now, brethren, verse 27. And notice what it says at the end.
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I am among you as he that servant. The better translation is I am in the midst of you as he that service. You know I'm not a Darby. Aight, but thank God for what he did. It really clears everything up, doesn't it? Back to our portion. I think that was very good, Jim, you brought that up.
In chapter 24 I just mentioned where we're starting a verse 15.
They communed and they reasoned. Now that is the key to the whole chapter.
The women reason we read it.
To unto Emmaus reason. That's the verse we're on.
The apostles reason I'm only going to give you one verse, Isaiah 55. That's enough, you don't eat anymore.
Isaiah 55 verse.
Age for my thoughts are not your thoughts.
Neither are your ways my ways. Now the two on their way to Emmaus. We're going their way, not the Lord's way, having their thoughts, not his thoughts. Now notice, sayeth the Lord.
Four, as heaven our higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Reason is reasoning, good brethren, not when you got the word to God. Then faith comes in, and if it isn't by faith, it has to be sight.
That's it. Sight is not faith.
Bruce, I think one time you went over some openings in this chapter. I wonder if you could point those out for us.
Well, the subject before us in the chapter is the Lord gathering His scattered sheep. They were scattered because of the offense of the cross. And I think we read some scriptures the last time we were on the chapter, a couple of days ago that showed that. John 11 tells us that.
After he would die, that he would gather together and 1:00 the children of God that were scattered, and we see him beginning that work here.
Until we see in Acts chapter 2 That they're all together, in one place, with one accord in one mind.
That's when the Spirit of God comes and we know begins the church. But the chapter is beautiful because it you see the Lord gathering his scattered ones together and there's at least four different groups that are before us here we have first of all the women being.
Gathered back to himself and we have also these two that went down the road to a Mass and then we'll have in verse 34, Simon Peter.
And then in verses 36 onward we have the 10 apostles.
It's beautiful to see how that the Lord spoke in a different way to each one of them to gather themselves back to Himself. It's beautiful because in the Old Testament times we have the Jerusalem being the center, but now the Lord Jesus is seen as the center. And they were scattered from him, but now He's gathering them around himself. But the chapter also has been sometimes styled the chapter of open things. You probably have seen this before.
A number of them are before us in this 24th chapter, and this is what you probably refer to, Jim.
First of all, you get the opening of a new week. It was the first day of the week that would point to the fact that there's a new order of things coming about as a result of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Verse two, we have an open sepulchre.
And we also have their their home being opened in verse 29. We have their eyes being opened in verse 31. We have the scriptures being opened in verse 32. We have their understanding being opened in verse 45. And we have the open heavens at the end of the chapter. We also have their mouths and hearts opened in praise in verse 53. And so it's an opening, a chapter of openings. And it really points to the fact that there is a new order of things that were on the IT was on the horizon.
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Of course we know what that is today. It's the true Christian ground. In practice that will be.
Delineated in the epistle.
First, there's a book that is well known in some circles by CS Lewis, connection with Case for Christianity, and there are some very helpful things. I remember when I was younger it it says certain things like once you've heard about Jesus, whether you've accepted it or not, you're never the same and things like that. But the the book ends with him.
Showing you.
Is that the case for Christianity and leads you into a house and he says now that I've.
I've brought you this far. He says that there are many rooms and places in this house and I leave you with the choice of finding the one that is best suited to your need or something similar. You know, it's just exactly the opposite. If what if what Jim said, if he's right and Jim is wrong, well, then we better change our thinking. But I don't think that Jim was wrong. But here's my very intelligent, helpful.
And it would have the nerve to say, I brought you thus far. Now you can make a choice as to which room will suit your particular needs. You know by the grace of God, there is no one of us that wants to be left with with that choice. Lord, what will thou have me to do Is the only safe ground. Brother Highland mentioned that in the Old Testament.
They never were given a choice all the way through the Old Testament.
And in Deuteronomy he was referring to from chapter 12 to 1621 Times. The Lord said not at a place of your choice, but where I have chosen to place my name at there bring your offerings and worship. But I just mentioned one thing on the 12Th chapter towards the end.
He says don't even inquire how the others do.
That is cogent, brethren. If you know you're at the place, don't inquire how they're doing out there in Christendom. It can't help you, but it can harm you.
Stop for that.
The problem that the two that went down the road to a man's head, the Lord lays His finger on. In verses 25 and 26 and 27. He said that they had not believed all that the prophets had spoken.
That was their problem. They had another problem he mentions too, and that is they were occupied with things and not himself. That's verses 18 and 19. But you know, I believe that many get scattered or remain in scattered positions and Christendom today because.
They have not taken all of the Word of God and applied it in its proper place and setting. You see here in this verse that the Lord speaks of about how they had not believed all that the prophets had spoken unto him. Then he goes on to speak about His sufferings and also His glory. You see the Old Testament scriptures to do with the Messiah are divided into two great categories.
The things that pertain to his sufferings, the suffering Messiah, and the things that pertain to the glories of the Messiah. And for a verse on that, I would turn you to First Peter chapter one.
One Peter, chapter one.
And verse 11.
Searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them?
That signify when it testified beforehand, the sufferings of Christ. There's one and the glory or should read glories that should follow. There's the other. So all the scriptures concerning the Messiah can be put into one or the other of these two categories, the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow. Well, the sufferings of Christ have now happened at the cross. It's in past now, but the glories that should follow are yet to be fulfilled.
00:40:05
Someone put it this way right between these two we have the period of the churches history and the earth. The sufferings of Christ have happened. The glories of Christ that is his millennial Kingdom glories are yet to to take place and it's striking to see that the Lord Jesus puts his finger on these very two categories of scriptures concerning himself. It says suffered these things. There's one and then also enter into his glory that is those that pertain to his glory.
Their problem was, like many of the Jews, was that they were reading their, shall we say, their favorite scriptures, those ones that pertain to the glories of the Messiah they love to read about.
Especially on their Sabbath days, they would read about their Messiah and his Kingdom glories and how that Israel would be prosperous and be the leading nation and so on. But they had passed over the scriptures that were to do with the sufferings of the Messiah.
The one that would suffer and go to the cross and die and rise again. And so when this happened, when the Lord did go to the cross, they were dismayed, they were confused and they were discouraged because they were looking for those things to do with the glories of the Messiah. And the Lord says that the problem was that they had not seen the both sides of the Scriptures. And I think that's the same problem with many that get scattered even today is that they may take one passage of Scripture.
And they might camp on it, so to speak, without taking all of the scriptures. You know where to interpret the scriptures in the light of all other scriptures. And when we isolate ones to the exclusion of others is when we're going to get into trouble.
Our brother was talking on verse 15 now.
Verse 15.
In our translation.
The Lord called believers fools.
He calls someone fools. As I said yesterday, in three occasions I didn't remember the 1St but it was Psalm 14 verse one. The fool has said in his heart, no God. That is not an atheist. That is one who knows there's a God but he doesn't want him in their life. I use this when atheists.
So-called.
Tell me they're atheists because I tell them there's no such thing as an atheist. You're not an atheist.
You know there's a God because God put that in your conscience and heart.
He breathed into man's nostrils a living soul.
They know there's a God, they just want to boast that they're above him. They don't believe it. But anyway, you can tell every atheist there is no such thing. Just put them in a foxhole and they'll pray to God. That's it. OK, that's the first time. The second time is a a man who decided to live this life without God's interference.
Thou fool, this night thy soul is required of thee. Now those two words are full in the original, but this word is not full, although we have it full to hear. What is it senseless? What better translation you know, if a believer?
Doesn't really believe the whole word of God at any time. He's a senseless one and that could apply to all of us.
Question the word of God and that's what you are. Not a fool in Christ thoughts, but senseless.
So that's a very important verse. I didn't mean to get ahead.
The other difficulty with taking up the Scriptures in connection with Bruce's comment is that people don't rightly divide the word of truth. And these two on the way to Emmaus, they were confused because as they said earlier to the Lord on the road, they said, we thought that it was his that should have redeemed Israel. The disciples even said to the Lord before he ascended, Wilt thou at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?
00:45:01
They really weren't rightly dividing what the Lord had told them, and I believe there's many true believers.
Who are out trying lobbying for the betterment of this world because they don't rightly divide the word of truth.
They think that the Kingdom should be established now. They think that this is the reigning time. But they don't see, as Bruce said, that there's something between the sufferings and the glory. And that's the church. Christ is calling out a people for Himself, a heavenly people. Prophecy is not being unfolded today. God's finger, so to speak, is on the hands of the prophetic clock, and He's not going to remove His finger from the hands of the prophetic clock.
Nor is the prophetic cloth going to start kicking again until the church is taken out. This, the church period, is like a parenthesis in the purposes of God as far as this world. He's going to take up Israel again. He's going to take up this earth again. There is going to be a Kingdom established. Jerusalem is going to be the metropolis of the world. Israel is going to be the center of everything, and the blessing is going to flow down from Himself.
Through Israel and out to the nation. But it's not the time now. And brethren, if we don't rightly divide the word of truth, we're going to be confused as to what our position is now, what our responsibility is, what our reaction to the world ought to be as a heavenly people. And so we need to take Scripture up in its context. No, Scripture is a private interpretation. Problem is, we take a Scripture from the Old Testament or maybe even the New Testament.
And we try to fit it into something and it doesn't fit to the whole scheme of things. It doesn't fit with the whole. We need to rightly divide the word of truth. Context is not just important when we take up the Scriptures, it's vital. I wonder if we could turn to that verse, brother, you're quoting in Second Timothy chapter 2.
And verse 15. Some may be asking the question as I would too.
How can I rightly divide the word of truth?
Well, there's a little statement a dear brother used to make that we'll be familiar with here. A text without the context is a pretext.
And So what does that mean? Perhaps, if we look at the first part of that verse?
15 of Two Timothy will understand a little better what it means. It says study or the new translation says strive diligently.
To show thyself approved unto God a Workman that needeth not to be ashamed.
Rightly dividing the word of two, searching the Scriptures in the presence of the Lord, with our faces in the dust, with our eyes fixed upon Him.
Of recognizing that.
The word of God from cover to cover, bottom line is always exalts Christ.
It gives him the place that he's so worthy of.
And so someone has said that every false teaching in some way or another will rob us or rob Christ, excuse me, of the glory that's due to his name.
But rightly dividing the word of truth, how? What great sorrow and what great confusion has already been stated. There is today among so many beloved Saints of God. Because there hasn't been that seeking earnestly. There hasn't been that searching the Scriptures, whether these things be sold.
We need to How often should we read the word of God?
In political.
District District Team.
They, there's a term that's called gerrymandering. And if there's a pocket of of people with this propensity and over there they make the line such that it includes both that's gerrymandering. And so here in our verse in in second Timothy 215, rightly dividing or cutting in a straight line, there's no gerrymandering. If I like this thought and I like that one.
And they don't connect with a straight line. Well then don't worry about it. Use the the political expediency of gerrymandering. And that's what happens is that we we don't cut in a straight line the word of God and how important and you know, it takes it takes direction from the Lord. And as you've said, Larry, it takes that special dependence and.
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Where is that verse in the next chapter? In the 14th verse it says Knowing of whom thou hast learned them.
And I remember Clifford Brown, maybe, maybe it was at a Los Angeles conference, but it doesn't matter. I remember him saying that that word is does not mean the Spirit of God knowing of whom thou hast learned. And so it's important that the communicator is one who can be trusted, who has walked in the truth that understands the word. And even with the apostle Paul, the Berean searched the Scriptures to see whether those things were sold.
So, you know, you can get the whole set of synopsis, you can get the whole set of, of Kelly's writings and the Bible treasury, but that doesn't assure you that everything that's said is according to the mind of God. And I believe that either Darby or Kelly, if they were honest in that day, would have said, I hope as he did in the synopsis, I hope that you really can't get any benefit from the synopsis unless you read the word of God.
But the problem is, we figure that it's far more valuable to read because it's synopsis than it is to read the words.
Brother, gerrymandering is a large word. You remember what they said, Those that you and I were taught under in the older days, they said they're making a cow path through the scriptures to suit their purpose. That's gerrymandering. But it's not such a big word and it's easier understood. They make a cow path through the scriptures each system.
As their path, and it's not rightly dividing the word of truth.
They just do what they want to fit their purpose.
It might be an encouragement to anyone here that have homeschooling. I don't know if it was true this year, but it has been in the past that the spelling bee has been won by individuals that were home schooled. And so the public schools have their place and certainly homeschooling does. And it should encourage those that are the teachers at home, usually the mother, to recognize that.
It's so important to have your children under the control of teaching and proper teaching, whether it's the word of God or whether it's spelling or whether it's geography or whether it's history. I know my daughter in Ohio. It is remarkable, if you read the history book from a Christian standpoint, of what you find out about Robert Livingston, whatever value that he added to the Kingdom of God.
His wife pleaded with him to come back and to be with her. And you know, there's a responsibility in case with a husband to his wife and he didn't fulfill that. And other things about American history is that you'll never hear. And yet the benefit that dear mothers and fathers have no doubt in this room in connection with home schooling. Not that I think that it's that it's wrong to send them public school, but.
What a blessing that it can be, whether it is winning a national.
Spelling bee or not, that there's still a blessing that you're imparting to your child. It's interesting. I just like to make this further comment before we go on. It's interesting that the 1St we have spoken of in Second Timothy chapter 2 Comes after an exhortation in Second Timothy chapter one and they just noticed it in the first chapter and verse 13.
Hold fast the form of sound words or have an outline of truth, because I don't believe we can rightly divide the word of truth.
If we don't have an outline of truth, the outline helps us to rightly divide the word of truth.
I've sometimes used this illustration, but I'll repeat it for the sake of those who are younger. Perhaps for all of us. But when we were children, we grew up in the Northeast and off and on a stormy winter evening, my father would pull out a jigsaw puzzle and we would gather around the table as a family to work on this jigsaw puzzle. And so when the jigsaw puzzle was turned out-of-the-box, there might have been 500 or 1000 pieces. First thing we did was turn all the pieces over the right way.
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Could see the different colors. Then we would take the edge pieces and we would do the outline because we understood at a very young age that if you got the outline of the puzzle done first, then it was much easier to take the individual pieces and put them in their proper place. And I believe this applies to what we're Speaking of. Are we going to rightly divide the word of truth, brethren, we must have an outline of truth. Now maybe I hear a young person say well.
That's a bit, that's a very big order. Here was Timothy. He was to have an outline of truth. Now, I realize that we'll spend our whole lives on Scripture, our whole life on Scripture, and still only have an outline, but I would just encourage you in this regard. It's not hard to have just some basic idea of, for instance, what the different gospel writers bring before us. You realize that they present Christ in four different ways.
Four different characters of the person and work of Christ. Paul has a certain line of ministry that he was given. Peter and James and the other New Testament writers, John, the Old Testament writers just to have some little idea, just maybe even in a sentence or two to have some idea, an outline of what these writers present to us. It's a safeguard when you go to take up individual portions.
You say, well, maybe that isn't really the way I've looked at it before because John's ministry has to do with the Son of God and the family. It's a safeguard. And so if we're going to rightly divide the word of truth, we need the previous exhortation. Notice how they come in order here. First of all, he was to have an outline and then he would be able to rightly divide. And I'd like to make a comment about that verse I think is very important in Second Timothy 113.
It says hold fast or have an outline of sound words.
Which words thou hast heard of Maine? We really don't have the outline.
In that real sense, from Scripture, we have words and we're to take those words and by the grace of God and the guidance of the Spirit, develop and outline, hold fast or have an outline of form sound words, which words that was heard of me. So we're, we're not like someone said, is it that bad? This woman on board the ship that, that, that the captain said, well, it's only the grace of God that will get us through. And she said, is it that bad? Well, it's, it's that bad.
Or is that directive that we have only the word of God, don't we? And then by the Spirit of God we begin clearly, clearly to have an outline. How important?
Verse two brings in the importance of the last days because it's Paul's doctrine that he was have an outline of and I I thought of an illustration of what you get in most places today if you read many Christian books and.
It's when we lived on the farm, we had a separator. And so you could, you could separate the cream from the milk and you could look through the glass the next day and you could see where the cream was and where the milk was. But then they came, they invented a process of homogenizing it and they could mix that cream and that meow so that if you went to a grocery store today and you didn't have any labels, you couldn't tell what it was skim, you couldn't tell what it was 1% or it was whole milk. And that's what you get today and Mush Ministry.
They homogenize the truth. They don't rightly divide it. But I think in this verse that we've been, we've been talking about this, that the outline is really a Pauls doctrine and that's what's been given up.
Here the Lord Jesus really did give us an outline. He was giving the outline to these two which we can we can apply as well. Let's go down to the verses there in verse 27.
After he talked to them, he said, and beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them all the Scriptures, the things concerning Himself. The first outline we have to understand is, all Scriptures is concerning our Lord Jesus Christ.
When we have a question of when there are problems that we don't understand, the first question we really should ask is how is the Lord Jesus being presented here? I often use this illustration at a Sunday school. We often find that children are setting up front and and often the the one who have the privilege to speak would ask questions and sometimes we see the little ones would have the hands up even before the question was raised and then.
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Their embarrassment at times they didn't have an answer, but often we look at them and we see some of them are pretty quick. Despite what the questions were, the answer often come back and they would say Jesus.
Well, we know that in most cases they are right. So here the Word of God, the Lord Himself, tells us He wanted to encourage them. How did He do it? He began from His Word, beginning at Moses. Perhaps we can look at it from the application standpoint, the five books of Moses. What did we learn from the books of Moses? We see shadows and we see all these types concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, our brother read yesterday from the book of Leviticus. There we see the offerings.
Before perhaps 5 offerings that speaks of our Lord Jesus Christ we find in the book of Genesis.
Oh, the seed plotted, the Bible or the outlines? Everything we need to know of what's to come is in that book, isn't it? We need to learn it. We find it. The book of Exodus, the Tabernacle. What do we see in the Tabernacle? Everything concerning Christ. We can go on and here. Just tell us about the prophet. What do the prophets tell us? Things to come. We already mentioned about his sufferings and the glories to follow and hear.
I would suppose we can imply the Psalms too. When we go through the Psalms, we get now, get to see the feelings, the sufferings, We can go into the death as if it were of what our blessed Savior would endure. We need to go back and see what Christ is all about to us. I'd like to turn to adversity. In Hebrews chapter 12 yesterday our brother mentioned about not to be weary.
I'd like to read a verse in regard to that and perhaps we can find a solution if we are like these two on the roads, if we are like them who are walking away from the divine center. Hebrews, chapter 12.
I'd like to read just the last part of verse three first, and then we'll go back and read verses 2:00 and 3:00.
The latter part of verse three is set here. Less ye be we read and faint in your minds.
Can we relate to that? Have there been times that we feel weary in our spiritual life? Not only do we feel weary.
Here's the warning, isn't it? Or perhaps a conclusion less EB, we read and feigned in your minds. You know the sad part about that is, is only in our minds and often our brethren don't see it. We still come to conferences. We still go to meetings, but deep down nobody knows the trouble and difficulties and the trials we're going through. And we're weary and we faint, but we're discouraged. Like these two. Now I'd like to read, go back to verse two and three and see. Perhaps the world would tell us.
How we can avoid that?
There is 2 looking unto Jesus, the Author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and it sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself.
Lest ye be weary and pained in your mind. Oh, how precious to think that when we look upon Jesus.
When we are remembered, When we are reminded of.
Who he is?
We're reminded.
Joy. Here it used with the joy that was set before him. Last night we had the privilege of presenting Christ crucified.
The one who loved me, the one who gave himself for me. And not only that, the one who gone to prepare a place. Do we deserve to be there? No.
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But we know by His grace we have been lifted up and placed to be in that place that He set forth.
How can we be weary? And if we are, let's look into the Lord Jesus.
Our brother mentioned homeschooling, and I'm not getting into this, brethren, but I would assume, I don't know for a fact that among the gathered Saints, the majority of the children are in public school. Now, I commend mothers and fathers who could teach their children and avoid contact with this world so much, but after they're done in school?
They're going to go into the world. They're going to face the world, and they better think of that, too. But my wife, my wife and I were public school teachers, all right? Neither of us felt qualified to teach our children at home.
So they went through public school. We have problems with them, just like parents do today.
They come home with things they shouldn't have heard, they shouldn't have been taught, they shouldn't be in the books, Right? Yeah, but what do you do? You send them away to school after they feed on the truth. That's what you do. And then you commit them to God.
When a test is coming up, you have to advise them. There is a time when you can contradict what the teacher told you, but not but only by the word of God.
But you have to pass the test.
So mostly you know what's true. If it contradicts this, it's not true. So you can answer according to the book if it means to pass the test, but you don't have to believe it. I'll give you the verse.
First Timothy, chapter 6, verse 20.
Old Timothy.
Keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babbling and oppositions of science falsely so-called.
Anytime the book of Education Science contradicts this, it is science falsely so-called.
Because it's not true.
That's all I had to teach my children. You may have to learn something for the test, but you don't have to believe it if this is contradicted by it. And I just mentioned that for those that are sending their kids to public school, send them with fortification first and the Lord will do the rest.
About 65 years ago, two brothers were talking brother Ralph Rule and.
Brother Willis.
And I was eavesdropping and learned of some precious things.
And they made one statement, though that was quite confusing.
To me at that time, 10 years old.
And they said, We are brethren with a small B.
And I want to make a point here in connection with that. Rather with a small B, why not a capital B?
Why a small bee? Well, thank God for the precious truth that.
Later became understood regarding that brethren again.
As gathered to his precious name.
It's all about him, it's not about us.
Other than this, that we are brought into such a place of blessing. I was just thinking of this.
We are just.
And not just, but we're those who have been bought with His precious blood, so precious to His heart. He cares about every decision, every decision in our lives, every step that we take, every path. And so again, isn't it lovely that God will always bring us around to Himself? And I've enjoyed this thought. Occupation with Christ and the enjoyment of Him has never yet led to one division.
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Among God's people, never once.
I think something that I heard one time at a conference, I think it was Albert Hayhoe, but a young man approached him and he said, would you say this is the only place where the Lord is? And he said no, I would not say that.
But if I didn't believe it, I wouldn't be here. And that rather is a way we ought to be. I I was brought up short by a few brothers by saying that very thing that I thought we were one place. But it is dangerous ground we ought to.
Try to carry out the character of Philadelphia and leave it to the Lord when He comes to evaluate whether we have kept His word.
And not denied His name. No boasting. Be ready always to give an answer unto Him who asks you the reason of the hope that's in you. With fear and trembling. They may ask because they want to know. So be careful, brethren, don't avoid it. Don't be ashamed of where you worship. That's the other side. I think you're right, but that's the other side.
Don't push it, but don't hesitate if it is before you. I'd like to just going back to our chapter for a moment, make some comments, some practical comments in connection with this home at Emmaus. Let me just refresh our memories by reading the 28th and 29th verse here. And they drew nigh unto the village, whether they went and he made as though he would have gone further, but they constrained him, saying, abide with us.
For it is toward evening, and the day is far spent, and he went in to tarry with them. Now I'm going to take this just a little bit out of its context because I want to make a comment or two in connection with the Lord Jesus being welcome in this home. Again, as we've said, perhaps they ought not to have gone home to Emmaus, but nevertheless, we find that there was a home where the Lord Jesus was welcome. I realized too, they didn't recognize yet who it was.
And that's why I say I'm just taking it a little bit out of its context to make a point or two.
You know, when the Lord Jesus was here in this world, there were very few homes where the Lord Jesus was really welcome.
He could say The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head. He could say it was said of him every man went to his own house. Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. There is an exception at Bethany, where the Lord Jesus delighted so often to turn his weary feet to sit down and be refreshed in the midst of those who loved Him and ministered to him, that is Martha, and Mary, and Lazarus.
But I say there were very few homes where the Lord Jesus was really welcome, but here was a home where they constrained him and said abide with us.
Now, brethren, let's make this very, very practical. Are our homes like that? I'm going to. I don't want to.
Be irreverent. But I'm going to suggest that if the Lord Jesus were to come in this way.
To our front door when we get home tomorrow or the next day. Would we really?
Welcome the Lord Jesus. Would we allow him to see into every room and every nook and cranny of our homes without hesitation? It's an old poem some of us have read. It's entitled If Jesus Came to Your House, and it goes through a number of things that you might do if you knew that the Lord Jesus was coming up your front walk. You might put certain things away, you might close certain doors, and you might make certain changes as quickly.
As you could, but all I say is the Lord Jesus welcome in our homes. I am so very, very thankful.
Though I did not appreciate it at the time, but I am so very thankful as I look back on my upbringing in a Christian home for a father and a mother who were exercised to keep certain things out of our home, A father and a mother who were exercised to make that home a bulwark against the world. Now the assembly is that to some degree. But David said I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
Brethren, the home is really the only Christian true sanctuary that's left, and as parents were responsible to have Christ honored there and to keep out things that would not please him. And young people, I would just say learn at an early age to value parents who have sought to build a Christian home in that way. Now, what's remarkable here is that first of all, you have a home where the Lord is invited and honored, and then we find they rise up from that home.
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And they go and they're gathered together with those who enjoy now the company of the Lord Jesus in the midst. You know, that was my parents lifestyle when we were growing up. Again, I didn't always appreciate it, but there was a godly home. There was a bulwark against the world. And then when the opportunities were given, they came not only themselves, but brought their family to where the Lord Jesus was in the midst of his own collectively. Is that our lifestyle?
Brethren, I believe that we need to plan our lives around the Lord and around the assembly. The difficulty today is we plan our lives and then we try to work in the Lord and the assembly. Brethren, it's not going to work. And especially in the day in which we live where Satan is busy, to interject every kind of thought and activity to keep us from time spent over the Word in the home, prayer in the home to distract us from coming to the assembly.
Why it's vital to plan our lives around the Lord and around the assembly, that He might be honored in the home and that we might be gathered with those who enjoy His company in the midst. I'd like to suggest something that wasn't invented, I think, yet when you were at home.
And it's an 8 letter word called the Internet.
You know, it's absolutely astounding there's one of these companies.
That wanted to buy into another company for $1 billion and they would only get 5% of that company. Well, it's easy to figure that that company was probably worth $20 billion and.
What you what you can find on the Internet is absolutely astounding. Encyclopedia Britannica, Americana, The World Book, and and and even Darby's writings. You can find them, but unfortunately.
You talked about, and rightly you talked about how your home was protected. You know, that's a protection that is really far more subtle and dangerous than anything that those of us that are older ever encountered the Internet, a kid at an early age.
Becomes very deft, very capable of dialing up and getting in and seeing things.
And I won't continue, but I have a story that's a Horror Story because there are young people that know enough to be able to get into your hard drive from a distance and they can find out exactly what you've been enjoying or not enjoying. And the real criterion is not what mom and dad think, not what the brethren think, but to think of if what I'm drawing up and enjoying or print out or put on the hard drive or.
Put on the C drive or the A drive or whatever. Is it something that I would want scrutinized? Brethren, we need to watch out for the effects of the modern day in which we live. And it's spelled Internet.
Very, very lethal place for the contamination that I probably, whether I was protected or not, maybe just by nature that I wouldn't even have known by the time I was 20 years of age.
Kids that are 10 years of age have seen it. They've seen it described and they know exactly how to find it. We need protection from such things. There's a very practical, short little poem that's quite old, but very searching. It says when someone great and good is near, it makes us careful what we do. How much more?
We to fear the Lord who sees us through and through.
Amen. I like I like to turn to an incident that may help us. I've got a preference that a little bit.
We have to return to Scripture to at first Jeremiah chapter 29, the book of Jeremiah. We know that Jeremiah was going through a terrible time in the 29th chapter of Jeremiah. This is approximately 599 BC. We know that a 606 BC Navarcon desert came and took many of them captive. Who had that before us yesterday? Men like Daniel.
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All those Prince and princesses were taking away captive.
There was another captivity. There were three captivities. The third, or the great captivity, was in 587 BC. Here is about 599.
After the first great captivity, they were afraid. They know that this terrible nation, the Babylonians, are coming in. Dreadful, ungodly man, cruel. You can search through that through from history.
They were told by Jeremiah to submit.
Because of the unfaithfulness, they were to be sent into this land as.
Captive.
But God never leave us without resort. It sounds so terrible. Let's re couple of the verses here. This is what they are told to do. Verse 7. Let's say at the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, and to all that I carry away captives whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon.
Build ye houses, and dwell in them, and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them, taking your wives, and begets sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters, that ye may be increased there and not diminish. And seek the peace of the city. Whether I have caused you to be carried away captive?
Now I'm going to let you interpret how that is, but what's before me is the following portion of this verse. I think we often forget regardless of the circumstances, regardless of how dark we think it may be. I believe we often forget that God is in control and all the circumstances before us.
As we were reminded yesterday, all those symbolites were there for reason. Can we rejoice? But here a great resource is given. Let's go back to verse latter part of verse 7.
Pray unto the Lord for it.
For in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
We're seeing #316.
Redeem.
A cause is precious blood.
Nothing.
By our soul everything like this.
Very good.
I know.