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Come in, need the nothing.
Anymore.
Is playing.
Happiness.
Oh God.
On us for a while here.
Below.
By virtue of Christ.
And blood.
Vibration.
Thessalonians 5.
And verse 3.
1St Thessalonians 5, verse 23.
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. And I pray God, your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved, blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray.
Reading in the.
Gospel of Luke.
Chapter 24.
Beginning of verse 36.
And as they speak, and as they thus speak, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and said unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and suppose that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye trouble? 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 ye see me have. And when he hath 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 oven honeycomb.
And he took it, and did each before them. And he said unto them.
These are the words which I speak unto you while I was yet with you.
That all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me. Then open 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 of these things.
And behold, I sent the promise of my Father upon you, but Harry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endured with 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 worship him and return to Jerusalem with great joy. And we're continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.
Say a few comments, I don't want to hold us back, but in the 27th verse, I've always, I've always been encouraged by this verse here beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them all the Scriptures, the things concerning himself. They must have taken a great deal of time. I don't know how long it took, but here we're still in this chapter and we've been here over two days in it, and we probably haven't even scratched the surface.
00:05:26
But we see the graciousness and the patience of the Lord Jesus dealing with these two here, and these two weren't any.
Great disciples, they were just ordinary people like you and I. Yet we see the patients and the grace of the Lord Jesus and it must have taken a great deal of time expounding all the scriptures from Moses and here we have in the later verses about.
The prophets, the Psalms concerning himself in the 44th verse. But how, how patient and how gracious the Lord Jesus is to each and every one of us, expounding the word of God and revealing Christ.
In our hearts throughout the whole Scripture. And you know, if there's a young person here, perhaps.
That is then exercise about the things that we've been discussing.
About taking His place at the table of the Lord Jesus. He gives us light each step of the way. And if we act on that.
If we're exercising about the place of being gathered to the Lord's name, we need to act on that and he'll give us more light and he he will expound the whole scriptures in the in the volume of the book, it is written of me. The whole scripture is truly about him, isn't it? And I just would encourage a young person and how I exercise about the place that we've been occupied, then then act on it and.
The Lord will expound more scripture to you as He did with these two here. And don't slight the Old Testament. You'll get principles there that never change, but that will guide us through the new. The Old Testament is very important and long, what with what our brother just brought out, Moses and all the prophets. Look at John chapter five, I think John 5.
And.
Verse.
46.
Speaking to the Jewish leaders for Had you believed Moses?
He would have believed me, for he wrote of Maine. But if he believed not his writings, How shall you believe my words? Moses wrote to me. That's the Pentateuch, brethren, And I'll tell you, there's so much wisdom in those first five books, but I won't read the other Scriptures. But all Scripture speak of Christ.
Don't. If you want to find Christ, tell your Father to show Christ to you, even in the Old Testament, and he'll, he'll reveal it to you and it's marvelous. You'll never be done with finding Christ in new ways, wonderful ways. I don't mean new, it's fresh. I used the wrong term, so Moses wrote of me, if you won't believe that.
You won't believe me. So I think he brought out something very nice there. The Old Testament, you know, Paul said. I think this would be in Romans 3, but I'm not going to turn to it, Paul said.
The the the Greeks, or I should say Gentiles were getting saved, assemblies were being formed, but not the Jews so much. What did he say? Romans 3? Probably 3. What advantage?
Did the Jews have them? The Gentiles getting saved and not the Jews?
He answered himself, every advantage under them was committed. The Orioles of God. The Gentiles didn't have that, the Jews did. We have the whole word of God.
So what advantage do we have, brethren? Just realize it is the Word.
00:10:04
Christ is the Word. It's wonderful, when you think about it, what we have in our hand. But more than that, He's given us the teacher inside of us, and corporately there isn't any more down here.
The teacher teaches the church.
The church never teaches, it is taught. And let's really appreciate what God has done for us.
There's another lesson we can get from that 27th verse. Well, we just mentioned it.
And that is that we have the example of our blessed Lord Jesus and how He handled the Scriptures.
I think as instructor for us, especially those of us who take part in Bible meetings such as this.
Or in our home gatherings. Notice how he handled the word of God. It says here that.
Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them and all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. That tells us that he did it in an orderly way. He began at the beginning and went through the books of Moses, and then through the prophets, and so on. And I think that is instructive for us because.
Many times Bible readings can get so desultory that it's difficult for those who are seeking to learn something to be able to follow it, especially if we start using what I might call shorthand.
And so, brethren, I think that we can learn a lesson from that. This is not so much a lesson for the young people here, but for the older ones who do take part. I have a Bible reading not too long ago. And we took up a chapter. It was suggested and we got started and we read the first verse and made some comments. And then we moved along to the second verse and we made some comments. But there was a brother there that decided that he wanted to know something about the 10th or 11Th 1St. So he took us off that and we.
And ask them several questions. And we got going on that for a while, about a 10 minute detour. And then we got back to the where we were and we went along from verse two and then verse three. And then what happened is he wanted to know something about verse 15. So off we went again.
And we talked about that for a good deal of time and came back again. At the end of the meeting, a brother said to me it sounded like we were having two Bible readings going on at once.
The one that was going through the chapter in some sort of an order and the other was just looking at different points or questions or things that were interesting to a brother. You know, I don't think that is the way in which the Lord took up the Scriptures here. And I think it's a lesson for us that we take up the Scriptures as it says in Isaiah 28, line upon line. I'm not saying that we have to make a comment on every line, but at least it should be orderly because then those who are listening can actually.
Pick up and learn something from it. You know, I don't think it's love that we we don't consider those who have come with a pen and a pad and want to learn something from the chapter. If we jump all over the place into many different subjects that don't even pertain itself to the to the Bible reading and I think it's it's it's disruptive and it's very difficult to follow. It's not according to this example of our blessed Lord Jesus and another thing that reminds me of an example that.
Happened years ago in Chicago, in the days when Mr. Potter was.
Ministering the word of God. Apparently there was a young man, or I don't know how young he was, but he was a man that had been out on the lake and one reason or another he went overboard. Or maybe he was swimming, I'm not sure. But anyway, he began to drown and he was not the Lords.
And as he was going down, he cried out to the Lord to save him. And he did get saved. And more than that, someone was able to rescue him and bring him in. And it really turned his life around. And he was very interested and to the to the Lord in the Lord's things. And he came out to the meetings and he was so excited and enthusiastic about the things of Christ being newly saved and so on. He listened to the Bible expounding in the meetings and.
He was, shall we say, throwing a wrench into some of the Bible readings, bringing up things that were not necessarily related, you know what I mean? And this went on for a couple of weeks.
And finally, Mr. Potter leaned back and said, Brother, I think you need another dunk in the lake.
00:15:05
Sometimes I think that he's not the only one that needs a dunk in the lake. Some of us do too.
You mentioned we're guilty sometimes of using shorthand. I think I know what you mean. But maybe you can give us some examples of what you're talking about. Well, perhaps we could say brother so and so, or this particular person is in. He's still in Romans 7. Another brother will say, yes, that's right. Yeah, he's in Romans seven. Well, some of us who know what Romans 7 is about know what it's talking about. It's talking about the experience of a soul that doesn't know deliverance.
But do the young people here know about that? Do we really care for them enough to be able to explain what Romans 7 is about or just speaking shorthand? Oh, yeah, like Romans 7 without really taking time to carry them through it. Love wouldn't do that. And so we need to have love that would mark our Bible exposition. And that's what I see here with the Lord. Remember the verse that was read to us by one of our local brothers here before the meetings? He read 1St Corinthians 1440.
And it said.
Do all things decently and in order, and that's the chapter that's to do with public ministry in the assembly. I'm thinking of that last word in order. I see here the Lord giving an orderly exposition and it's what restored them. Another point, perhaps I could, I know it's a little before where we started, but the two on the way to Emmaus already is said to the apostles. Mind you. The Lord is risen indeed.
Just as he said many times, by the way, 35 and they told what things were done in the way and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. Now I don't think I will be corrected. I'm ready for that. But I don't think this is the breaking of bread. I think they said they ate. That's what always breaking a bread speaks of, to eat. I think what made known to them who he was.
Was the nail Prince in his hand when he handed them enough of the bread to eat? And I may be wrong, I'll stand corrected if I am. But anyway, this is very wonderful. And as they 36 as they thus faith, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and said unto them, Peace be unto you. Why did he leave them right when their eyes were opened?
Burned.
Because he wanted them to come back so he could be in the midst of the of the disciples. They were disciples. They were all there now that wonderful. And then he says no. Then what does 37 say? The apostles were terrified and affrighted and supposed that they'd seen a spirit.
Wouldn't this have upset the Lord? No, nothing upset the Lord.
But pardon me. And he said unto them, Why are you troubled? Here's the key. Why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
That's what we had before.
Reason and reasoning is not faith, and faith is not reason. Faith is believing the word of God.
By let's see.
As to those two words in order, they are in the first verse of loop and they're in the third verse of loop. It's noticing in the beginning of loop.
Or as much as many had taken in hand to set forth in order.
A declaration of those things which are most truly believed among us.
And he says about himself in verse three. It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things, from the very first to right unto thee in order.
Those most excellent the author so there words in order are proper. That's the way that's to be conducted. That's a way of learning.
Ecclesiastes 12 He says the preacher was wise because he sought out and set in order words of wisdom, and he taught the people.
00:20:04
That's why it's important to orderly and consistently read the word of God. It's not enough just to haphazardly open our Bibles and read. And perhaps the reason sometimes in the assembly the truth isn't taken up or the portions aren't taken up in order is because we haven't been in the practice of in our personal readings, orderly and consistently reading the word of God. And so I would just encourage those who are younger.
Maybe you don't take an active part in the ministry even in your local assembly yet.
But if the Lord leaves us here and the time comes when you have to step in and fill up the ranks and take part in ministry, if you are used to orderly and consistently reading the Word of God, then subconsciously you're going to, when you speak the truth, put it out in the same way. And so sometimes the tendency is we open here and there. And I'm not saying there aren't times when we can go here and there and the Lord gives us a portion. But I believe, as we said this morning, if we're going to have an outline of truth.
We must take up the word orderly. I remember again, even in our home, my father, when he read the word word to us, he didn't just open here and there every day. No, he would in the mornings take an Old Testament book and he would go through chapter by chapter. Maybe he didn't read the whole chapter if it was a long chapter, maybe it was just a few verses. But then the next morning he'd pick up and he'd where he'd laughed off and take the pick up the thread of the story or the portion in the evening he opened to the New Testament.
And he did the same thing. And so we heard in our home, read the word of God orderly and consistently.
And we were encouraged by our parents to do that in our personal reading as well. I say these are things that are helpful when you get a little older and the Lord uses you as an instrument in presenting the truth to others. But it doesn't start overnight. These things are good to develop in our youth.
I have a question.
The Gospel of Mark comes after Matthew.
Rather obviously, the Gospel of Luke comes after Mark. The Gospel of John comes after.
Luke, does that mean that if we take up Matthew, we should immediately take up Mark and after finishing Mark, we should take up Luke? Or is it? Is it? And, and I don't mean to be facetious, is it?
Proper. You've taken up Matthew to take up first Peter, and if you've taken up first Peter, take second Peter and then go back to maybe Mark. Or does this order include going Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans?
Now I'm not trying to pin anybody but.
What's a What's a scriptural answer?
As the Lord may lead.
Amen.
But the Lord, you told us that the Lord leads in order. So there if the Lord wants to lead to take up Matthew and then first Peter, you would take that as being as much order as it would be to take up Mark after you've finished Matthew.
Well, the Lord knows what's needed in your assembly, and you have the Spirit of God guiding. So I think if the brothers are really looking to the Lord, they're going to know what to read when they're through with a portion.
Orderly it would be after Matthew Mark, but the Lord sometimes intervenes for reasons and I do think it should be a real burden on the brothers to look to the Lord. Maybe even have a special prayer meeting for it on what to take up.
Don't we have a little clue right in this very chapter? He took up Moses and the prophets.
Well, what comes between Moses and the prophets? It's the Psalms. We don't find the Psalms brought out till we come to verse 44.
In the verse our brother Buchanan read as to the order, what is the order that we have in Luke's Gospel? Is it a chronological order? No, it's a moral order. And so in Matthew you have the dispensational side of things. So when we use the word order, it doesn't necessarily always mean a consecutive or a chronological order. The arrangement of the books in the Old Testament and the New Testament are not inspired. I think there is wisdom in their arrangement and I thank God, overruled in their arrangement.
00:25:10
But it is not inspired. So we take up a book and then we discuss it in an orderly way. What is taken up after that book is finished is is derived by as the Lord's leading and guidance, so we don't have to follow the order in which the books are arranged. You make the comment that the arrangement is not inspired, and that is probably correct, however.
I with unequivocal.
Confession to the fact.
That when Jerome put together the Bible, and particularly the New Testament, that God had a hand in the arrangement and that he put it together in such a way that it would be not only moral but spiritually arranged. And so it's very interesting that the book of Ephesians is separated from the book of Colossians by Philippians. And I believe that's very important that we consider.
Maybe not inspired.
I wouldn't say one way or the other because I'm not God, but God was in it. God had a hand in it in putting the New Testament in the order in which it is. I want to just say a comment too, as a safeguard in regard to what we've said. And that is there are times when we need to search out subjects through the Word of God. We don't want to take away from that in any way. It's been a great blessing in my soul to sometimes get out of concordance.
And look up or do a word study search. The Scriptures were exhorted. And so we go through the word of God and we compare Scripture with Scripture. And God has woven the truth through the word of God in a way that we need to go in and dig it out. I often think of that verse in Proverbs that says it is the glory of God to conceal the matter. The honor of kings is to search out the thing. And so we have to search out these things. God weaves the truth because.
He doesn't encourage laziness in any aspect of our lives. We need to compare, as I say, Scripture with Scripture. So I just say that because we don't want to give the young people the impression that we're saying we shouldn't follow lines of truth through the Word of God. Yes, we need that orderly consistence, that consistent reading, but we also need to search and see how God has woven lines of truth from the New Old Testament right into the New Testament. And those word studies are very precious and helpful.
What about to give you an example, what about the conference that we have here?
You speak too fast.
I want to get a word in What's the world?
We haven't followed any logical order.
We're going through Luke 24, but then there are other meetings and and the one that takes the meeting has something else on his mind and so on.
I remember when I was getting a short exposition of the Book of Revelation to my children, and when I woke up they had left.
So I took it up the next day.
Verse 39 Wait a minute, he's next.
Who's he? Richard. Well, I wanted to make a very important PS to what Brother Jim had said. With the advent of the computer, you can get the Bible. In fact, you can have the Little Flock hymn book. Not too much difficulty. Someone can download it for you. And so, in looking for the word love in the New Testament, I thought something had happened.
I found it in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, then it skipped the book of Acts.
And in the whole book of Acts the word love, LOVE is not given, which is remarkable.
And yet Theophilus as hidden is palace, and a few at the end of the book about the Barbarians showed us no little kindness. But here's a book that we say rightly are the acts of the of the Spirit of God, and yet the fruit of that spirit of love is not mentioned. And so I'm just meditating out loud that if it doesn't mention it, it's practiced. And that has struck me.
In connection with the practice of love, I may say it.
00:30:04
But how important in the book of Acts, where it's the work of the Spirit of God, that love is not mentioned, but it's practiced and and we need to do the same. Chuck, is it my turn now?
I think so. Thank you. I thought we ought to get back to our chapter. That's orderly. All right. Verse 39. Behold my hands and my feet.
That it is I myself.
What? Why did he do that?
Well, they didn't believe in his word that He would rise again, so he brings out to them in his hands and his feet that he was crucified. And here he is standing in their midst. And you know, that's the thing, I think that warmed the hearts of the two. On the way to Emmaus, when he broke bread, He handed each, it says.
Some bread.
They saw his hands, the nail prints brought back the cross. And you know we need that too. But that's what he said. Here, it's by myself.
And when he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet.
Neil Fritz, Crucifixion and he's alive.
If I may, I'd like to go back a little bit. I hope it's not out of order. I was thinking it's difficult to discern that we need the Lord's mind, but we do know that the result.
It is from the Lord. We do know the result right from this chapter. The verses have told us when one is close to the Lord. We know the results, don't we? Because we know we've been to meetings. Perhaps we hear someone's speech and we walk away as if.
We didn't hear anything. I know sometimes at afternoon after lunchtime in a warm room where you tend to drift off a little bit. But then there are times that a speaker may say so much that we didn't hear anything. Then there are times that we know it's from the Lord and it the result is this. Let's go back just a little bit. Verse 31 and their eyes were opened and they knew him did that portion that we take up.
Enable us to say that the Lord opened our eyes so that we know Him better.
Yes, they saw him bend the show up the site, but then the next verse, verse 32, and they said one to another. Did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? I believe that's the result when we know that we truly have the Lord's mind with those portions.
Well, they truly had the Lord in their midst as they're back with the others who were gathered together. Jesus Himself came and stood in the midst, but they didn't recognize who it was initially and what was the result? Brethren, they were frightened, they were troubled, thoughts rose in their hearts. It's interesting if we were to back up to the 22nd chapter where they again had their the Lord in their midst in the upper room, that they lost sight very quickly of who He was.
And there was a strife amongst them who should be the greatest. There was the Lord Jesus right in their midst, and there was a strike. Here was the Lord Jesus in their midst, and they didn't recognize who it was. And they were troubled and frightened. And brethren, isn't that the way it is with us? You know, if we lose sight of who it is that's in the mid, there's going to be striving 1 to be greater than the other, to have a place, to have a position. You know, it's just as wrong to strive to have a great place.
Amongst the people of God, as it is to strive to have a great place in this world.
Both are wrong, but if we lose sight of who it is that's in our midst, if he's not, as we said this morning, the focal point.
If he's not our focus and our occupation, we're going to strive to be great. We're going to. There's not going to be that spirit of esteeming 1 better than themselves, each better than themselves. And when difficulties arise, we're going to be frightened. If we don't understand who it is that's in the midst, and you know what I'm talking about. You go back to your little assembly. I have no doubt there are brethren here this afternoon who are frightened to go back to their home assembly.
You say, Jim, there's a lot of problems in our local assembly and we just don't seem to know how to deal with it and just seems to be a striving amongst one another. Oh, I want to encourage you when you go back, get your focus on the Lord, realize who it is that's in your midst. His word hasn't changed. He hasn't changed. The Spirit of God is the same. And with those resources and our occupation not being one another, but being Christ, then I believe that He can take care of the difficulties.
00:35:32
And he can carry us through was mentioned about the Mount of Transfiguration. And you know when they got their eyes off the Lord Jesus and saw those other Peter saw those other great men and then the cloud overshadowed them. What happened? They were frightened, they were terrified, they fell on their face. But what was the remedy? The Lord Jesus said to them or spoke to them and it says and I like this little expression.
When they lifted up their eyes, they saw no man. Isn't that good? They'd been seeing men, great men. They were Moses the Lawgiver and one of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament, but they were seeing men. But when they lifted up their eyes, brethren, I like to just pause because there's a comma after that little expression. They saw no man, and that's a good exercise for us to see no man.
Save Jesus only. And when they saw the Lord Jesus and the Lord Jesus only, when they got their eyes off one another, oh, that was the remedy. And I believe that's the great remedy, brethren in our local home assemblies to see no man save Jesus only. And when they realized who this was, that was in their midst here in our chapter as He showed them the Prince of Calvary, why, what did it do?
Oh, it caused that peace that he desired them to have. He desired that there would be peace for this little company. And brethren, that's what he desires for every one of us in our local assemblies, that there would be peace amongst the people of God. But if there's not that peace, the sheep aren't going and lambs aren't going to be fed. It's going to be strife. It's going to be those who go out. It's not going to be a happy situation, but when it's Christ, then there's going to be, in a practical way, experienced.
That peace amongst us. 41 And while they yet believe not, these are the apostles, brethren, yet believe not, and wondered.
Still the same problem and said. He said unto them.
Have you any meat? Is there no end to which the Lord will go to restore some of his own to himself? There is no end now. He's willing to eat in their presence.
Think about that, humbling himself that far. They should have just believed him. Nails in his hands, nails in his feet. It's himself. They knew who he was. The same body.
Only glorified. It's Jesus. Well anyway, have you any meat? And they gave him some, and he took it, and he ate before them.
You know, these are the apostles, brethren. The women were restored in their souls very quickly. But what restored them? Just. I would just read it. It's really so wonderful. This is the only thing that will restore you if you get away or if you're backsliding. Nothing else. Here's what restored the women, verse seven. Let me see. I think that's right. All right.
The the Son of Man.
Must be This is what he said. The Son of Man must be delivered under the hands of sinful men and be crucified the third day.
Arise again with that they were stored in their soul because they remembered. That's just what he said to him many Times Now, brethren, I I'm glad if I get away and I can just like you backslide. Bring the word of God to my heart. No other way. Bring the word of God to me. There's many ways to restore. You know he, he had.
All the disciples in Jerusalem waiting for him.
00:40:00
And these are only two.
He could have gone and said, well, that's only two, I'm not going to waste that time for 6 1/2 miles and a 6 1/2 miles back and take time, no.
He paid too great a price for those two to let them go. Isn't that a wonderful thought? He paid too great a price for you, brethren, each one, to let you go too far, and he won't.
Psalm 19 and verse seven says the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul, and that word converting should be translated, restoring the soul. And so the Word of God has the power to restore souls, as you've mentioned. In fact, you'll see in each of these different groups that are restored in the chapter that it was the Word of God that was brought before them all except the one that we don't know anything about, and that's Peter. But I suspect that the Lord perhaps did bring His word to him.
But we're not told that you look at the chapter as Brother Bob mentioned the Word of God was.
In connection with women and then what we've had in verses 2526 and 27. It was brought in connection with the the two that went down the road to Emmaus and then look at this here when they he appears in the midst of the 10 again, it's the word of God. Look at verse 44. He brings the Scriptures before them. It has power to restore our souls.
Was there any connection between the fact that he didn't eat with them at Emmaus and now he does eat with them? Was is it that he wouldn't gather them in independence, but he was bringing them back to himself and here he is in the midst. Is that?
Yes, and that's why he immediately vanished out of their sight when they knew who he was, because they really ought not to have been at Emmaus. He wanted them back at Jerusalem, and that was the end result.
It's interesting here that he shows them his hands and his feet. Now in John's Gospel, when he appears to them in keeping with that gospel, he shows his hands and his side, because it's in John's gospel, and only in John's gospel, where the soldier with a spear pierced his side and forthwith came there out blood and water. Isn't that wonderful, brethren, to realize that in a coming day we are going to see those wounds in his hands and in his feet and in his side. They're going to be the confirmation to us, if I can put it that way.
Of who that Blessed One is when we're gathered with the myriads that gather around the throne there in the Father's house, no doubt of who it is. Because it's interesting. And I know it's a little different, but when he appears to His earthly people in the book of Zechariah, and I know it's the earthly people there, they say, what are these wounds? That is, it shows that He's going to retain in his body the marks of Calvary for all eternity.
Now it is true, brethren, when we see him another day, we're not going to see him as he was. We're not going to see him as the Man of Sorrows with a crown of thorns hanging on a cross of shame. We're not going to see him in loneliness and grace the way he was when he walked here 2000 years ago. It tells him. It tells us in first John. We're going to see him as he is. We're going to see him as a glorified man crowned with glory and honor.
And eventually when he comes forth, he's going to be crowned with many diadems, but nevertheless, brethren, he's going to retain in his body the marks of Calvary. We sometimes sing a little hymn, and his own wounds in heaven declare the atoning work is done. We sing another hymn, lo, the tokens of his passion, though in heaven still he bears. And I believe that's part of the thrust of what it says in Revelation 5, where it speaks of a lamb.
Freshly slain. And it's interesting that when they see him, they don't say what are these scars? They say, what are these wounds? A scar is something that heals over, but a wound is something that's fresh. And there's going to be a fresh reminder for all eternity of what the Lord Jesus accomplished on Calvary's cross. We're going to be there and share the glory, but we're never going to forget the suffering. Brethren, we're going to have those reminders for eternity. And what is it going to do?
It's just going to bring forth fresh bursts of praise from your heart and mind. And so to confirm here who he was, he shows them his hands and his feet. We're going to see those same wounds as well as that wound in his side. Oh, what rejoicing. It's going to draw from our hearts forever. What will be your thought when you see those hands in glory?
00:45:13
What beautiful hands, Mutilated hands, but beautiful hands. You know, there was a young man who lost his mother. They were not rich. Went to work to put him through school, college, as a scrub lady. And she scrubbed in a big apartment, the marble steps on her hands and knees, you know, going up in the rails.
He made it through college very well and on graduation day when he was made a presentation of being the I don't know what the something louder anyway.
Magnum, **** Laudy, any race, he took it and accepted it. And then he said, turn to the audience, Mother, wherever you are, come up here. Well, she had come in with sort of a ragged cloth coat and a Bush on her head. She hid in the back. And he kept saying, you come up here, mother. Finally she did.
And she walked up and he took her hands and he gave her the diploma. He says this is yours. I'll get the benefit, but it's yours. And then he looked at the audience.
Held her, his mother's hands up. He says those are the most beautiful hands in the world. That's how we'll feel when Jesus shows us his hands. Beautiful hands.
Notice again in verse 44 that when he expounded the scriptures to them that it says.
It was concerning me.
Similar words were used in verse 27 when he expounded the scriptures, the things concerning himself.
And that's really the key of knowledge to the Scriptures, isn't it, To see Christ there and how it applies to him. And there's a verse that's striking in this connection and back in Chapter 11 I'd point you to.
11Th chapter and verse 52.
Woe unto you lawyers, I understand that could be translated doctors of law of the law. For ye have taken away the key of knowledge. You have entered, not yourselves and them that we're entering in. Ye have hindered, or ye hindered.
You have taken away the key of knowledge. What is the key of knowledge? As one who would take up with those scriptures, it's Christ.
And how that things pertain to Him and His glory. You see, the doctors of the Law were handling the Scriptures as much as anybody.
They were reading it every Sabbath day and they were expounding and so on, but they left out the key of knowledge. They left out its application to Christ. And so when the apostle Paul and the others who understood these things, when they ministered from the word of God, they insisted that everything pertains to Christ. Now the reason why I say fossil Paul particularly because in I think it's the 17th chapter of Acts, you see there that he opened an alleged from the Scriptures.
The things concerning Christ. And he insisted that Christ could be found in the word of God.
Well, they, of course.
Check that out. That is, the Brians did and found it to be sold.
And so the key to really understanding the Scriptures and to having a knowledge of the Scriptures is to see how it all pertains to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord said of the Scriptures. They are they which testify of me. And that's just to confirm what you say I.
Remember or I know a brother, he used to be gathered to the Lord's name and after he left the Lord's table some time after he said to his brother-in-law, he said all the years I was amongst, as he said, brethren, he said I never knew how to study the Scriptures. He said I finally just figured out how to study the Scriptures. He said, I see myself in every verse.
Isn't that something we need to when we read the word of God? And I don't want to belabor this, but I believe it's vital what Bruce has said. When we read the word of God, we need to see Christ in every line. We need to see Christ in every verse. That's where we're going to get the blessing. Yes, there are things that apply to us, no doubt, but I believe when we see Christ in every verse, it sets the scriptures before us in a way that then when we take it up practically, we're not going to digress or to make.
00:50:23
Misapplications.
Of the Word of God. Again, they are they which testify of me. Yes, it's types and shadows in the Old Testament figures and pictures and the Gospels. It's the life of the Lord Jesus. He's left us an example that we should follow in His step. We get the doctrines and the epistles. We get the fruition of things in Revelation, but it all centers on God's center, the man of God's counsels, and that's the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I like the verse in Hosea 6 that says then shall we know? We know if we follow on to know the Lord.
Is going forth two cases in our chapter one they were reasoning among themselves as they went along and the thoughts that arise in your hearts in verse 38. In one case they were sad and in the next case they were troubled.
That is, if they're.
Knowledge of things that they were trying to get had its origin in their own.
Conversation in their own hearts, in their own reasoning.
Verse 43.
Then opened he their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures. There's no other way, brethren, for you to understand the Scriptures except He does it by His Holy Spirit. And you know, we already had been reminded by Chuck when he was reading First Corinthians chapter one.
We at the end, he said. We have the mind of Christ.
Mark that, but I would add something else.
First John chapter 4 and this is very wonderful.
And this is how he opens the scriptures to us.
First John chapter 2. I'm sorry.
Verse 20.
Ye have an unction from the Holy One.
Notice ye know all things.
Does that mean you could just close the Bible and you know it all now? No, it means that with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit of God as teacher, anything you need to know to go through this world with Christ, you can know. That's what it means. You know all things, all things necessary till your walk and life.
And I think that is so precious. So he opened their understanding, and the Spirit of God will do that for you in any scripture.
It's very important in 46, he said. Thus it is written. It's not just the oral brethren. It doesn't that we have it in writing. The Word of God is written. Isn't that precious? I mean, we can't forget it. We can feed on it daily.
The Lord wants us to understand the Scriptures.
Not just read them, but to understand them.
And we need to do it in dependence upon him and by the Spirit of God. We need to avail ourselves of the gifts that God has given to help us to understand these scriptures. And so we would encourage the reading of good sound ministry or even in tape or what other form that may there may be.
Understanding opened is follow 3 words that Matthew gives us.
In the.
15th chapter and the 10th verse at the end.
The three words are here and understand. Listen to the Lord, pay attention to Him, hear and understand.
00:55:09
And if you read the scriptures, then you don't understand something. Don't struggle with it.
Sometimes I believe the greatest hindrance to us not understanding what the Lord is saying is that we struggle with it. And when we struggle with it, we try then to bring in our own intellect and reasoning. But if there's something you really don't understand, just leave it. Pray about it and leave it and listen. In the meetings I've been amazed. Sometimes I've struggled with a portion of the Word of God. I've gone and asked a brother and I didn't really get an answer that was satisfactory. I asked somebody else and I said well.
Yeah, that's a little more, but still. And then in the ministry, in the assembly where the Spirit of God is free.
Given liberty to minister the truth according to the needs. Oh, I say, there's what I was looking for.
Now I understand, and so don't grapple with the Word of God. If you don't understand it, pray about it. Just leave it. And the Lord in his own time will bring it out, whether it's in reading some other portion of the Word of God. And the Spirit of God takes that to show you what that other Scripture really meant. Or as I say, whether it's in oral ministry, in the assembly, whether it's the good written ministry. Some brethren have a long drive to work and so they slip a tape in from a conference or a ministry meeting and they listen to it that way.
And the Spirit of God can meet our needs and even in the local assembly. And brethren, maybe I'll just say this while we're on the subject. You know, you go back to your local assembly and you say, you know, it doesn't seem to be much food in the local assembly. And we come on Wednesday night and we read a portion and we don't get much out of it. And there isn't anybody there that can really explain it to us. But you know, one of the great sins of Israel in the wilderness was they despised the simple manna that God gave them.
And I believe that we're in danger, brethren, if we're not careful of despising the simple manner that God gives in the local assembly. Maybe there is no great manifest gift. Maybe when you come together there's nobody to really give a great exposition or explanation of the portion. But the Lord is there, the Spirit of God is there. The Word of God hasn't changed. And I believe even in our utter weakness, the Lord can come in and bring those things to us that are necessary.
And open our understanding by the Spirit of God so that we will understand the scriptures.
The children of Israel possessed the land that they walked in, didn't they? And I was thinking of the exercise with us to understand the Scripture. We need to be in communion with the Lord, don't we? The issue there of waiting on him to humble ourselves and say, Lord, show me.
I'd like to make a little shorthand comment.
In Ephesians 3, Paul's second prayer gives us a whole list.
In that prayer of what he desires for us and of course the apostles, Paul there was speaking from the power of the Spirit of God that was given to him. And so I'm not going to read it because it's available. It's there. And so this is what we do have in Scripture. There are some things that have been said that I agree with entirely, but there was a thing, a comment made by Jim about an outline. There are three basic outlines given in the Old and the New Testament.
That if we would just read them and pay some attention to them and study them, we'd have a very good picture of everything God's thoughts are in regard to man on earth and to us in heaven. One of them is the 23rd of Leviticus, the other one is the 13th of Matthew, and the last one is the seven churches in Revelation. You get those 3 pictures of seven studied them.
Carefully.
And you'll see God's intent for a man here on earth, and not only so, but man in heaven.
And you want an outline of Scripture. That's the best outline that I think you can get. But just read that little bit of the second prayer of Paul in Ephesians 3 and you get God thoughts concerning what He wants you to know.
Verse 46 in our portion, what is written notice it's behold Christ to suffer and to die, or to rise from the dead the third day.
01:00:02
It is written now. Notice they had it too. This is the third time I think, but I know the second verse, chapter 10 of Mark. This is what he told not just his disciples, He told the women that were with him and the other disciples and apostles.
OK, verse 31 of chapter 10, Mark.
I'll start at the middle.
And he took again the 12 and began to tell them what things should happen unto him. Say, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be delivered. This is verse 33. The Son of Man shall be delivered under the chief priests and under the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him.
To the Gentiles, and they shall mark him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him. The third day he shall rise again. Now listen, I tell you, the third day is so many times mentioned in the New Testament, and the third day speaks of the death and resurrection of Christ. And don't fail it. Even in John 2, the wedding, it happened on the third day.
Because it took that to bring about this beautiful wedding and the miracle and all. But I just mentioned now one more thing.
On the third day, turn to 1St Corinthians chapter 15. Now this is what Paul finally gave us and the Corinthians. But that was for us, as Chuck brought out.
Moreover, brethren, 15 one I declare unto you the gospel, I won't say anymore there, by which also you're saved. I'll go down to three at the middle, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
Brethren, that's throughout. And it was brought out in the Old Testament too, so he reminded them. It says it is written.
The third day he'll rise from the dead. The funeral. The Jews should have known that the Jews had the Old Testament. It's all there. You can find it all there.
The Jews and you know when the not the apostle, when they'll.
Hold it when the Lord in the New Testament showed the Pharisees and the scribes.
The parable of the vineyard, you know, the Lord of the vineyard and so on. He did everything for the vineyard.
At the end of that, you know what is written about the Pharisees.
And scribes, they took knowledge that he spoke this parable against them.
How responsible?
Were the chosen people of this earth the Jews?
They still they crucified the Lord of Lord.
This little expression, it is written. I wonder, brethren, if you'll just allow me for a moment to take this expression by itself.
To say something that burdens me, and it's not that we want to pick on the young people, but just a little warning to those who are younger and maybe some of us who are older who perhaps fall into this trap. And that is that earlier in the book of Luke, we find that when he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, they handed him the book. It was written. And Paul, at the end of his life, he desired that Timothy would bring the books.
And especially the parchments. Now, I'm not saying they were books in the form we hold books in our hand, this book in our hand, or we go to a library or our shelf and we pull off a book. Perhaps they were scrolls, whatever. But nevertheless, it was written. And I believe there's a great danger. And I don't want to take away from what Brother Stan said earlier because I use my online Bible. I'll go to the computer. I have a Franklin in my Bible case that I utilize.
01:05:04
But I believe young people, there is nothing like reading it on paper. There is nothing like picking up this book, the Bible, and reading it. And I want to encourage you, if you haven't done it yet, choose a Bible that you're comfortable with and maybe buy two or three if you can afford it so that you can learn the placement. There's many scriptures I can turn to, not because I know exactly what verse it is, but because I know exactly where it is on the page.
Because, thank the Lord, I was exercised by an older brother years ago when I was young to stick with a certain format.
In my Bible and I bought several copies and I think I have one left on my bookshelf now.
That I haven't opened up, but that's true not only of the word of God, but the written ministry. You know God allowed the development of printing for the so that we could have the Bible in this form on our laps. He developed the he allowed the development of printing at a time when the truth was being brought out and restored so that men could pin good Christ exalting ministry for us and I believe that we get a little bit lazy sometimes in utilizing.
The technology that is available to us today. I'm not saying it isn't helpful, but learn to read from the pages of this blessed book. Learn to read the good Christ Exalting ministry from the printed page. You can look it up on a computer screen and read it, but it will never stick with you. Like reading it on black as they say in black and white on paper. Also, I would say now I don't have a computer.
I'm too stupid. But at any rate, I don't have one and I don't have the Bible on a disk and all that stuff. And to look up certain phrases and words. But I'll tell you something. I search the scriptures and I always find more than what I'm looking for. I often find what I really cherish. Looking for something else. Don't be afraid.
To read it, don't be afraid to search it. Little work and sweat with the Bible won't hurt you. Shortcuts may get you there quick, but you'll miss a lot on that trip.
Soon after the year 2000, there was published a secular review of the 100 most important people that this select group felt of the most important people during the last thousand years.
Guttenberg was #1?
Very interesting. But the way it was presented in the publication that I read, you first got to 100, then you went down to 50, and then you had to turn the page and obviously you wanted to find out who was number one. It was, in their opinion, the impact. I don't even think Eisenhower was on the list, but the impact on the last thousand years they felt was most felt and realized by Gutenberg.
In connection with the printing press Marvelous. And what was the first book that was printed by him? A word.
I suppose it's not difficult to see that this chapter is not chronological.
And that these last few verses.
Are a long ways after in fact.
Probably at least 35 days, 40 days after the appearance of the Lord amongst his own. And so the end of the chapter gives us the first part of what we have in Acts One, and it was talked about several times in the meetings about verse 49. And this is one of the last comments the Lord makes to his disciples was to remain in Jerusalem.
I suppose the spirit of what he said was evident in many of the things he spoke to the mob, but the actual facts are that this is one of the last things he said to them before he ascended to glory. That's the 49th verse. And this, if you want to look at it, you can find it basically the same character in Acts 1. And so the ending of this chapter is not the same as verse 36.
It's several days, several weeks, in fact, later. Let's bring that out because it looks like it's one continuous chronological story, but it really is not.
01:10:11
In verse 47 at the end he tells them these are the apostles now still.
Repentance and remission of sins. Please preach in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Peter was hearing this.
Can you hear Peter say at Jerusalem, where they crucified you?
Tell the gospel to the soldier who thrusts the Spirit your side.
Yes, beginning at Jerusalem. That's my Lord.
I'm a little bit a little bit slow to the draw. I like to go back a little bit, if I may.
Trying to encourage young people, we remain mindful of many younger ones here. I was just recollecting back how we learned most of scriptures and I was just recollecting back how it is very difficult when you pick up just a ministry book to read. Perhaps I should speak about myself rather than most. I know some can sit there and go to and a synthesis from front to back for an evening.
But I find that it's very difficult for me. Chuck put his children to sleep. Well, I put myself to sleep after a few pages. But what I find helpful is that is to find a topic that is of interest to you, a topic that you can start reading because the Word of God is so intertwined together. It can be anywhere. It can start from Genesis. You can start from Daniel. You can start from the Tabernacle.
Because everything points to Christ. And then you can see how we intertwine. I'm just going to give you a small example. Sometimes by knowing a little bit here and a little bit there. And then as you learn, then you can see the pictures tied together. It was a few months ago, my brother.
Was mentioning a verse to me and I didn't really know how to apply that verse and I'll mention that verse in a minute. And then yesterday our brother mentioned about Daniel and then he mentioned about the unit saying that there shouldn't be a dry tree. Do you recall that?
And you think about Daniel of old. More likely he was made a eunuch.
We don't have direct record of that, but when we read from the Scriptures, more likely he was. Now let's turn to a portion to see how the word of God intertwined the Ezekiel chapter 14. Now I know when I mentioned what Ezekiel sometimes who sort of quench a little bit and say where is it in the middle of this Bible. We can tell that we often don't turn to it much. In fact, the evidence is just look at your Bible with a close and you will probably see a lot of thumbprints around the gospel.
And perhaps the apostles writings and perhaps in Psalms and in Exodus and Genesis. And then we'll find that it's virtually new in the middle of the Bible. Well, I encourage perhaps start from there. Let's go to Ezekiel chapter 14. Now here there is a group of people mentioned. Now you know, when they group people together, there's a reason there's similarity. Now it's interesting if you go to Ezekiel 1414.
You mentioned three people, so there must be something in common about these three folks. These three is as though these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job. Now, my thought is not what it is behind the, the, the connections here, but rather Daniel is identified here with Noah and Job. Oh, as we read Scripture, we'll say, why is that? Then you go further down in the 20th verse.
You see the second time being identified though Noah, Daniel and Joe and the connections here is about children. They can neither they shall deliver neither son or daughter, they shall but deliver their own soul by their righteousness. Now my thought is not what's in the chapter, but the thing that here Daniel is looked at as one with children.
Did he have any children? Well, surely hear the word of God look as if he is. Perhaps he had children of faith. In this chapter here we find that it wasn't very soon. It was about 594 BC. He was still in captivity. And how did Jeremiah know all this? The Word of God. See how interesting it is when you pick a topic and you can start researching through the word of God. The history in regard to the prophecy blurred.
01:15:23
A brother encouraged me when a number of years ago he said, remember the number 606? And I thought, wow, what do you mean by 606? And some of the young people have heard that that's the year 606 BC. You want to learn the minor prophet, learn the events that happened around 606 BC. Because right away when we read the book of Daniel, we'll go, oh, that was 606 BC Nebuchadnezzar came and took these people, these young men into captivity.
Now you can relay things before and after. Oh, scripture is so full. And then if you want to learn more, there are a lot of things that look very obscure, but yet it help us learn. Look at Matthew chapter one, a book or a chapter that we avoid when we read through it. I know sometimes you would just say, look at all those names. Let's skip it. Go through that and you'll find how all these stories that you have learned from Sunday school would start coming into life in a sense. Now you know who's who and what's what.
And you can find the genealogy in order to learn them just for interest sake, for young people's sake. You know, when we was looking through Daniel here, we'll find it in Deuteronomy chapter 23. I think it sets that. It sets a eunuch. Someone like a eunuch is not allowed to be in the presence of the Lord. Well, brother yesterday mentioned about in the first year of Cyrus, that's when Daniel served.
While scriptures didn't quite tell us that, but we know from history.
The servitude begin at 6:06. They would have served for 70 years. You'll find Osiris reigned at 537 BC. That's the first year. When you get to the 10th chapter, that was 534 BC. Oh, isn't that interesting? Three years later, he was still in the land. He didn't return. Is it because he realized his position? And then you read on and they'll say that for a Moabite, they're not allowed in the presence of God. Now you see from the word of God, the government of God says one thing and it must follow, but then we see the grace of God.
Because Ruth was a Moabite, she was brought into blessing. Isn't that wonderful? When we learned a word of God and then we go on. It was that sad? It's a strong word. He said a ******* is not allowed to be in the present of the Lord for 10th generation. Then you find David if you go through Matthew chapter one, but David was the 10th generation from Tamar. Oh, isn't that interesting? We need to study the word of God. And our brother gave us a knight. I enjoyed the outline, the three sevens.
And when we learn the seven feasts of Jehovah, when we learn the seven parables in the seven churches.
Then as someone you should say, he said that's when Christian knowledge begins. Well, our chapter began. We've just got a minute or two left. Our chapter began with the resurrection and the open tomb, and now it's going to end with the open heavens to receive the Lord Jesus back to the glory. And I think this is so beautiful to see because these are two vital parts of Christianity. We mentioned at the beginning of these reading meetings how that the resurrection is vital to Christianity.
Because if Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain, and ye are still in your sins.
But there's something else that's vital too, and that is the ascension. The Lord Jesus. After he had remained on earth long enough to give ample and complete testimony to his own that he had bodily risen from the dead. There came a moment on the side of the Mount of Olives at Bethany when the Lord Jesus feet left this earth and the cloud received him out of their sight, and they saw him no more. I believe this is important to understand, brethren, because.
Christianity presents to us a glorified, ascended, glorified Christ.
At the right hand of God, not Christ, walking here in this world. A member of the Bible Conference one time.
The question was raised, what is Christianity? And someone said, well Christianity can be summed up in one word, Christ. But that needs explanation. It's not Christ in association with his own, the way he was when the disciples and others walked with Him here in this world. It's not Christ in his millennial Kingdom and glories like we'll be associated with him in the coming day. No, Christianity links us by the Spirit of God to a glorified man at the right hand of God.
01:20:10
Very important to understand that if you don't understand that, you're not going to understand that you're a heavenly person. We're not going to understand that the church is a heavenly company. We're not going to understand our relationships and reactions in this world. And that's why the Lord Jesus, when he appeared to Mary Magdalene and she wanted to hold him, he said, no, Mary, I'm not going to be associated with you the way I have been in my pathway. And so he said, handle me not, for I am not yet ascended unto my Father, and your Father to my father.
But I will ascend to my father and your father, my God and your God, and go tell my brother now.
That they're going to be associated with me in heavenly glories now, not the way they have been in this world and the way we are associated with Price now by the Spirit of God is a far, far closer relationship, a far more blessed relationship than the disciples enjoyed even walking physically with the Lord Jesus Christ in his pathway. And that's why he told them in the upper room that it was necessary that he go away and that the Spirit of God would come so that they would be linked with him in that way. So the chapter opened begins with the open tomb.
It ends with the open heavens. This chapter, brethren, presents to us a risen Christ.
But it also presents to us an ascended Christ. And as I think perhaps we said earlier in these meetings, the resurrection, the ascension, and the glorification of Christ are God's. Amen to the work of Calvary and push that in.
In Acts, I mean in Acts chapter one it says.
Those disciples had stood and watched the Lord ascend into heaven.
Then.
It was said to them.
He men of Galilee, who stands, he gazing up into heaven, this same Jesus shall so come in like manner as you've seen him going to heaven. The disciples got to see him go up. We're going to get the sin come down. I think that's the better part.
What was that #134?
Let's rise.
In our lives.
Annoyed again, I'm sorry.
Proudness.
Right for air and Florida.
One preacher.
Hurry up now. I am.
Ever fall?
Maybe we are.
01:25:00
Born.
Glory of God.